SMOOTH OPERATOR

Giving the T52 refined style and substance

Baglietto exterior

She may be studded with innovations and new technologies, but all you’ll see is “smooth” design. Katia Damborsky discovers how Baglietto refined style and substance into the T52.

MAURIZIO PARADISI

Aboat is a boat. It’s not a villa on the water; it’s not a penthouse at sea, and it’s certainly not a floating work of art. At least that’s the mindset that the owner of Baglietto’s first T52 model had when he came on to the project. This is somewhat surprising, since the yacht gives the impression of an elegant, slender townhouse. But behind the coffee-tinted timber and creamy upholstery, the T52 has eco-credentials and design tricks up its sleeve that prove it’s more than just a pretty face.

The hybrid yacht officially premiered in a private ceremony in Portofino ahead of her Monaco debut. Italy was having uncharacteristically miserable weather and the Baglietto team had to herd guests through throngs of tourists wrapped up in raincoats, past coffee bars full of steam and shiny faces looking out hopefully, waiting for the weather to clear up. Theoretically, there couldn’t be a worse day for viewing a yacht. In practice, we got to see just how the designers have played with space on board to create an all-weather boat.

The T52 is a nominee at the 2024 World Superyacht Awards

The winners will be announced in Venice between 3 – 4 May

T52

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MAURIZIO PARADISI

BAGLIETTO

BAGLIETTO

The yacht is the latest instalment in a collaboration between Francesco Paszkowski Design and Baglietto that dates back to 1992, when the pair came together to create a 29-metre fast open yacht now named Oceanis. Yacht design has evolved significantly since then in terms of space, speed, better views and improved outdoor areas. For the T52, the designers have been careful to incorporate the latest must-haves, while skirting delicately around trend traps.

For example, the current craze for the wide-open beach club is present, but they’ve kept enough structure aft to maintain a balanced profile. The pool du jour on the aft deck is there, stretching 3.7 metres and holding around 4.5 cubic metres of water, but it doesn’t have to be the focal point of the space because when the pool is drained the floor can be raised to become a part of the living area.

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Baglietto exterior

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Baglietto exterior

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Baglietto exterior

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Baglietto exterior

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MAURIZIO PARADISI

The open stern and three-level beach club is becoming something of a Baglietto signature, with the pool easily concealed thanks to an up-down flooring system. The foredeck is connected to the sundeck by stairs which have been carefully designed so that they don’t obstruct the view from the wheelhouse. When not in use, they slide into the deck using the same mechanism as a passerelle. Top, left and right: The sundeck pool measures 3m by 1.7m and holds 3.5m3 of water

The designers also took environmental factors into consideration, noting that owners are increasingly conscious of the risks of sun exposure. “Just look at the open-air areas on most boats. They are located where they can be shaded,” points out Francesco Paszkowski. Together with the yard, the designers worked to conceive a solution that would go beyond “awnings and fabrics”. The result is an upper deck “pergola” with a solid roof and three glass sides that can be fully retracted to form an interior-exterior hybrid space. “We didn’t want it to be like a main saloon, that is really an interior room,” says Margherita Casprini, who worked in collaboration with Francesco Paszkowski Design on the interior. “We decided to propose a veranda feeling [without] losing the contact with the sea. I think it works.”

Baglietto interior

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“We decided to propose a veranda feeling [without] losing the contact with the sea. I think it works.”

She’s certainly right if the numbers are anything to go by. The T52 had sold eight units well before its official debut. Granted, the T52 is a sensible evolution of the yard’s existing T-line, but that’s still eight owners who have signed on the dotted line for a never-before-seen 50-metre-plus. But the yard isn’t feeling too much pressure, says Fabio Ermetto, Baglietto’s CCO.

“The size represents the core business of Baglietto, the ‘trend spot’ of our production,” he says. “It is also a market segment in which Baglietto has always excelled.” The yard still describes itself as boutique – “an atelier, as we say in our communication,” says Ermetto, “and this permits us to still have the client at the centre of our business and offer [them] a very high level of customisation.”

Paszkowski and Casprini have deliberately made the interior sober and soft and allowed the surroundings to stream in through vast windows in the saloon and owner's cabin

Baglietto interior

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MAURIZIO PARADISI

Customisation for hull No 1 means a traditionally maritime feel. The owner is a repeat customer of both Baglietto and Francesco Paszkowski Design, so the yard and designers were au fait with the owner’s lifestyle. “He really likes to have a boat instead of a ‘floating home’,” confirms Casprini. “He thinks the boat is meant to cruise, and cruising is what he wants to do. Being at sea is the priority for him.”

Baglietto interior

MAURIZIO PARADISI The interior mood is calm and elegant with oak floors, a neutral palette and mostly matt finishes. “Shanghai cream” Fendi Casa furniture features in the main saloon, alongside Fontana Arte lighting

MAURIZIO PARADISI The interior mood is calm and elegant with oak floors, a neutral palette and mostly matt finishes. “Shanghai cream” Fendi Casa furniture features in the main saloon, alongside Fontana Arte lighting

To keep the sea as “the protagonist”, Paszkowski and Casprini have deliberately made the interior sober and soft and allowed the surroundings to stream in through vast windows in the saloon and owner’s cabin. The saloon is made even airier with the introduction of a skylight that runs from the sundeck through the upper deck, stealing natural light from these open-air spaces.

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Baglietto interior

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Baglietto interior

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Baglietto interior

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Baglietto interior

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MAURIZIO PARADISI

Top left: the full-beam owner’s suite follows the same theme as the rest of the yacht. Frette belt buckles on the bases of the beds add a touch of character. Bottom right: the stone stair treads are a mix of natural and artificial resin that renders them slip-proof. Bottom left: guest cabins repeat details found in other spaces for a seamless, connected feel

Casprini describes the overall style as “smooth” and she’s exactly right. Stepping into this interior from the rain feels like slipping into a freshly pressed cashmere jumper or taking the first sip of a velvety coffee. “I think it’s very calm. It’s very elegant and not aggressive,” says Casprini. The interior floors are dark-stained oak and the wall panels use a mix of lacquered almond leather and linen-inspired wallpaper.

Baglietto interior

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MAURIZIO PARADISI

Leather in milky tones covers the wall columns and staircase, and the latter features a special ivory-coloured stone that is a mix of natural and artificial resin. “It makes it very durable, cleanable and with anti-skid [properties],” explains Casprini. The materials on board are mostly pared-back and matt, but there are some exceptions, such as burnished metal accents. Elsewhere, the en suites are clad in oyster-coloured Botticino marble, while the main saloon is home to a Fendi Casa sofa and plush sink-in armchair.

Baglietto interior

MAURIZIO PARADISI The winter garden “pergola” has been conceived as a dining area with a bar and drop-down screen on hull No.1, but future iterations of the model will be able to use this space in different ways. Glass on three sides retracts smoothly to turn the space semi-al fresco for indoor/outdoor living

MAURIZIO PARADISI The winter garden “pergola” has been conceived as a dining area with a bar and drop-down screen on hull No.1, but future iterations of the model will be able to use this space in different ways. Glass on three sides retracts smoothly to turn the space semi-al fresco for indoor/outdoor living

In keeping with the nautical theme, teak is used liberally throughout the boat in decks and doors. Some of the teak on the walls is carved into decorative points, which cast dramatic shadows in the glow of spotlights. This level of detail is repeated in the legs of the dining table in the pergola. “The four sides of each leg are not the same,” points out Casprini. “Two sides are flat; two are striped. Moreover, they are placed differently.” If you look at the legs from one side of the table, you see the flat side of one leg and the striped side of the other one. “Details always make the difference although not everybody [will notice] all of them,” she adds.

Baglietto

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Up on the sundeck, 135 square metres have been well configured, with a bar, integrated TV, sofa seating and a glass-fronted dip pool flanked by sunpads forward. From here, you can directly connect to the foredeck seating area via a little set of steps that functions just like a passerelle would, tucking into the deck when it’s not in use and extending out when it’s needed. “Every time I was on the sundeck of a yacht and overlooked the upper deck, I wondered ‘wouldn’t it be nice to have a connection between the two decks to live on board in a different way?’” says Paszkowski. “I hope people will like it. I make proposals but it is the market which accepts them or doesn’t.”

But of all the new tech the T52 has packed into its 497GT package, hybrid is its chief selling point, its golden ticket that Baglietto is immensely proud of. The yacht can sit at anchor for up to 12 hours using batteries alone for hotel loads or cruise for 3.5 hours under battery power. When one genset is activated in diesel-electric mode, she can travel almost 8,000 nautical miles at a slow and steady six knots. The result is a significantly quieter, smoother ride.

Baglietto exterior

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MAURIZIO PARADISI

The hybrid package – which includes twin 2,000-horsepower MTU engines – is controlled from a spaceship-style wheelhouse that sparks a string of “wows” from visitors poking their heads in. Glass windows form a full 180-degree crescent, flanked by three solid 85-centimetre-high touchscreens. “I love car design. I always have,” says Paszkowski. “The wheelhouse is the technical heart of a yacht. Aesthetics is important but functionality is a primary concern. Nevertheless I think you can find the right balance between elegance and the technical aspect if you use the right materials and the proper style.”

That balancing act feels like it’s been achieved throughout the T52. Walking the line between modern and mature, progressive yet proven has led to a yacht that’s flying – very smoothly and quietly – off the shelf.

First published in the October 2023 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.

A dumb waiter from the galley rises to the top deck, next to a grill

An extra guest cabin lies behind the captain’s cabin

Upper deck dining can be glassed in or open to the outdoors

The 3.7m long pool has a rising floor that converts it to extra deck space

The owners enjoy a generous en suite

Vast sunpads are almost at
water level

The forward two guest cabins have Pullman berths

LOA 52.32m

Gross tonnage
497GT 

LWL 45.20m

Engines
2 x MTU 16V 2000 M86

Beam 8.94m

Generators
2 x 180kW

Draft 2.57m

Speed (max/cruise)
17/11 knots

Range at 11 knots
4,800nm

Owners/guests 12

Fuel capacity
68,920 litres

Crew 9

Freshwater capacity
15,590 litres

Construction
Steel hull; aluminium
superstructure

Naval architecture
Baglietto

Builder/year
Baglietto/2023
La Spezia, Italy

Exterior design
Francesco Paszkowski
Design

+39 0187 59831
baglietto.com

Interior design
Francesco Paszkowski
Design in collaboration
with Margherita Casprini