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Ah, the Mediterranean in early June, when every yachtsman feels he has a right to decent weather. And sure enough, when I got there it was warm, with low humidity and calm seas. Perfect conditions—except for boat testing.
In the new marina at Varazze, 15 miles west of Genoa on the Ligurian coast, Azimut's new service and delivery center was abuzz with activity. The shops all looked ready for a busy season, and the waterside cafes and restaurants seemed remarkably lively for so early in the day. But then again, this was Italy, where sitting in the sunshine with a croissant and a cappuccino is all in a day's work. It was all I could do to tear myself away.
There's a lot about the new Azimut 47 to make such sacrifices worthwhile. You notice something out of the ordinary as soon as you step into the saloon. It's not the decor, a pleasing combination of bleached oak, cream deckheads, and upholstery, with any accusations of blandness kept cleverly at bay by the contrasting chocolate brown of the leather surfaces and window moldings. It's not even the dinette, up forward on the port side, with its extending table making an excellent breakfast bar or navigator's perch. It's the ingeniously achieved impression of size.
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To start with, there's a lot of window area, on all four sides, to let in plenty of light. Then the galley has been set down a level, forward of the dinette and out of the way. The sofas look big enough for a soccer team—a seven-a-side one, anyway—with low backs to make them as unobtrusive as possible. And finally, the thin, stainless steel legs under the dinette and helm seats, along with their single back support, allow uninterrupted sightlines throughout. It's cleverly done and looks like the main deck of a 50-footer, or even a 52.
Two significant options are available in the saloon of the 47. The first of these is a 41-inch-wide sofabed, which unfolds from the starboard side. The other option is a sideboard in place of the sofa located to port. In a saloon that normally lacks stowage in its standard layout, this could be pretty useful.
There are more surprises to come. Step down the forward companionway, and you find the galley on the port side, under the windscreen. It has an opening porthole and limited stowage under the counter, beneath the sole hatch, and in an eye-level locker, although the fridge-freezer is a generous size.
From this central lobby by the galley, you might find yourself instinctively turning aft, as I did, to find the owner's cabin. But you'd be wrong. We've come to expect full-beam, midships owner's suites even on 40-something footers. Their popularity has had a tyrannical effect. It's not that you can't fit a good one into this size of hull, it's just that if you do, there isn't often a lot of room for anything else. It's usually the third cabin that suffers—if there is one.
Azimut has held its nerve on the 47, however, placing the owner's suite in the traditional slot up in the bow, leaving the midships area for guests. The result is a vindication of clear thinking and sensible design. There is plenty of room forward for a luxurious suite—especially with Azimut's distinctive bow shape—and the 47 combines a full-size double bed (6'4"x5'0") with generous stowage: two hanging lockers, a large under-berth drawer, and an additional large locker that is revealed when the mattress is lifted on gas struts.
The owner's head isn't overly large—the door opens into the shower stall—but it's more than adequate, with the same 6'5" headroom as the cabin and plenty of additional stowage.
When you do turn aft from the lobby, you're faced with two doors, each leading into a similarly sized twin-berth guest cabin with 6'4" of headroom at the forward end, reducing to just over 5'0" aft. The starboard one is obviously for your VIPs, with a berth that slides across to create a 6'3"x4'8" double (cleverly, the drawers in its base open both ways). It also has access to the head, which is the same size and layout as the owner's.
Of course, plenty of owners will want a midships master cabin, even on a 47. But with this boat, Azimut seems to be banking on the fact that there are enough of you out there who are prepared to put up with slightly less personal space so that your friends can have more. Good for you.
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