Sporty is not an obvious adjective for a tri-deck packing nearly 400 gross tons, but it fits the new Custom Line 140 flagship and its previously launched sisterships, the CL120 and CL106. All three models are composite, have bold styling and share key design cues. The exteriors and space planning are the work of Francesco Paszkowski, while the interior decoration is by Margherita Casprini, working closely with the Ferretti Group’s in-house team at Custom Line Atelier.
The yacht they created is a triumph. Beyond the Custom Line 140’s super-cool lines, there’s 3,230 square feet of usable space inside and 2,150 square feet of real estate outside. A fold-down garage door allows for a beach club, a conventional cockpit and an extra-large space on the upper deck aft, with the guest spaces having full protection from decks above. There’s more seating forward and on the sun deck, which is partially protected by a carbon-fiber hardtop and which has a wet bar, a lounge and a hot tub. And the sun deck is a 750-square-foot blank canvas for owners, in terms of furniture to dress the space.
Inside, the Custom Line 140 is calm, light and bright, thanks to a plethora of glazing. Stained- and bleached-oak veneers play off dramatic marbles throughout the yacht, whose furnishings have natural tones and textures. The main salon and dining area are open plan and measure around 450 square feet. Owners can choose free-standing furniture as they see fit here too. The Custom Line 140 that I got aboard mostly had pieces from Minotti. Also an option for owners: an opening glass door to starboard in the main-deck lounge and opening glass doors on both sides of the sky lounge. In the sky lounge, these doors transform the space into an entertainment zone for parties.
On the main and upper decks, guest lobbies are amidships to starboard. Partial side decks are on the main deck, with doors amidships to the portside pantry and adjacent lobby. There are full side decks on the upper deck, although there’s a stair break just abaft the bridge, which means you can’t quite circumnavigate it.
Guest accommodations consist of five en suite staterooms and a total of 11 berths. The owners’ stateroom is forward on the main deck and occupies 505 square feet. Owners enter to starboard through a dressing area with two walk-in closets. The en suite has double-door access, a bathtub and a shower, or owners can opt for a walk-through shower stall between the his-and-hers sides. The big feature in the bedroom is an optional fold-down balcony, cleverly engineered to be deployed by guests as well as crew (of course, with safety overrides).
The other guest staterooms are belowdecks, all conventionally located amidships. The two aft are mirror copies: 160-square-foot doubles with outboard-view king berths and en suite heads. The other two staterooms, forward, are 130 square feet apiece, one with an inboard-facing double berth and the other with forward-facing twins and a Pullman berth. However, as the name Custom Line suggests, owners have flexibility when it comes to interiors. For instance, some owners may prefer to specify one of the staterooms on that lower deck as a gym, a study or a media room.
Day heads are off the main- and upper-deck lobbies. For the Custom Line 140’s crew of seven, there’s a captain’s cabin on the bridge deck and three cabins forward on the lower deck, along with a crew mess and a laundry room. All the crew areas are connected by a separate crew staircase for discreet access across all decks, including to the main deck’s galley and pantry, and to the upper-deck pantry. The pantries are also linked with a dumbwaiter. It is unusual to see this sort of guest-crew separation aboard what is, effectively, a production yacht.
There are two garages aboard the Custom Line 140. The main one, at the stern, has a door to port and can take a 20-foot tender or a 17-foot tender and a PWC. The other garage is under a lid forward of the windscreen with room for a smaller tender or a PWC. The first Custom Line 140 keeps a rescue boat there.
With its twin 2,638 mhp MTU 16V 2000 M96Ls and straight-shaft propulsion, this yacht is reportedly good for a top speed of 21 to 22 knots and a fast cruise of 17 knots, with a range of around 700 nautical miles, allowing for a 10 percent reserve. At an eco-cruise of around 12 knots and 1,400 rpm, that range would extend to around 1,500 nm. There are no alternative engines available. The hull has a planing profile and is trimmed with Humphree Interceptors.
The first Custom Line 140 is expected to remain in the Mediterranean this summer. Two more have been sold, and one of them should arrive in the United States this year. If the current sales pace continues, the future for this sporty-looking yacht is bright.
In the Details
Fabricated in aluminum, the Custom Line 140 is defined by silver-painted hexagonal-section Y-stanchions and chunky handrails along the main side decks. These elements allow light into the main salon via full-height picture windows, and they also allow for great views out for the guests.
In the Beginning
At the 1996 Genoa International Boat Show, Ferretti was a one-brand business, known mostly for building flybridge yachts. The company announced that it was developing a second brand, Custom Line, that would kick in where the Ferretti flybridge and raised-pilothouse portfolio ended. Back then, the biggest Ferretti measured 80 feet length overall. The first Custom Line 94 launched in 1998, setting the Ferretti Group on a path of becoming the multi-brand builder it is today, not only with Custom Line but also with Pershing, CRN, Riva, Itama, Bertram and Wally.
Serious Growth
In terms of dollar volume, Custom Line is the Ferretti Group’s biggest brand. Last year, it delivered more than 20 yachts that averaged around 115 feet length overall. Around 300 Custom Lines have been delivered to date. Custom Line models range from 93 feet to 164 feet. They include the three sporty 106, 120 and 140 CL models, along with five semi-displacement Navetta models: the 30, 33, 37, 42 and 50. The Navetta 50— the first aluminum model in the series—will debut in 2024.
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