SEMI CUSTOM CLASS

THE 70-90FT SEMI-CUSTOM SECTOR IS BOOMING. TOBY HODGES EXPLORES SOME OF THE HOTTEST NEW DESIGNS BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN PRODUCTION YACHTS AND SUPERYACHTS

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A bubble has appeared, the rise of a buoyant large yacht market sector that’s proving difficult to label. It typically caters for those who are looking for extra size, space and speed, who are happy to sail with a professional crew, but who don’t want the risk or expense associated with going to a full custom/ superyacht size (just yet). It has resulted in a surge in the 70-90ft semi-custom yacht scene.

From the big production yards, Nautor Swan and Oyster are perhaps the most successful long-term players in this area with model sizes across a wide range. And while some brands solely specialise in this sector, such as Michael Schmidt’s Y Yachts and CNB, look at the rise of the Italian 70-something-footers. From Grand Soleil, Solaris, Ice Yachts, Advanced Yachts and Mylius, these are performance cruisers with serious pin-up appeal.

Those seeking large multihulls have an equal surfeit of choice, with Lagoon’s Seventy7, the new Fountaine Pajot 80 due to launch, and a stream of 60 to 80-footers from Sunreef. At the top end of the performance and quality scale Gunboat is launching its first 80 this season, while HH splashes its flagship 88. These are big boats for big bucks and seriously big appeal – we will look at these catamarans in more detail next month in our Multihull special.

The following pages explore some of the latest, supremely cool monohull designs in this... let’s call them ‘grand touring’... size bracket.

GRAND SOLEIL
72 PANTAREI