Comprehensive Review: Azimut Yachts Seadeck 6

By Phil Draper

There’s only so much any builder can do to create a sustainable planing yacht with hefty diesel power. Azimut Yachts has achieved more than most with its 57-foot Seadeck 6, the first and smallest model in a range of environmentally minded craft.

The Seadeck concept has a back-to-nature philosophy that includes ethically sourced and recycled materials, and a cleaner, softer aesthetic with the sea as the focus. Put another way, the Seadeck has a “green heart,” according to Giovanna Vitelli, president of the Azimut-Benetti Group and daughter of Paolo Vitelli, who founded Azimut Yachts in 1969. The 72-foot Seadeck 7 is premiering at the Cannes Yachting Festival this autumn, and the 84-foot Seadeck 9 is expected to launch in about 18 months.

I caught up with the Seadeck 6 in Venice, Italy. The yacht’s deep-V hull form comes from Italian naval architect Francesco Rogantin’s Names studio. Exteriors are the work of Monaco-based Alberto Mancini, who is evolving Azimut’s full-range DNA. Mancini says the design emphasis for Seadeck models is openness and transparency. Wellness is the focus of the yacht’s interiors, which are from Italy’s Studio Matteo Thun and Antonio Rodriguez.

While the Seadeck 7 and Seadeck 9 have full-hybrid installations—electric motors will be able to propel them—the Seadeck 6 does not have electric motors. It can, however, function in zero-emissions mode for up to eight hours with systems running, including the Seakeeper gyrostabilizer. There are several means of charging the high-voltage 40 kWh Torqeedo battery pack: the Mase generator, the shaft generator on the port engine, two alternators to starboard, and the 1.4 kWp of solar panels on the coachroof.

The Seadeck series, like all Azimuts, is built with a significant amount of carbon fiber to reduce weight. The hull is 100 percent fiberglass, while around 40 percent of the Seadeck 6’s deck and superstructure is carbon fiber, as are the fold-down quarters and hydraulic platform…

Azimut’s Seadeck yachts have cork decks. This is a sustainable, bark-layer material that can be harvested regularly without killing the trees, which are native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. It is impermeable, fire-retardant, elastic and buoyant, and it does not get as hot as teak in the sun. Durability remains to be seen, but replacement and repairs should be easier and cost-effective. Given that there’s no real grain to match, grafts should be easier to blend as well. It feels soft and warm to walk on.

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