Amor à Vida: CRN’s 67.5-metre yacht debuts in the US at PBIBS

“The owner was really involved and was super detail-oriented,” Sean Moran, managing director of Moran Yacht & Ship, says, “so we got to learn the way he thought pretty quickly, which was really helpful in understanding how to meet his needs and desires. He’s a very family-oriented man with lots of children and this is his dream project; he wants to travel the world, and he wants to do it with family and friends.”

A smaller, more intimate round table marks the transition to what remains of the idea of a main deck salon — a single, wide sofa facing a giant bulkhead-mounted screen for cinema nights or live sports. Forward lies a large full-width VIP suite, with sleeping cabin to port and saloon area to starboard, although a centerline divider can be pulled across to create two cabins, each with its own en suite, with the salon sofa folding out into a double bed.

“The interior expresses a quiet tranquillity with the use of light colours and the exploitation of the abundant natural light”

One level up is the owner’s deck. Here, oval aft seating embraces twin fire pits that might encourage s’mores. A large dual gas/electric barbecue nestles in a bar opposite an al fresco dining table, custom built by CRN, that extends to seat up to 18 guests, all served by exterior furniture from Neal Jones and Siebensee. An informal sky lounge with twin sofas and a large television serves as a casual family hub indoors.

The dedicated swim steps are found in line with the starboard stair up to the main deck, so that guests can run straight down and into the water. The lazy expanse of main aft deck, with its inviting pool, sunpads and casual seating areas, leads not into a formal main saloon but to a dining area with bar to port and table – beautifully crafted by Based Upon – to starboard next to additional opening glass doors to the side.

A smaller, more intimate round table marks the transition forward to what remains of the idea of a main deck saloon – a single, wide sofa facing a giant bulkhead-mounted screen for cinema nights or live sports. Forward lies a large full-width VIP suite, with sleeping cabin to port and saloon area to starboard, although a centreline divider can be pulled across to create two cabins, each with its own en suite, with the sofa in the saloon area folding out to form a double bed.

One level up is the owner’s deck. Here, oval aft seating embraces twin fire pits that might encourage s’mores. A large dual gas/electric barbecue nestles in a bar opposite an al fresco dining table, custom built by CRN, that extends to seat up to 18 guests, all served by exterior furniture from Neal Jones and Siebensee. An informal sky lounge with twin sofas and a large television serves as a casual family hub indoors.

Forward lies the owner’s spacious suite that starts with the owner’s office facing opening glass doors, a near-full-width walk-in closet, a forward sleeping area with wraparound vista windows and stargazing skylight. Starboard-side doors access the vast foredeck terrace’s seating, a table, and a vast expanse of deck for sun loungers or other freestanding furniture.

This foredeck area serves as an occasional helipad, although the owner won’t use it as such. Back inside, a large en suite with freestanding bath next to large outboard windows, his-and-hers heads and a separate shower complete the accommodations. The bridge deck offers even more al fresco fun, with a pool aft, and a dining bar with an outdoor teppanyaki grill and a giant pizza oven that are sure to be frequently used.

Inside, a guest pantry has been added alongside the crew’s pantry so the owner and guests can help themselves to drinks and snacks. Notably, there’s no dumb waiter; with food prep areas at every deck for the outdoor dining stations, it was felt the space was better served for storage and for additional wine coolers for the owner’s 300-bottle wine cellar.

Stairs from the aft bridge deck lead up to the crow’s nest, a delightful, private sundeck in front of the mast that offers a wide sunpad and three forward-facing chairs that overlook the foreship. Awnings can be erected here for shade, and a screen can be hung between the two forward awning poles to transform the deck into an outdoor movie theatre.

“The layout of Amor à Vida makes clear the owner’s desire to spend a lot of time outdoors in protected conditions and with many friends,” Carlo Nuvolari, co-founder of Nuvolari Lenard, explains.

“There are the large cockpits with tables, bars and sofas where you can entertain many friends sheltered from the sun, the wind and prying eyes. There is the internal formal dining area that overlooks the aft deck, unlike the traditional arrangement that sees the table in the centre of the boat, and there are large opening windows on the sides of the saloon to increase the outside/inside feeling.”

For all the focus on family rather than fittings, the interior retains interest through beautifully selected materials that have been put together with care, with the luxury coming through in the details and in the subtle splashes of distinct colour in guest cabins.

The main wood used on board is sycamore frisée. “It’s a light wood that, thanks to the particular cut, has a three-dimensional effect that gives a lot of depth,” Nuvolari says. Teak is also used on board, notably on the main deck to create a seamless flow between aft deck and the interior dining area, a feeling enhanced by creating flush thresholds for the aft and starboard side sliding glass doors thanks to using grating and concealed drainage rather than a lip seal.

The dayheads, in particular, stand out; each one has a unique, exquisite design that subtly enhances the guest experience

Brass is used for many interior details, and the overheads are upholstered in suede. A lot of the furniture is custom-designed, the carpentry enhanced by rounded shapes, with much of the rest coming from leading Italian designers. “The overall sense of comfort is accentuated by the wooden floors in warm tones with custom carpets in the shades of the colours of the sea, like many other fabrics on board,” Nuvolari says.

“In the bathrooms,” he adds, “very natural-looking marble — among others onyx, travertine, and Taj Mahal — has been used, laid according to a precise design. The interior expresses a quiet tranquillity with the use of light colours and the exploitation of the abundant natural light that comes in from the large windows. The richness of the whole is however evident from the fine materials, the elaborate design and the excellent finishing.”

The dayheads in particular stand out; each has a unique, exquisite design that, taken collectively, subtly enhances the guest experience.

“That’s partly because the main guest stair and elevator column features a continuous pattern of sycamore and suede stripes throughout, so the owner wanted a difference in the dayheads instead,” Costanza Pazzi, project architect at CRN, explains. “For example, as the main deck will be used for parties, that head gets something wow with a freestanding backlit onyx column sink, whereas the bridge deck dayhead is a little more sporty.”

The project, Valentina Zannier says, has been an incredible journey with owners who participated actively and enthusiastically in every decision. “The yacht represents their vision and their dream,” she says. “Every detail, finish and material is the result of balanced and harmonious choices. It’s been a challenging project, but working with CRN made everything easier.”

“The interior reflects the owner’s good taste and the pursuit of living very comfortably”

“The owner has a strong personality and is an expert on yachts,” Nuvolari adds. “He didn’t need to prove anything or impress anyone with Amor à Vida — the interior simply reflects his good taste, his love for beautiful things and the pursuit of living very comfortably.

Indeed, he told me that he appreciates Amor à Vida very much, and I have no doubt he will live on board as in one of his homes. Working with such a passionate and expert yacht client is my favourite situation,” he asserts. “He knows what to ask for and knows how to listen; he lets you design and, above all, he trusts you.”

The bridge features an I-Bridge with touchscreens from TEAM Italia, plus Wärtsilä radar and ECDIS. In a fitting contrast, the rear bulkhead and most of the deckhead feature a giant map of the Americas — two continents that hold particular significance for the owner — in what is a partial print of a map of the world by cartographers Robert Morden and William Berry originally published around 1690.

“It’s made up of 12 panels, printed on leather, and it was very challenging,” Pazzi laughs, “because not only did we have to find the map at a resolution that would print on the leather without losing the definition of the lines, but also we had to work out how to align the image across multiple panels and with steps in the ceiling.”

Amor à Vida is also a yacht of firsts. She’s the first CRN yacht for Moran Yacht & Ship, and for CRN she’s the first to feature hybrid propulsion and a heat recovery system. She’s also the first time Moran has worked with this owner.

It’s a combination that ultimately has paid dividends, with the owner’s passion and experience helping drive design and other decisions, Moran’s expertise in complex Northern European builds guiding CRN through an upgraded spec, and CRN’s own experience and flexibility ensuring systems engineering, installation, fit and finish all met a high benchmark for quality.

“CRN was a great partner in the project with their capabilities, their attitude and their willingness to explore different ideas,” Moran says. “That was also the case with the hybrid system, which was our suggestion originally. We’re really happy that we had the opportunity to go through the process of bringing that to CRN and for them to embrace it so quickly.”

The system uses PTO/PTIs on the main engines alongside the generators to feed a 400-kilowatt-hour battery bank that can be used for silent maneuvers into and out of the harbor, and which can sustain silent dynamic positioning for three hours — enough for a full dinner service — or up to 12 hours handling hotel loads for generator-free swimming or overnight anchoring.

The team also specified a heat recovery system that uses waste heat from the three Caterpillar generators to warm the hot water on board as well as the pool water and the crew’s deckwash. “Like most shipyards, we are system integrators so we rely strongly on the competencies of our partners — in the case of the hybrid system, Siemens Energy,” Filippo Belcecchi, engineering manager at CRN and Ferretti Group Superyachts Division, says.

“We learned that these systems are evolving every day; but the yacht also presented other challenges, because in spite of her relatively large volume, the density of her systems is one of the highest we have ever built. Overall, she really is a confirmation of what CRN can do.” As well as meeting the technical challenges, the CRN engineering team has applied its expertise to the quality of construction details, and the results are dramatic.

“We learned that these systems are evolving every day; but the yacht also presented other challenges, because in spite of her relatively large volume, the density of her systems is one of the highest we have ever built. Overall, she really is a confirmation of what CRN can do.” As well as meeting the technical challenges, the CRN engineering team has applied its expertise to the quality of construction details, and the results are dramatic.

“Our in-depth studies on soundproofing, insulation and vibration damping mean she achieves an exceptional level of quietness,” Andrea Le Moglie, Amor à Vida’s project manager, confirms. “She sets new benchmarks and surpasses even the high standards of comfort typically delivered by the shipyard.”

Unfussy in style, unapologetic in her emphasis on having fun, Amor à Vida stands not as a monument to ostentatious design, but rather as a celebration of what a yacht is for — the embrace of informal waterside living, the joy that comes from time with family and friends and the draw of the superyacht life lived large. What’s not to love about that?

First published in the September 2025 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.