Recently, small megayacht builders have begun pushing out volumes, soliciting new styling ideas, and even re-imagining things like crew traffic. Azimut is the latest to do so, with the Magellano 25 Metri. The nearly 83-footer (25.22-meter) reflects a lot of input from two designers from quite different walks of life. One is well-known in yachting, while the other is a newcomer, much more familiar with the collectible art world.
The Magellano series premiered more than a decade ago, albeit with much smaller boats. Each emphasizes long range, fittingly featuring traditional navetta (“shuttle” in Italian) styling cues. While the Magellano 25 Metri has some shippy looks, Azimut turned to Ken Freivokh Design for large-luxury-cruiser looks. Particularly, the British studio penned a superstructure with prominent glass, for the one-with-the-sea sensation so common among larger megayachts. As modern as that is, it blends with throwback nautical style, notably the rounded ports below decks and teak slats aft on the superstructure.
For the interior, Azimut deliberately sought someone with a strong art connection. Vincenzo De Cotiis has earned renown for his furniture designs, plus for combining new and reclaimed materials. In fact, he prefers to leave signs of wear or what most designers consider imperfections exposed. Interestingly, De Cotiis also likes working with fiberglass. To that end, he combined it with a tint that resembles parchment paper in some areas and yet another tint, this time from hand-scattered bronze powder, for other surfaces aboard the Azimut Magellano 25 Metri. These combine with grooved wood surfaces, richly veined green marble, and polished brass, for a more sophisticated setting than you’d expect of an 83-footer.
This being the first yacht that De Cotiis has designed, the artist also wanted to embrace the spirit of travel. That explains the flowing, organic shapes of the saloon settee, for example, and the equally organic shape of the stone dining table. To De Cottis, these reflect the motion of the seas. For the same reason, he chose deep blues and greens, with white. Lighting additionally plays a large role, even extending to mirrored panels on the stairway connecting the main and upper decks. The 20’8” (6.35-meter) beam feels more open and airy due to the soft shapes and open floorplan, too.
As much as the owners’ and guests’ enjoyment clearly gets priority, the Azimut Magellano 25 Metri does not forget about the crew. In fact, the raised pilothouse, accessible from the port side, yields access to the extra helm on the upper deck as well as to the main side deck. The crew can look like heroes in front of the boss, too, by reducing fuel consumption plus sound. A battery bank is available to take on the hotel loads and therefore reduce reliance on the diesel gensets. Furthermore, even with a reported cruising speed of 21 knots, the yacht is said to consume less fuel overall due to her hull design, which includes a double chine and a skeg.
The Azimut Magellano 25 Metri should debut at fall boat shows like the Cannes Yachting Festival, which thus far are still on schedule. On a related note, the shipyard is working on a larger model, the Magellano 30 Metri. She, too, features styling by the Freivokh studio and interior design by De Cotiis.
Azimut Yachts azimutyachts.com
Ken Freivokh Design freivokh.com
Vincenzo De Cotiis decotiis.it
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