Usually when a yacht owner buys a shipyard, the yard is in financial straits and unable to complete the client’s project. Rarely, if ever, do you hear of owners buying property to start a shipyard and get into the yacht-building business. But that’s how China-based IAG Yachts started about three years ago, with the vision of bringing quality design to the marketplace at attractive prices. The yard founders also recognized that good looks alone wouldn’t work, so they tapped the expertise of experienced designers and consultants. The first launch resulting from IAG Yachts’ efforts, the 127-foot (38.8-meter) all-fiberglass Primadonna, shows some lessons learned well.
Take, for example, the engine room. Sight gauges for fuel have extra-large numerals, and each of the twin 1,800-hp Caterpillar powerplants have four-sided access. Similar-size offerings from other builders don’t always provide all-around movement. In addition, the air-conditioning and watermaking equipment are in the lazarette, rather than crammed into the engine compartment.
The crew’s quarters are also well arranged. A stairwell from the galley leads down to four cabins for them, with a laundry area at the stairs’ base. An extra cold room is opposite the laundry, so it’s within easy access of the galley. Each of the crew bunk staterooms are of a good size, as is the captain’s stateroom aft of the wheelhouse above (though it lacks a window, something future 127s can and should certainly have). The yard’s craftspeople learned not just how to arrange these spaces but also engineer them from Andrea Nicolai, who previously worked with Baglietto.
Nicolai’s influence is further seen in the owner and guest spaces. They’re of the level and finish you’d expect of a semi-custom yacht. (IAG Yachts is offering future 127s with engineering and machinery set but interiors open to personalization.) Oak and wenge wood paneling flows from the saloon and dining area through to the full-beam master suite forward (above). A nice touch here is the skylight above the bed. At the flick of a switch, it can become opaque. The bedroom also contains a small seating area, ideal for morning coffee, and a separate office. The four guest staterooms below decks and a VIP stateroom just forward of the skylounge are also outfitted with wenge and oak, plus bamboo. Primadonna was built with charter in mind, and the layout would certainly accommodate it. (The yacht is classed to RINA for unrestricted navigation and further is MCA compliant.)
Whether guests opt for meals mostly out on deck or in the formal dining area, they should sneak a peek in the galley. There, a corner settee and table for the crew’s meals is also a good spot to talk with the chef as he or she prepares platters on the central island.
IAG Yachts sees the most potential for Primadonna and indeed the 127 series overall in the American market, though it’s also keeping an eye out globally. It’s also taking a slow but steady approach to growth. Its facility permits building up to 250 feet LOA and in steel and aluminum, but it’s remaining focused on the smaller end of the market for now. In fact, three more 127s are under construction, and a 100-footer, Electra, debuts at the upcoming Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.
Here’s more of the 18-knot Primadonna.
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