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With such complexity
down below, you might imagine that the Wallypower is an intimidating technological
challenge for the helmsman. Admittedly Bassani did not let journalists
take the wheel during the demonstration at the Monaco Yacht Show (“It’s
a bit tricky,” he said with a charming smile), but he made it look
easy. Both turbines and diesels are electronically controlled, and simple
“clutch in” and “clutch out” buttons take care of
gearbox transfer from one to the other. The same control units also operate
the waterjets. In fact the helm station looks almost conventional—until
you notice the separate engineer’s console on the port side dedicated
to the turbines.
There is a two-minute,
computer-controlled startup procedure, and at the Monaco Yacht Show Wally’s
technical team had trouble with an air lock in the fuel supply to the
center engine. While they worked below trying to persuade the third turbine
to light, the yacht sat patiently in the middle of a gray, rain-lashed
Monaco harbor. While journalists kicked their heels and poked around,
Bassani exhibited the kind of charm and candor that has made him one of
the most popular and respected entrepreneurs on the European yachting
scene.
Bassani is well known
as an exceptional helmsman and passionate sailor. With skilled marketing,
ineffably stylish looks, and good sailing qualities, Wally sailboats have
carved a niche at the top end of the market. But certain questions needed
answers. Why a motoryacht? And why such a complex one?
Bassani met them all
with a smile. “I liked the challenge of this project,” he said.
Yes, it would have been more practical to build the simpler twin-diesel
version first, but that would have been “too easy.” It is not
just the look of the Wallypower that is unique. With her fully enclosed
wheelhouse and deck saloon, Bassani is aiming her at a wholly different
style of life onboard. “This is an open,” he said firmly, “the
new type of open. They started it ten years ago,” pointing out the
window at a Mangusta 108—also drifting, perhaps also having trouble
with its gas turbines. The Mangusta style of hardtop “open”
sport cruisers, contends Bassani, while hugely influential during the
1990’s, has had its day.
Even on a day when too
much sun would have been a nice problem to have, it was as clear as the
sides of the superstructure what he meant: The main deck of the Wallypower
is a wonderful living space, protected from sun and wind (and rain) yet
affording spectacular views of the sea and sky for guests, owners, and
helmsmen alike. This style of enclosed, open-air living could catch on.
Bassani is confident that it will.
The engineers reappeared,
and a thin whistle announced the startup of the third turbine as we headed
out to sea for a speed trial. “With each ton of fuel we use, we gain
a knot,” said Bassani, adding that we had full tanks that day. The
slight chop in the bay also made it unlikely that she’d set a personal
best: Waterjets prefer solid water, and with the hull lifting, they cannot
be at their most efficient. Still, when the acceleration came, it was
impressive. Below the waterline the hull is a conventional deep V, 22
degrees at the transom, and the 118 sliced through the chop with great
panache, slamming only when the waves slapped the huge chine flats—which
are deliberately outsized to keep spray out of the giant engine intakes.
Being insulated from
the wind, I found the speed readings on the GPS unreal: 54.4 knots on
our best run, an extraordinary figure for a boat of this size, and she
is capable of more: “Between St. Tropez and Porto Cervo, we averaged
57 knots,” said Bassani with some pride. “That’s 220 miles.”
But there was still work to do: Tweaks to the impeller pitch of the waterjets,
he said confidently, would produce a little more. She’ll never do
the 65 and even 70 knots that were claimed before launch, but 60 looks
realistic.
The man who once declared,
“I don’t like to follow the market, I like to drive the market,”
is also confident that the biggest risk of his career will pay off in
the end. The gestation between drawing the plans and drawing the crowds
has been long and, at times, arduous. But the Wallypower 118 is more than
a weird-looking motoryacht, she’s Luca Bassani’s vision of the
future. And it works.
Wally Yachts
Phone: (37) 7 93100090. www.wally.com.
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