Boats have always been important to Ferretti Group CEO Alberto Galassi. His oldest is a trailerable Rudy, notable for being one of the earliest fiberglass Riva models. Galassi’s father bought her in the mid-1970s, primarily so he could take the family water skiing. Today, Galassi keeps her with a big sister, a Riva Aquarama Super, on Italy’s Lago Iseo, the same lake on which Riva was established in 1842. Galassi also has an Itama 62, which he keeps at Capri, a jewel of an island between the Gulf of Naples and the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The Galassis entered large-yacht ownership with a succession of Sanlorenzos, including a 2001 SL82, Telli Blu, and a 2005 SL88, Telli Too. The couple then migrated to the Ferretti Group. Their first Custom Line was the Navetta 33 Crescendo Telli’s in 2014. Throughout all ownership, they have retained the same captain, Marco Revello.
The 108-foot Custom Line Navetta 33, the Galassis’ newest delivery in 2017, evolved from two previous models with the same designation. Custom Line says her bulbous-bow, semidisplacement hull form is new, and the model is on track to be even more popular than its predecessors. Eight of the old Navetta 33 were built, and a dozen more of the Navetta 33 Crescendo followed; prior to the new yacht’s showing at the 2017 Cannes Yachting Festival, Custom Line had already sold six to owners all over the world. The first went to the Galassis in Italy, the second to a Lebanese owner, and the third is bound for an American who plans to keep her in Florida. Hull No. 4 is off to a Brazilian buyer, No. 5 to another European and No. 6 to Hong Kong.
Why does this design have such universal appeal? Take a look at her pale-cream profile. I challenge anyone to point to a better-balanced production trideck. She’s timeless, but not dainty. She’s solid and architectural, even. Credit for the exterior and general arrangement goes to Zuccon International Project in Rome, which has been responsible for every Custom Line launched. Bernardo Zuccon says one of his studio’s keywords is abitare, which translates to “live.”
“Boats are not objects,” he says. “They are spaces for people. Our job is to find better solutions for them. And the owners of Navettas tend to spend comparatively more time aboard their yachts, so livability is even more important.”
One way the firm seeks to enrich life aboard is by connecting indoor and outdoor spaces. “Wherever possible,” Zuccon says, “we try to break down barriers, physically and visually.”
The new Navetta 33 delivers on that promise. Both the main deck aft and the upper deck aft feel like they have a gravitational pull from the indoor spaces. They lure you out and then onward to all the other open areas: the flybridge, the foredeck terrace (which I particularly loved with its Bimini top deployed for sun protection) and the dual-mode transom beach club, which simultaneously lifts the garage door while a platform submerges for tender launch and retrieval. Its lower section acts as a lift and swim platform too.
The rest of Telli’s general arrangement is conventional enough for a trideck of her proportions, but with more than the usual amount of natural light, fresh air and perception of volume. Lots of her windows actually open, which is unusual.
The main deck has an open-plan lounge and dining area, a galley to port, and a lobby and day-head to starboard. The full-beam owners’ stateroom is forward. Up one level, the bridge occupies half the upper deck with a captain’s cabin and pantry, and the after part of the upper deck is all sky lounge. Belowdecks are four more staterooms for as many as nine guests: three transverse doubles and a twin-berth setup with a Pullman. Forward quarters can take four crew, who have a mess in addition to their cabins.
Custom Line interiors, done by the Ferretti Group’s in-house design team, are always oh-so-chic, and Telli’s is no exception. Warm walnut contrasts with cool, whiteoak soles. Stand-alone furniture is by Minotti and Paola Lenti, and delivers as much of a wow factor as it does a comfort quotient. Plus, Telli’s décor is especially vibrant. It includes striking contemporary art with an eclectic, attention-grabbing mix of vibrant paintings, sculptures and embroidery. The artists include Mimmo Paladino, Alighiero Boetti and Mimmo Rotella.
The builder says Telli is built for quiet cruising, with noise- and vibration suppression systems on board. Propulsion-wise, Telli has the Navetta 33’s standard twin 1,400 hp MAN V-12s, which are rated for 3,000 hours and can be specified with EPA Tier 3 approval. They deliver a top speed around 15 knots and a range of more than 1,500 nautical miles at a 12-knot cruise. That range is 1,900 nautical miles at a more relaxed 10 knots.
Navetta 33 owners also can choose twin 1,650 hp MAN V-12s, which are rated for 1,000 hours, or 1,622 hp Caterpillar C32s rated for 3,000 hours. The builder says the optional power plants bump up maximum speeds to 15 or 16 knots, respectively, but Navetta owners aren’t usually in that much of a hurry. All of the first six 33s sold have been ordered with the least-powerful MANs.
Telli also checks off the stabilizer box — twice. Not only does she sport a pair of ABT-Trac fin stabilizers, but she also has twin Seakeeper NG16 gryostabilizers. Galassi has long been a champion of the technology; at a press conference a couple of years ago, he declared that during the past decade, no other technology has had such a positive impact on motoryacht sales.
Following her launch this past June, Telli cruised from Ancona, on Italy’s east coast, around the nation’s boot heel and up to Cagliari on Sardinia before striking out for Ibiza in Spain’s Balearic Islands. That’s where the Ferretti Group staged its invitation-only Midsummer Dream showcase in late July. The Galassi family then enjoyed their new yacht during their annual two-week August vacation, cruising to Mallorca and Menorca in the Balearics before heading to the Côte d’Azur and St. Tropez. From there, it was off to the Cannes Yachting Festival in September for Hull No. 1’s world premiere.
Telli’s home port is La Spezia on Italy’s west coast, adding yet another yachting destination to the Galassis’ options for the coming summer.
Salon Setup
Some of the Navetta 33’s standard salon equipage includes overhead LEDs, a drawer-style refrigerator, electrically operated Roman blinds, and a home-theater system with Apple TV, Blu-ray DVD player, 55-inch LED Smart TV and iPad mini control system for the entertainment package.
Building Bigger
The Ferretti Group’s custom superyacht division, CRN, builds the Navetta 33. Its facility is in Ancona, a city of about 100,000 people on Italy’s Adriatic Coast, roughly 140 miles south-southeast of Venice. The site also builds the Navetta 33’s sisterships, the Navetta 28 and Navetta 37, plus the new-for-2018 Navetta 42. The yard turns out 10 to 12 Navetta hulls each year. Its biggest project was 2013’s 262-foot Chopi Chopi. CRN is also building the all-new, all-aluminium and biggest-ever Pershing (a 140-footer) along with the first steel-hulled Riva since the 1950s. At 164 feet, that yacht will also be the Riva brand’s biggest-ever project. In addition, look for CRN’s handiwork in the first Zuccon-designed, 164-foot, steel and aluminum Superconero, as well as two more fully custom projects (a 259-footer from Zuccon with a Laura Sessa interior, and a 203-footer done inside and out by Nuvolari-Lenard).
Well-Connected
Alberto Galassi, Ferretti Group CEO, is a principal player within an industrial dynasty. His wife of 25-plus years, Antonella, is the only daughter of Piero Lardi Ferrari, the only living son of Enzo Ferrari, founder of the iconic sports-car builder and Formula 1 race team. Having spent virtually all his working life at Ferrari, Piero remains vice chairman today with a 10 percent stake estimated to be worth well over $1 billion. Now his family also holds a 13.2 percent stake in the Ferretti Group, which was on track for sales of around $705 million for the 2017 calendar year. More importantly, Galassi’s management team is putting profits back into product development. The Ferretti Group has created no fewer than 32 new models during the past four years for the Ferretti, Pershing, Riva and Custom Line brands.
