BOAT TEST
Is it a party platform? A sportsboat? A weekender? Whatever it is, this American-style Azimut has plenty to recommend it…
American boats have a couple of traits that tend to set them apart. The first is massive outboard engines – in this case a trio of Mercury’s epic 600hp V12s. The second is a whole load of day boating party space with shelter, refrigeration and music. Now while those traits can sometimes make American-style sportsboats that bit less popular on this side of the Atlantic, that’s not to say we won’t jump at the chance to sea trial one if the opportunity presents itself. And so it was that on a gentle morning on the Cote d’Azur at the World Launch of the new Verve 48, we stepped on board the most American looking Azimut you’re ever likely to see…
1,800HP OF FUN
If you haven’t yet helmed a boat propelled by Mercury’s 7.6L V12 600s, it’s actually a much more refined experience than you might imagine. The noise levels, according to Azimut, stop around 10 decibels short of the quadruple 450 rig that graced the transom of the previous Verve 47 – and that (they say) is equivalent to the difference between a hair-dryer and a helicopter. That (we say) is highly fanciful, but with sound readings of between 85 and 88 decibels at everything from 15 to 45 knots, the noise is no louder than you would generally expect of a fast open sportsboat.
It’s also thoroughly good fun to drive. While a lot of superslick Italian day cruisers look a million dollars but deliver more in the way of competence than playfulness, the use of carbon fibre in the construction of the deck, the superstructure and the T-Top keeps the handling here decidedly crisp and agile. A top end of nearly 48 knots is also a good haul from a boat of this scale and it feels commendably composed in achieving it.
There’s no sense at all that there’s too much power or weight on the transom and when you get up to pace and charge through the chop, the bow does a surprisingly good job of softening your re-entry and flinging the spray well wide of that all-important aft party zone. And the V12’s party tricks are also very welcome...
This boat does a remarkable job of flinging the spray wide and keeping that critical aft party zone dry
While this boat runs at around 12 litres per mile at 15-16 knots, when you push these engines beyond the 3,500rpm threshold, they shift up onto the smaller cogs, taking you right through to a very sustainable 30-knot cruise at 4,000rpm with less than 9 litres per mile disappearing from your fuel tanks. It achieves that without
