In 1958 a shipyard opened in Viareggio, the famed boatbuilding (and tourist) town along the northern Mediterranean coast of Italy. The best craftsmen of the time were making boats out of wood, so naturally this yard, intending to make a name for itself, did the same.
Fifty years later, San Lorenzo is still in business. It’s moved twice–first to La Spezia in 1999, then opening a new yard back in Viareggio in 2005–and it no longer builds wooden day cruisers. But one thing has remained constant: San Lorenzo is still firmly focused on being a major player.
That’s among the reasons why it’s throwing itself a birthday bash during the Monaco Yacht Show in about two weeks. Being held at the prestigious Monaco Yacht Club, the event will be a gathering of the yard’s principals as well as owners, designers, and of course media.
To see San Lorenzo’s mostly-megayacht lineup now, with hulls of either fiberglass or aluminum, it’s hard to imagine that in 1985, a “mere” 57-footer marked a major milestone: becoming its first fiberglass yacht. Since that time San Lorenzo has launched hundreds of yachts more, up to 40 meters LOA (131 feet, seen above). In fact, the yard says it’s launched 500 yachts in its 50-year history.
Of course, it’s not stopping there. The SD122, which splashed earlier this summer, is San Lorenzo’s first semidisplacement megayacht in excess of 40 meters, accommodating a party of 10. And on the drawing boards is a steel-hulled 44-meter (144-foot) yacht.
Knowing San Lorenzo, there will be plenty of fanfare, and probably some sort of announcement about future models, during the anniversary party. I’ll be attending the celebration, so I expect to have news for you shortly thereafter.
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