With more yacht and megayacht builders wanting control over costs, time, and related matters, fewer semi-custom yachts truly allow buyer choice. On the flip side, some builders allow so many options, semi-custom is practically fully custom. Case in point is Benetti, with its Delfino 93 series. Ocean Drive, the third Benetti Delfino 93, is fully imprinted with not just the owners’ personalities, but also Benetti’s own big-boat personality.
With soft goods ranging from stingray skin to polished steel, marble, natural oak, and more, Ocean Drive is custom designed to every corner. And there’s a good number of corners, given the Delfino 93’s 23-foot (7-meter) beam, akin to that of yachts over 100 feet LOA—even ones exceeding 110 feet.
Also akin to larger megayachts, Ocean Drive features an on-deck master stateroom (below), with a handful of options for the en suite bath. The elbowroom of the suite is nicely complemented by wide windows to each side and scooped-out sections of the side-deck bulkwarks, allowing for better views. (Benetti didn’t eschew safety, of course, fitting rails across the open tops of the bulwark sections.) As for the master bath, the owners, Jay and Lauren Genzer, selected the sans-tub layout, complete with a stand-alone shower and double sinks. But they also requested a full-height linen locker and a hidden laundry bin. Since the Genzers plan to spend many weeks aboard, cruising the Eastern Seaboard down to the Caribbean, the laundry bin is fitting.
So, too, is Ocean Drive’s accommodations arrangement fitting for the Genzers’ growing children. The Genzers’ previous boat, a 72-footer, had three staterooms, which was fine when their kids were young. However, seeing as their son is good friends with at least one girl, the Delfino 93’s extra guest stateroom eases the minds of them as parents and of the privacy-minded teens alike. Two twins, each with pullmans, and two VIPs cater to the kids and other friends and family they’ll be inviting aboard.
Because of today’s wired ways, the Genzers asked Benetti to ensure that Ocean Drive had Internet hot spots essentially in every spot on every deck. They also requested a far more highly customized BEST system than any other Benetti, semi-custom or fully custom, to date. BEST stands for Benetti’s Exclusive Sea Technology, a proprietary integrated control system for lighting, air conditioning, music, movies, and pretty much any other “infotainment” option available. To put things into perspective, the Genzers wanted about 12 different settings for lighting alone (provided by LEDs, to boot). Benetti created BEST nearly a decade ago to work with whatever control devices an owner might select. The Genzers have a handful of iPads all over Ocean Drive for their use as well as the crew’s. Benetti can diagnose any problems that arise with BEST via a secure Web connection. The shipyard staff can use the same secure connection to upgrade the Genzers’ setup if they decide to add any additional features, too.
Something Benetti decided to add to the Delfino 93 when the series was first created: a bulbous bow, for better seakeeping. Between that, electrically actuated stabilizers, and leisurely performance, Ocean Drive should keep the Genzers plenty comfortable. Top speed is said to be 14 knots, and best cruise comes at 10 knots, given twin MTU 8V 2000 M72s. The lower speed reportedly also translates to a 1,500-nautical-mile range.
That range is definitely enough to take the Genzers where they want to go. Whether lounging on the flying bridge or at the water’s edge in the teak-lined transom beach club, a novelty for a 93-footer, they anticipate many a good day ahead.
Here’s more of Ocean Drive.
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