SUPERYACHT #13
Summer 2007
Article selected from our quarterly magazine dedicated to the largest
and most luxurious boats with information, interviews, technical
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Article by
Corradino Corbò
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AICON YACHTS 85 FLY
The Messina shipyard continues to expand at a brisk pace and in all
directions. This time with a new flagship, the result of innovative
design and rigorous marketing.
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TECHNICAL DATA
Design: Yard Technical Studio / Architect Marco Mannino
LOA: 26.16 m.
Beam: 6.42 m.
Draught at screws: 1.70 m.
Full load displacement: 72 t.
Passenger cabins: 4 + 2
Crew cabins: 2
Engines: Caterpillar C32 Acert 2 x 1.825 HP
Top speed: 31 knots
Cruising speed: 28 knots
Fuel tanks: 7.100 litres
Water tanks: 2.000 litres
Generators: Mase 2 x 26 Kw
CE Classification: A
For further information: Aicon S.p.A.,
Zona Industriale, 98040 Giammoro (Me), tel. +39 090 9385301, fax +39
090 9384145; website www.aicongroup.it; email info@aicongroup.it.
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That Aicon has an outstanding ability to make itself felt on the
international market as one of the most dynamic players on the entire
yachting scene is still one of the few things on which the
international press - and even the yard's competitors - are in
agreement. But it isn't just a matter of image, although attention to
this has been the platform for the whole marketing and promotion
action. In fact the powerful media machinery set in motion corresponds
to the company's internal activity which is more than ever directed -
especially since going public - towards design research and
production.
Aicon's premises today are situated in two nearby areas: Giammoro,
which is dedicated to the Flybridge line, and Villafranca Tirrena for
the Open line. The former also houses the management centre and the
"Aicon Style Centre" which handles design, research and development.
The Centre currently has several projects under way in collaboration
with Italian universities for the study of and experimentation with
new materials and new work process methodologies.
Another philosophy that Aicon has kept faith with right from the start
is follow-up, thanks to which customers benefit from prompt and
unconditional service wherever they may be: an excellent system for
further reinforcing the company's good name and, above all, for
improving its products.
One of the fruits of this exceptional entrepreneurial effervescence is
the new flagship 85 Fly, the top of a range consisting of six models,
four in the Flybridge series and two in the Open. Presented in preview
at the Festival de la Plaisance in Cannes, where chairman Lino Siclari
was awarded the Jury's Special Prize in the context of the World
Yachts Trophy, and then greeted with pomp and circumstance at the last
Genoa Boat Show (where among other things the hundredth example of the
model 56 was celebrated), this important vessel shows the intention to
occupy in a capillary manner the whole broad motoryacht segment which,
setting out from 16 metres, extends to the fiscal watershed that
separates the yacht and ship categories.
The first significant datum concerning the 85 Fly is that she grew,
coherently with the yard's philosophy, out of a design study developed
entirely in-house. Which further highlights the passage of production
to its most mature phase - with a tangible improvement of all general
characteristics - as we already noted through the testing of the now
former flagship 64 Fly.
In fact though the yacht maintains the same pleasing hallmark of the
models preceding her in time and in the range, there's a certain
something more - not only size - that sets this vessel on a decidedly
superior level.
Characteristic in its originality is the overall superstructure. On a
hull with a pronouncedly outstretched bow, but substantially classic,
the glazing triggers a sensation of fluidity that culminates in the
aft half of the fly where curved lines, projections and edges seem to
delineate the tail of a comet. There are two accesses to this upper
bridge: one external from the stern and the other internal, directly
from the living area. Once on the flybridge you immediately appreciate
the practical layout of the spaces: the helmsman's zone on the port
side, flanked on the other side by an L-shaped sofa/sun-bed; the bar
area with a U-shaped dinette on the port side and a well equipped
counter on the starboard side; a multifunctional item with washbasin,
mini-fridge and electric barbecue; and a rectangular sundeck near the
Jacuzzi which, together with an extendable davit, separates the living
area from the technical zone for stowing the tender.
The effect of the flybridge on the overall construction is such as to
surpass the main deck, but on closer inspection the latter too turns
out to feature a spot-on subdivision of the external spaces: the
sundeck on the forward deckhouse, the roomy gangways and above all the
cockpit. Protected by the overhanging part of the flybridge and well
linked with the aft platform, the cockpit is an extremely welcoming
and protective environment that invites you to spend hours of
relaxation - maybe at anchor - far from the sun's rays but very close
to the sea. Accessed directly from the cockpit, the saloon immediately
exudes that loft atmosphere which to some extent is a feature of all
Aicon interiors. So unfailingly there is a clear sensation of air and
light in every corner, aided by space separations that are more
virtual than real. The lounge is on the immediate port side, with two
sofas set in an L-shape and a table consisting of four poufs which if
necessary can also be used as additional seating. Continuing forward,
the dining area with a rounded table seating up to eight is separated
by a partition that conceals a retractable LCD television. The
starboard side of the saloon, though also well equipped, is used more
than anything else as a line of communication with the other places on
the same deck: the fine separate galley, laid out in a U-shape
perfectly amidships on the port side, and the bridge. The bridge, with
a highly technical wheelhouse on the port side and a small dinette
functioning as a mess-room on the opposite side, is the heart of the
crew's quarters which extend right to the forepeak on a lower level.
There are two cabins (one double, one single), bathroom, small lounge
and galley.
A curved stairway near the saloon leads down to the cabin deck. In
accordance with a now consolidated trend the owner's is in the
aftermost position, where the vessel's movements are least detected
and a more marked separation from the other cabins is achieved. It's
very spacious and bright (four great round portholes stand out on the
sides), with a large central double bed, writing corner, small lounge
and a bathroom with corner tub. Forward, at the sides of the central
corridor, there are two twin-bed cabins while the spacious full-beam
VIP cabin, with double bed, private bathroom and shower unit, is at
the bow.
Throughout the night zone, as in the shared areas, the opulence of the
furnishings remains rigorously within the bounds of good taste. The
materials have been wisely chosen, notably teak and vegetable tanned
leather, as well as several precious fabrics.
As for the technical spaces, location of the engine room fully aft -
fundamental to maximum exploitation of the volume available for living
quarters - involved the adoption of an appropriate V-Drive
transmission for the two 1.825 HP Caterpillar C32 Acert engines. With
this power - a boosted version of the famous C32, the only
motorisation used by the yard - the declared cruising speed is 27
knots with a top speed of 32.
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