Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show week has a lot of ribbon cuttings. This one promises the opposite of a ribbon cutting. The International Superyacht Alliance (ISA) is hosting ISA Unfiltered: Refit Reality Check, a free panel built around one honest question: what does a superyacht refit really look like, once the brochure is put away?
When, where and how to get in
- When: Thursday, October 29, 2026, 12:30 PM
- Where: Bahia Mar Hotel, 2nd Floor, State Room C, Fort Lauderdale
- Cost: Free to attend
- Register: Reserve your spot here
The pitch: no sugarcoating, no sales pitches
The billing is “The Good. The Bad. The Expensive.” and the tagline is “Smart Planning. Hard Truths. Real Refit Perspectives.” The session is aimed at the people who actually have to make refit decisions, and it takes on the topics that tend to get softened in a sales conversation: workforce shortages, rising costs, insurance, liability and regulations, all through the lens of keeping the superyacht fleet operating safely and efficiently.
Who is on the panel
Moderator Craig Gundry of Union Maritime leads a panel of six:
- John Haggerty, Chapman School
- Jim Hogan, AkzoNobel / Awlgrip
- Colin Lord, Maritime Professional Solutions
- Matt Palermo, Nauti-Tech
- Frank Sioli, Sioli Alexander Pino
- Laura Sherrod, Newcoast Superyacht Insurance
Presented by
The session is presented by AkzoNobel (Awlgrip, Interlux and Sea Hawk), Newcoast Superyacht Insurance & Finance and Union Maritime.
Plan your Thursday
Refit is a big theme of show week. For the American yard side of the story, read our look at RefitX at FLIBS 2026. For tickets, dates and venues, see our FLIBS 2026 guide, and for the evening plans, the Fort Lauderdale boat show party list. The full event calendar lives on our South Florida marine events page.
Details come from the organizer’s event announcement. Check the registration page for any last-minute changes.