This year was my first time attending IBEX, the International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition & Conference, and it was an eye-opener. The show was busy: crowded aisles, full booths, and plenty of energy.
As an observer, a lot of what you see at IBEX looks similar: rows of lights, switches, fabrics, and batteries, all trying to stand out in a crowded sea of competitors. But beneath the surface, there were still companies genuinely pushing the category forward.
We were there primarily to support our partner, Dometic, who unveiled several products at the event, including their new VacuMAX system (which SPARK helped develop) and the DG3 Gyro Stabilizer. The Gyro drew big crowds. At many points, competitors were literally leaning in for a closer look under the hood. It’s a great reminder of how competitive and fast-moving the marine industry can be when the right innovations hit the water.
Beyond Dometic’s booth, a handful of products caught my attention for solving very real problems in clever ways:
Swede Marine
Reinvented something as simple as a ladder. Their design pivots using the user’s weight and a hydraulic strut, automatically folding up and down. No electronics, no reminders to stow it after a swim, just smart mechanical thinking to help prevent water damage.
Voltsafe
Making dock power safer for electric boats with a magnetically locking twist-on, twist-off connector that prevents dangerous arcing. (We actually use the same magnet supplier in one of our products.)
Phiber Systems
Built a freshwater flush system for inboard and outboard motors that won an IBEX Innovation Award. It automatically flushes the engine when the boat is shut down (no manual hookup required), and it’s the first of its kind to be approved by the American Boat & Yacht Council.
WIF-Pro
Developed a water-in-fuel detection sensor with a fascinating backstory of personal experience, trial, iteration, and persistence. Their small team kept refining the technology until they earned ABYC certification for this first-of-its-kind product.
BigDog Adhesives
Tackled waste by designing a reusable adhesive cartridge that eliminates single-use plastic tubes. This is a brand new product that hasn’t hit BigDog’s product catalog yet, but it’s a great example of how a small change can make a big impact.
A few other themes surfaced throughout the show: a growing focus on electric propulsion, the gradual move from 12V and 24V systems to 48V (driven partly by copper costs), and subtle shifts toward lighter, corrosion-resistant materials. Nothing revolutionary on its own, necessarily, but these incremental changes add up and can have a ripple effect across multiple products and industries.
IBEX reminded me that innovation is still possible in a very mature industry. Sometimes it’s the subtle, practical engineering – the kind that makes systems safer, faster, or more sustainable, or just makes life simpler for the end user – that quietly moves an industry forward.
