T here was snow on the peaks. In northern Italy they always say you can spend the morning on the beach and go skiing in the afternoon, although in my experience even the balmy Tuscan coast is never quite balmy enough in February to tempt me into the water. I also couldn’t help noticing that the beach was completely deserted. Nevertheless, it was sunny, and it felt like spring off Viareggio on the day of our test, with the wintry mountains lending a 76 Power & Motoryacht April 2006 April 2006 Power & Motoryacht 77 EXCLUSIVE | AZIMUT 85 By Alan Harper BASE PRICE | $6,000,000 with 2/1,825-hp Caterpillar C32A diesel inboards OPTIONAL POWER | 2/1,572-mhp Caterpillar C30, 2/1,675-mhp Caterpillar C32, or 2/2,030-mhp MTU 16V 2000 M91 diesel inboards SPECIFICATIONS | Length overall: 88'0" Beam: 21'0" Draft: 5'10" Weight (wet): 176,400 lbs. Fuel capacity: 2,378 gal. Water capacity: 396 gal. >>> AZIMUT 85 P M Y T E S T E D • P M Y T E S T E D • P M Y T E S T E D • P M Y T E S T E D • P M Y T E S T E D • By Alan Harper PHOTO: AZIMUT This Italian’s sleek design, expansive layout, and powerful performance heat up the winter-chilled Med. This Italian’s sleek design, expansive layout, and powerful performance heat up the winter-chilled Med. Tuscan Sun UNDER Tuscan Sun the
Transcript
T here was snow on the peaks. In northern Italy they always sayyou can spend the morning on the beach and go skiing in theafternoon, although in my experience even the balmy Tuscan
coast is never quite balmy enough in February to tempt me into thewater. I also couldn’t help noticing that the beach was completelydeserted. Nevertheless, it was sunny, and it felt like spring offViareggio on the day of our test, with the wintry mountains lending a
76 Power & Motoryacht April 2006 April 2006 Power & Motoryacht 77
EXCLUSIVE | AZIMUT 85
By Alan Harper
BASE PRICE | $6,000,000 with2/1,825-hp Caterpillar C32A dieselinboards OPTIONAL POWER | 2/1,572-mhpCaterpillar C30, 2/1,675-mhpCaterpillar C32, or 2/2,030-mhpMTU 16V 2000 M91 diesel inboards
This Italian’s sleek design, expansivelayout, and powerful performanceheat up the winter-chilled Med.
This Italian’s sleek design, expansivelayout, and powerful performanceheat up the winter-chilled Med.
Tuscan SunUNDER
Tuscan Sunthe
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backdrop of dramatic splendor. It seemed appropriate to be testing such a
grand motoryacht amid equally grand surround-ings. The Azimut 85 was launched at last year’sGenoa Boat Show, and although it’s tough to at-tract much attention at that most competitive anddazzling of shows, there was a definite buzz aboutthe 85.
It helps to be big, of course, and the 85 is animposing vessel, which promises particularly volu-minous accommodations. Then there was thatflying bridge, which looked huge under that enor-mous hardtop. And everyone also knew that thisnew Azimut was the first yacht in Italy to be fittedwith the 1,825-hp Caterpillar C32As, so her poten-tial performance was also a talking point. But it wasCarlo Galeazzi’s interior that was the cause of mostof the gossip—and especially his intriguing main-deck layout.
It’s all about the galley. The temptation for de-signers on boats like this often seems to be to tryand minimize the galley’s impact, running it nar-rowly along one side so as to create through-viewsfrom cockpit to helm, in an effort to make themain deck seem as roomy as possible. On a smallerboat that might make sense, but Galeazzi realizedthat on an 85 with a helm set this far forward, youdon’t have to create an illusion of space—becausethere is plenty of the real thing.
So the galley is the focus of the 85’s main deck:It sticks out well over the centerline in a diamondshape, with the dining table set on a diagonal. Theresult is at once interesting and practical as well asperfectly spacious. The galley, of course, is huge—and with sliding screens fore and aft and doorsleading both into the saloon and out to the sidedeck, it is exceptionally versatile for the crew.
Two alternative layouts are offered below, bothfeaturing a pair of twin-berth guest cabins, a VIPsuite in the bow, and the master stateroom amid-ships. Two crew cabins occupy the stern. TheEnglish owner of this first 85 had opted, quite sen-sibly in my view, for the “owner” layout, whichborrows space from the forward guest accommo-dation on the starboard side to create a largedressing area—a sort of antechamber—leadingtowards the head. There is also a shower room onthe port side. Added to the already generous pro-portions of this full-beam suite, this option reallygives the owner something in return for signing all
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B >> With two doors andtwo screens, the galley isboth versatile and huge.
C >> The owner’s suite takesup almost 50 percent of theaccommodation space.
E >> The right-angledlayout of the saloonmakes good use of space.
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A >> The dining area,set on the diagonal,seats eight comfortably.
D >> An additional owner’shead is to starboard.
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<< Left: The slight break in the rate of acceleration at 26 mphcould be due to the Cats’ engine-management software or the85’s hull form. Below, left to right: Details like high-capacityengine-room fans, a stylish mast for the steaming and anchorlights, and a flying bridge helm designed around an LCDmonitor mark the Azimut 85 as a well-thought-out yacht.
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* Acceleration based on average of 4 reciprocal runs.
PMY TESTED: AZIMUT 85
The optional Sea Energy system, with both fixedand remote controls (pictured), makes handlingthis big beast a breeze—even in a breeze. Bowand stern thrusters and the engines (at idle speedonly) are computer-controlled through a small,central joystick, which moves fore and aft and sideto side to help position the 85. The knob can alsobe twisted, steering-wheel style, to turn the bow. Ifin the heat of the moment it all gets too confusing—and if you’re a dyed-in-the-wool traditionalboat handler, this type ofsystem takes somepractice to master—simply pressing the“bow thruster only”button confines the joy-stick response to justthat maneuvering aid,with engines controlledon the throttles. —A.H.
the checks. It’s quite a long walk from one corner of thissuite to the other—you wouldn’t want to forget your socks.
It’s unlikely that your guests will notice if you decide topamper yourself with the owner layout, however. The twin-berth cabins are a good size, although the one to port hasmore floor space and lockers and also has a roomier headcompartment than its opposite number. The forepeak VIPseems especially light and spacious thanks to those bigtopside windows, and although it seems low on stowage atfirst, there is in fact a huge locker under the berth.
The show gossip had been right so far: There was indeedplenty of volume in the 85, and the accommodations havebeen cleverly designed to make the best of it. And sureenough, the main-deck layout was a tour de force, breaking
all the rules and coming up with a new set of its own, whichothers are sure to follow. There was also the small matter ofthe flying bridge, of course, all 40 feet of it, shaded by thatgigantic fixed hardtop. With its massive table and sofa, hottub, tender stowage area, a bar, and two big sunbathingareas, you could lose a dozen guests up here and not see
TToopp:: The lower helm station, with its singleseat, has commanding views forward and tothe sides, but no visibility aft. Wardrobehandles (above left ) are hard, sharp, andimpractical. The forward dinette (above)isscreened off from the saloon for privacy.
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PMY TESTED: AZIMUT 85
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flat water, so when we saw 25 knots on the log, it didn’t seemquite right––especially as Azimut has taken great pains withsoundproofing and insulation on this boat, so sound levels atthe lower helm, even at full speed, were remarkably low at 75dB-A (65 dB-A is the level of normal conversation).
Of course torque is not just good for acceleration. With80 tons teetering just on plane, ittakes thousands of foot-poundsto keep it there, and in spite of arelatively deep 17-degree deadriseaft, I found the 85 planed quitesedately at around 15 knots. Thiscould prove useful in choppy con-ditions, when you want to minimizeslamming without resorting to dis-placement speeds. In tight turns,too, the torque stops the revs frombleeding off, so in spite of her bulk,the big Azimut has quite a sportyfeel—although of course she’shardly a floating Ferrari. More afloating penthouse.
Or maybe a floating ski chalet?
But the afternoon shadows were lengthening. As I wrappedup the test and put the gear away, the snow-capped moun-tains of the Apuane Alps were looking more distant thanever. We wouldn’t be taking to the pistes today. Water-skiing,anyone?
Azimut ( (39) 011-93161. www.azimutyachts.com.
them all day. For more secluded outdoor living, particularlyin port, the foredeck dinette with its optional bimini topshould prove to be another favorite spot.
There was just one more thing to check out: those CatC32As.
This yacht displaces 80 tons in seagoing trim, but you really
wouldn’t know it, thanks to the immense torque available lowdown the rpm range from the new Cats. On a calm sea off thelong, sandy—and deserted—beach at Viareggio, not muchhappened at first. But as we pushed the throttles throughabout 1500 rpm, things started to pick up quickly. Being sucha big boat, the 85 had a certain unflappable stateliness on the
4-blade nibral STEERING: BCShydraulic power assistedCONTROLS: ZFelectronicOPTIONAL EQUIP-MENT ON TEST BOAT:tropical air conditioning;hardtop w/ electricallyoperated canvas;spotlights on aft flyingbridge; Deep Seaunderwater lights; Sea
Energy maneuveringjoystick; full electronicpackage; Technobluemultimedia PC/video/TV/stereo systems;bow-thruster protection;ice maker on flyingbridge; flying-bridgeteak sole; hydrauliccockpit table; 27-hphydraulic bow and sternthrusters; speed controlfor ER fans andextractors; wine cooler;larger range/grill top PRICE AS TESTED:$6,424,000
RPM MPH GPH MPG SM NM DECIBELS TRIM(KNOTS) (NMPG) RANGE RANGE (DEGREES)
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CONDITIONS: air temperature: 48º; humidity: 49%; seas: 1’; load: 1,100 gal. fuel, 420 gal. water, 6 persons, no gear. Speeds are two-way averages measured with GPS. GPH from Caterpillar electronic fuel-monitoring system. Range: 90% of advertised fuel capacity.Decibels measured at helm on A scale. 65 dB(A) is the level of normal conversation. All measurements taken with trim tabs fully retracted.
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Above: Everything is big uptop, including the upperhelm station. Above right:Controls for the swimladder incorporated into acockpit handrail. Right:Deck gear details. Below:Views of the foredeckdinette and the flying-bridge companionway.
Several other details aboard the Azimut 85are worth special mention:
Molded fiberglass sinks in the headcompartments look brown and opaque,but check the lockers underneath,and you find that they’re actuallytranslucent and let a lot of lightthrough—which is both practicaland surprising. Is it deliberate or ahappy accident?
A regulation escape hatch (atright) is located in the forwardcabin, cleverly concealed behind asliding section of deck-head lining:invisible, yet quickly accessible.
Slide-away screens are simple,functional, and elegant, concealing thegalley if required and allowing crew discreetaccess whenever necessary. —A.H.
