Howard Parker, 56, was looking for an upgrade.

“I have a boat,” the Jacksonville-based fisherman explained. “I want a bigger one.”

He had come to the right place: the 63rd Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the largest in-water boat show in the world, which reached a peak Saturday at its six different venues, including the Broward County Convention Center and the Bahia Mar Yachting Center.

A devastating hurricane, uncertain economy, and global political upheaval did not deter the crowds from flocking to downtown Fort Lauderdale for the penultimate day of the affair, from the ultra wealthy touring multi-million dollar yachts to mobile home dwellers looking for their first dinghy.

At the docks, attendees slipped off their shoes and boarded an endless series of glossy vessels, cocktails in hand. And in giant white tents, they moved quickly past display after display of products for every kind of boating need imaginable, from yacht security systems to boat-specific cocktail platters.

But with rising economic challenges confronting both boat sellers and boat lovers, some say the show didn’t reach the same level of excitement as last year. Many see the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show as a kind of boat sales weather vane, indicating how the rest of the year will fare.

Parker traveled down to the boat show from Jacksonville to find a fishing boat that will suit both him and his wife, who also fishes.

“We came because it’s the biggest,” he said. “All the…