I find myself in need of the Hogwarts Sorting Hat to properly categorize Azimut’s Magellano 60. Judging by much of the specification sheet and the accommodations plan, it seems like a mainstream flybridge motoryacht. But it’s not. Strictly speaking, the Magellano 60 is a semidisplacement model, but then again, these designs aren’t normally quite so sprightly. Azimut uses the term “crossover” for its Magellanos. It fits.
Longtime designer Ken Freivokh’s work with Azimut on its newer and bigger Magellanos is masterly. His designs have a timeless quality and an elegance that’s so often missing from models with big diesels and top speeds closer to 30 knots than 20.
The 60 marks a new entry-level size for the Magellano range, with the older 43 and 53 Magellanos gone, and the 8-year-old Magellano 66 remaining as the last of the older series to be drawn by Cor D. Rover. The more recent Magellano 25M (an 82-foot raised pilothouse) and Magellano 30M (a 97-foot trideck) are by Freivokh. They share the same design DNA, with bluff bows and signature wooden battens on the after corners of their superstructures.
Outdoor spaces aboard the Magellano 60 include a foredeck terrace with booth seating and sun pads, a big flybridge beneath an optional hardtop, and a generously sized cockpit with a glazed transom panel and a full top-deck overhang for proper shade. Azimut calls the aft deck an “infinity terrace” with bi-fold doors that open to extend the salon. Furniture in the cockpit includes a table and two facing sofas, which means guests look out at the sea rather than back into the boat. There’s also a two-stool bar to port that shares its countertop with an aft galley when the drop-down window is open.
Inside, the decor is by Azimut’s in-house team, with clear influences from bigger sisterships that have 1950s-inspired schemes by Milanese-based architect Vincenzo De Cotiis. Beyond the galley and up one step are a lounge area amidships, a C-booth sofa to port and a pair of two-seat sofas on either side of a coffee/dining table to starboard. The overall palette is light-stained oak veneers and off-whites—all remarkably soothing. The salon views are superb too, particularly to starboard, where the biggest picture window measures a whopping 8 by 5 feet.
Beneath the raked aft windshield, the lower helm has two Aras bucket seats with the wheel inboard, prioritizing access for the skipper. Immediately to port is a dogleg staircase that leads to the deck below.
This is essentially a three-stateroom, three-head yacht with two showers. There are no other layout options. The owner’s space is amidships with en suite facilities to port. The VIP is forward and shares its portside en suite with the twin-berth stateroom across the companionway. A separate day head is there as well.
Power is also one choice only: a pair of 730 hp i6 MAN diesels. With them spinning at their maximum 2,350 rpm, and with the Seakeeper gyrostabilizer engaged, the Magellano 60 had consistent speeds of around 26 knots at half-load. There’s no obvious hop-up onto plane, but I felt a distinct step change passing through 1,600 rpm. Azimut calls the semiplaning hull geometry “dual mode,” which means it is efficient at displacement as well as faster cruise speeds up to 20 knots. According to my data, the yacht will run all day at that speed, which equates to 2,000 rpm. Allowing for a 10 percent reserve, there’s a working range of around 330 nautical miles. Ultimate range could be near 600 nm at 10 knots.
The Magellano 60 is surprisingly nimble too. The hull happily self-levels once the speeds push up into double digits with a 3-degree, bow-up attitude. The wheel remains light but precise, and it will turn this vessel surprisingly quickly. Although I had a calm day and minimal swell during my time on board, I found that the yacht felt most comfortable with the manual trim tabs fully up. They should come into their own in lumpier beam or quartering seas, when the gyro is probably best kept off.
Those engines, incidentally, are hooked up to V-boxes, and the shafts run out via half-tunnels, which help reduce the draft to a Bahamas-friendly 4 feet, 6 inches at full load. The space for the engines beneath the yacht’s cockpit sole is compact, but the machinery area does not encroach beneath the salon, which makes for a particularly quiet boat. I recorded just 67 decibels at the lower helm at 20 knots, 72 decibels in the owner’s stateroom and 62 decibels in the VIP.
There is an option to specify the lazarette as a single-berth crew cabin. Either way, this space has its own entrance from the port side of the hydraulic swim platform.
Like other newer Magellanos, the 60 that I got aboard had a striking custom paint job, this one a blue-green metallic hull. Italians call it ottanio. Americans call it teal after the duck. A light-gold boot top set it off. The standard specification includes white gelcoat.
The Azimut Magellano 60 premiered at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September. Once production hits stride, the builder expects to deliver one every two weeks.
Sustainable Diesel
The Azimut Magellano 60 I got aboard ran on hydrogenated vegetable oil instead of diesel. The claims for this sustainable fuel include emissions reductions from 60 to 90 percent, depending on the raw materials used during the refining process. Thanks to a deal with Italian producer Eni Sustainable Mobility, all Azimut owners can request delivery of new boats with HVOlution biofuel in the tanks.
Formidable Flagship
The Azimut Magellano 60 is the start of the builder’s four-model Magellano range. On the other end of the range is the 97-foot, 6-inch Magellano 30 Metri. The 30 Metri is notable for its ability to hold more than 3,800 gallons of fuel while consuming about 15 percent less than traditional hard-chine planing hulls. Twin 1,500 hp MAN diesels give the 30 Metri a reported 16-knot cruise speed and a 20-knot top hop.
Take the next step: azimutyachts.com
