The first Mangusta Gransport 33, Perfect Lady, expertly matches family-friendly customisations with grown-up elegance
The 2020 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show – held during a global pandemic – faced unprecedented challenges. The docks, normally chock-full of exhausted journalists, harried vendors and Budweiser-drinking show-goers, were at times nearly empty. A few show plots traditionally reserved for boats by the industry’s biggest brands were noticeably filled by lesser-known competitors. Nevertheless, the type of qualified customers that make builders happy were still in attendance. And in terms of the boats on display, there were some true bright spots – among them Mangusta’s first Gransport 33, Perfect Lady, built for American owners.
Hull No 1 of the Gransport 33 lives in South Florida. Her first-time Mangusta owners plans to use the yacht often with their children and grandchildren. “The owner approached us looking to build a family boat, and we built around that concept, with great volume and many customisations, while keeping in mind our style and the way we wanted the boat to look,” says Stefano Arlunno, president Americas at Mangusta Yachts. “We wanted a good-looking Italian design, but on steroids.”
Though a respectable 33 metres long, this is the baby of the Gransport line, which also includes the 45-metre Gransport 45 and the flagship Gransport 54. The Gransport line itself represents a happy median for Mangusta, occupying the space in between the builder’s Maxi Open line and the more cruise-oriented Oceano vessels.
The Gransport 33 is particularly notable as the first Mangusta designed with pods. Quad 1,000 horsepower Volvo Penta IPS 1350s (the largest on the market) reside in her belly and provide the yacht with her get up and go. The Gransport 33 has a top speed of 26 knots and cruises ably at 20 knots. Her range is 330 nautical miles thanks to a robust fuel capacity of 12,610 litres.
“There are a lot of things I love about this boat, but the garage is truly one of my favourites; the size of it really is remarkable for a boat in this class,” says Arlunno.
At the Fort Lauderdale show, the full-beam garage held a Williams Jet Tender 505 although, with a footprint of 28 square metres, it can accommodate the 5.5-metre Williams Jet 565 with room to spare for a couple of water toys.
Mangusta was able to play with a generous volume of 228 gross tonnes thanks to a beam of 7.3 metres, assigning most of it to the accommodation and guest areas. As you might have expected from an Italian builder with a reputation for its sport yachts, the space in the engine room won’t leave the crew writing home anytime soon, but it works.
The Mangusta Gransport 33’s lines are unapologetically low-profile and sleek. She looks ready to peel away through the whitecaps as the sun sinks low and head to someplace even better.
The yacht’s distinct lines were penned by Alberto Mancini, the Monaco-based Italian designer who in recent years has worked with such names as Azimut and Fairline, as well as developing the Gransport line with Mangusta. He achieved the look by mirroring a straight sheer line with flybridge lines that run nearly parallel to it. Coupled with a steeply raked windshield and a black hardtop that all but disappears to the eye, everything about the 33’s exterior aesthetics scream slick. This was all done without add-ons or metallic paints. “Mangustas don’t need that,” says Mancini. “I design in black and white – I’m very proud of that, because it holds you to a certain purity of design, and I think we accomplished that [purity] with this yacht.”
Despite this rakish styling, the spaces are generous in part thanks to the builder’s choice of propulsion. “The IPS engines choice is a great advantage in terms of space for the lower deck accommodations. I was able to design a generous layout for the VIP and guest cabins,” says Mancini. “And of course, that translates to the main deck master as well.”
It was also very important for Mangusta that, as Mancini puts it, “the exterior and the interior speak with one another. Many sport yachts have the sleek lines but their interiors may be suffering for it. Not with this yacht.”
While Mancini worked with the builder on the layout, the decor and finishes were all handled by Mangusta’s in-house interior design team with input from the owners. The interior mirrors the 33’s sharp appearance and stands out for myriad customisations, many of them centred around family use. With safety for younger children and upkeep in mind, Mangusta’s team designed this boat with rounded edges nearly everywhere, easy-to-wash fabrics and matt finishes to avoid smudges from tiny hands. “The owners wanted to keep the interior simple because of the grandkids,” says Arlunno. The goal was to achieve a “natural, contemporary as well as organic” feel. Another child-oriented decision was to use the space available for PWCs in the garage for four Seabobs, which the owners feel are safer and more age-appropriate for younger children.
The garage’s massive door can flip up to provide shade and an outdoor shower as well as an articulated ladder with automatic handrails by Italian company Sanguineti Chiavari. This all means the hydraulically operated teak swim platform can pull double duty as a beach club.
Access to the yacht’s aft deck is up one of two staircases flanking the garage space. The outdoor entertainment area here is perfect for greeting guests with an Aperol Spritz and some hors d’oeuvres. The owners chose a layout that maximises their guests’ at-sea experience. A large wet bar to port keeps the refreshments flowing, and a drop-down television above can play the big game while guests lounge on a U-shaped sofa for five, matched with a dining table and three stand-alone chairs.
The aft deck is flush with the main deck (no small design feat), making for an easy, step-less entrance into the saloon through electric glass doors, allowing for one huge conjoined entertainment space. The headroom in the saloon is more than 2.25 metres which, coupled with a large overhead mirror, makes the area feel extremely airy. Near-floor-to-ceiling windows to port and starboard open up electrically to further complement the open feel of the deck. The forward part of the saloon is dominated by a formal dining table for eight and an eye-catching, blue-onyx accent piece.
As is par for the course on a yacht in this class, the Gransport 33’s master cabin is on the main deck, which enhances ease of use, natural light, views and usable space. Mangusta says this master is the largest of any yacht between 30 and 36 metres. Hidden doors to port and starboard reveal massive wardrobes sure to please even the most discerning of clothes horses. The king bed on an island is a nice touch and enjoys exceptional views through the rectangular windows to either side of it. The forward part of the master cabin shines, with his-and-hers sinks to either side of a massive shower with those high ceilings. The shower’s electrically fogging privacy LCD window is a particularly nice touch.
The rest of the accommodations are on their own, lower level. The forward portion of that deck has mirrored twin cabins with Pullman berths – for the grandchildren. A combo washer/dryer at amidships will come in handy on the Bahamas cruises the owners intend to make, while a small fridge eliminates the need to go topside in the middle of the night for a cold drink. The two VIPs amidships have king-size berths and luxurious showers of similar dimensions to those found in the master.
For daytime activities, the Mangusta offers an abundance of outdoor entertainment options beyond the beach club and the aft main deck. The bow area makes a particularly enticing option, as it’s both private while the boat is docked stern-to in a marina, and exhilarating while under way. Mancini also designed beautiful stainless-steel-framed coffee tables in teak. The centrepiece, however, is a large glass-sided shallow spa pool, a feature on the three Gransport models built to date. Imagine sipping a cold flute of champagne in there while cruising at 20 knots – sheer bliss. U-shaped seating forward of the pool serves as a rumble seat of sorts, while a massive sunpad could easily fit five sun worshippers working on their respective bronzes. Another grandchildren-oriented customisation here is the side gates that restrict access from the side decks to the foredeck.
Though the bow deck is stellar, the real highlight for many on board this yacht will be the 56-square-metre flybridge. Yet another child-friendly customisation here is a second spa pool. The owner doesn’t want his grandchildren in the foredeck spa pool while the yacht is under way, so he had a second one put on the aft section of the flybridge. However, it’s not just the kids who will have fun here. A champagne station to port keeps the Veuve Clicquot chilled and ready, while a bar adjacent to and facing the spa pool means the kids can safely get wet while the parents never have to worry about going dry.
Yet perhaps the most intriguing part of the flybridge on the first Mangusta 33 is that it is partially enclosed, making space for a cosy television lounge under an air-conditioned hardtop with skylights.
“I have designed two options for this deck. This is what I like to call the American version,” says Mancini. “It has an enclosed wheelhouse, a large windshield connected to a glass insert in the hardtop and a sliding glass door to access the aft deck. The Mediterranean version shares the same hardtop but has no windshield or sliding glass door.”
Notably, the enclosed helm area up top does not skew the 33’s lines, in part due to liberal use of glass. “Thanks to the transparency of the windshield, there is no compromise of aesthetics when you get the enclosed-bridge version of the yacht,” says Mancini.
While the upper helm is pleasant and well appointed, Mangusta expects that the lower helm will get plenty of run as the position of choice for many skippers. That command centre would be the envy of most, with twin Garmin screens, a dynamic positioning system and a Volvo Penta joystick.
“This is a big boat,” says Arlunno, “but believe it or not, with the systems we have built in, like that joystick, like that dynamic positioning system, she could be used by an owner-operator.”
With hull No 1 of the Gransport 33, Mangusta has managed to hit that rare balance between an ultra-luxurious, super-sleek superyacht and a cruiser that would make anyone feel safe with their family aboard. It makes this yacht a true playground regardless of one’s age.
This feature is taken from the April 2021 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.
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