The Navetta style of long-range cruiser yachts has been closely associated with Custom Line for more than a decade now, so when the Italian yard announced that the new Navetta 37 would act as the benchmark for a new generation, it was a significant statement.
“We intended to create a new design formula that would guarantee the greatest possible comfort on board, while at the same time lending the vessel dynamism and a volumetric balance more akin to products with higher performance,” explains Karin Paggi, head of sales at Custom Line.
To create this new formula, the yard teamed up with a long-trusted ally, the Rome based design studio Zuccon International Project. The result is a 37.04 metre yacht riding on an all-new semi displacement hull, fitted with a bulbous bow. The overall exterior aesthetic strikes a considered balance between slender, sporty lines and generously sized windows.
Hull #1 was splashed in August 2016 at the yard’s La Spezia facility and went on to make a big impression on visitors to the Cannes, Monaco and Miami boat shows. As a result, the first five hulls have already been sold, with the design attracting buyers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Stepping on board, it’s easy to see where this far-reaching appeal comes from. A multitude of sliding doors and windows open the yacht up to the elements and blur the boundaries between interior and exterior spaces.
The best example of this can be found back aft, in the form the Ferretti Group’s patented dual-mode transom system, as previously seen on the Custom Line Navetta 28. This clever bit of engineering maximises the available space in this all-important waterside area — the main section of the transom can either pivot upwards on hydraulic struts to create a float-in tender garage, or be completely inverted to lie flush with the teak bathing platform and its Paola Lenti furniture.
Conversely, the Ferretti Group Engineering Department worked hard to ensure that the most obvious indicator that you are on a yacht — engine noise — was kept to the absolute minimum.
“The owner of the Navetta 37 loves silence,” Paggi continues. “So we devised new soundproofing solutions that minimise noise through mathematical analysis of every source of noise and its location on the boat.”
This is just one of the key aspects that helps to create such a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere on board. Subtle recessed Viabizzuno lighting, fitted behind the headboards and underneath the bed frames, illuminates the cabins, of which there are five — two twins and two doubles below decks, as well as a full-beam main-deck master.
The latter benefits from a rare feature on yachts of this size, as the electric windows can be opened when underway, further reinforcing the connection between owner and ocean.
Twin MTU diesel engines combine to give the Navetta 37 a top speed of just over 16 knots, but trim her back to a more leisurely pace of ten knots and the reward is a transatlantic range of 3,000 nautical miles, drawing on a hefty fuel reserve of 35,000 litres.
The first few visitors to step on board at the 2016 Cannes Yachting Festival were heard to remark that the Navetta 37 feels like a much larger yacht, so it should come as no surprise that Ferretti Group is keen to transpose this winning formula onto a larger platform.
The Zuccon-designed Navetta 42 will hit the water in 2018, emphatically billed as “the greatest Custom Line ever built” — and if the Navetta 37 is anything to go by, there will be no shortage of buyers queuing up to take a look at Cannes 2018.