New build Sanlorenzo SL96A 2024

[Alicatt]

Absolutely.

Just to throw in another 100% hair-splitting thought, I suppose you will have some way to interact with those displays other than touch screen, right?
Like mouse/trackball/whatever - otherwise your arms should stretch as much as those of Mr. Fantastic...

So, if that is the case, I can't think of any logical constraints for using specific marine screens (be them Garmin, Raymarine, or whatever).
I mean, aren't there Garmin blackboxes capable to drive generic screens, like for instance the ultrawide+curved one that you have on your desk?
By and large, I would think that three of those could grant as much real estate glass as five 22" Garmin displays, if not even more.
And aesthetically, the curved shape would be nothing short of spectacular.

Not that the faceted cone array won't look amazing either, of course!
This thread just started, and the amount of first world problems arising already beggars belief....!

I was thinking along the same lines when I saw the 5 screens in the render, though finding a daylight viewable touchscreen waterproof screen would be difficult, you might have to be a custom build.

 

[Elessar]

I was thinking along the same lines when I saw the 5 screens in the render, though finding a daylight viewable touchscreen waterproof screen would be difficult, you might have to be a custom build.

Waterproof? If the water level is up to the screens he won’t be worried about the screens.

 

[MapisM]

Waterproofness aside, I'm also unsure they should be touch - hence the initial question in my previous post.
Oh, and I was focusing on the main helm alone, in my reasoning.
On the f/b, I'd rather stick to all marine grade components in principle, and the dashboard is flatter anyhow.

 

[jfm]

Yes all first world problems.
Yes I'm using a 49 inch curved screen on my desk and also at home and love it but I wouldn't want it on this boat. Nothing like the brightness of marine gear, and not touch screen. You're right about stretching to use touchscreen, I will have cursor control from the helm chair armrest, but often it will be much quicker to set things up at the beginning of a trip using the touch screen functionality.

Plus, these big desk curved screens are a cylinder not a cone, so would have to be mounted vertically or would look stupid like 3 bananas, and I rather like the "slanted back slightly" mounting for the Garmins that shows in the renders above.

With Garmin blackboxes, I don't know how many screens you can connect and whether a 49 inch monitor will be able to display the Garmin output in say 3 windows. Lots of potential for it all not to work! Whereas a straight MFD is always plug and paly and you know it will work.

 

[benjenbav]

Yes all first world problems.
Yes I'm using a 49 inch curved screen on my desk and also at home and love it but I wouldn't want it on this boat. Nothing like the brightness of marine gear, and not touch screen. You're right about stretching to use touchscreen, I will have cursor control from the helm chair armrest, but often it will be much quicker to set things up at the beginning of a trip using the touch screen functionality.

Plus, these big desk curved screens are a cylinder not a cone, so would have to be mounted vertically or would look stupid like 3 bananas, and I rather like the "slanted back slightly" mounting for the Garmins that shows in the renders above.

With Garmin blackboxes, I don't know how many screens you can connect and whether a 49 inch monitor will be able to display the Garmin output in say 3 windows. Lots of potential for it all not to work! Whereas a straight MFD is always plug and paly and you know it will work.

Would you be able to have one image across the five screens. Possibly a panoramic view of a port entrance etc?

 

[jfm]

Just to give a flavour of the factory interaction on this project, which is offered to customers who ask to be kept in the loop, I just wanted to share an example of what the factory sent this week. Switch off now if you find drawings, detail, and/or kitchens dull

So, about twice a week I get a bunch of drawings, and am asked "is this ok or do you want to change it?" They are very good about this. This morning it was a bunch of drawings of how the bed cabinets/bases would be made. A few days ago, it was the starboard/forward section of the kitchen and I'm just going to share that, not to start a big discussion on kitchens (!) but just to show what the factory sends me every few days.

The first picture is the GA of the kitchen, which has a part at the aft where you walk in with a left side opening to the pilothouse, a section on the left containing the big "USA style" fridge+more fridge drawers+Garmin screen+ crew stairs, and an L shaped bit on the right/forward that is made by Boffi. It's only this Boffi section that the plans and elevations below relate to.

The worktops and splashbacks can be in any material the customer asks for - there is no menu to choose from - and I'm going to try that new wonder material called "Dekton" - I hope it works well and if it doesn't it can be changed a year or two down the line. (Anyone tried it?) Also you'll see that I'm not a member of Henry's "Dishwashers=Useless" club . The doors are sized so you can get appliances in/out to change them.

As I say, these drawings are nerdish so look away now if this isn't your thing.

 

[jfm]

Would you be able to have one image across the five screens. Possibly a panoramic view of a port entrance etc?

Nice idea!
Only if you have a camera that produces that feed,( which I wont!)

 

[Portofino]

HUD - head up display .Is there any merit having above the screens , heading , speed , depth and rpm s ?
Perhaps shown on a vertical transparent “ screen “ in the central mullion aperture .

The old safety chestnut of dividing head down time gorping / fiddling with screens and ….erh looking out . The more screens the more time it’s gonna be head down , less time looking up and out .

Also same 4 ( + configurable ) delta s shown on normal screens dotted around the boat .If that’s not already do able ?
So you could be with friends / guests sat at the dining table under way and causality lift / turn your head and see these4 .Better if glass table they are imbedded .Also imbedded else where …..like you are sat on the bog and the 4 numbers are in a discrete corner of a bathroom mirror .

Just save s you having to keep checking in to the bridge wondering what’s the helms up to on long passages or @ anchor getting depth anxiety as it swings .

You might already have a trad garmin screen in the master ….have you ?
Have you considered a camera feed into the master telly ? So you can see from the bed ( via the remote ) a live feed of the stern Passerelle / dock and other deck areas in a kinda home security kinda of thing ,Who’s moving about ?

Expanding this surveillance thingy you can get a box and connect up discrete cams which records , puts it on cloud and allows internet access on your phone while you are away .As well obvious as security implications you can check up if employees have arrived and are doing the job(s) you have paid them for in your absence .

I realise there will be a ER cam ( fire ) fed into a bridge screen btw .

As I type this laying in bed in the AM in Switzerland about to get up I can see our gardner arriving at our U.K. house , the gates closing etc full 360 view .Looks like he’s pruning something ..

 

[Mr Googler]

Cutlery drawers above the oven so you pre warming the knives and forks in addition to the plates, is proper posh.

You really have thought of everything!

 

[Alicatt]

@Portofino jfm mentioned earlier that there would be Garmin repeaters in the crew cabins

@jfm The Boffi logo is almost the same as the own brand logo from our local supermarket Colruyt that goes under the name Boni. Had to go and check, it is just a serif of a difference
Boni Selection | Colruyt Group

 

[MapisM]

Switch off now if you find drawings, detail, and/or kitchens dull

You must be joking.
This is the most interesting forum post ever, according to the Admiral...
...who would be happy to have a kitchen like that at home!

Out of curiosity, did you spec the Blanco mixer taps ("Linus" model, in the drawings), or were they included in SL/Boffi proposal?
I'd be slightly surprised if Boffi (who make a point on "made in IT", as well as SL do, in general) were using German taps - albeit very good, allegedly.

 

[Richard.C]

Lots to say, so i need to summarise heavily...

Basic spec was "right on the limit for an owner driver", so about 95-98 feet.
Max LOA ~29m, to fit on the berth I want in Antibes. I don't want to be berthed in the location where the next size up (34m) berths are located.
Max beam 6.8m also to fit on the berth, though I recently bought the berth next door and could therefore have more than 6.8m beam, but at the time that was my limit.
Planing hull/RPH definitely
5 guest cabins all with ensuite shower rooms, minimum 2 crew cabins
Great galley.
Ultra high quality - more Rolls Royce than Mercedes
Need to be "content" with the brand/resale

As a rough summary of a LOT of debating/thinking/compromising, the scores on the doors went like this:

1. Ferretti 920 = nice boat but has 5 guest cabins and 4 bathrooms for some reason. They will build 5+5 but then one of the guest cabins becomes single bed only or bunks. Amazingly good price available when you get into real negotiations, and no meaningful credit risk. Ultimately a "no" because of the cabins, and tbh I don't love the slight panel van look of it.
2. Sunseeker - I prefer the 88 as a boat but it has no RPH and lots of compromises in 5 cabin guise. Sunseeker 95 ticks nearly all my boxes except it's unbelievably ugly imho. I don't really align with the Sunseeker brand approach either - I do not want the builder's name on my champagne glasses. Nice build quality especially the engine rooms imho. They will do a lot of customisation if you ask, much more than Princess, but tons less than Sanlorenzo. Quite good pricing when you see what you actually need to pay and some but not terrible credit risk imho.
3. Princess Y85 too small and Y95 was a potentially long wait, and as hull #1 has recently turned out I'm glad not to have it. Obviously I rejected X95 on ugliness, though I did go on board hull #1. Y95 is a nice boat (their whole range has decent build quality but not at "Italy standards"), massive fuel, but almost zero customisation and a "we know better than you" attitude. To be fair, they do genuinely think they know better; they're not just saying it. Also it's personal taste but their internal design isn't what I want (sofas made in their factory that look "RV built in" don't belong on this size of boat), not great engines choice (2000hp MAN) so running at higher rpm at any given speed. And at 95 feet their brand is very stretched/out of its depth - it belongs at 85 feet max imho. Decent amount of credit risk too imho, when I was executing a contract last summer, given that all of this is 8 not 7 figure territory.
4. Pearl 95 - I really like this boat - great overall design by Bill Dixon imho. Profile fussy with all those windows splodged everywhere, but that's the only negative on the design imho. Interior heavily dictated by Kelly Hoppen and - I got the impression - slightly non negotiable. She designs nice stuff but I don't fancy having to argue. I don't want to build in Taiwan (I've been there, but don't fancy regular bi-monthly visits) and the brand/resale isn't strong. Decent build quality at first look and quite a lot of customisation appetite. Very nice engine room and Bill D has done a great job in combining a flat floor garage with a decent engine room - he has done a great design here all round imho.
5. Sirena 88. I looked hard and there is plenty to love, especially the engine room and an easy 6 ensuite guest cabin layout, but the build quality is Turkish. Immense customisation avaialbe, and huge fuel tank. I think German Frers called it wrong when he made the aft hull extension (necessary to be under 24m LH) all above the waterline, leading to intolerable (imho) wave slap at anchor. Princess also used a stern extension on Y95 but they got the design right, imho. (This comes down to the "oxford comma" point in the other thread on SOF anchoring that I drifted a bit to a 24m discussion - it seems German Frers doesnt agree my reading of the rule and Princess do, which might be a mother tongue language issue). I also don't love the tender handling on Sirena 88.
6. All the other China/Taiwan boats - too beamy and I don't want to have to go there lots.
7. Van der Valk, probably their Pilot 26 stretched to 29m. Could be awesome but I don't have the time for a hull #1 full custom build. So, my fault not theirs.
8. Azimut 27 metri - very nice boat in many respects and great pricing when you get into negotiations but I just could not live with the Donald Duck looky likey bow and all of that scaffolding that they call a pulpit
9. Riva Argo - I totally love this boat and it was a contender up to the very end. Riva quality/feel/design/brand is just awesome. The build quality and engine room are awesome. They will customise plenty and I got to a great spec with them. Pricing is great when you get to the end of negotiations. No meaningful credit risk. If SL96A didn't exist I would definitely have bought this boat, with some important customisations, and loved it. It was a photo finish but the Riva lost to SL because of a too-small galley, a daft route for the food to get from galley to flybridge table, a day head on the lower deck, rather small swim platform, and an 8,700 litre fuel tank.
10. SL96A - when you walk on board you soon realise there is a whole different level of quality of fit out and cabinetry - superior (just) even to the Riva. That makes it unlike every other boat in this class, bar none, and the only one truly in Rolls Royce territory. Immense customisation opportunities/appetite, far above anything on this list apart from Van der Valk, and culturally ingrained into the company. Conservative but beautiful (imho) exterior styling, (even though I also like the non conservative Riva very much). Technical systems are as good as anything in this class can be, bar none. OK fuel tank (if not brilliant). By far the most expensive boat on this list, eek. By far the highest brand equity, on this list (except Riva, which is in the same league). As close as you will get to zero credit risk, such is the strength of the company. Warranty is easy - their factory is 120m from my home berth and I just drop it off for a month with a "jobs list" in its first winter and the folks who built it will lift it out and fix it (this is also true of Riva Argo)

Toys

1. Chase boat (I'll post details on that soon)
2. Tender probably Williams 435 - in identical livery mini-me to the Ribeye
3. Alternative tender is my old Novurania 430 with Yam70, that I did not sell with the Squadron 78. That is currently being re upholsters in the Ribeye's colour scheme
4. 2 seabobs F5S
5. Seadoo jetski with a complicated storage set up that I'll try to remember to describe later
6. Maybe the Laser sailboat (I still have that) or maybe an RS Aero instead.

Thanks for sharing this journey with us, enjoying it all so far.

I think you should add one of the following to the toy list though, unfortunately doesn't have the range to get from Jersey to SOF but would look cool tied behind the mother ship!

ICON Aircraft | Maker of the ICON A5 Amphibious Airplane

 

[henryf]

You've obviously been going down to the gym regularly @jfm judging by your rendering on the kitchen unit drawings.....

 

[dunedin]

Yes definitely all docking will be done from aft cockpit. I don't think I ever docked/undocked previous boats from the flybridge helm. Not only is visibility better from the aft cockpit, but crew/line handler communication is better too (or not needed because I can see what line handlers are doing so I do not need anyone to tell me).

Excuse my ignorance, being only familiar with smaller boats, but in a busy harbour, how /who is in control during the time when the skipper is moving from the main bridge /fly bridge helm position to the aft cockpit?

 

[jfm]

HUD - head up display .Is there any merit having above the screens , heading , speed , depth and rpm s ?
Perhaps shown on a vertical transparent “ screen “ in the central mullion aperture .

The old safety chestnut of dividing head down time gorping / fiddling with screens and ….erh looking out . The more screens the more time it’s gonna be head down , less time looking up and out .

Also same 4 ( + configurable ) delta s shown on normal screens dotted around the boat .If that’s not already do able ?
So you could be with friends / guests sat at the dining table under way and causality lift / turn your head and see these4 .Better if glass table they are imbedded .Also imbedded else where …..like you are sat on the bog and the 4 numbers are in a discrete corner of a bathroom mirror .

Just save s you having to keep checking in to the bridge wondering what’s the helms up to on long passages or @ anchor getting depth anxiety as it swings .

You might already have a trad garmin screen in the master ….have you ?
Have you considered a camera feed into the master telly ? So you can see from the bed ( via the remote ) a live feed of the stern Passerelle / dock and other deck areas in a kinda home security kinda of thing ,Who’s moving about ?

Expanding this surveillance thingy you can get a box and connect up discrete cams which records , puts it on cloud and allows internet access on your phone while you are away .As well obvious as security implications you can check up if employees have arrived and are doing the job(s) you have paid them for in your absence .

I realise there will be a ER cam ( fire ) fed into a bridge screen btw .

As I type this laying in bed in the AM in Switzerland about to get up I can see our gardner arriving at our U.K. house , the gates closing etc full 360 view .Looks like he’s pruning something ..

HUD is very difficult to make unless you're a car manufacturer making 100,000+ of them. Not aware of any you can buy and plug/play. I think the optics need to match the screen angle, and you need a special coating on the inside of the glass. Nice idea but I don't have enough life left to chase it down

I will have a couple of iPads that replicate the Garmin screens via wifi, so I can walk around the boat with a dashboard in my hand including camera feeds, and I can steer the boat from those iPads. I had that on last boat - works well.

Aside from the two helms, there will be 10 or 12 inch Garmin touch screens in galley, owner cabin, biggest crew cabin , and a 7 inch in aft cockpit. The Garmin screen in the galley will HDMI feed to the big saloon TV, and the Garmin in owner cabin will HDMI feed to that cabin's TV, exactly as you suggest , and yes all will feed to internet (though I don't want to snoop on crew - already have trust there there - chief stewardess has worked for me full time 10 years+)

 

[jfm]

You must be joking.
This is the most interesting forum post ever, according to the Admiral...
...who would be happy to have a kitchen like that at home!

Out of curiosity, did you spec the Blanco mixer taps ("Linus" model, in the drawings), or were they included in SL/Boffi proposal?
I'd be slightly surprised if Boffi (who make a point on "made in IT", as well as SL do, in general) were using German taps - albeit very good, allegedly.

Actually that surprised me too. In all the bathrooms there will be those beautiful CEA taps in bronze, made in IT obvs, but yes it was SL who proposed the German tap in the kitchen. I just told them what I wanted (anthracite colour, pull out hose, not much more to bother with tbh) and they came up with Germany! Germany has a big tap/bathroom industry of course (Grohe, Hansgrohe, V+B, etc etc). With the Meile appliances the kitchen is basically a Germany/Italy marriage anyway. With some USA and S.Korea spectators (Sub Zero and Samsung).

 

[jfm]

Thanks for sharing this journey with us, enjoying it all so far.

I think you should add one of the following to the toy list though, unfortunately doesn't have the range to get from Jersey to SOF but would look cool tied behind the mother ship!

ICON Aircraft | Maker of the ICON A5 Amphibious Airplane

That's beautiful thing. I haven't looked at their website in about 5 years so thanks for the link - what a beautiful machine. Could have a lot of fun with that.

 

[jfm]

Excuse my ignorance, being only familiar with smaller boats, but in a busy harbour, how /who is in control during the time when the skipper is moving from the main bridge /fly bridge helm position to the aft cockpit?

You make a good point. There is a generally 3-5 second gap while helmsman transits between the two so you should only do it in non-close quarter conditions. Actually this is part of the reason for my inverting the flybridge dash board left-right - it makes the transit time shorter.
My method is that a trusted crew person holds the remote at bottom of flybridge stairs and as I run down I grab it before I'm even off the staircase, so the "uncontrolled" time is literally 3 seconds (although technically it is not uncontrolled because the crew person is in control and has a licence, but she prefers not to operate the controls unless needed). Same applies when I'm transiting from aft deck up to flybridge - I just hand her the remote and run up the stairs to the fly helm, We have done this routine literally hundreds of times so are quite slick at it now.

By the way my remote on last boats and this boat will be wired. I can see the attractions of radio remotes but I'm going to stick with wired. There will be two wired remotes, aft deck and foredeck. The MTU system allows you to connect up to 4.

 

[Greg2]

The worktops and splashbacks can be in any material the customer asks for - there is no menu to choose from - and I'm going to try that new wonder material called "Dekton" - I hope it works well and if it doesn't it can be changed a year or two down the line. (Anyone tried it?)

No experience of Dekton but came across it when looking for a new dining table with this outfit

If it does what it says in the tin it should be a good choice.
.

 

[jfm]

Incidentally, part of the design of this particular boat is that there will be no handles on any cupboards anywhere. It's all flush and free of acne. Even the main fridge is a handle-less model. Sanlorenzo like this and it's mostly their idea and their thinking. The only door handles will be on the main doors that segregate rooms and cabins.