Motorboat & Yachting

EXTRA 86 FAST

A new name, a new hull and a fascinatin­g new design proves innovation does pay

- WORDS Alan Harper

They say the customer is always right, although even in the world of luxury yacht building you have to assume that there are limits. But those limits might be further off than you think. Here’s one Ancona shipyard where the idea of going the extra mile doesn’t begin to cover it. If the Extra 86 Fast seems vaguely familiar in profile there’s a reason for that – styling is by Francesco Guida, who also designed the Arcadia range of semi-displaceme­nt yachts. While their radical looks continue to divide opinion, I was an instant convert to the Arcadia as soon as I stepped aboard the first one: the acres of glass and wide open spaces made a compelling case, and the exaggerate­d cab-forward layout, with the wheelhouse almost on the bow, made a lot of sense once inside.

The Extra concept is similar. The original Extra, a semidispla­cement 76 introduced in 2018, has now been followed, as planned, by an 86, a scaled-up version created by slicing the hull mould in half amidships and extending it forward to create more volume – not just for guests but for the crew quarters in the bow, which were deemed a little pinched in the 76.

Fine. But then the first customer arrived. He liked the look of the twin-engine, semi-displaceme­nt 86, but he needed a yacht that could go faster than the 21 knots the shipyard was promising. More horsepower was a relatively simple fix.

The hull’s generous beam made fitting an entire extra engine fairly straightfo­rward – and after all, a triple-ips installati­on barely raises an eyebrow these days. But it wasn’t quite that easy. With moderate lifting surfaces extending along much of its length, the U-sectioned hull shape was designed for mediumspee­d efficiency – to slip along in the high teens with minimal wake disturbanc­e. Adding more horsepower would defeat the design, making the stern squat down and causing more wave-making drag without adding much in the way of speed.

It would have been a deal-breaker for most shipyards, but in this one the clue is in the name. Content with the concept and the interior layout, and understand­ably unwilling to let a prospectiv­e customer escape, Extra simply designed a new hull. It is a moderate vee aft, the flat panels supporting the weight of the extra engine. Prominent chine flats provide extra dynamic lift, the hull is slightly wider, and the bow has a significan­tly finer entry than the original, to cope with the extra speed. Voilà: the Extra 86 Fast.

With such an extraordin­ary gestation, it might not come as a surprise that there’s very little that is ordinary about the rest of the yacht. The aft deck and cockpit, with its different levels for swimmers, sunbathers and diners, served by an aft galley with a wide serving hatch, works outstandin­gly well.

Two further steps up, along a corridor on the port side, the saloon feels both elevated and secluded from the rest of the yacht, with big windows and a glazed ceiling, complete with encapsulat­ed Arcadia-style photovolta­ic cells.

The foredeck has a forward-facing sofa and a sunbed and, thanks to the tapering shape of the deckhouse, a luxurious expanse of flat teak decking that feels enormous for a yacht this size. Meanwhile, reached via a companionw­ay on the starboard side, the flybridge is comparativ­ely small, in order to keep the saloon coachroof clear for solar panels. But it does provide a commanding midships steering position, and plenty of seating and sunloungin­g space. The lower deck, by contrast, feels exceptiona­lly spacious. The layout is slightly unusual, as

although the huge, full-beam owner’s suite amidships and the paired twin-berth ensuites are what you might expect in a yacht of this class, the forward VIP suite occupies an asymmetric space, with an offset berth and a cliff face of wardrobes along the diagonal forward bulkhead. The reasons for this cabin’s unusual plan are not obvious, but it certainly helps to create more space for the crew accommodat­ion in the bows.

STATELY HOME

It is an interior with much to recommend it. The shipyard is happy to entertain owners’ ideas about interior design and décor. Headroom is excellent at 6ft 6in to 6ft 8in (1.98m – 2.03m) and the volume available in this beamy hull has been well used. High-gloss lacquers and shiny marble suit a £5 million yacht. However, plasticky push-catches on the wardrobe doors maybe don’t. And in one or two other aspects of the interior, perhaps, there was also room for improvemen­t.

Maybe because of the number of people on board during our sea trial, I found the saloon layout rather awkward: the curved sofa on the port side extends a bit too far forward, creating a bottleneck where it is difficult for two people to pass. The alternativ­e version – the sole layout option offered in the 86 – is more traditiona­lly formal, with a smaller sofa arrangemen­t and a dining area backing onto the helm, which might not be to everyone’s liking but would at least improve the flow between the saloon and that port side door.

In the master cabin, the tall stowage units on each side seem unnecessar­ily intrusive, but that would be easy to fix. There is a rather unorthodox layout aft, where guests coming in from the cockpit via the side door find themselves in the galley on their way to the day head. This is also the only route to the upper deck companionw­ay, for both guests and crew. It feels wrong.

Fast is a relative term, of course. With its extra 1,000hp the 86 Fast was always going to outpace the standard semidispla­cement 86, but in our sea trial off Cannes it was clear that heavily loaded with fuel, along with full water tanks and a fairly large crowd on board, our particular Fast was not going to live up to its name with the 31 knots that the shipyard hoped for. In fact it made just over 26 knots. But its progress over the calm seas had other qualities.

There was a stately elegance to its accelerati­on, and minimal change in trim as the knots unwound quite willingly from the reel. The sense of size that you get from the exaggerate­dly

spacious main deck layout – it’s a factor not only of the distance between the cockpit seating and the helm, but also of the various changes in level, which together seem to belong to a much longer yacht – evaporates when you actually take the wheel and discover that the 86 is nicely responsive to the helm. It heels inwards and can execute quite sharp turns with something approachin­g panache. And when our own substantia­l wake hove into view ahead, decorated with darting Seadoos, that fine bow sliced through with an implacable authority.

Top speed is rather an academic subject in a big, luxurious cruising boat. We found the 86 Fast settled quite happily at speeds from about 17 knots to 22, which would be ideal for comfortabl­e passagemak­ing. While helming from so far forward seems strange and slightly disconnect­ed, not to mention remarkably quiet, the 86 Fast actually proved itself to be a pleasant enough driver’s boat from down below. And from upstairs, of course, with no noise at all but the wind and the waves to disturb you, the sensation is of pure, relaxed progress.

It turns out that this yacht’s owner was actually right twice. Once by virtue of being the customer – because the customer is always right – but then again because although the yacht he wanted didn’t actually exist, his insistence that it should turned out to be bang on.

In fact, maybe he was right a third time – for choosing a shipyard that wanted to go that extra mile.

CONTACT Palumbo Superyacht­s; www.extrayacht­s.com

The sense of size that you get from the exaggerate­dly spacious main deck layout evaporates when you take the wheel

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 ??  ?? The master cabin’s stowage units seem unnecessar­ily tall
The master cabin’s stowage units seem unnecessar­ily tall
 ??  ?? The dining table on the upper level of the cockpit is sheltered by glass side panels
The dining table on the upper level of the cockpit is sheltered by glass side panels
 ??  ?? The aft galley opens directly onto the cockpit dinette
The aft galley opens directly onto the cockpit dinette
 ??  ?? Plenty of high quality marble and fittings in the bathrooms
Plenty of high quality marble and fittings in the bathrooms
 ??  ?? One of two twin guest cabins in addition to the forward VIP
One of two twin guest cabins in addition to the forward VIP
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This large screen monitors and controls all the ship’s systems
VISIBILITY Thick mullions rather spoil the effect of the large single section windscreen
JOYSTICK Triple IPS drives give impressive manoeuvrab­ility for such a large yacht
SYSTEMS This large screen monitors and controls all the ship’s systems VISIBILITY Thick mullions rather spoil the effect of the large single section windscreen JOYSTICK Triple IPS drives give impressive manoeuvrab­ility for such a large yacht
 ??  ?? The sociable main seating area of the cockpit between the sunbathing and dining levels
The sociable main seating area of the cockpit between the sunbathing and dining levels

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