ay what you like about globalisation but it has
certainly made yacht design more challenging.
This new Italian motor yacht, unveiled at
a show in France with its pan-European
layout, is also available in a specifi c
US version, as well as with numerous
standard modifi cations designed to
make it appeal to buyers in the Far East.
Ferretti is well used to the demands
of international commerce of course, and
had a strong presence in markets around the
world even before it was bought by the Weichai
Group in 2012. But Europe remains its core territory,
which was plain to see at last autumn’s Cannes show when the
new 780 made its confi dent debut. A long, comfortable deck
saloon with low-profi le furniture, brightly illuminated by giant
windows, leads forward to an enclosed galley on the starboard side
and a discreet wheelhouse. This is the European version. It’s all
about the relationship between the owners, their guests and the
crew – the captain and chef can get on with their work in peace,
leaving those who have left their work ashore to relax in privacy.
The main deck layout on the US version refl ects the more
democratic attitude to boating that holds sway in the New World.
Over there, husband-and-wife owners think nothing of managing
a yacht of this size without a skipper, and this family focus is
refl ected in an open-plan ‘country kitchen’ galley arrangement
which also opens up the helm area. In providing long, cockpit-to-
windscreen sightlines, it’s an approach which makes the best of
the saloon’s generous dimensions, and has much to recommend it.
They do things differently in the Far East, meanwhile. Here,
the galley is installed below, the main deck is dominated by a huge,
circular dining and games table, and sleeping accommodation on
the lower deck plays second fi ddle to a full-beam karaoke studio.
Boating in those parts sounds like a lot of fun.
All versions of the 780 share certain basic characteristics.
Ferretti is not a brand that is known for its attention-seeking
design features, although in its quiet way, it has been responsible
A sociable foredeck seating area
is essential on yachts of this sizeFly-by-wire steering and powerful
engines make it surprisingly agilefor a number of innovations that have become so ubiquitous,
no one can now remember who fi rst thought them up. Although
nominally based on the earlier 750 model, the new 780 has
a completely new superstructure which features the giant main-
deck windows that the shipyard did so much to popularise, along
with an extended fl ybridge to shade the cockpit, and the foredeck
seating area which has become an essential fi xture of yachts this
size. A Kevlar-reinforced hardtop can be fi tted as an option and
the hydraulic aft platform has a 450kg lifting capacity. Two panels
in the transom fold down to provide seating at the water’s edge.
Good ensuite accommodation for two crew is fi tted in the stern.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2018, Ferretti Yachts has
maintained its standards through thick and thin, and the 780
exhibited at Cannes displayed the shipyard’s exemplary fi t-outFERRETTI 780