Italy

Cantieri Navali del Mediterraneo 

Eyebrows were raised when fibreglass builder <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1364" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Permare s.r.l. (Company)">Permare</a> announced construction had started on its first steel and aluminium superyacht. Two more Amer Steel projects followed in rapid succession. We take a closer look at the 41-metre explorer yacht, which will be the first to launch next year and the first steel hull to carry <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/5350" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Volvo Penta (Company)">Volvo Penta</a>’s new IPS professional platform.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/340489/image/large-1f2740a0273d1e4b5e9544b2b37e893b.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/340489">Two years ago when <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1364" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Permare s.r.l. (Company)">Permare</a> started cutting steel on a 70-metre flagship, it represented a massive scaling up in size for the family-owned boatbuilder. The group has been building in fibreglass under the Amer Yachts brand for over 30 years and enjoys a loyal customer base, but the largest model in its composite range to date, the 36.5-metre Amer 120, is fully half the overall length and a fraction of the volume.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/340522/image/large-b26af8d7cdbf9d5a24efba8f37619b6c.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/340522">“It’s true we’re known for our smaller fibreglass boats, but Permare also has three refit shipyards in Liguria – <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/478" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Sanremo Ship s.r.l. (Company)">Cantiere Sanremo Ship</a>, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/4551" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Cantieri Navali del Mediterraneo (Company)">Cantieri del Mediterraneo</a>, and Cantieri del Ponente,” says Barbara Amerio, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1364" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Permare s.r.l. (Company)">Permare</a> CEO. “One refit was the complete restoration of <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/6899" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Destiny S28.8m (94'6&quot;)Camper & Nicholsons Shipyard1959">Destiny S</a>, a classic 1959 <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/192" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Camper & Nicholsons Shipyard (Company)">Camper &amp; Nicholson</a>, which involved rebuilding the riveted steel hull, so it’s not like we’re unfamiliar with the material and began building in steel overnight.“<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/340479/image/large-f1335a56a4217cbb5b3e1a2762765a97.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/340479">However, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1364" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Permare s.r.l. (Company)">Permare</a> had no serious plans to start building new in steel until a satisfied refit client approached them for the 70-metre project. That contract was quickly followed by another with an experienced client introduced by <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/283" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Luiz de Basto Designs (Company)">Luiz De Basto</a> for a 41-metre explorer yacht, and a third sale for a 50-metre hull with a repeat client looking to upgrade from composite to metal. Although all are being built in rented hangars in Pisa, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1364" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Permare s.r.l. (Company)">Permare</a> is investing in a new state-of-the-art facility nearby that should be up and running by the end of next year (see sidebar at end of article).<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/340491/image/large-7ccc5755943bdeeaef6168be047b94d8.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/340491">EVEN FURTHERThe client <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/283" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Luiz de Basto Designs (Company)">De Basto</a> brought to the table is the previous owner of the 46.5-metre explorer <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/1257" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Far Far Away46.58m (152'10&quot;)INACE Yachts2012">Far Far Away</a>, also designed by <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/283" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Luiz de Basto Designs (Company)">De Basto</a> and launched by <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/478" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Sanremo Ship s.r.l. (Company)">Inace</a> in 2012. The new yacht bears a distinct family resemblance with its raised fo'c's'le and open foredeck for storing tenders, but is a much more sophisticated version of the Brazilian boat in every way. Moreover, as a full-custom Ice Class project it differs from the other two hulls in build that form part of the Amer Steel series designed by Antonio Luxardo of <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/5771" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Optima Design (Company)">Optima Design</a>.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/340520/image/large-33f20b64177b629e1c30ee582ba4c111.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/340520">“The owner went all over the place with <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/1257" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Far Far Away46.58m (152'10&quot;)INACE Yachts2012">Far Far Away</a> and knew exactly what he wanted,” says De Basto. “His new yacht, which will be called Even Further, is basically a distillation of everything he liked about the old one minus the things he didn’t like, such as the Jacuzzi on the fly bridge that he never used, and I added some of my own ideas along the way.”One such idea are the two cranes integrated into the forward bulwarks, a feature that appeared in De Basto’s 62-metre Nautilus concept for <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/224" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Turquoise Yachts (Company)">Turquoise Yachts</a>. The two 7.5-metre tenders stored in the foredeck well are large for the size of yacht, hence the cranes have a lifting capacity of 2,500kg (one will also serve as a life-saving appliance for the rescue tender) and a reach of 7 metres. At the time of our visit to Pisa, the cranes were still being built by Mor Saverio, a specialist in the design and construction of hydraulic hardware in Brescia in northern Italy. Although it has been suppling the yachting industry with platforms, gangways and shell doors for 45 years, the brand is less well known than some other suppliers of hydraulic equipment.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/340496/image/large-cd731117ef9c5462f415f14253a1de22.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/340496">“<a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1364" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Permare s.r.l. (Company)">Permare</a> gave us a lot freedom to make certain decisions when it came to the technical design process,” says Luxardo. “For example, they did not necessarily have contacts with the best suppliers for a steel project, so we developed the interface with the right companies so we could integrate the technical components into the design from the start. If you can define the maker’s list in advance it avoids revisions down the line and improves the build quality.”<a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/5771" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Optima Design (Company)">Optima Design</a> engineered the whole yacht in 3D and optimised the the concept and hull lines by De Basto to match the common technical platform developed for the Amer Steel series. The studio has also moved eight of its staff into an on-site office in Pisa to oversee the construction.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/340497/image/large-f31232f8514085bcb0de069534353af6.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/340497">“We prefer to have a team on site,” &nbsp;says Michele Zignego, head of engineering at <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/5771" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Optima Design (Company)">Optima Design</a>. “Decisions have to be made on a daily basis and the idea is to keep as close to the original design and engineering as possible. When you’re dealing with multiple suppliers and subcontractors, it gives us more executive control.”FOUR IS BETTER THAN TWOControl was especially important as the 41-metre explorer will be the first steel hull to be equipped with <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/5350" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Volvo Penta (Company)">Volvo Penta</a>’s new IPS40 professional platform for superyachts up to around 55 metres in length. <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1364" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Permare s.r.l. (Company)">Permare</a> is accustomed to equipping its composite boats with IPS propulsion, but the latest iteration has a very different configuration and added another level of complexity. <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/5350" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Volvo Penta (Company)">Volvo Penta</a> was still engineering the concept when construction started and will not start series production until next year.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/340501/image/large-c061435cb9128c2fbdce9e43a885a3dd.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/340501">The new IPS system is powered by not one but two<a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/5350" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Volvo Penta (Company)">&nbsp;Volvo Penta</a> D13 engines, which are paired with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) units to comply with the IMO Tier III standards. Based on average operational profiles, the &nbsp;dual-power input is designed to offer increased flexibility, modularity and sustainability. The platform is also pre-prepared for a mix of power sources, from combustion engines running on renewable fuels to fully electric or hybrid solutions (see the article Going Pro on how <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/5350" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Volvo Penta (Company)">Volvo Penta</a> developed the system in <a href="https://www.superyachttimes.com/magazine/how-to-build-it-issue-6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">Issue 6 of How to Build It</a>) .&nbsp;The four engines, each with their own SCR unit, occupy a slightly smaller footprint than a pair of bigger engines with drive shafts, but they still required a fresh look at the layout of the engine room to ensure – in Zignego’s words – “everything fit everything into a compact space on a compact yacht.” In addition, the IPS system was originally designed for semi-displacement and planing boats and you can’t just copy and paste it onto a steel displacement hull. Unlike traditional shaft drives, the pods have to be mounted parallel to the hull to ensure all the available power is used to drive the yacht forward efficiently, but the buttocks of a displacement hull slope up towards the stern. To create a horizontal surface for mounting the pods, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/5771" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Optima Design (Company)">Optima Design</a> had to design a hydrodynamic ‘blister’ under the stern and shared its CFD data and tank test results at MARIN with <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/5350" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Volvo Penta (Company)">Volvo Penta</a> so it could finalise the through-hull interface.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/340523/image/large-7087805b4d4bad673fe3fc61fc560592.jpeg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/340523"><img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/340500/image/large-339c0872950eeeb08400db4c1efb586b.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/340500">CHILL OUTAmer yachts customarily have air-conditioned engine rooms and the Amer 41 Steel is equipped with a separate chiller system for the engine room. Ordinarily, supply and extraction fans take care of the combustion air intake and fresh outside air to dissipate heat from engines, boilers, generators and electrical equipment. This can involve very large amounts of air with huge fans and ducting systems. According to ISO 8861 the base for the ambient outside temperature is set at 35°C with a temperature rise from the passing air of 12.5K. But If you’re sailing in an area where the outside air temperature is higher or cruising in an icy area with sub-zero temperatures – as the Ice Class explorer is likely to do – a different approach is needed.“Instead of big fans we have a dedicated chiller and RCU [Recycled air handling] that controls the air circulation in the engine room, but also the pressure, temperature and humidity level, which brings multiple benefits,” says Luxardo. “Everything lasts longer and runs better because you’re removing the humidity and most equipment prefers cooler air; watermakers are very sensitive to heat, for example. At the same time, you’re getting rid of those big, noisy air ducts and you can see that smaller trunking means we have more usable space in the main saloon.”<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/340522/image/large-b26af8d7cdbf9d5a24efba8f37619b6c.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/340522">Amer Yachts has a loyal client base that tends to move up in size with the brand, but there comes a point when that means building in steel or aluminium and they have to look elsewhere. By establishing Amer Steel, the strategy is to keep those customers in the family fold.“It may be a client looking to upscale from fibreglass, or someone who has already owned metal yachts and has a specific idea for something a bit different,” concludes Amerio. “We’re a boutique shipyard in some ways because we build in small numbers, but that means we can also be very flexible if owners come to us well prepared with clear ideas about what they want.”<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/340492/image/large-6114b87d6a5831013f96e872421c1d5f.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/340492">Sidebar: Sustainable construction<a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1364" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Permare s.r.l. (Company)">Permare</a> was founded by Fernando Amerio in 1973 in Sanremo to offer nautical services to a growing clientele from Liguria and the nearby French Riviera. In the early ‘90s, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1364" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Permare s.r.l. (Company)">Permare</a> began building boats under its own brand, Amer Yachts, and the first to launch was a 20-metre model. Today, its products have been exported well beyond the Mediterraean to &nbsp;the USA, the Middle East and the Far East. Sustainable solutions have long been central to the brand’s ethos and Barbara Amerio is both company CEO and and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) manager.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/340499/image/large-05be04c617857d652e21af607b5c080e.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/340499">Steel is a recyclable material, but what about alternatives to fibreglass for your composite production?We’re looking into hybrid materials to replace traditional fibreglass and the Amer 120, our biggest model which will be presented this year, was designed to use less composite by replacing it with aluminium for the superstructure. This reduced the amount of fibreglass for the hull and the flybridge by four tonnes. Now we’re going a step further and introducing a third material: basalt fibre derived from melting basalt rock at extremely high temperatures and then processing it into fine filaments that are woven to create a cloth. Basalt cloth is a versatile material with a wide range of applications and provides excellent mechanical, thermal, chemical and electrical properties.This is all part of an ESG [Environmental, Social, and Governance]&nbsp;study with RINA to measure the integration of sustainable principles into our corporate strategies and activities. The assessment uses a rating methodology based on a set of key indicators according to international best practices. We’ve created an international working group with the bio-resin coming from France, the PET core from Sweden, and the basalt fibre from Germany to create a bio-composite that will be a completely recyclable. We’ve already ordered the first shipment of RINA-certified basalt fibre, and the idea is to build two decks, one in fibreglass and one using basalt fibre, then make comparison tests. All this is happening in Tuscany where our mould-maker will be the first to infuse the deck of a 106-footer made from this new hybrid material. We want to be the first to develop something that works, but once we have the results we don’t plan to keep it to ourselves and will make our findings available to other builders.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/340494/image/large-28c832c88ee86983126f199e13514399.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/340494">Tell us more about the new shipyard Amer is planning in Pisa Navicelli.It represents an investment of around €12 million in total and the local municipality has already accepted our development plans. We’re just waiting for final approval as the building is close to the airport; if all goes well we hope to be operational by the end of 2025. It will be the production base for Amer Steel where we will build yachts from 40 to 70-plus metres, but our sweet spot is somewhere in the middle where we can still use Volvo Penta IPS propulsion. It will be a cutting-edge facility, both in terms of architecture and environmental impact, with human capital at the centre of its design. The idea is that the <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1364" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Permare s.r.l. (Company)">Permare</a> philosophy is reflected in the building itself.This article was originally published in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.superyachttimes.com/magazine/how-to-build-it-issue-6" target="_blank">Issue 6 of How To Build It</a>. You can read all the articles from this edition&nbsp;<a href="https://www.superyachttimes.com/magazine/how-to-build-it-issue-5" target="_blank">here</a>, and stay up-to-date with all previous editions&nbsp;<a href="https://www.superyachttimes.com/magazine" target="_blank">here</a>.