The Azimut Yachts S6, with an exterior by designer Stefano Righini, has what the builder calls a trapezoid bow. It’s a foreshortened snub nose that increases the yacht’s interior volume while creating a longer waterline within a similar overall length when compared with other yachts in her class. The look is finished off with what Azimut calls a bow shield—a stainless-steel cap running down the stem that protects the bow from the anchor when hoisting—making this part of the yacht a key design element, as on all the Azimut S-series sport yachts.
Putting the sport in this 59-foot sport yacht is a trio of 550 hp Volvo Penta IPS700 diesels matched to pod drives. We saw a top speed of 35 knots, with the motors burning a total of 90.2 gallons per hour. That equals a 239-nautical-mile range on a 686-gallon fuel tank with a 10 percent reserve. At 26.9 knots, fuel burn drops to 65 gph while range increases to 255 nm. At 19 knots, fuel burn is 39.3 gph and range ticks up to 300 nm.
The S6’s performance is, in part, pure horsepower, but the yacht’s construction also plays a crucial role in delivering speed. She displaces about 65,000 pounds (one of her competitors, just 1 foot longer, is about 108,000 pounds). The S6’s hull is vacuum-infused with vinylester resin below the waterline and in selected areas exposed to weather, and carbon fiber is used in the hull and in what Azimut calls the tray, which is a grid of interlocking stringers bonded to the hull while it is still in the mold. That tray is used to place everything from bulkheads to engines. Carbon fiber in the vessel’s superstructure provides the strength that allows for the oversize diamond-shaped windows in the salon and topsides.
Interior designer Francesco Guida, now on his second project with Azimut, also used carbon fiber. It’s a design element in the yacht’s counters and tabletops. In the cockpit, a U-shape dinette wraps around a carbon-fiber table that unfolds from cocktail size to 56 inches by 24 inches for alfresco dining. As part of the yacht’s coupe styling, the rooftop extends to shade this area while leaving the quadruple-wide lounge aft for sun worshippers.
The salon, with a 55-inch high-low dining table that converts to a lounge, is finished in light and dark oaks. Inlays have polished stainless-steel frames. A counter to port hides the TV, and the galley is forward with a counter extending into the companionway, maximizing food-prep real estate. There’s a two-burner electric cooktop along with four fridges on board: one in the cockpit, one in the salon bar and two in the galley.
At the helm, the skipper and companion get a pair of high-backed seats with bolsters. The cantilevered, three-monitor dashboard has an Azimut-Raymarine ship’s monitor that shows the usual engine data plus bilge pumps, tank levels, sound systems and air conditioning. All of this is touchscreen- enabled and accessible remotely via tablet.
The salon’s triple skylights over the galley and helm area are notable for the natural light they allow inside, and carbon fiber in the superstructure lets the entire panel become an opening sunroof, moving the skylights and roof together.
The lower deck is pure accommodations, with the master stateroom aft. It has an angled berth that starts as a queen-size width at the headboard (5 feet) and then tapers on each side to become 4 feet, 4 inches wide at the foot. The berth’s length is just shy of a queen: 6 feet, 6 inches (compared with 6 feet, 8 inches for a true queen). The setup adds to the available floor space, and there are six-pane hullside windows on either side. The en suite head with shower is just forward, while a full hanging locker is aft and a washer/dryer is in the companionway.
The forepeak VIP has the added space from the truncated bow, allowing for a walk-around berth that also starts as a queen at the headboard and tapers to 4 feet wide at the foot. It’s 6 feet, 6 inches long. There is direct access to the day-head with shower and to the twin hanging lockers. In between the master and VIP is a guest stateroom with a pair of berths measuring 6 feet, 3 inches long and 3 feet wide. This stateroom is served by the day-head.
Azimut designed the tender garage for an 11-foot jet boat: specifically, a Tecnorib. Another option is a Williams Sportjet 345, with a length overall of 11 feet, 3 inches and a top-end speed of 40 knots with five-guest capacity.
On the S6’s foredeck, there is a sun pad for guests. For owner-operators or crew, there’s a forepeak cabin with single berth and head. The foredeck is also home to gull-wing doors to port and starboard. These 20-inch-deep, more than 3-feet-long lockers can rid the deck of fenders and dock lines, and three more lockers are in the cockpit, showing that Azimut understands the need to stow gear.
And to look good while doing it.
Take the next step: azimutyachts.com
