THE S-FACTOR

The Azimut S6 express cruiser combines a markedly sleek Italian design aesthetic with a fun and sporty ride across the water.

It’s a foreshortened snub nose that increases the yacht’s interior volume while creating a longer waterline within a similar overall length when compared with other yachts in her class. The look is finished off with what Azimut calls a bow shield—a stainless-steel cap running down the stem that protects the bow from the anchor when hoisting—making this part of the yacht a key design element, as on all the Azimut S-series sport yachts. ¶ Putting the sport in this 59-foot sport yacht is a trio of 550 hp Volvo Penta IPS700 diesels matched to pod drives. We saw a top speed of 35 knots, with the motors burning a total of 90.2 gallons per hour. That equals a 239-nautical-mile range on a 686-gallon fuel tank with a 10 percent reserve. At 26.9 knots, fuel burn drops to 65 gph while range increases to 255 nm. At 19 knots, fuel burn is 39.3 gph and range ticks up to 300 nm. ¶ The S6’s performance is, in part, pure horsepower, but the yacht’s construction also plays a crucial role in delivering speed. She displaces about 65,000 pounds (one of her competitors, just 1 foot longer, is about 108,000 pounds). The S6’s hull is vacuum-infused with vinylester resin below the waterline and in selected areas exposed to weather, and carbon fiber is used in the hull and in what Azimut calls the tray, which is a grid of interlocking stringers bonded to the hull while it is still in the mold. That tray is used to place everything from bulkheads to engines. Carbon fiber in the vessel’s superstructure provides the strength that allows for the oversize diamond-shaped windows in the salon and topsides. ¶ Interior designer Francesco Guida, now on his second project with Azimut, also used carbon fiber. It’s a design element in the yacht’s counters and tabletops. In the cockpit, a U-shape dinette wraps around a carbon-fiber table that unfolds from cocktail size to 56 inches by 24 inches for alfresco dining. As part of the yacht’s coupe styling, the rooftop extends to shade this area while leaving the quadruple-wide lounge aft for sun worshippers. ¶ The salon, with a 55-inch

The Azimut Yachts S6, with an exterior by designer Stefano Righini, has what the builder calls a trapezoid bow.

In addition to catching the eye, the Azimut S6’s bow design creates internal volume. The bow cap is stainless steel.

From the carbon-fiber superstructure to the use of structural glass and oak woods, the Azimut S6 is a high-tech, contemporary yacht.