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Welcome to the special section “BAM 35 Years.” We are presenting “cult” articles from the Motor Boats archive, starting in 1990. A journey through time among stories unobtainable today, even in the great sea of the internet! A dive into the world of epic moments in motor boating. We begin with one of the stories we were most passionate about.
From Boats by Motor 2003, no. 9, Oct. pp. 70-76.
Adventurous, revolutionary, courageous, paradoxical. It is the latest creation of Luca Bassani, who after astounding the sailing world, now turns the motor world upside down.
The first impression is violent. Almost shocking. “The monster,” “the thing,” as one hears it referred to by people passing by who know little about the sea, stands out in the distance to those going down to Portofino. That huge blur of gray and black moored in one of the most famous marinas in the world for the intense beauty of the nature that surrounds it is like a punch in the stomach. It makes one stand speechless. And ordinary people, whether tourists or permanent residents, are really amazed by it. Some people take pictures, some shyly ask, “What is that?” Everyone, but really everyone, looks, gets curious, inquires. The disruptor of the aristocratic quiet of Portofino is called Wally Power 118. It is a boat, or rather a motoryacht. If it were not for the teak deck that can be seen from the stern as you pass over the dock, one might hazard science fiction hypotheses, such as the latest model of an American fighting ship or the super-tech boat from a new James Bond movie. The first thing one senses, however, is the boat’s extreme modernity. New colors: the bright gray of the hull and the black of the smoked polycarbonate that encloses the cockpit in bold lines.
Here, the most conspicuous aspect of a modernity capable of confusing ideas like an abstract painting are the inexplicably angular exterior lines. Seen from above and from a distance the Wally Power may look like one of those invisible planes that appeared-so to speak-in the Balkan War, namely the F117 Stealth. Having overcome the shock of first impressions, we can give our readers some more useful information. II Wally Power 118 is a motoryacht designed by the Wally Yachts shipyard, of the well-known sailor Luca Bassani. It is a novelty for the shipyard’s construction habits, hitherto sail-oriented. The exterior and interior design is by the Rome-based studio of architects Claudio Lazzarini and Carl Pickering; the hull construction, by the Intermarine Rodriguez shipyard in Sarzana. Commenting on the technical data, i.e., the numbers (see fact sheet), the weight, extraordinarily low for a boat of this tonnage, which can be explained by the construction materials used; the sophisticated propulsion system; and the amount of fuel required, jump out at you.
Add to this that the budgeted consumption is about 1,000 liters per hour per engine, or 3,000 liters. Also striking is the Spartan philosophy of the interior and furnishings, certainly not of a luxury boat, not of a floating Grand Hotel, just to make a point. A philosophy much more befitting a sailor than a “motorist.” And here arises a paradox highlighted by the last issue that we have not yet reported: the cost of the boat. Well, we are on the order of thirty billion old liras, fifteen million, roughly, new euros. A cost that can be explained by the extreme technological quality of the construction. In fact, advanced composite materials, usually used in aeronautics and motor racing, were used for the hull.
Herein lies the point, hence the doubts. Is using technologies from the racing world to make a pleasure boat useful, is it functional, is it acceptable? There are reasonable concerns, including about the commercial future of this prototype. So far, and it was launched in November 2002, the Wally Power has had no buyers. That does not detract from the fact that it may have them. It is an innovative, revolutionary, surprising and courageous boat, as indeed is the man who wanted it, Luca Bassani, a man who loves to amaze the nautical world and who will almost certainly amaze again.
By Riccardo Magrini
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