Nautor Swan announced that it had formed a superyacht division for its iconic sailboats. Sanlorenzo Yachts, which acquired the Finnish sailboat builder last June, held a roundtable press conference aboard one of its superyachts at the Palm Beach International Boat Show to announce the new series.
The first vessel will be a 43-metre (141-foot) Maxi alloy sailing yacht, expected to be launched in 2028. Nautor Swan CEO Giovanni Pomati said the largest maxi sailing yacht they have is a 128-footer, which is scheduled to launch later this year. “As you can imagine, the owners of those kind of boats are looking for even bigger ones,” Pomati said at the press conference. Eventually, the brand will build a 56-metre (184-foot) vessel and a 65-metre-plus (213-foot) superyacht as part of the series.
The market for large sailing superyachts is a fraction of the motoryacht segment above 100 feet, with firms like Perini Navi, Royal Huisman, Baltic Yachts, Southern Wind, each turning out one or two boats per year. Of course, the two largest-ever sailing yachts came from Oceanco, Black Pearl and Jeff Bezos’s Koru. The new Nautor Swans will be built of an aluminium alloy, which requires specialised technology and knowledge that Nautor Swan will import from the Netherlands. The new superyachts will also be built at a facility near Sanlorenzo’s headquarters in Viareggio, Italy, which will also have its own technical centre. Pomati noted that Sanlorenzo’s much larger size and engineering capacity gives the project “financial and material synergies” to create the new line of maxi yachts.
Image courtesy of Nautor Swan
Sanlorenzo chairman Massimo Perotti noted that one of his powerboat brands, Bluegame, built and designed a hydrogen-powered tender for the US America’s Cup team, American Magic, which competed in last year’s event in Barcelona. “That was an important step for Swan,” said Perotti, noting that sustainability will be a mantra for the motoryacht builder going forward. Last year, it launched the world’s first 164-foot 50Steel Almax motoryacht, incorporating a green-methanol fuel cell that powers its hotel load with zero carbon emissions. By 2028, it will have another superyacht powered by 80 per cent carbon-free methanol to propel the boat.
Nautor Swan also launched its first hybrid sailing yacht last summer, the Swan 88, which previewed at the Monaco Yacht Show. In Palm Beach, Perotti also spoke about designing and building the “perfect sailboat” within the next five years, that will be powered only by wind and an electric generator in the lower decks that produces up to 50 KwH of energy. “That will be enough to power a 40-metre (131-foot) boat at eight knots,” he said. “It also puts us well on the road to being carbon-neutral by 2030.”
Image courtesy of Sanlorenzo
But the purpose of the press conference was the new Swan Maxi alloy series. Pomati said the initial engineering has begun, and the team released an initial rendering that shows a long, slender vessel, but without much detail. Edmiston Yachts, which has sold more large sailing superyachts than any other brokerage firm, will also be part of the initiative. “We’re going to work very closely with Massimo and Giovanni to help innovate the product,” said Jamie Edmiston, the brand’s CEO. “We’ve got a reasonably good idea what we think is going to sell in the marketplace. And then we’re going to be very focused on the sales and marketing and putting the opportunities in front of the client base worldwide.”
Malcolm McKeon Yacht Design will design the new line. Antonio Santella, who launched Sanlorenzo’s superyacht division, will also oversee this new division. The sales and marketing office will be in Newport, Rhode Island, which many consider the historic home of competitive sailing. It has hosted many America’s Cup events since the first in 1930, and the New York Yacht Club, which sponsored American Magic, has its summer headquarters there. Bruce Brakenhoff, former president of Perini Navi USA, is now a broker at Edmiston and will lead the sales effort. “I am positive that we can do well with this new product,” said Brakenhoff at the press conference. “There is absolutely a hole in the marketplace.”
It’s a hole that this team plans to fill in the next five years.
