UPDATE, DECEMBER 5, 2016: A Canadian couple now owns the first Wider 150. They plan to christen her Bartali, following some interior tailoring to take place at the yard. According to Tilli Antonelli, CEO and founder of Wider, they particularly liked the tender-garage-turned-beach-club and the diesel-electric propulsion system.
Read on for our original article.
ALL PHOTOS: Jeff Brown
These days, the yachting experience is all about making a closer connection between guests and the water. Windows run floor to ceiling. Entire walls are made of glass and slide open to bring the outside in. Terraces fold down, too. Each of these concepts, and more, come together aboard the Wider 150, the first megayacht from Wider Yachts, present at this week’s Monaco Yacht Show. While you may have seen some of the features before, some originated with her design, by Fulvio di Simoni. Additional experience-enhancing amenities put her in a class by herself.
One such amenity is the propulsion system. Most owners don’t pay much mind to the powerplants, content instead with what their captains or project managers recommend. And, typically the recommendation is traditional diesel power. Shipyards that create a concept to bring to market typically go with that, too. Not Wider. True, it did tap into the growing desire for better fuel economy, range, and sound and vibration control. But, it did so by selecting diesel-electric power. No other 151-foot (46-meter) megayacht today has this.
The technology is long proven to be more fuel efficient. Wider say that the 150 can run on battery power alone (a.k.a. zero-emission mode) at 5 knots. She can use just the batteries at night, too, for the hotel load, rather than gensets. When it’s time to cruise, the Wider 150 reportedly sees a 15-knot top end. Along with azimuthing pods, the system permits better maneuverability.
The primary experience-enhancing amenities aboard the Wider 150 are the myriad opening hatches (above). Like a floating jewelry box, she reveals hidden treasures along her decks. At the waterline, the beach club comes into view when three partitions (two side, one aft) fold down. The Wider 150 was among the first megayachts to incorporate this concept, in fact. Comprising 969 square feet (90 square meters), her beach club additionally rivals ones aboard far larger yachts. Guests sun themselves on the side platforms, or swim laps in the 23-foot-long (7-meter-long) pool.
The main deck, meanwhile, is equally amenable to transforming. Sliding glass in the saloon makes the area open air. The master suite, an enviable 807 square feet (75 square meters), has a fold-down balcony. While some term this a “sea terrace,” it’s not a marketing buzzword for this megayacht. It measures 43 square feet (4 square meters), enough for a table and chairs for breakfast, evenings at anchor, and more.
Further impressive for her LOA: the tender bay (above). Indeed, the Wider 150 can hold one of her smaller sisters, a Wider 32, in here. That’s larger than the toys stowed inside other yachts in this size category. If you’re getting the impression that the yacht, and Wider, strive to achieve what others don’t dream about, you’re on the right path.
Enjoy this armchair tour:
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