Who likes Azimut boats?

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crazy4557

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OK folks, let's liven up this slightly downbeat forum (bit like the weather!!) with a bit of a debate about Azimuts boats. What's the consesus of opinion between these and Brit builders... they're good value on a pound per foot basis but apart from dodgy Italian electrics are they much worse that then Faiprincealine's??
You can get a potentially good 39 - 42' fly for not a lot of money......If you had £150k to spend would it be on one of these??? If not why not.....
 
For over 5 years we looked after the after sales aspect of Azimut on behalf of Med Sale.

Particularly pre 2006 boats, in my view, they all had a flair not shared by anyone else, like a Armani suit, style, wow factor and so much more. In my view they were like Masaratis compared to Mercedes, perhaps not everyones taste and maybe not as well founded, but owning one put you in a league ahead.

In terms of general build quality they actually over-engineer on many areas but have one or two, minor, issues. To use the automotive comparison again, some felt owning an Azimut was like owning an Alfa Romeo.

It's no coincidence that Alfa Romeo, Masarati and Azimut all hail from Italy, they have much in common.

I believe that in terms of second hand boats Azimut hold up very well against Princess and Fairline, offering something very exciting to own with interior joinery and fittings way ahead of the others and currently at attractive prices.

Not wishing to take advantage of the forum too much, may I suggest anyone looking to buy an Azimut should contact me, I specialise in survey work on power boats and as an Azimut factory trained technician and many years experience with this brand I know most of the quirks.
 
meridianyachts said:
For over 5 years we looked after the after sales aspect of Azimut on behalf of Med Sale.

Particularly pre 2006 boats, in my view, they all had a flair not shared by anyone else, like a Armani suit, style, wow factor and so much more. In my view they were like Masaratis compared to Mercedes, perhaps not everyones taste and maybe not as well founded, but owning one put you in a league ahead.

In terms of general build quality they actually over-engineer on many areas but have one or two, minor, issues. To use the automotive comparison again, some felt owning an Azimut was like owning an Alfa Romeo.

It's no coincidence that Alfa Romeo, Masarati and Azimut all hail from Italy, they have much in common.

I believe that in terms of second hand boats Azimut hold up very well against Princess and Fairline, offering something very exciting to own with interior joinery and fittings way ahead of the others and currently at attractive prices.

Not wishing to take advantage of the forum too much, may I suggest anyone looking to buy an Azimut should contact me, I specialise in survey work on power boats and as an Azimut factory trained technician and many years experience with this brand I know most of the quirks.
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Generally I like them, though not enough to buy one but that's down to detialed personal choices. Many of them are nicely styled. I agree most of the above, except that I'd say their interior joinery and fittings are NOT way ahead of the others, at least not the other quality mainstreamers like FairPrinSeeker. I don't particularly rate the helm ergonomics on their bigger boats. Wow factor is a many faceted thing - there are much better suits on Savile Row than Armani frexample
 
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I think on the bigger models today 78 upwards the quality is better to the three ms UK builders
on there mainstream line today -72S I think is fairly similar with better things in some aspects and not in others
Fair to say that design wise they have made school in the last twenty years, and everyone have been following what Azimut do or have done...
I think for Med style Motor Yachts they are top sellers world wide and in the med, and they managed to do the same in the Sport Yacht market with there S series launched only in 2003...
now they are also challenging the Explorer trawler market with the Magellano, will see how this goes, but I am quite sure they will suceed also here

I think the motto of if you can beat them join them stays true to Azimut...
 
Well I like them. In fact I owned one, an AZ46. I think they're a bit over styled so they could date more quickly than more conservative designs but the current designs look the biz to me eyes, esp the 53 and 58. FWIW and based on my experience with the AZ46, Azimut do seem to use high quality equipment in their boats; mine had stuff like Kohler genny, Cruisair a/c, Vacuflush bogs, Racor filters, PSS shaft seals etc. No HFL or Whittall **** to be found. My boat had some nice practical features like big enclosed fairleads, fuel fillers in spillage traps, big anchor and chain etc
Like any Italian boats, mine had some stupidities too. The helm ergonomics are not great, as you have pointed out, and fixed helm seats are not acceptable on any boat of this value. But poor helms seem to be a general Italian blind spot so Azimut are not alone. Also another Italian characteristic and it's certainly the case with some Azimuts is a large engine bay but at the expense of a storage lazarette, which is disadvantage if you need to carry stuff. Another Azimut thing are the electric side windows which look great at boat shows but fail as I well know. My favourite bit of bone headed design on my boat was the aft facing fridge in the galley which emptied it's contents on to the galley floor every time the boat went on to the plane, unless the tiny door lock was engaged.
Having said this, I wouldn't have any hesitation about buying another one although the current high value of the € make their new prices ridiculously high in £ and I guess that will translate into high used asking prices
 
I only have eyes for Azimut's but to be fair (and perhaps a little short-sighted), it's the only brand I've had 1st hand experience with. What drove me to them initially was their amazing exterior styling with the swooping lines and mirrored windows. I was a non-boater then with fresh eyes and to me, cosmetically they just stood out miles above any other brand.
Asides from cosmetics, we've so far had over 300 hours of trouble free boating. The engineering and mechanical installation inc. the Cats is excellent and the wiring impeccable. I think it was only the Italians' cars that got the dodgy wiring!
All imho of course.

BTW, I'd personally recommend Meridian Yachts above, Nick taught me with great patience to drive the boat, has been a brilliant Skipper for us when it's been chartered, and has given me much help and advice which I'm very grateful for.
 
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They are made in Italy as my Absolute was. This is the 1st boat I have had or indeed been on that is, so far, faultless. The attention to detail is second to none, & that includes the electrics. My trade was cabinet making many years ago & the quality of the joinery is far superior to all of the other boats I looked at before buying this one. All the little things most peeps wouldn't notice were done properly, which may not be obvious when comparing two new boats, but after a little use it begins to tell.
I live not far from EBY & had a good look at some examples of a certain brand or two, doors no longer aligned, hinges showing stress etc, & this was only after very minimal use.
 
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Meridian are based in Beaulieu so I cover U.K. south coast mainly however I have carried out surveys on the cote d'azur and channel islands. Whilst the cost is higher many people prefer a U.K. surveyor and banks and finance companies use our services across Europe. I recently went to Norway which, surprisingly was cheaper than the local firm.
 
I have to agree with what RD says my Gobbi is the same where you do not see it is way aheah of other brands. Gobbi today are the major share holders of Absolute

CMJ owns an Azimut 50, and this is one of the best reviewed model of the brand
I spoke to a dozen owners and captains who have or handled a 50 and the only thing I hear is positive remarks for this boat
 
PowerYachtBlog said:
now they are also challenging the Explorer trawler market with the Magellano, will see how this goes, but I am quite sure they will suceed also here
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Can someone explain to me why on earth this is branded as an Azimut instead of a Mochi? It looks like a scaled down version of the 23m Long Range Mochi, and iirc, will even be available with the hybrid drive. Mind you, I never really understood why the 23m was branded a Mochi in the first place, doesn't seem a natural stable mate to a retro lobster boat? I hope Azimut build their boats better than they do their marketing plans.
 
because Mochi is not a brand of Azimut may be....
Mochi is owned Ferretti Group

I think the 23 Long Range is very different to the Magellano, altough from a POV they do challenge for the same customer
worth to note is that the concept of the Long Range is also coming from a full displacement hull with a bulbous bow too
while the Magellanos hull designed by Bill Dixon has more planning characteristics. Infact the 74 reaches 25 knots of top speed, while the Mochi reaches 16 knots
The most important difference between the two vessels is IMO the Magellano can easily tempt a planning boat lover having planning cruising speeds if desired, while the Long Range cannot...
 
A ggod friend of mine has had a AZ42 for a few years now and its been a fantastic boat. In fact I took it to the Southampton boat show in 02 whwn it was new. It cruises in the high 20's and tops out at an amaising 34 knotts. I know it does 240 miles on a tank full becaused we ran out of diesel outside Salcombe. Stupid but but a long run from Pwllheli in one hit. Faulty fuel guage now fixed.
It has been all over the south and France and has come through some very rough passages un fased.

Gary
 
As a fender-kicker I would say that Azimut have consistently, on balance, been my favourite mainstream 'producer' of flybridge and sports cruisers between 35 and 70 feet for the last 15 years. The 68S was ( and still is ) a personal favourite.

However at last Cannes Boat Show the finish on the 62S just wasnt very good. When Wakeup pointed out the exposed studs in panels / headlinings inter alia the sowewhat inexperienced staff did not know what to say. Hopefully that was a one-off 'bodge job' for the show and and not indicative of a drop of standards. The brochure and site shots do not have the same 'errors' so I would doubt it.
 
As an ex girlfriend of mine many many years ago said after we split due to her exploits whilst on holiday in Italy with some mates, "Italians do it better". Seem to remember not being too impressed at the time, but I am beginning to see what she meant :eek:
 
EME said:
However at last Cannes Boat Show the finish on the 62S just wasnt very good. When Wakeup pointed out the exposed studs in panels / headlinings inter alia the sowewhat inexperienced staff did not know what to say. Hopefully that was a one-off 'bodge job' for the show and and not indicative of a drop of standards. The brochure and site shots do not have the same 'errors' so I would doubt it.
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I was on the 62S in Malta boat show last September, which was a three month old used boat with 800 hours already and it had none of this...
Is engine room was also quite large for an open.
They should also present the 62S with ZF Zeus pods this year
 
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