FERRETTI 450
TESTED We join a cross-channel delivery cruise
Ferretti’s has been physically absent from our shores for some while. 2006 was the last year you’d have seen a Ferretti at a British boat show, London to be precise, even though its UK dealer Ventura has continued to represent the brand for years. But while the London show is no more, Ferretti is back. “Ferretti’s line up focuses strongly on the 70-100ft segment, with only the 550 dropping below that level. When the 450 was launched we realised that this would be an ideal UK boat,” says Mike Newton-woof of Ferretti dealer Ventura. In fact, it was three years before a 450 was sourced for the UK, so when MBY was invited to join this boat for its triumphant cross-channel return to the mainland, we jumped at the chance.
The first time I clap eyes on the boat is in St Helier Marina, Jersey. Finished in trademark Ferretti pale cream (Mike claims that cream withstands harsh Mediterranean sunshine better than white) it has a conservative cab-forward stance, short on foredeck with the raked windscreen pushed well toward the bow. Flush black window frames and tinted side glass give the appearance of a continuous band of glass that segues into black C pillars embossed with large, confident trademark Ferretti logos. It’s well proportioned, if not especially flamboyant given its Italian heritage. At least it won’t date quickly, and unlike many modern boats, it doesn’t look too high or bloated.
There’s some cool attention to detail too. Check out the cleats and fairleads on the foredeck. They’re made from identical stainless steel tubing curved into an L shape and paired together, angled outward to create cleats or inward to create perfectly matching fairleads. Head back aft along bulwarked side decks and you’ll pass another pair as spring cleats and a final pair tucked under (optional) lifting covers either side of the cockpit. Previous experience with a similar set up (Princess used to fit the lifting covers back in the the Noughties) suggests these can be a little less practical in use, but they do look good. Neat detailing runs to a boat hook slot built into the side deck step, a little like the umbrella holders in the doors of Rolls-royces.
The cockpit itself is unadventurous but high-sided and practical. Ferretti has resisted the temptation to add access to both sides – useful, but eating deeply into the amount of seating. Flybridge steps are old-school steep, but the flybridge itself is worth the climb for sheer acreage. There’s a sunpad next to the helm forward and a large sweep of seating around a table aft with a radar arch so low it’s below the level of the backrests. No cushions today, all exterior soft furnishings are packed and stowed down below in deference to the delivery trip we’re about to undertake from Jersey to Poole. What is evident is the lack of individual GRP mouldings, everything is built into the main moulds. Ferretti owns a 30-metre, 5-axis milling machine, so building large and complex moulds is not an issue.
RULE OF THIRDS
With the crew doing final checks I’ve just time to dive inside and take in the interior. No surprises to find a galley-aft layout but the headroom is better than I expected given that the 450 doesn’t look like a block of flats from the outside. Some cunning ceiling shaping is why – there’s a reason the sunpad is forward on the flybridge, it’s to allow headroom beneath as you step up from the galley to the saloon. Dropping down to the lower deck, the expected full beam master cabin is present and correct, but again with unexpectedly good headroom. Like the cabin above it, Ferretti has been very smart with the ceiling shape, pushing it up under the saloon seating on either side to create headroom next to the bed, then dropping the cabin floor deep into the hull in the centre to create headroom where there is no seating above to disappear into. It works well and there’s a decent ensuite too. Head forward and again, no surprise to find a centreline double bed with ensuite access to the day heads.
But there is a surprise between them – a massive surprise. Despite an LOA of 47ft 7in, there’s a third cabin, and it’s a good one. I can’t think of another genuinely sub 50ft aft cockpit flybridge boat that gives you a full beam master and a third cabin (everyone shouting ‘Princess 49’ – check its actual LOA). Inevitably it has bunks (this isn’t actually a TARDIS, although it’s doing a great impression of one) but they’re full length and there’s headroom right to the back of the cabin. There is a two-cabin version available, which uses that third cabin space to create a massive ensuite to the fore cabin, which in turn frees up space to extend the mid cabin ensuite. If you really don’t need a third cabin then it might make a viable alternative, but it seems a shame to lose this boat’s USP.
Another miracle of pod drive? Well, actually no. Lift a Ferretti 450 out of the water and you’ll find a pair of conventional shafts poking through the hull. Of course there’s no way you’ll get conventional shaft drive and that mid cabin, and lifting the engine hatch reveals the answer. The engines are set well aft but positioned back to front, sending drive forwards that is then reversed through vee drives to spin prop shafts under the engines rather than behind them. It explains how the mid cabin can be squeezed so far back, leaving space for cabin three. Cunning.
Engines are Cummins QSB 6.7; 480hp as standard, 550hp upgrades on the options list. We have the latter and they’re running. Lines are being slipped, it’s time to go.
Wriggling out of the tight confines of the marina (the boat had been at the Jersey Boat Show so was positioned right at the front) demonstrates the difference between shafts and pods. With no stern thruster, we don’t have quite the point-and-go ability of pods to simply slide sideways, but against that, the whole operation feels much calmer with less (in fact no) engine revving or churned up water as the pods fight each other to defy physics. As we slip out of the harbour entrance on a high tide there’s a stark reminder of the incredible tidal range of the Channel Islands – some of the biggest in the world. The tidal height indicator on the wall tops out at 38ft! Behind us, two Brig Eagle RIBS are leaving the show, also heading back across the Channel. Rather them than me in completely open boats – good luck guys.
We’ve got a southerly wind force three to four so it’s behind us once we get around La Corbière, a well marked outcrop of rock that denotes the very southwestern tip of Jersey. The approach to this is the only area that might get a little frisky, according to Malcolm Parris, owner of Jersey-based training company Le Mourierour and our skipper for the day. He’s right, but the 450 barely notices, ploughing steadfastly through at 20 knots with only a little spray across the windscreen as evidence of the chop we’re powering through.
We pass the tall white lighthouse, sat square on solid foreboding rock, swing onto a northerly heading and hit the autopilot. There’s little to do now beyond avoiding small islands and big ships. With the sea calming, power is increased till we’re cruising at 25 knots, a couple of knots of helpful tide adding another 2. It’s a great cruising speed – ground covering and effortless. Then Guy Adams from Wessex Marine barrels past in a Botnia Targa 37 also heading from the boat show back to Poole, and disappears into the distance ahead, reminding us that this is still a cruising boat, not a fast offshore passage-maker like a Botnia.
There’s another reminder in the seating layout. The helm is a generous single, you’d need snake hips and a ‘close working relationship’ to seat two here. So with four on board, a couple of us are lounging in the saloon and whoever is keeping the helmsman company is either stood next to the helm or perched uncomfortably on the dash, feet dangling in the companionway. That smaller
Targa 37 will have two proper forward-facing seats, but what
it won’t have is three decent cabins, two ensuites, a big saloon and a large galley. And ultimately, even on a long trip like this, if we were cruising on the boat we’d be at sea for four hours and then in a marina for at least 20, so away from fast commuters like the Botnia, focusing the layout in favour of comfortable living over comfortable passage making is not without logic.
And beyond the lack of surplus forward-facing seating at the helm, there is much to commend this boat as a passage maker. Most importantly, it’s quiet. With the doors closed, engine noise is present but far from intrusive, we’re able to chat comfortably. And the boat itself is soaking up distance effortlessly, back to 25 knots now we’re mid-channel with the tide on the beam, tracking straight and true in the way shaft drive boats do so well.
Having taken a stint on watch at the helm, I’m back in the saloon absorbing the ambience. The carpentry is anything you like, provided it’s Canaletto Walnut, an inoffensive shade
that goes with anything. And the fit and finish is excellent – there’s something to be said for buying the smallest boat in a range, it’s a little like buying an Aston Martin Vantage – it’s priced like a top of the range Mercedes, but it’s still an Aston. Only the barometer above the companionway jars – some idiot has fitted it at 120¡ from vertical. It’s an easy fix but its messing with my OCD!
SAFE PASSAGE
Four hours later we’re bearing down on Poole and it’s time for a quick drive to check out the handling, work out the performance figures and shout some more at my Gopro for the MBY video.
Although the flybridge sides are low, wrap-around back rails maintain the feeling that you’re sat in the boat, not on it. Those bigger engines mean that ambling onto the plane is simply a matter of setting the throttles. There’s no requirement to ‘give it a fistful’ to get it up and then back off. Top speed is about 30 knots and at 25 knots it’s quiet, with just a little resonance from the exhausts as the boat rolls gently in a beam sea. Give the wheel a spin and the boat turns faithfully rather than enthusiastically.
Playtime over, we amble into Poole, completely unfazed by our cross-channel trip and reminded of just how well a shaft drive flybridge boat like this can monster distances. The difference with the 450 is when you arrive and you’re able to take full advantage of how much space Ferretti have eked out of a sub-50ft boat. It really is a masterclass of packaging. CONTACT www.ferretti-yachts.com
We amble into Poole completely unfazed and reminded of just how well a shaft drive flybridge can monster distances