SUPERYACHT #10
Autumn 2006
Article selected from our quarterly magazine dedicated to the largest
and most luxurious boats with information, interviews, technical
articles, images and yachting news
Summary
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Article by
Angelo Colombo
Photos at sea from Azimut files
Photos of interiors by Antonio Bignami
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AZIMUT 85 GT YACHT
The Azimut shipyard presents its new 85, a yacht whose exterior
layout and concept were designed by Stefano Righini while the
interiors were developed by Carlo Galeazzi. Working together they
have created what the yard considers a "Sea GT".
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TECHNICAL DATA
LOA: 26.83 metres
beam: 6.40 metres
draught: 1.80 metres
full load displacement: 80.000 kilos
engines: 2 x 1.825 HP Caterpillar C32 Acert V12s
maximum speed: 30 knots
cruising speed: 27 knots
fuel tanks: 9.000 litres
water tanks: 1.500 litres
construction material: GRP
hull: 'V' with 17° deadrise aft- exterior design and concept: Stefano Righini
interior designer: Carlo Galeazzi.
For further information: Azimut Yachts, Via M. Luther King
9-11, 10051 Avigliana (TO) Italy; tel. +39 011 93161; fax +39 011 9367270;
website www.azimutyachts.net.
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Work began on
this yacht in the same spirit with which car manufacturers of the
calibre of Maserati or Bentley created their own GTs, such as for
example the splendid Quattroporte. So it's a yacht that best
unites comfort and performance in accordance with strictly avant-
garde technological dictates and with outstanding design. To make
it all come true the two designers and the yard's technical
department had an intense work schedule, because a vessel like
this leaves no room for improvisation or rethinks: everything has
to be carefully handled down to the slightest detail and must
correspond exactly to original specifications. Stefano Righini
chose to create a superstructure decidedly projected forward and
fairly rounded in order to give greater interior volumes and a
large surface area to the flying bridge. Carlo Galeazzi's
interiors are very luxurious and, thanks to numerous large glazed
areas, extremely bright. The whole creation was based on the
designers' theory that "your boat is an extension of your seaside
villa". In the case in point, this is undoubtedly a design which
makes a strong point of liveability and comfort, but another
definitely interesting aspect is the performance achieved by two
1.825 HP Caterpillar C32 Acert V12s that give a maximum speed of
30 knots and a cruising speed of 27. In a word, an actual GT:
comfort and performance, technology and design. Let's take a look
at the division of the spaces. First off, the design is developed
on three decks, the upper being the spacious flying bridge.
Forward on the starboard side we have the outdoor command station
with a large sundeck opposite. Aft of this area there's a small
bar, still on the starboard side, and on the port side an open air
dinette with C-shaped sofa, table and chairs. Proceeding farther
aft there is a central Jacuzzi with an adjacent sunbathing area,
aft of which is the tender and its davits. A yacht which in spite
of its relative compactness -26.83 metres LOA - offers the
interior volumes found on larger vessels. This is particularly
true on the main deck where, in the spacious deckhouse forward on
the starboard side, we find a bridge equipped with two ergonomic
seats and all the instrumentation on a console whose design is
perfectly integrated with the whole. On the portside there is a
dinette with C-shaped sofa and a table. From this zone you access
the dining area where the diagonally placed table can comfortably
seat eight. On the starboard side behind the bridge there is a
spacious galley, suitably isolated, and a daytime bathroom. The
aft zone of this deck is wholly occupied by the saloon, with a
three seater sofa on the portside bulwark, two facing armchairs
and a coffee table in wood and glass. There's also a two seater
sofa against the starboard bulwark, and the interior is completed
by low furniture along the sides and in the corners. Emphasis of
the great area available on this deck comes from the open space
concept of the great glass door in the cockpit, a point from
which, since there is nothing to block the view, you can see
everything as far as the forward saloon. This solution results in
a perceptual impact of space that is out of the ordinary on yachts
of this size. The stern of the main deck, virtually the cockpit,
includes a sofa with table fully aft and two lateral stairways for
access to and from the stern bridge, plus a superstructure
stairway on the starboard side to the flying bridge. For the lower
deck the yard proposes two solutions, both featuring two double-
bed cabins: the owner's amidships, running the full width of the
beam, and the VIP forward, plus another two cabins with twin beds,
all with private bathrooms. The difference between the two
versions lies in positioning one of the twin cabins farther
forward so the owner's cabin can have not only two bathrooms, as
in the other version, but also an office. This alternative
envisages a Jacuzzi in the second bathroom, with all the usual
accessories. In the version with the facing twin cabins the
owner's bathrooms are obviously smaller but nonetheless welcoming
and comfortable. The crew's quarters are at the aftermost part of
this deck: two single cabins at the sides, a bathroom and a
centrally positioned relaxation area with sofa and table. As for
furnishings and interior décor, there is sobriety and
elegance throughout, with the furniture surfaces finished in
squares of light-coloured, opaque cherry alternated with
horizontal and vertical graining. The coverings are in raw fabrics
in tan and black, with Roman blinds in a light-coloured fabric
embellished with long curtains that reach the floor. Panels in
light-coloured fabric and wood have the function of separating the
galley from the great space of which it is part, giving the whole
a pleasant appearance that is emphasised by well designed
artificial lighting, in this case neon set into the ceilings and
large square lamps with a glass base and silk ribbon shade, again
in a light colour. Righini and Galeazzi's work has undoubtedly
resulted in a yacht that stands out for style. Their attention to
all those elements that contribute to giving an overall perception
of the whole, right down do the least evident details, has been
almost maniacal. The two designers have already given numerous
examples of what they're capable of doing together to achieve high
class results: the Azimut 85 may only be their current point of arrival.
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