THE 70-90FT SEMI-CUSTOM SECTOR IS BOOMING. TOBY HODGES EXPLORES SOME OF THE HOTTEST NEW DESIGNS BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN PRODUCTION YACHTS AND SUPERYACHTS
A bubble has appeared, the rise of a buoyant large yacht market sector that’s proving difficult to label. It typically caters for those who are looking for extra size, space and speed, who are happy to sail with a professional crew, but who don’t want the risk or expense associated with going to a full custom/ superyacht size (just yet). It has resulted in a surge in the 70-90ft semi-custom yacht scene.
From the big production yards, Nautor Swan and Oyster are perhaps the most successful longterm players in this area with model sizes across a wide range. And while some brands solely specialise in this sector, such as Michael Schmidt’s Y Yachts and CNB, look at the rise of the Italian 70-something-footers. From Grand Soleil, Solaris, Ice Yachts, Advanced Yachts and Mylius, these are performance cruisers with serious pin-up appeal.
Those seeking large multihulls have an equal surfeit of choice, with Lagoon’s Seventy7, the new Fountaine Pajot 80 due to launch, and a stream of 60 to 80-footers from Sunreef. At the top end of the performance and quality scale Gunboat is launching its first 80 this season, while HH splashes its flagship 88. These are big boats for big bucks and seriously big appeal – we will look at these catamarans in more detail next month in our Multihull special.
The following pages explore some of the latest, supremely cool monohull designs in this... let’s call them ‘grand touring’... size bracket.
GRAND SOLEIL
Grand Soleil’s new flagship, which we toured during its debut last autumn, is a stunner – as shown photographed here off the Amalfi coast. The aim of the 50-year-old Cantiere del Pardo yard was to offer a high level of accommodation and quality in an attractive performance package. This 72 heralds its new approach to large semi-custom yachts from 60ft up, which are being built in a separate facility in Fano.
These are powerful hulls that are available in a Performance guise with near flush coachroof or Long Cruise (LC) raised saloon styles. The specialist all-Italian team behind the 72 project includes Matteo Polli (hull lines), Marco Lostuzzi (structural engineering) and Nauta (styling), together with Franco Corazza for the project management. Corazza, a successful racing sailor, yacht dealer and builder, joined Grand Soleil three years ago, and his experience in this project has been pivotal.
Corazza found previous success with Polli when they produced winning models for Italia Yachts and this is now the third Grand Soleil project from the hand of the in-demand designer. He ha
