SOLARIS 111
Solaris Yachts’ new flagship, the cover model for this issue of Supersail, is a performance pin-up. But on top of Cefea’s beamy, powerful, alluring lines, towering sailplan and ultra clean deck, there’s something else that surely grabs your attention – the sheer amount of space sculpted out of the aft section. Now consider that this is only the exterior portion of a vast owner’s area. The concept’s goal was to create the type of master cabin you might find on a mega motoryacht, a suite which links directly to its own private terrace on the sea. The result is nothing short of spectacular.
CEFEA was built for Luxemburg businessman and yachtsman Marc Giorgetti and named, like his previous Solaris 72DH, after his three children (using a combination of their names). Last year Giorgetti became the majority shareholder and president of Solaris Yachts.
His Solaris 111 is the first of a series of semi-custom high-performance superyachts by the Italian brand.
The lines are by its go-to designer Soto Acebal, while the exterior, interior and engineering was placed in the experienced hands of MYT Design’s Carlo Torre.
Light and fast but principally designed for cruising, CEFEA was built in prepreg carbon and epoxy at Performance Boats, the Forli facility Solaris bought in 2014. This composite specialist produced Wally Yachts over the last two decades, led by production manager Lorenzo Mascarucci, and has the new Wally 101 in build.
The Wally similarities don’t only lie with the construction and engineering or the aft terrace design. Think Wally’s style, performance and easy handling, but with a hefty measure of luxury and comfort added in.
As the pictures show, CEFEA sets a considerable amount of canvas, which includes a 650m2 main and self-tacking jib hoisted up a 50m Southern Spars high modulus mast. The key, though, with a yacht designed mainly for cruising is to make sure it’s practical to do so. Sheets
‘You can’t find another cabin like this on a boat this size’
and halyards are led under deck and Magictrim hydraulic pullers are used for the main and jib (a system also long favoured by Wally) – so as Mascarucci points out, you can ease sheets when reaching with no one needing to go near winches.
AND THEN IT HAPPENS
Torre told me how Solaris wanted a semi-custom platform at this size to appeal to clients who did not necessarily have the time or experience to start custom projects. A telescopic keel with no trunk helps allow the yard to adapt the layout easily.
The interior has a light, modern and relaxed feel, with warm materials and finishes and lots of natural and indirect light. There are two enormous guest cabins aft of the saloon (which include ensuites with twin basins and marbled showers). The mix of walnut trim, leather, fabrics and alcantara – not to mention the cashmere carpets – create a tactile finish.
And then it happens. Little can prepare you for entering the owner’s cabin – it’s certainly on a scale unlike anything we’ve seen before. The doors leading out to an aft terrace format has nods to the Wallys of the 1990s and 2000s, Tiketitan, Sensei and even the mighty Esense. But the crucial difference here is that CEFEA uses modern (delta style) hull shape to the utmost, positioning this cabin in the max beam of the boat.
“You can’t find another cabin like this on a boat this size,” Mascarucci reasons. Not only does the cabin itself boast nearly 40m2 in area, thanks to the astonishing beam, but at the push of a deckhead button the glass doors slide open and you’re straight onto another 40m2 section: the terrace complete with its inviting sunset loungers.
Most superyacht owners, whatever the size of boat, will always feel like they are sharing space with crew when they walk on deck/into the cockpit.
Instead, imagine waking up and breezing onto that sea terrace with a coffee and only the horizon to greet you.
‘The interior has a light, modern and relaxed feel’
It’s a design which enables a true sense of privacy.
A louvred headboard creates a privacy screen at the forward end of the master cabin and its island berth.
With nearly 8m of beam, there’s space for his and hers bathrooms, an office to one side of the berth and a sofa area the other.
The forward accommodation, beyond the raised saloon and dining area, comprises another twin guest cabin, and a ‘playroom’, an adaptable snug/games/mess zone. The galley and crew section comprises three cabins for the four or five permanent crew, plus a small laundry area with access to the low yet wide engine room.
Cefea’s commanding aesthetics are set off by the cool-looking coachroof with its tinted wraparound windows. The owner wanted that more classic style seen on his previous 72DH. But it’s the layout and space availabe which impresses as much. In short, thanks to the freeboard and beam, the accommodation and volume is more equivalent to a 130ft+ yacht.