Navetta 75: Absolute Yachts’ flagship on test

World premiered at this year’s Cannes Yachting Festival, the Navetta 75 immediately caught our attention. A perfect synthesis of beauty, balance and technology, Absolute Yachts‘ new flagship features large volumes which, despite her twenty-three metres, make her belong to the superyachts segment.

An intriguing craft, then, capable of combining the above-mentioned characteristics, as you will see in this article, with great seaworthiness.

Navetta 75 Sea Trial

Our first approach to the Navetta 75 is not of the easiest ones. The boat is confined in a berth that to call it problematic would be an understatement and, with the boat show in full swing, getting out of Cannes’ Port Vieux will certainly not be easy. With 15/16 knots of crosswind and 4/500 metres of navigation awaiting us between the cables stretching forward, floating jetties and really tight spaces, millimetric precision manoeuvring is not an option but the only way to get out into open waters.

Yet I see Gimmy Valente strangely serene, he is at the helm and from the Flybridge, calmly and quietly, he orders the lines to be released and grasps the joystick. Navetta 75 moves slowly forward and begins to evolve with impressive ease, heedless of the gusts coming in on the beam. I lean outboard and on the surface of the water I see the irrefutable signs of the thrusters and IPS pods working in unison, coordinated by a single movement, that of Gimmy’s hand on the manoeuvring joystick. A combination of technology that until yesterday was impossible but today makes it really easy to untangle these complex situations.

Outside the port the wind strengthens and rises to around 18 knots. The sea is rough and a short, steep wave comes (as always when at sea) from exactly the only direction we can go. I take the controls, the forward visibility is excellent and the boat, although almost stationary, hardly rolls. I put the throttles forward and we start to sail, at 10 knots Navetta 75 goes brilliantly, with a perfectly horizontal trim and not a hint of sinking aft, it’s immediately clear that she is at ease in this element.

Between 10 and 12 knots she takes off the wake, but she does so completely progressively, without varying her trim, so much so that you have to look at the stern monitor to realize that. But that’s just the beginning because as she accelerates further Navetta 75 reveals a propensity for speed that is decidedly unusual for boats of this size. She quickly reaches 20/22 knots and then, unperturbed, continues to increase her speed until she reaches an unthinkable 25.6 knots, which is really a lot for a boat of this size.

The most distinctive thing about her, however, is that, even with this sea and at this speed, she gives the feeling of sitting on a terrace watching the sea, the level of comfort she is capable of is simply magnificent.

I slow down and start trying to figure out what the cruising speeds are but, after several attempts, I simply realize that this is a trawler capable of being comfortable at any speed, both in displacement and on plane. Navetta 75 can easily sail at 10 or 20 knots, at 15 or 25, it is only up to her captain to choose.

Doing this study, however, I also realize that, when travelling at 10 knots, wonder within a miracle, consumption is just six litres per mile, which would basically be 65 litres per hour: basically, the consumption of a RIB with two latest-generation outboards. Incredible. Accelerating, consumption certainly rises, but it always remains in a very low range, an irrefutable sign of a particularly well-designed hull.

The range is also remarkable, ranging from almost 1,000 miles of displacement cruising (at just under 9 knots, 983 miles are covered) to the 300 miles of classic cruising speed of 20 knots. In any case, long voyages can be undertaken wholeheartedly, without the hassle of planning stops for refuelling.

I re-engage the throttle and, at around 20/22 knots, I begin to make a series of turns that Navetta 75 slyly tackles without uncertainty, always remaining firmly planted in the water, sailing undaunted on her course, never giving back a jolt, always giving me a great sense of balance and absolute safety.

I leave the controls to the next journalist and, while my colleague enjoys his test, I go down to the indoor helm station. While from the Flybridge the feeling of speed was reduced, from here it is practically non-existent, it feels like steering a 30-metre superyacht. I wander around the main deck and then go down to the lower deck and enter the cabins. Here, silence is absolute, not a squeak can be heard.

This new Navetta 75 is really a great boat.

The Navetta 75 in detail

Let’s start by saying that, without wanting to offend the other yards, the spaces, habitability and solutions of the Navetta 75 can only be compared to yachts of 30 metres or more. In fact, there are no less than three complete decks on which the interiors and exteriors are spread, and where Absolute Yachts has also managed to create a dedicated crew quarters that includes the upper helm station, the lower cockpit and the galley. This solution, typical only of superyachts, allows the captain and hostesses to manage navigation and the needs of all the guests on board, without hindrance and in total privacy.

Exterior

Let’s start with the Flybridge which is a complete living area that uses the entire extension of the trawler to create four zones: the area dedicated to steering the yacht, a huge dining area (with a table for 8 people, a full kitchen and a mobile bar), a lounge area complete with modular sofas and a huge sunbathing area that even houses beach loungers.

The bow is home to a second lounge area with a U-shaped sofa complete with central table and a large sundeck that also serves as the opposite seating area of this second open-air lounge. It will therefore also be possible here, perhaps to have more privacy when in port or to enjoy fresh air when at anchor, to dine al fresco in a large equipped area that can also, of course, be shaded with carbon poles and tarpaulins.