AZIMUT MAGELLANO 25M
The flagship of the Magellano range is a festival of brave design inside and out but there’s more to the 25 Metri than meets the eye
The flagship of the Magellano range is a luxury cruiser like no other as Jack Haines discovers on a memorable sea trial
There is a piece of design aboard the 25 Metri so effective that it’s a wonder you don’t see it more often. The simple act of twisting the cockpit furniture 90° so that the table and seating lies along the deck rather than across it is a stroke of genius that means everybody sitting at the dinette has a view out over the water. In the usual arrangement the people sitting on the bench that runs along the transom have to sit staring at the saloon doors rather than out to sea, which is surely the whole point of being out on the water in the first place? Another less simple design trick involves the transom lowering down to both expose the tender garage and create a fabulous extended bathing platform. In the process of lowering down into the water the platform reveals a transparent panel at the top of the transom which creates an infinity-like perspective from the end of the aft deck. Combine this with the elegant furniture, which thanks to being mounted on recessed legs appears to float above the deck, and the effect really is rather special.
The question is, do you choose to park yourself here, under the shelter of the flybridge overhang, or on the foredeck with its Portuguese bridge and squishy sofas that turn into sunpads by dropping the pair of tables onto the deck and slinging some equally sumptuous cushions on top? This is quite a spot; spacious, handsomely designed and complete with pop-up lights and speakers so the party can continue long after sundown.
Let’s not forget the flybridge either, topped with one of those strange slatted hardtops that, to my eye, relinquish valuable open space in search of a slightly more pleasing look when closed. Everything below it is very good, though. The low-slung chunky timber furniture, topped with more luxuriously upholstered cushions, wouldn’t look out of place in a Côte d’azur beach club and it’s served by a central bar with a beautiful Verde Alpi marble top, which repeats throughout the decadent interior.
It’s wonderful, as long as you like the colour green. Under the protection of the hard top is a dinette arranged around a teak table inset with yet more brushed marble opposite a weatherproof TV that pops out of its housing at the touch of a button so you can watch a film alfresco.
ELEGANCE ON A GRAND SCALE
This is not the first Magellano designed by superyacht supremo Ken Freivokh but it is the largest; the 25 Metri is the current flagship until the 30 Metri officially breaks cover. With over
80ft in length to play with and a 20ft beam, he had scale on his side and has created a machine that has just the right balance of modern express motor yacht with some delicious retro touches. It’s not easy to make a raised pilot house design look elegant but Freivokh has achieved it effortlessly. The rounded portholes and smatterings of timber and metalwork around the transom and bathing platform have introduced just the right amount of retro loveliness.
The inside is a slightly different story. It’s the first yacht interior that Italian designer and artist Vinenzo De Cotiis has done and he has not held back. It’s spectacularly different and bold but there will be few people who bisect the poles of love and hate when they step through the cockpit doors. De Cotiis is known for his love of working with glass fibre and this is evidenced in the highly polished glass fibre coffee tables, buffed to such a pebble-smooth sheen they look like marble. It’s an interior brimming with artistic flair, which bombards your senses and tricks the eye. Storage appears as if from nowhere behind curved pop-out pillars and the seat cushions of the irregularly shaped sofas pop up on hinges to reveal yet more space to store things.
The dining table, a statement focal point of the main deck, swings on its central pedestal so it can be arranged to run along the saloon or straddle across it. The curved walnut chairs are a restrained match to the vibrant green marble table top with polished brass highlights.
The deeper into the boat you go the more immersive the decor becomes. The master suite, amidships and stretched across the full 20ft beam, succumbs entirely to retro glamour and is a feast of soft white carpet, gold highlights and the sort of ribbed panelling you’d expect to see aboard an early 20th-century ocean liner. The split toilet and shower room bookend a pair of open plan his ‘n’
The low-slung furniture wouldn’t look out of place in a Côte d’azur beach club
hers sinks embedded in yet more Alpi Verde with individual mirrors suspended on gold poles. It sounds bling beyond words but the effect is really rather marvellous.
NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE
The use of space-saving V-drive shafts has allowed Azimut’s engineers to fit an awful lot into the lower deck. Not only the master suite and three guest cabins, including two ensuite doubles, but also a tender garage, the engineroom and, right forward, space for three crew members. Although there is a lot going on on this deck there isn’t a sense of compromise, all three guest cabins are spacious, well appointed and finished with the same sparkle and sense of fun as the master, if not quite the same level of luxuriousness.
For all its acres of sunbathing space and knock-your-socks-off interior there is more to the 25 Metri than its accommodation. With a Pierluigi Ausonio dualmode hull the yacht is designed to deliver a ‘best of both worlds’ cruising ability; comfortable and efficient at displacement speeds but with the power and dynamics to lift its skirt and run if the situation calls for it. There are two engine options, both from MAN and both monstrous 24.2-litre V12 diesels. Not engine options that scream ‘efficiency’ but keep it to 9 knots and thanks to an 8,000-litre fuel capacity the 25 Metri will reward you with a total fuel burn of just 52 litres per hour for a range of over 1,000nm with 20% safely in reserve. This would be your night passage speed; hand responsibility to the crew and get some sleep before waking in a new location. Azimut has thought long and hard about this scenario and mounted the master suite within a ‘floating’ capsule using elastic mounts to connect it to the floor, ceiling and bulkheads to insulate the space from vibration. The engines
The master suite is a feast of soft white carpet and glamorous gold highlights
and generators are also mounted on flexible joints for the same reason and the effect is astonishing – it’s so, so quiet on the move. I did most of my driving from the pilothouse, the position of choice to cover the hard yards where you have all of the boat’s systems in your eyeline. In here, you would have no idea that there were 24 cylinders and 1,800hp working away on the deck below. Though the steering is feathery light and direct for such a hefty craft, the combination of Humphree trim blades and stabiliser fins ensure that in hard turns there isn’t a hint of lean as she makes her way around. This, of course, is not a boat for twists and turns, it is a straight-line animal and the brilliant thing about the dual-mode hull is that there is no real evidence in terms of trim, comfort or noise that your speed is increasing. The revs and speed rise and the fuel economy plummets but you’d struggle to tell exactly what speed you are doing as you transition from displacement to planing speeds. It means you get into the habit of travelling at the speed that suits the conditions rather than aiming for particular rev or speed targets.
The 1,400hp motors of our test boat are the standard option with an upgrade to 1,550s available as an option. Given the type of cruising this boat is going to do, I don’t see a huge benefit in choosing the larger engines. You might gain a couple of knots
BELOW The transom panel lowers to create a bathing platform at the top end but the boat will still be most comfortable and efficient at the same speed so I’d stick with base motors and spend the money saved elsewhere. Eighteen knots feels the most natural ‘fast’ cruising speed and still returns a useful range of over 300 miles if you just want to get to the next destination.
The 25 Metri could comfortably be owner-run by an experienced hand but it’s a yacht that lends itself to some crew assistance. Because it’s so comfortable at slower speeds the owner can leave the passagemaking to a skipper and enjoy the multitude of outdoor lounging spaces with their guests even when the boat is on the move. The galley is tucked away out of sight on the main deck with direct access down a run of stairs to the crew accommodation and side door out onto the port deck, so the crew can make their way around the boat without walking through the saloon. Driving and running your own boat is a thrill for some but for those who don’t even want to think about it and would rather relax with some crew on board, the 25 Metri is very well set up to do this.
Azimut’s brave attitude towards interior design and collaborations with specialist designers is beginning to set the brand apart from established rivals. You could argue that going with such a unique style on the 25 Metri might limit the boat’s appeal more than a safer, more formulaic look. But the flipside is a craft that feels uniquely special precisely because it doesn’t follow the crowd or bend to current trends. Even putting that to one side there is so much else to admire about this yacht, not least its outstanding deck spaces and wonderfully serene cruising ability, be that at a trot or a canter.
CONTACT www.azimutyachts.com
This craft feels uniquely special precisely because it doesn’t follow the crowd or bend to current trends