Franchini Yachts MIA 63 at the Genoa Boat Show: “Where there is a will, there is a way”.

The desire to own a yacht is always evident among the Genoa Boat Show visitors, and MIA 63 is the name of a walk-around that in itself offers a sense of exclusive ownership. In Genoa, talking on the quayside with those who are keen to own one, we are told: “in the paradigm of an owner’s intentions, desire comes first, then ‘where there is a will, there is a way’...”.

And MIA 63 knows just how to objectify that paradigm, made up in other words of vanities, vices and major vices, to which lovers of luxury yachting relentlessly strive. But the MIA 63 not only boasts the beauty of a yacht with a unique bow, with which the design opens the dance of masterful lines and curves, but also the high nautical technique of Franchini Yachts, a historic shipyard on the side of the Middle Adriatic.

Design and construction

Massimo Franchini, architect and owner of the shipyard, at the instigation of a businessman from Ancona (who financed the project), designed his open boat with a deck plan conceived around the helm station. There is almost no superstructure at all, except for the T-top, which probably looks like the roof of a deckhouse, almost as if the design of the MIA 63 were inspired by a sail-yacht, which it is. But the options also include a completely “open” MIA 63, and a Hard-Top version. Those looking for more sky, on the other hand, could opt for the Sportfly version.

In the MIA 63, the only one already launched, the sinuosity of the boat’s lines veers away from the stylistic wave of the bow and stiffens in the T-top, which is always the protagonist. This finds complete inspiration in automotive design. Added to this are the edges, sharp geometries, that give the MIA 63 a modern, futuristic feel. The mix is perfect and seals the aesthetic encounter between an iconic speedster and a cutting-edge yacht.

The spaces on the foredeck are large, almost worthy of a superyacht. Rising up from the stern platform, the teak lines run parallel like endless tracks, well protected by the bulwarks that stop their course only to leave room for the bow, dominated by diamond dihedrals like a work of art. It is a spectacle.

We mush repeat this: the MIA 63 is no more than 20 metres long, but she emulates much of what’s on offer in superyachts in terms of space but also the level of customization offered by the boatyard. The luxury of the three cabins is proof of this. Interior designer and architect Marco Veglia chose American walnut as the dominant material, unless the owner chooses other woods such as mahogany, maple or teak.

The full-beam master cabin is no smaller than a metropolitan pied-à-terre: 28 square metres. The forward suite for special guests, on the other hand, has an area of 16 square metres and just as many fine details and custom-made interiors.

And there’s a double cabin, which is also very large. Not to mention the large and truly stunning below-deck facilities.

But the choice of layout also includes the option of two or three cabins; crew cabin or not; galley on deck or otherwise well framed below deck. These are all unmistakable symptoms of a “remarkable flexibility of customization”, explains architect Massimo Franchini.

The nautical engineering is by Roberto Prever, who has designed the hull’s water lines so that the boat glides as well as it can at 16/17 knots, reaching a top speed of 30 knots.

The hull composite was developed using top-level nanotechnology, and the mould was specially designed to accommodate the two Volvo IPS 725 hp engines, like those used on the MIA 63 exbited in Genoa, or a more powerful option of up to 1,000 hp per engine.

How does the MIA 63 perform with such an engine? Very well and this is also verified by our sea trials.

Conclusions

The first model has gone “to a group of Spaniards” and the second MIA 63 model is already under construction. Franchini Yachts seems to be thinking of a further, more tapered MIA model of “15 metres in length”. And there’s the idea of fitting out a larger “trawler”, around 24 metres overall.

Returning to the lust for owning a yacht like this, there is a brief epilogue to be made. In the end, stripped of the artifices of materialism, it is human instinct that wins out in a need to dominate the sea. Like our ancestors who sailed for centuries, all that remains is to choose which boat to do it with.

The progress of nautical engineering applied to the MIA 63 will bring this about and allow it to be done safely. Two million, three hundred thousand euros would be enough, but the MIA 63 can be customized a great deal and so the final bill would be different.

The yacht is currently moored in La Spezia, Italy. And in the spirit of “where there’s a will there’s a way”, we pass the word on to our readers.