Motor Boat & Yachting - January 2016 UK

Y

ou may have been wondering what happened

to Tilli Antonelli, the founder of Pershing. Well

here’s your answer. He left the Ferretti Group

in 2010 to set up Wider Yachts, and introduced

the extraordinary unfolding Wider 42 in 2011.

Now he follows up that ground-breaking, and

by all accounts pretty successful fi rst model,

with a new 32. It might not look it, but the

Wider 32 is a much more conventional craft. No origami bulwarks or

extending decks here, just a sweet-handling deep-vee hull, a

surprisingly practical interior, and numerous clever design details.

WIDER 32

Whether this is a tender or a cruiser is

immaterial, it’s simply ambiguity at its best

Text and photos: Alan Harper

But it’s not quite as simple as that, because the Wider 32, launched

last September at the Cannes boat show, is actually a tender. You

would need a pretty big yacht to have space for one of these, but

Antonelli has thought of that, and the fi rst all-aluminium Wider 150

is currently under construction at the company’s Ancona shipyard.

And as he is quick to point out, the 32 is also “a highly versatile

model equally suited to use as a fast, comfortable sportscruiser”.

He’s right. A long-standing design collaboration with Fulvio de

Simoni was key to the success of Pershing, and the creative partnership

continues with Antonelli’s new venture. The vaguely automotive retro

looks of the 32, with its upright stem, beam carrying well forward,

and even a folding windscreen, are actually a practical response to

the problem of designing a boat with usable deck space and a

comfortable interior which also fi ts into a superyacht’s tender garage.

CLEVER DESIGN TRICKS

With the drives up and the windscreen down, the total height of the

32 is just 6ft 11in (2.1m), but there is little sense of compromise on

board. The cabin has two sofas which can be widened into comfortable

berths, the head and shower compartment in the bow is bright and

spacious, and cleverly concealed in the main bulkhead you’ll fi nd a

sink, fridge, microwave and even a single-ring electric cooker,

which can be powered via a 600W inverter if you feel that the

optional generator is a little extravagant for a 32-footer.

Up on deck there are swivelling helm seats, numerous

cushion combinations according to whether you want to sit,

slouch or sunbathe, and stowage just about everywhere for just

about everything: warps, fenders, cockpit table, swimming

Plenty of space for
entertaining or lounging in
the sun in the wide cockpit