Boat Reviews: 86S Azimut 2005

Boat Review: 86s Azimut 2005

Source: Capt. Ken Kreisler, PowerAndMotoryacht.com

I like stories about individuals who through determination and fortitude not only pursue a vision but also achieve it. Take Paolo Vitelli, the president of Azimut-Benetti. In 1969, with little more than a vision, the young university student started a yacht-chartering business that eventually evolved into the Azimut brand of yachts. Thirty-six years later, after acquiring the Fratelli Benetti yacht yard and Gobbi boatbuilding company, Azimut-Benetti is a world leader in boatbuilding and the Azimut name is synonymous with style, luxury, and performance.

The Azimut 86S is the latest endeavor from Vitelli, who along with designer Carlo Galeazzi and long-time stylist Stefano Righini, has produced a big, bold, and beautiful flagship for their Open Series which already includes 43-, 62-, and 68-footers. With optional power packages that include V-drives, water-jet drives and, as on my test boat, Arneson surface drives tied to a pair of 2,000-hp MTU diesels, the 86S is in many ways the embodiment of the Italian zest for life and Vitelli’s drive for success.

One look at my test boat at the Allied Richard Bertram (ARB) facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and it was easy to see what Vitelli and his cohorts had in mind for the 86. A low, beautifully proportioned express profile encompasses a slightly dipped bow ringed by a formidable rail that diminishes at her rakish amidships area, a sextet of distinctive rectangular midship windows in each side of her dashing red hull, and a tapered aft section where her Arneson drives are hidden under an artfully conceived teak swim platform. Right away, you know this is not a boat that belongs at the dock.

And that’s just what ARB’s senior corporate captain Stefan Czuplak and I had in mind as he maneuvered her out of her shed and into the narrow, boat-lined fairway with help from the standard bow and stern thrusters. At idle speed the big props, set at a neutral trim angle for maneuvering and motoring at idle speed, pushed us along as we slowly made our way in the no-wake zone. The 86 felt like a thoroughbred racehorse eyeing the track in front. I could almost sense her desire to get up and go.

I didn’t have long to wait. As we were clearing the Port Everglades jetties, Czuplak asked me to go aft to the spacious deck, which includes a large sunpad, where I’d spread out most of my gear on and secure it inside. “Once we get going, things have a tendency to get blown away out there,” he warned. Within moments I knew what he meant. After getting her up to about 15 mph, he began to slide the MTU electronic throttles forward; I heard the 2,000-hp engines spool up and their sequential turbos kicked in. As the 86 quickly picked up speed, he asked me to call out the rapidly rising rpms while he trimmed the drives. With the once frothy, whipped cream-like wake now rising higher and higher into the signature rooster tail, our speed increased until we hit 53 mph at WOT. And what do you do with a 52-ton, 86-footer at that speed? “Anything you want,” Czuplak said, as he put her though several aggressive turns on the flat-calm sea. Backing off to 2000 rpm, where we registered nearly 39 mph, the 86 was rock solid and always under control, whether we were banking to port and then to starboard, circling around and jumping her own wake, or going flat out across the Gulf Stream. Exciting doesn’t come close to describing her performance, but it’s a good start.

The thrill of driving this boat is yet another fulfillment of Vitelli’s vision for his company in general and the Open Series in particular. Like all Azimuts, the 86 has a true high-performance hull form. Galeazzi has combined a sharp entry and a moderate 12-degree deadrise at the transom designed to get the 86 up on plane and keep her there. The running bottom is not only comparatively flat, but it has large, wide chines to add lift. Working with the Arnesons, the result is maximum lift aft and impressive thrust. “Once the drives are trimmed properly, almost all the power is utilized. That’s how an 86-foot boat can go 52 mph,” Czuplak tells me.

But Vitelli’s vision is a line of yachts that is as stimulating inside as it is out on the water, and again, the 86 is typical. She has a four-stateroom, four-head layout that includes a forepeak VIP with an island queen mattress and a pair of double-berth quarters just aft. The sumptuous master suite is amidships to take full advantage of the boat’s 20’2″ beam and offers not only spacious accommodations but, as with all the living quarters aboard, plenty of stowage space for extended cruising.

Boat Specifications: 86S Azimut 2005

Boat Type: Megayacht (> 80′)

Standard Power: 2,000-hp MTU 16V M91 diesel inboards

Optional Power: None except for choice of jet or Arneson drives

Length Overall (LOA): 88’6″

Beam: 20’2″

Draft: 4’2″

Weight: 106,000 lbs.

Fuel Capacity: 1,584 gal.

Water Capacity: 397 gal.

Standard Equipment: 2/17.5-kW Kohler gensets; 120,000-Btu Cruiseair tropical A/C w/ SMX controls; 2/ Glendenning Cablemasters; trash compactor, central vac; oil-change system for mains and gensets; double Racors on mains, single Racor for gensets; s/s rub rail

Test Engines: 2,000-hp MTU 16V 2000 M91 diesel inboards

Transmissions / Ratio: ZF/not avail.

Props: 6-blade nibral

Steering: BCS hydraulic

Controls: MTU electronic

Optional Equipment On Test Boat: Hydraulic stern thruster; Bordeaux hull color; 2/underwater lights; electric cockpit roof; Scottsman ice maker in cockpit; trash disposal; custom interior by Marty Lowe; Tier 2 entertainment system featuring 42″ Fujitsu plasma HDTV, KVH Trac4 satellite antenna w/ 2 receivers, Direct TV DSS receiver, RCA digital set top DSS, JVC Arsenal DVD/CD stereo, Yamaha 5.1 Cinema Station receiver and subwoofer, Aeros remote control, and various Zenith LCD monitors; electronics package including 2/Raymarine E120 w/ color nav display, Raystar 125 GPS, Raymarine T52001 5S 4-kW open-array radar, Deckscan 20/20XL infrared color day/night camera and Newman 24-to-12 VDC converter; custom canvas; varnished aft-deck table; Marquipt Sea Stairs

Conditions: temperature: 91º; humidity: 81%; wind: 10 mph; seas: calm; load: 1,000 gal. fuel, 250 gal. water, 3 persons, 100 lbs. gear. Speeds are two-way averages measured w/ Stalker radar gun. GPH derived from MTU electronic engine-monitoring system. Range: 90% of advertised fuel capacity. Decibels measured on A scale. 65 dB is the level of normal conversation.