For Rio Yachts, the brand-new DAYTONA 46 represents the perfect nautical symposium between “freedom and emotion“. We can confirm this because having seen her live on board for the first time at the Genoa Boat Show, this boat suitable for daily use or short cruises, beautiful and offered to the public like a rose, meets all the requirements sought by lovers of luxury yachting. The DAYTONA 46 renews the range that was launched in September last year with the resounding success of the DAYTONA 34 . And it doesn’t skimp on high-quality details for safe boating and perfect aesthetics. Who is responsible for all this? It’s renowned designer Marino Alfani “who took care of the concept, bodywork and interior, going as far as engineering in collaboration with the yard‘s technical department”.
The hull is made of laminated composite and can be equipped with three 450 HP outboards or two inboard diesel engines. The DAYTONA 46 has a top speed of more than 40 knots, an overall length of 15 metres, a maximum beam of 4.30 metres, a draught of 0.68 metres, perfect for some island ports, and an unladen weight of 12,500 kilograms. In short, she is a daytime craft, ideal for anchoring, thanks also to her stern bulwarks that open out to form a terrace, increasing the surface area on board, which thus extends over the water surface to the delight of boaters.
What’s more, the bulwarks are marked internally with fine lines that are also non-slip when opened in terrace mode. And that’s very useful for increasing safety.
Inserted on the foremasts, the handrails are decidedly modern, matt black in colour and take the form of chamfered segments. In the cockpit, the bulwarks are appropriately high to ensure safety when sailing. The boat is a walkaround and the side decks in the central part are spacious enough to avoid all the acrobatic contortions.
The composite t-top is equipped with grab handles that provide a grip inwards. It provides shade on the stern table by opening up a manually operated roller blind that can be installed as desired. The t-top also shades the kitchen unit, which is proposed in a single volume that hides an induction plate and a sink on the top, while two modern white lacquered wooden doors with flush handles and folding opening completely cover the refrigerator.
An additional awning can be hoisted at the bow, and the poles are in carbon fibre. At the stern there is an accessible garage under the electrically operated sofa seats. The garage is large and useful for a tender of appropriate size and water-toys. Below is access to the engine room.
The central console makes generous use of eco-leather, which is also used in the light colours of the aft sofas, the opposing bow sofas and the bow sundecks, which also line the deckhouse in front of the sea, allowing you to lean back comfortably while sailing. The interior of the t-top is also lined in eco-leather, but this time in a dark colour. On the dashboard, the instrumentation also allows to control all the boat’s domotics, which are well protected by a semi-circular windscreen that is structurally separated from the t-top.
There are three armchairs with a rolling seat for standing or seated driving. Moving to the end of the bow there are two small lockers, the covers of which are non-slip and perfectly useful for diving. The end is marked by a steel bow plate for dropping anchor.
Designer interior on the DAYTONA 46
The interiors are designed by Marino Alfani to avoid dangerous edges, always lined in eco-leather. And nothing is left to chance, starting with the edging with mirrored steel strips on the stair profiles, while the faux leather sommier wraps the king-size mattress in the master cabin in rounded shapes with a mirrored headboard at the bow. Privacy is ensured by large doors that fold up, otherwise the area opens up to the second cabin with a double bed and a small sofa for the little ones.
The interior welcomes the owner well-lit by a porthole on the deck at the bow and by the moustache windows that characterize the boat’s external profiles with sportiness. At night, the lighting is suffused with LEDs and is projected through surprising grooves in the base of the furniture below deck and on the steps. The head is further equipped with a (high) shower and protective glass, and the sink is made of rounded ceramic. To get back to the dock, the gangway is electrically operated with controls on the bulwarks. But who gets off?