Australian yacht builder Riviera will introduce its latest model to the North American yachting audience during the 2024 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. The 6800 Sport Yacht Platinum Edition will be part of Riviera’s 11-model showcase.

Following three years of development, the Riviera design group—in collaboration with superyacht designer Luca Vallebona—have created this series’ flagship. It features well-defined areas for guest enjoyment, from the foredeck to the protected aft deck and salon. The stern has an electro-hydraulic, articulating swim platform that morphs into steps which can be lowered below the water or raised above to match the level of dock or quay, with aft wing doors on either side as well. Snorkeling, diving, paddleboarding and fishing enthusiasts will find stowage for watersports gear in the tender garage, and there’s also a tender cradle and electric winch system.

The aft deck is the entertaining and dining center, with an extended hardtop providing all-weather protection. A guest lounge extends across the width of the transom; forward to port is an L-shaped lounge dining area with folding teak table. This area also has an entertainer’s galley with a grill and hotplate, exhaust fan, two drawer fridges, an ice maker, stainless-steel sink with a mixer and solid-surface benchtop. An LED TV folds down from the hardtop.

The galley window lowers with the push of a button to connect the salon and aft deck. The U-shaped galley is outfitted with all the requisite meal-prep appliances and stowage for extended cruising. Forward of the galley to port is a U-shaped lounge with matching ottomans, along with a handcrafted solid-wood table that folds out from the lounge for dining inside. The salon also has a very practical starboard door for foredeck access to tend to mooring lines when short-handed cruising.

The 6800 Platinum Edition has  four staterooms and three heads belowdecks, plus a utility/crew cabin. The full-beam master has a walkaround king-size berth while the VIP forward has a queen berth. The portside guest stateroom has twin berths that slide together for a single berth  while the starboard guest stateroom adds two adult-sized single berths overlapping at 90 degrees. This can also be laid out as a media room to entertain young children. Finally, there are crew quarters which can also be used for laundry or utility as needed. 

Access to the full-height engine room is via a watertight door from the utility cabin aft of the master stateroom, or through a lift-up door on the transom. Standard power is twin 1,000 hp Volvo Penta D13 IPS 1350s.

Quick Specifications

• Length Overall: 72’9”
• Beam: 18’3”
• Draft: 5’5”
• Displacement: 81,791 lb.
• Fuel Capacity: 1,189 gal.
• Freshwater Capacity: 211 gal.

The post Riviera to Unveil 6800 Sport Yacht at Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show appeared first on Yachting.

Heesen Yachts in the Netherlands is revealing details about Santosha, a 187-footer that is the first hull in a new class of high-speed aluminum builds from the Dutch shipyard.

Previously known as Project Akira, this yacht’s design was first revealed at the 2019 Monaco Yacht Show. Heesen’s team then began construction of the yacht on spec, with delivery expected this autumn.

The owners who purchased the build took the interior design in a direction different from what Heesen originally planned. The yard worked with interior designer Harrison Eidsgaard to include sustainable materials—including recycled wood, performance leather and “art silk” carpets—along with what Heesen calls “a carefully curated art display” on board.

Peter Wilson, who is acting as the owners’ representative, stated in a press release: “Our collaboration with Heesen on this project has yielded an excellent result. Collectively, we have been working as a cohesive team, with each party doing their utmost to achieve a world-class superyacht—one that is distinct from her peers. This was our second project with Heesen, and we look forward to many more in the future. Once delivered, I have no doubt that the clients will enjoy Santosha to her fullest.”

Some additional details about Santosha that Heesen just revealed include accommodations for 12 guests in six staterooms, a glass elevator, a 375-square-foot beach club, and a master bathroom inspired by the Garden of Eden, including a bas-relief snake. Heesen describes the master suite as an “owners’ apartment” that’s 750 square feet in size with a study.

Exterior design on this yacht is by Omega Architects. Heesen is projecting a 22-knot top speed. Range is expected to be 3,900 nautical miles at 13 knots. Gross tonnage is 780. The power package is twin MTU 16V 4000 M65L engines.

To allow for shallow-water cruising in regions including the Bahamas, draft on Santosha is about 7½ feet.

“Santosha is a yacht designed for those who appreciate the finer things in life, combining elegance with practicality and meticulous attention to detail with a relaxed ambience,” Heesen’s chief commercial officer, Mark Cavendish, stated in a press release:. “It stands as a true testament to Heesen Yachts’ commitment to excellence and innovation in yacht building.”

What does Santosha mean? The yacht’s name is Sanskrit and serves as a reminder to “remain happy under any circumstances or be contented with what we can achieve,” according to the shipyard. A lotus will be the yacht’s logo.

Take the next step: click over to heesenyachts.com

The post Heesen Reveals “Santosha” Details appeared first on Yachting.

Azimut Yachts in Italy has launched the Fly 62, the eighth model in its range of Fly yachts that spans from 50 to 83 feet long.

The Fly 62—which has a length overall of 63 feet, 8 inches—is scheduled to make its public debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival, which is set for September 10-15 in France.

Azimut says this model’s key feature is a beach cockpit with a transom that opens outward, lowering a sofa and creating a sunbathing area so close to the water “that is unique for a yacht in this segment.”

Additional guest seating is in what’s considered the traditional cockpit space, with shade from the upper deck’s overhang. The upper deck also has guest relaxation areas that are in the sun and shade, in addition to yet another outdoor zone far forward on the main deck that is completely open.

Exterior design is by Alberto Mancini, with the superstructure volume increasing toward the bow. This choice allowed the beach cockpit area to be developed while maintaining overall sporty styling. Mancini also designed the new hardtop, with an eye toward what Azimut calls “hyper-modern lines” that complement the horizontal hull windows.

Interiors on the Azimut Fly 62 are by architect Fabio Fantolino, marking his second project with the shipyard. Fantolino’s goal was to create open spaces that are free of visual obstacles. Renderings from the builder show a combination of white and light neutral tones in the standard décor, with substantial glazing on the main deck that allows for broad views of the outdoors.

Power on this yacht is a pair of 900-horsepower Volvo Penta IPS1200s. Azimut says the maximum speed will be 32 knots, giving the Fly 62 plenty of oomph to cover ambitious itineraries.

Draft is 3 feet, 5 inches, which is low enough to allow for skinny-water cruising.

Azimut is expanding its offerings in Spain: The shipyard also just announced the opening of two Grande Boutiques in Spain, one in Palma de Mallorca and the other in Madrid. As part of this expansion, the locations will offer personal service to owners of Azimut’s Grande Series, which includes models from 85 to 144 feet long. “The Azimut Grande collection is experiencing a wave of great fortune in Spain,” according to the builder. “The recent delivery of a Grande trideck in the Balearics and of a Grande 27m in collaboration with Marina Estrella are testaments to this success.”

Take the next step: go to azimutyachts.com

The post Azimut Launches the Fly 62 appeared first on Yachting.

If ever there were an aptly named yacht, it’s the Sunseeker Predator 75. At rest, it has the purposeful look of a raptor straight from Jurassic Park. A striking midnight-gray hull and rakish lines only add to this effect.

As the sound of turbos spooled up on the optional 1,900 hp MAN V-12s (1,550s are standard), I couldn’t wait to see what this yacht could do. Sunseeker’s captain grabbed a handful of throttles and shoved them to the pins. We shot out of the inlet at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as though we had launched from a slingshot. The Predator 75 with this engine package is capable of 40 knots in decent conditions, which we didn’t have; the Gulf Stream was delivering an endless chain of 3- and 4-footers, so the best we saw was 33 knots. But the yacht seemed as though it had seen prey on the horizon, and it shrugged off the square-edged seas with impunity.

Then I realized that Sunseekers are built on the edge of the English Channel, whose seas the Gulf Stream can’t touch for being just plain ugly. The yacht was leveraging its hull form’s 20-degree transom deadrise and fine entry to slice and dice our way through. The captain used the windshield wipers only once, after a particularly big hole in the ocean.

Also notable is that the Predator 75 is more than just quick and seaworthy. It is luxurious and well laid out for entertaining and cruising. Guests can step aboard the hydraulic swim platform, pass the transom garage that conceals a Williams SportJet 395, and ascend gentle stairs to each side. The cockpit fairly shouts entertaining, with a sun pad and a wraparound settee with a high-low table for alfresco dining. Opposite are an electric barbecue, fridge and ice maker, so nobody has to use the galley to prepare grilled delicacies or access cold beverages.

The door from the cockpit to the salon is a surprise: It slides easily to starboard and then, poof, the door and window above it slide down electrically, creating a huge dayboat nonstop from the helm to the transom. Need more fresh air? Open the six-panel sunroof for a salty breeze. The entire interior feels open, in this case with a silver-oak interior and whitewashed oak soles, making for a modern look with easy cleanup.

Another carbon-fiber high-low table is inside the salon, wrapped by a settee to create an entertainment area with a 55-inch pop-up TV opposite. Another settee wraps around next to the helm, allowing guests a view of the action as well as spectacular 360-degree views through the oversize windows lining the salon.

The skipper has a pair of stitched Italian leather, fully adjustable electric seats abaft a black dash with 16-inch Garmin monitors. A pantograph door gives quick access to the side deck. The Sunseeker Predator 75 that I got aboard had Side-Power bow and stern thrusters, and Side-Power stabilizer fins. Running beam-to-seas with the fins on, the Predator 75 was rock-solid. Even Aunt Edna wouldn’t be bothered by the motion.

A galley is at the base of the stairs from the salon, with a four-burner Miele cooktop, a Vitrifrigo home-size fridge and two freezer drawers. Nearby is a 33-bottle wine chiller. I admit that I’m not a fan of galley-down layouts, but in this case, Sunseeker left the galley open to the windshield above, creating an airy and bright atrium effect. An L-shaped dinette is just forward of the galley, in a spot that would serve nicely for morning coffee and croissants before heading out.

The Predator 75 that I got aboard had the three-stateroom layout, which is nice. Owners can trade away the dinette by the galley if they want to add a fourth guest stateroom. On this three-stateroom setup, the owner’s space spans the full 17-foot-8-inch beam and has hullside windows to create a voluminous feel. The berth is nearly king-size with full walk-around real estate. A lounge to port invites savoring a spy novel, while a bureau to starboard includes a tidy vanity with a hidden stool. The owners also have a walk-in closet, twin nightstands with drawers, and an en suite head with a stall shower.

Forward, the VIP stateroom has an island queen-plus berth, a private head with a shower, and a vanity with a stool. Between these two staterooms is a guest stateroom with twin berths that slide together into a double. This stateroom has direct access to the day head, also equipped with a stall shower.

A twin-berth crew cabin is accessed from the transom and has its own head and shower. This can also be a great place for teenagers who want to play music.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention the foredeck of the Predator 75, which begs for entertaining at anchor. It has a sun pad and alfresco dining around a U-shaped settee with a table that seats eight. Access to the bow is via wide side decks made even more secure with high coamings topped by sturdy, welded rails.

The Sunseeker Predator 75 is a yacht designed for maximum entertaining inside and out. And like a true predator, it has enough speed to run down anything on the horizon.

Tailored-Fit Tender

The Williams SportJet 395 and the Sunseeker Predator 75’s tender garage are designed to go together. This 12-foot-8-inch RIB can carry five passengers on 40-knot adventures. Powered by a 90 hp Rotax Ace engine, the tender has a towing post for water toys. The bow has automatic deflation and inflation to let it slide into the tender garage.

Big Iron

When introduced for the luxury yacht market, MAN’s V12-1900 was the most powerful high-speed four-stroke diesel in the world. Its compact size is thanks to a redesign of the injection and cooling systems from the company’s truck-bus series MAN V-12. The turbocharger has an air intercooler, and the engine is noted for quick throttle response and Environmental Protection Agency Tier 3 emissions quality.

Take the next step: sunseeker.com

The post Sunseeker Predator 75 Reviewed appeared first on Yachting.

The Colombo 25 Super Indios E is an electrified version of the builder’s elegant 25-foot offering. It has a protected cockpit, a C-shaped settee and a sun-worshiping deck. The boat is propelled by two 35-kilowatt electric motors powered by a 72-kilowatt-hour battery; this combination yields 20 to 90 miles of range, depending on the skipper’s throttle-control habits.

Whom It’s For: Anyone who values near-silent and emissions-free boating.

Picture This: You’re entertaining friends at your summer place in Bar Harbor, Maine, and they’ve never seen Mount Desert Island. So, you load up your Colombo 25 Super Indios E and quietly cruise Somes Sound, stopping at Beal’s Lobster Pier in Southwest Harbor for lobstah rolls. You show off Otter Cliffs on the way home before delivering a safe and memorable view of Thunder Hole.    

Take the next step: colomboboats.it

The post Meet the Emissions-Free Colombo 25 Super Indios E appeared first on Yachting.

When it comes to insurance costs, boaters who fish offshore are learning that extra outboards feed into a stereotype.

“You’re expected to go fast and run the boat like an idiot,” says Tim Derrico, director of sales at HMY. “If you buy an upper-30- to 50-foot center-console fishing boat—especially the fishing boats, more than the cruising boats—they figure you’re going to run offshore and go fast to get where you want to go. You can get insurance, but it’s challenging.”

The difficulty with finding affordable policies has become so acute that insurers are now suggesting that some boat owners forgo windstorm coverage. The logic is that if the owner is well-off enough to pay cash for the boat, then he’s also in a position to self-insure and have a captain with a solid hurricane plan to get out of the way of storms.

“You can cut your insurance in half,” Derrico says. “They’re going to require you to have a hurricane plan, so have that plan anyhow. Just make sure you can get the boat to a safe place where you’re not going to be subject to direct wind or storm surge. Worst case, maybe you get a little dock rash or break some antennas or bend your riggers.”

Other owners are reducing insurance costs by purchasing smaller boats, especially in areas where insurers see the most risk from big storms. “In Florida, for sure,” he says. “You can sell a 60-foot boat in Florida, and the insurance would cost you five times as much as the same boat in New York or Connecticut.”

Anyone shopping for a boat, Derrico adds, should look into insurance costs before anything else: “When you’re ready to buy another boat, on top of the list, the first thing you start dealing with should be insurance.”

Safe Space: How to Be Prepared

Insurers recommend that boat owners haul out their boats, if at all possible, ahead of an incoming storm. Of course, with a major storm, this means there’s usually a crush of people trying to get haulout services at the same time. The best-prepared boat owners prepay to reserve the service, or for a space at an upriver marina or canal considered a good hurricane hole. It’s important to do what the policy requires; insurers will hold a boat owner to a written hurricane plan.

The post Offshore Fishing Boats and Insurance Prices appeared first on Yachting.

Princess Yachts’ Y Class flagship, the Y95, is defined by performance, first-rate finishes and ever-flowing lines. An eye-turner at the docks, the Y95 maintains a stout yet relatively sporty profile from bow to stern, framing the largest hull window ever installed on a Princess.

The builder drew inspiration from its Y85 and X95 models while designing the Y95. “The Y95 builds on the best attributes of the X Class, appealing to our heartland, with a strong focus on elegant design and modern marine life,” says Antony Sheriff, executive chairman of Princess Yachts. “The Y95’s design is a classic example of form and function that beautifully comes together to create our largest yacht.”

Bernard Olesinski, Princess Yachts’ longtime naval architect, developed the Y95’s wave-piercing hull form. Italian design house Pininfarina helped create the interior and exterior spaces.

Notable outdoor entertainment spaces on the Y95 include multiple areas on the flybridge, the cockpit’s alfresco dining area, and the foredeck’s two lounge pads and forward-facing settee. When it’s time for a break from swimming and playing with the water toys, hop onto the hydraulic swim platform, open the transom door and step down into the cozy beach club with a C-shaped dinette, an L-shaped wet bar and a flat-screen TV.

The salon has a conventional layout with the lounge aft and formal dining forward. The furniture placement and nearly sole-to-ceiling windows are intended to keep guests connected with the sea. Facing sofas should allow for easy conversation and unobstructed views.

For the times when evenings on the water come to an end, accommodations include an on-deck owner’s stateroom and four belowdecks guest staterooms, all en suite. The owner’s space has a king berth, a settee to starboard and a desk to port. Belowdecks, a full-beam amidships stateroom creates an owner’s-level experience for VIPs with a king berth, settee and desk. The forepeak stateroom has a queen berth. The final two guest staterooms split the centerline abaft the forepeak stateroom, which has twin berths.

The Y95 is powered by twin 2,000 hp MAN V-12 diesels, giving it a reported 21- to 23-knot top hop. According to the builder, the Princess Y95 has a maximum range of more than 1,000 nautical miles at its 12- to 14-knot cruising speed.  

Take the next step: princessyachts.com

The post Discover the Princess Yachts Y95 appeared first on Yachting.