Motor Boat & Yachting – May 2018

When it comes to tenders and toys, often a favourite obsession
with owners of this class of yacht, there is no need for such
fl exibility, as the 96’s basic design ensures that you can have
pretty much whatever you want. The hydraulic platform is full
beam and comes with a 1,200kg lifting capacity, while the garage
can take a Williams 445 jetRIB.
Of course, just as there are two sides to every story, there
are two sides to every tender well. The underside of the MCY
96’s is a signifi cant protuberance in the machinery space
which reduces headroom between the engines to practically
zero. Access around the sides is not too bad, however, and the
installation itself was top notch.
With the engines rumbling away far below – we had to take
the tachometers’ word for
it, as in the wheelhouse
at tickover, a noise level of
50dB(A) barely registered on
the ear – the big yacht edged
out of its tight Cannes show
berth and we pointed her
broad and well-upholstered
snout out to sea. The air was
clear, the breeze light, and
a mild 2ft chop made no
impression.
Unfortunately, the
shipyard had a confession
to make. It wasn’t the sort of
confession that you volunteer
without good reason, but
reason there was. In high-
speed turns with lots of helm wound on, a faint but noticeable
vibration set in whose origin was something of a mystery. The
hardtop was oscillating slightly, as hardtops often do, but it wasn’t
that. The fact that it only became evident with lots of defl ection

The rich mix of materials includes

marble in the ensuite bathrooms

The long fl ybridge overhang

provides shade for the aft

cockpit dining area

suggested that the rudders

were somehow implicated.

Beyond that, it was impossible

to tell. We looked enquiringly

at the shipyard staff. They

pretended to be interested

in something on shore, just

over there, behind the white building. We weren’t having any

of it. Eventually they cracked.

It seemed that having been delivered in time for a month-long

summer cruise in the western Mediterranean, based out of Malta,

The MCY 96 is happiest

cruising at speeds of

16-22 knots

MCY 96