Prestige M8: first-class navigation from Monfalcone to Venice

Prestige M8: catamaran or superyacht? Sixty miles aboard a revolutionary boat

Our readers are well aware that The International Yachting Media loves to carry out long-distance trials. Indeed, this is truly the only way to go beyond mere performance data and understand the true essence of a boat. You will therefore understand why we did not miss the opportunity to board this beauty to sail from Monfalcone to Venice, on the occasion of the boat show held in the most fascinating city in the world.

Prestige M8: an unforgettable route

It’s early morning when we arrive at the Monfalcone shipyard; the air is crisp even though we know it will be an extremely hot day. The Prestige M8 awaits us at the dock, ready for the journey ahead.

From the shore, this catamaran continues to amaze me; on one hand, it impresses with its size, while on the other, it still manages to be a boat with a sleek and light aesthetic. Even the considerable height of its freeboard seems to disappear, almost hidden by the sinuous lines skillfully designed by Camillo Garroni.

It’s hard not to be dazzled by this mix of beauty and grandeur. At twenty meters in length and nine meters in maximum beam, the Prestige M8 definitely falls into the superyacht category rather than just being a boat. Moreover, it has the great advantage of being operable by its owner with a standard boating license.

Once on board, we stow away the photography equipment and prepare for departure. We are in relatively tight waters, but with the maneuverability of a catamaran, we are never in trouble. In a second, we are out and already navigating in the channel that leads us to the open sea.

Navigating. This word takes on a special dimension aboard the Prestige M8. With this boat, you truly navigate. It moves lightly and decisively on the water, in a way that must be experienced to be fully understood.

Are you familiar with rolling? Here, for example, you almost forget about it. Resting on its two hulls, the Prestige M8 rocks very little, and when it does, it does so much more slowly and progressively.

With this boat, you navigate in first class, and even speed takes a back seat. At 10 knots, you glide over the water with an embarrassing ease and lightness. At this pace, you can enjoy the scenery and silence, whether seated in one of the flybridge chairs or, if you prefer, in the front row of that charming forward lounge. All this happens while the Prestige M8 covers miles with very low emissions, with its two Volvo D8 engines consuming just over 30 liters per hour and running so quietly you can hardly hear them as they power this 50-ton superyacht.

We stop in the middle of the sea to take some drone shots. The Prestige M8 certainly doesn’t need a stabilizer; we float almost motionless, while I struggle to find a place to launch my flying camera. There’s too much space here, something I’m not used to. This superyacht indeed offers just under 300 square meters of living areas, including an owner’s suite of more than 30 square meters, while the flybridge alone occupies more than 50 square meters! In short, you experience the sea in total luxury here, and the number of people you can invite on board for evening cocktails is practically unlimited.

We set off again; it’s getting a bit late, and we still have about forty miles to go and need to arrive at the show at a set time. The captain accelerates, and in an instant, we are at 16/17 knots. The Prestige M8 slices through the water without changing its trim, and the distances are halved.

We enter Venice right on time, first rounding the Punta dei Sabbioni lighthouse and then passing the Mose flood barrier. With a draft of just over one and a half meters, we can go practically anywhere we want—a great advantage. In summer, superyachts are usually forced to stay offshore, anchored in dark waters, unable to approach the clear waters of the bays. But with the Prestige M8, even this assumption no longer holds. With this boat, you can get right up to the beach and then… there’s no rolling, and you live in the luxury of a villa with a pool, with a view that changes every day.

We head over to take some shots at San Giorgio and Piazza San Marco. It’s early afternoon, and the traffic is crazy. Ferries and motorboats create violent waves that make all passing boats roll and pitch. But this is not a problem for us. Calm and serene, from the flybridge of this yacht, we can gaze in awe at the wonders of the most beautiful city in the world without risking the glasses on the table.

We reverse course, visiting the Lazzaretto Vecchio, one of my favorite places, before heading, or rather pointing our bows, towards the Arsenale, where the boat show awaits us.

We enter slowly among the many boats already on display, and in an instant, all eyes turn to us. Yes, I know, we are aboard one of the most beautiful boats of recent years, and it should be expected, but you never get used to it. After all, boats are not, fortunately, a rational purchase. They are bought because you fall madly in love with them, and believe me, with the Prestige M8, this is a real risk.

Conclusions

Prestige M8 is a unique motor catamaran. It perfectly synthesizes all the advantages of a large superyacht with the ease of handling of a traditional yacht. Beautiful, luxurious, and incredibly captivating, it is the forerunner of a new series of boats destined to replace many of the trawlers currently on the market over time.

Characterized by an unmatched navigational capability, it is a yacht designed for demanding and refined owners who want to fully immerse themselves in the sea experience without sacrificing maximum comfort.

For those who want to delve deeper and go beyond mere emotions, our pages also feature a comprehensive conventional sea trial which you can read simply by clicking here: PRESTIGE M8, REINVENTING THE MOTOR CATAMARAN.