Palumbo may not be a well-known builder stateside, but it has been operating two yards in Italy since 1967. It builds and refits a variety of vessels, ranging from ships to yachts, plus manufactures gantry cranes. For the past few months, its Naples facility has been focused on one of the latest megayachts to meet the RINA Green Plus class, the Columbus 199.
Measuring 60 meters (197 feet), the steel-hulled superyacht, slated for launch in 2012, rises five decks high. Hydro Tec, an Italy-based design firm that has collaborated with many yards worldwide, provided the naval architecture and exterior design, which embraces the sleek, streamlined look seen here. The full-displacement hull is fitted with a bulbous bow for better seakeeping. The build and design team anticipate a top speed of 17 knots thanks to twin MTU 16V 4000 M60 diesel engines. With speed dialed back to 15 knots, the Columbus 199 should see a 4,000-mile range; at 14 knots she should gain 1,000 more miles.
Palumbo is overseeing the interior, which includes six guest staterooms plus the owner’s suite. Instead of being on the main deck, the owner’s suite is aft on the same deck as the wheelhouse, providing excellent views and occupying the full beam. Two VIP staterooms are granted the space it would have taken on the main deck, while the rest of the guest cabins are below decks. An enclosed gym and an alfresco bar accompany teak-decked sunning space on the upper deck, one level above the owner’s suite. The ever-popular “beach club,” formed when the transom is lowered and the tender normally stowed inside is offloaded, can be set up with lounge chairs. Everyone is tended to by 13 crew and the captain, whose stateroom is just aft of the wheelhouse.
While the Columbus 199 won’t be ready until 2012, you can see her smaller sistership, the equally eco-friendly Columbus 177, soon. Commissioned by the same owner, the 177 is nearing completion at Palumbo. But if you’d rather see the Columbus 199 and do so sooner than launch date, you can buy her. She’s for sale for €32.5 million ($40.6 million).
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