Space is usually the reason that owners step up to a larger superyacht—say, a length overall of 197 feet or more. On those yachts, there are easily enough staterooms to accommodate up to 10 family members and friends; there are several lounging areas inside and out, spread across a few decks; and there is enough room for a party or for privacy. Getting all this in a yacht of less than 500 gross tons, which typically caps around 164 feet long, is just not possible.
Or is it?
Paolo Vitelli, president of the Azimut-Benetti Group, was convinced there’s a way. Not only that, but he believed yachtsmen would like a semicustom series with a steel hull, long range, volume rivaling much bigger boats, and four decks. He was thinking in ways yachtsmen hadn’t seen: Steel alone is a radical departure from the norm in this size range. Four decks are unheard of too.
He was right. The 121-foot Benetti B.Yond 37M landed about a dozen contracts before Hull No. 1, Goga, appeared at international yacht shows in 2022. As of January, the next available delivery date is in 2027.
Increasingly, yacht buyers are realizing that volume dictates how roomy a project will look and feel. To that end, the Benetti B.Yond 37M has a volume just shy of 400 gross tons. Strong-selling American- and European-built series yachts, even those that are 10 to 20 feet longer, are unable to rival that volume.
Of course, long-standing physical dimensions remain important. Each of the four decks aboard the new Benetti is a healthy length. This includes the partially sheltered sun deck, which is a full-fledged deck for up to 12 people. With a barbecue, a dining area, a seating area and pedestal observation chairs, Goga’s sun deck even has windows inset into the hardtop’s sides.
Benetti further sidesteps convention with the yacht’s 28-foot beam and an anything-but-cookie-cutter general arrangement. As much as series builders and designers say clients can arrange rooms as they see fit, inevitably, they suggest that the staterooms go belowdecks while the salon and dining area sit on the main deck. Even for yachts with main-deck master staterooms, conventional layouts still dominate. By contrast, the standard configuration for the Benetti B.Yond 37M places four guest staterooms and the master on the main deck. The lower deck is entirely for seven or eight crewmembers and all service areas.
More surprisingly, though, Goga follows an alternate arrangement, which Vitelli personally selected, since he intended to cruise aboard (and did for a month with his family). The master stateroom is on the bridge deck, with sliding-glass doors to an alfresco dining and sunning area. In the forward main-deck space where the master otherwise would have been are two guest staterooms. Just abaft them, there’s a playroom. In the not-too-distant past, a dedicated rumpus room would have been unthinkable, especially aboard a yacht of Goga’s dimensions. Perhaps in a sign of the times, nine of the contracts signed so far include the playroom. Owners can also fashion the space as a media room.
The B.Yond 37M also has an open-air toy “garage” four steps down from the main deck aft. The main deck has neither a traditional aft-deck leisure area nor sliding doors leading into a main salon; instead, the main lounge is one deck up, offering better views and freeing more deck space for toy stowage. If you’re wondering why the toys aren’t stowed below, in a garage, it’s because the yacht has a beach club with a sauna down there—once again providing owners and guests with leisure areas not found on comparable-length yachts. The toys launch to either side via fold-down bulkheads.
Finally, the bigger thinking extends to the propulsion package. Goga has a diesel-electric system with lithium-ion batteries created in collaboration with Siemens Energy, allowing four operational modes. Enhanced Comfort Mode is for low-speed coastal trips or nighttime cruising, with just the gensets and electric motors engaged. Extended Range Mode uses the main MANs powering the electric motors for full-speed, 14-knot trips. Eco Transfer Mode sees one MAN running solo, which Benetti says lets the yacht cruise up to 8,200 nautical miles at 9 knots. Eco Cruise Mode is a zero-emissions operation in which the battery pack’s capacity determines the potential range for short excursions.
Based on an average yearly 1,000 hours of use, with 400 hours spent cruising and the rest at anchor, Benetti says the system reduces carbon-dioxide emissions by up to 24 percent and nitrous-oxide emissions by up to 85 percent.
With the Benetti B.Yond 37M, Vitelli really did prove that it’s possible to get much more in a smaller length overall.
The Legacy of Stefano Righini
The Benetti B.Yond series is among the last projects designed by Stefano Righini, who died in October 2021. Righini’s pen strokes characterize the looks of nearly every Azimut and Benetti yacht currently afloat too. In total, approximately 6,000 of the brands’ yachts bear his signature.
Capable Compact Cruiser
With a reported range of 5,000 nautical miles at 10 knots, the B.Yond 37M encourages owners to cruise farther and stay independent of shore longer. The yacht has the capabilities of a larger, full-displacement build in a size that’s better for small coves and many more marinas.
Crew Care
Because of the B.Yond 37M’s volume and deck arrangements, the crew gets more space for amenities and operations. They have a mess opposite the belowdecks galley, and a laundry area. They also have their own stairway, independent of the guests’ stairs, and a dumbwaiter connecting all decks.
Take the next step: Benettiyachts.it
