Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
Azimut 72 Fly
A warm, wispy wind off Cannes, France, swept across the expansive flybridge deck. My bare feet felt solid and stable on the teak sole. My view of the shoreline was spectacular. The Azimut 72 Fly skirted along the slick-calm Mediterranean Sea at 32 knots in a relaxing, early morning cruise that was my first look at this sleek, chic yacht. Her performance was flawless. Her profile was striking. And beneath the attractive visage, she was unlike any Azimut yacht I’d been on before.
I walked down the flybridge steps, opened the sliding salon doors and stood slack-jawed. Space. Lots of it. It was the kind of room I might expect to see on an 85-footer, but this vessel comes in around 74 feet length overall. Everything my eyes saw and my brain processed was a purposefully executed plan on the part of this perennially popular builder to offer yachtsmen serious cruising luxury in a voluminous package while providing optimal performance on the salt.
The Azimut 72’s main deck is one level, with the sitting area offering almost 140 square feet of kick-back-and-relax space. Between the portside C-shaped sofa and settee across from it, eight of us sat comfortably and chatted about how the builder created such room within the yacht’s 18-foot-3-inch beam.
It turns out the interior volume was achieved through a vacuum-infused fiberglass build for the hull, deck, deckhouse and trays. Azimut Yachts has used vacuum infusion since 2008 for smaller parts, but its use has been expanded to much larger parts like this 72’s hull. Doing so lets the builder use less material and sets the trays lower, enhancing overall headroom throughout the yacht.
The result is a boon to guest areas. By comparison, the 72 is only 4 feet longer than an older Azimut 70 but has 25 percent more volume. Headroom in the 72’s salon is a measurable 6 feet 10 inches. You’ll find other less obvious, yet significant changes too, such as the salon sofa’s low armrests adding to the sense of openness and height.
Inspired Lines: Exterior Designer Stefano Righini
“The New 72 has been designed by researching and fulfilling certain specific objectives: achieving the greatest possible internal volume in keeping with ergonomic standards, emphasizing the role of light both in the main salon and belowdecks layout [and] without sacrificing the enjoyment of exterior spaces. The strength of the 72 lies in its capacity to marry a balanced form with the kind of style and research that guarantee the best relationship between design of the exterior and the enjoyment of the internal spaces.”
Expanded volume isn’t limited to the interior. Take the aforementioned flybridge deck. An Azimut 70’s flybridge measures about 344 square feet, while this 72’s is 409 square feet, only 32 square feet less than the builder’s 80-foot model.
Vacuum-infused fiberglass also saves weight and room from the deck down, and carbon fiber takes weight out up top, enhancing overall stability. In fact, the Azimut 72’s deckhouse and flybridge are 100 percent carbon fiber. Compared with an older, all-fiberglass build of similar length, the weight savings with the new build technique and material is about 30 percent.
This yacht’s interior is equally appealing, with a couple of upscale, eye-catching decor options. The first, on our test vessel, featured an inviting, heat-treated oak sole with gloss-finished sycamore, ivory-leather furnishings and light lacquers. Alternatively, owners can opt for a bleached-oak sole with dark-chocolate leathers and light satin lacquers.
However the Azimut 72’s interior is styled, it will be bathed in natural light. For example, the dining area benefits from cut-down bulwarks — a result, in part, of the overall strength gained during the infusion process, allowing for floor-to-ceiling windows. Two raked front windows provide optimal visibility at the helm. The view is as close to 360 degrees as you can get.
“The Interior volume was achieved through a vacuum-infused fiberglass build for the hull, deck, deckhouse and trays.”
The 72 is also a vessel well-outfitted for the cruising family, with four copious staterooms. A full-beam master amidships sports elongated, rectangular windows flanking the king-size berth and luxurious white-leather headboard. From a practical perspective, the en suite head and closet abaft the berth offer an impressive sound barrier from the engine room, ensuring only the peaceful, sleep-inducing sound of the sea here.
The View Within: Interior Designer Carlo Galeazzi
Carlo Galeazzi says the interior goal for the 72 was to “pursue more linear, clean lines in the design of the furniture.” Particular attention was paid to the lighting too. The balance of direct and indirect lighting is set up to highlight the furniture while also opening up the interior space. From the minimized furniture edges to the master berth’s leather headboard to the column that houses the bar and a contemporary-looking coffee table, all of these details create an original, upscale and sophisticated feel.
If you’re in the Bahamas cruising with a couple of couples, the forepeak VIP with step-up berth can easily handle one group while the portside stateroom with double berth abaft and to port can handle the other. Kids? A starboard-side stateroom has side-by-side berths. All of these spaces have en suite heads, so no one has to wait for the shower before heading off to snorkel with the fishes or go ashore for conch salad and a Kalik in Marsh Harbour.
During the past 16 years, I’ve had the chance to see many Azimut yachts perform in myriad settings around the world. One of the consistent takeaways I’ve had from each adventure is that Azimut matches desire and effort with its experience and expertise, blending the best available technology to create a vessel that offers yachtsmen the optimum on-the-water experience. And this Azimut 72 does just that.
The morning’s warm and wispy wind turned into a steamy, sweat-inducing breeze. I took one more gaze at the Azimut 72’s profile. She looked too cool to care.
