Azimut Grande 95RPH

CAPRIO’S FIRST IMPRESSION: Of course the Azimut Grande 95RPH is a large yacht, but her designers have created the illusion of a sleek, low profile via clever details and graceful shapes. One thing’s for sure: Owners will be unable to enter a harbor unnoticed.

Azimut’s recently launched Grande 95RPH (raised pilothouse) is the latest addition to the Grande fleet. The design team’s goal was to make room for an owner’s stateroom on the main deck, which increases the amount of square footage dedicated to the guest quarters below, without compromising the Grande family look. Exterior designer Stefano Righini accomplished this goal by creating a half-deck atop the main deck and moving the inside helm to the new space.

Excessive height usually condemns a yacht to aesthetic mediocrity, but Righini would have none of that. He drew a pilothouse that closely resembles the roofline of a Ferrari 458 Italia—as sleek as you please and quite racy.

The lucky owner of a 95RPH gets a palatial stateroom forward on the main deck. Styled in a warmly contemporary mode by longtime Azimut partner Studio Salvagni Architetti, this cabin spans the full width of the superstructure. A kingsize berth on the centerline dominates the sleeping area. Two barrel chairs, with a small round table between them, fill the port side. A large credenza is opposite the foot of the berth and a mirror above it increases the feeling of space and reflects the natural light flooding through the large side windows. Abaft the berth is a dressing room and two hanging lockers. The head occupies a spacious area forward.

Guests are lucky too. Each of the mirror-image VIP staterooms amidships on the lower deck has a queen-size island berth, and a large head aft. Two double staterooms are forward of the foyer, and crew’s quarters are forward of those, separated by a bulkhead.

On the main deck, the Grande 95RPH has a wonderfully bright and inviting saloon off the afterdeck. Forward is a lovely dining area for ten. Huge windows give the occupants an excellent view of the yacht’s surroundings.

Azimut Yachts, +39 011 93 161; www.azimutyachts.com; MarineMax, 888-429-6812; www.marinemax.com

LOA: 93'11" BEAM: 22'9" DRAFT: 6'9" (FULL LOAD) DISPL.: 110 TONS (FULL LOAD) FUEL: 3,170 GAL. WATER: 528 GAL. POWER: 2/2,200-HP MTU 16V2000 M84 DIESELS CRUISE SPEED: 20 KNOTS (HALF LOAD) TOP SPEED: 26.5 KNOTS PRICE: UPON REQUEST