What It’s Like Onboard Azimut’s New 98-Foot Magellano Flagship

Azimut’s Magellano 30M is a design coup, both inside and out. U.K. naval architect Ken Freivokh, who has crafted more than 30 superyachts in his career (including stars like the Maltese Falcon), penned the 98-footer’s exterior lines. He also worked on the original Magellano series in 2009.

We had a chance to step aboard earlier this month as the Magellano flagship made its entrée into the North American market at the Miami International Boat Show.

The designer brought a sense of grace to the five-stateroom vessel—no small feat for what is essentially a large trawler. Though the 30M looks almost rectangular from the side, its rounded windows and circular portholes soften what could easily have been an austere or cookie-cutter look. Rounded lines on the flybridge enclosure also help keep the yacht’s profile fluid. Another nice touch are the louvers, just forward of the cockpit, which deftly echo some of the classic Benetti builds from the 1960s “Dolce Vita” era.

As much as I loved the exterior, it was the interior that really got my attention. For that, Azimut brought in artist, architect, and now yacht designer Vincenzo de Cotiis. The Milan-based creative is best known for his terranean projects that mix modern design elements with a historical flair. On the 30M, he did not need to reach that far back into the past to find inspiration.

The interior has a 1980s vibe imbued by pastel colors throughout and irregular shaped, mirrored surfaces. But this bit of nostalgia is mixed with the inside-out aesthetic that is so prevalent in yachting right now, with near sole-to-ceiling windows in the salon and very low furniture that serves to amplify the open-concept layout. Glass defines the interior, with 750 square feet used across the vessel.

Another touch that I can’t remember seeing on a yacht before was the use of what de Cotiis and Azimut are calling “artistic fiberglass.” The aquamarine material can be seen throughout the interior, mostly on countertops and somehow makes strands of raw fiberglass look pretty. It’s a nod to the Brutalist aesthetic that has become so hot among a certain home buyer in recent years.

The Magellano has a primary suite on the main deck, accessed through a passageway lined with old-school, circular portholes that open up into a space that feels larger, thanks to the sole-to-ceiling windows on either side. A mirrored big-screen TV on the after bulwark of the stateroom also adds the perception of a larger space. For a vessel this size, I was surprised that there was no walk-in closet.

Some of the 30M’s best attributes are found below the waterline. The vessel has a Dual Mode hull, which makes it efficient both in displacement and semi-planing modes, delivering 15 to 20 percent reduced fuel consumption compared to traditional hard-chine planing hulls. The 100kWh lithium batteries also let the boat stay at anchor for four hours without running the engine and eight hours at night. The result is no noise and zero emissions.

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Back outside, the 30M has a lovely bow-deck lounge with the expected lounge seating and carbon-fiber poles for the sunshade, as well as a roomy work area for the crew up front, with stainless-steel everything.

But the marquee outdoor deck is the flybridge. That space handles all dining duties with a table for 11—another nod to the outside-in concept and the new ways in which owners use their yachts. A bar for three to port exhibits high levels of fit and finish with its stainless inlays, though I would trade out the bare teak seats for something more comfortable and perhaps more stable.

A grill at the aft end of the deck also signals Azimut’s intent to make its new flagship popular in the U.S. market. With such delightful design bona fides, there’s no reason why it won’t thrive here.