World's Coolest Boats

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www.motorboatsmonthly.co.uk
MBY is starting up a new regular feature next month called 'World's Coolest Boats' and we'd love you to get involved!

The idea is quite simple (and ever-so-slightly inspired by a similar feature in Yachting World) - each month, we'll devote the last page of the magazine to one of the world's coolest motor boats and we'd love to hear your suggestions.
It can be a production boat or a one-off, a leisure boat, a race boat or even a military or commercial craft, the only rule is that it's no longer in production, and all we need from you is a few good reasons why you think this merits a place in the definitive list of the coolest motor boats ever built.
You don't need to post images on here as we can source images ourselves, but if you have any that you own the copyright to, that would be ideal.

To get the ball rolling, the first nomination for World's Coolest Boat is the 118 WallyPower:

Michael Bay’s 2005 sci-fi thriller movie The Island was about a group of people isolated in a compound, they’re told, due to nuclear fallout. As the film progresses, we learn that these people are in fact clones of wealthy individuals, created for organ harvesting should it ever be needed. Because they are clones, they experience dreams based on lives they have not lived. One of them is a clone of a famous yacht designer, and so his dreams are of superyachts.

The studio needed the most dramatic, the most outstanding, the most iconic superyacht on the water to illustrate this, and so, of course, they chose the WallyPower 118.

The brainchild of Luca Bassani, heir to a Milanese lighting fortune and owner of Monaco based Wally Yachts, it was the first foray into large motor yachts for his yard, noted up until then for building edgy sailboat designs and being named after the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character, Wally Gator (a favourite of his young son).

The most outstanding feature of this sensational beast is the styling. 118ft long and completely unique, it appears to have been constructed using origami. The hull is carbon fibre and GRP composite, the superstructure triple laminated tinted glass on a carbon frame. And if that’s not whacky enough, everything on the exterior of the yacht, from the cleats to the tables to the seating, is concealed, rising out of the deck when required. If Darth Vader had a superyacht, it would look like this.

Such an outstanding design deserves outstanding performance, so the pair of 370hp diesel engines, producing a top speed of 9 knots, appears initially underwhelming. But fear not, these are merely an amuse-bouche, fitted only to manoeuvre the boat out of the harbour. Once at sea the captain is free to light up the three Vericor TF50 gas turbines, unleashing over 16,800hp through three (two steerable, one fixed) water jets and propelling this incredible machine past 60 knots, according to the manufacturer.

Although conceived as a production yacht, reportedly only one was ever built. The price at the time, £17 million.

Cool Cuts
YEAR 2004
LOA 118ft 1in (36.0m)
BEAM 29ft 6in (9.0m)
POWER 16,800hp
SPEED 65 knots
PRICE £17 million
COOL RATING Absolute zero
 

Portofino

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Other mags correctly list Itama with similar “cool “reviews
I think the 38 from 1979 fit’s the brief .It’s we’re it all started .
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The Itama 38 speedboat is Italian designed based on race winning Don Aronow hulls and is considered to be one of the most iconic Italian speedboats on the water. Offering a comfortable and smooth ride, this is a classic boat that eternally is the epitome of the Mediterranean simple luxury.

Itama remains an iconic name in the history of Italian sport yachts since the brand was established in the late 1960s by Mario Amati, who’s surname composed in reverse is where the legend began. Instantly recognisable by their timeless design, familiar Itama blue deep V hulls and of course, their 100% devotion to the authentic ‘open’ style: these are the elements that together underlie the history, distinctiveness and timeless beauty of these special yachts.

All you need to know about Itama, the timeless Italian open
 

Divemaster1

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Thunderbird on Lake Tahoe:

Length: 55' (16.8 m)
Beam: 11'10" (3.6 m)
Draft: 3'8" (111.8 cm)
Powerplant (2): Allison V-1710
Gross Weight: 18 tons (16.3 mt)
Cruising Speed: 24 kph
Top Speed: 60 kph
Prop Diameter: 22" (55.9 cm)
Fuel Consumption: 60 gph (227 lph)

 

Sticky Fingers

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I'd like to nominate that icon of late 60's powerboat racing, 'Surfury'. To anyone of a certain age who grew up watching the BBC2 test transmisisons after school, the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race and the round britain race featured in 'Ride the White Horses' painted a dramatic picture of amazing boats in challenging waters.

Surfury seemed to me to be the epitome of cool at the time, and of course she survives albeit not in running condiiton as far as I know.

1649071185406.png
 

AndrewJ5

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Sailing Yacht A. It's so unique. It reminds me of a cross between an old galleon ship from the stern and aft quarters and a modern but more traditional Superyacht in the bow.hero-fleet-sailingyachta.jpg
 

AndrewJ5

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Makes little marketing sense to me to be seen nowadays promoting Russian oligarchy wealth like Yacht A ^^^ .
Good luck publishing that kinda stuff in todays woke world .
It is solely a view on the Philippe Stark design. I have appreciated his work over many years. If you or anyone else finds it distasteful I have no issue with the post being removed given the yacht’s connection to an oligarch.
 
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Portofino

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PowerYachtBlog

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The three most Classic iconic boats ever existed are IMO the following; Riva Aquarama (Special), Bertram 31, and Itama 38 .

The Itama 38 (my preferred) is limited by its limited production (170 made in twenty years) and its success on the central and Western basin of the Med. But in some areas see around Capri and St.Tropez it super iconic even more the other two. Still she was more successful although a bit cheaper (20 to 30%) to the Magnum 40 produced in like forty units.

That's not to say there is no other iconic boats, Bertram has at least two other models IMO like the 54 and 38 Special (a sort of competitor to the Itama), Magnum made a few like the 53, 45 and 40, Sunseeker 37 Tomahawk (mk.2), Fairline first generation Squadron has also taken the test of time very well especially the 47 (50) and 56 (59) models, Pershing's 54 is also another gem, and Princess first generation V-series V39(40) and V52(55) also aged very well. Sanlorenzo 62 is also a timeless peace of beauty which never gets old. And the Zuccon designed Posillipo 52 Technema launched in 1986 did invent the modern motor yacht back in that day,

Obviously Classic and Iconic can go hand in hand but that is not always the case. A Princess X series or a Wally Why can be Iconic for some pushing new design traits today, but they can really take the test of time that well.
I guess only time will give you that answer.
 
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