Real “little ship” looks characterize the profile of CdM’s first launch in its Acciaio series, although an elegant curved stem and flared bow cannot disguise how tall she is. Just 105 feet (32 meters) long, Gatto is a two-and-a-half decker with nearly 25 feet (7.6 meters) of beam and phenomenal interior volume for her length.
“Everything is big,” agrees her captain, Steve Kilvington, a grizzled veteran of the North Sea and the Falklands. He thoroughly approves of the heavy-duty engineering in the machinery space. “And have a look at this.” In the aft services compartment, a waist-high tender well serves the side garage hatch. It contains any seawater that spills inside, and allows the crew to wash down the 14’9” (4.54-meter) RIB inside the megayacht. They can then pump the well dry. “Brilliant,” says Kilvington.
The solidity of Gatto’s construction and fit-out would do justice to a bomb shelter. It is one of the luxuries of a full-displacement yacht. Weight is hardly an issue. The interior alone of Gatto contains two tons of stainless steel.
Which is not to say she is constructed like a commercial vessel. CdM spaced the steel hull frames at 20 inches (50.8 centimeters) instead of the 40 inches you might expect. This allows them to be narrower—4 inches (10 centimeters) instead of 8 inches. That, in turn, adds considerable volume, especially on the lower deck, where headroom is nearly seven feet (2 meters). The beam carries well forward to accommodate three crew cabins in the bow. This width also benefits the forward guest suites, both with twin berths. Amidships lays a symmetrical pair of VIPs.
The owner’s stateroom (above) is on the main deck, spanning the full beam, since the wide side decks lead up and over on their way to the bow. While the windows down below are relatively small, as befits such a seamanlike vessel, the owner benefits from expansive views on both sides.
Throughout Gatto’s interior, there’s an elegant, calm, and contemporary design by Francesco Guida. It is beautifully executed and as refined as any mini-superyacht has to be, whatever her seagoing aspirations.
Speaking of seagoing, the Acciaio 105 has a new hull, naval architect Sergio Cutolo of Hydro Tec explains. The plan originally was to adapt the older 102 design, but he persuaded the shipyard that a new shape was needed. It has a drag-cheating bulbous bow and fairly flat aft sections. According to Cutolo, these allow Gatto to slip along at 10 knots while burning just 16 gph, including generators. Cruising range is well over 4,000 nautical miles. The main engines are a pair of 670-hp Caterpillar C18s, spinning big props; the transmission ratio is 4:1.
The earliest CdM yachts had single engines, which reflected the commercial-ship origins of the yard’s founders. This tended to bemuse potential customers, who required reassurance and exhaustive explanations. “Eventually,” recalls CdM’s Vasco Buonpensiero, “the sales guys said, ‘Can’t you just fit two? It would save so much time!’”
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