Boating is not just a race for new. What a sight some old hulls are. Sonny Levi hulls, the glorious Bagliettos, the very famous Riva or the legendary Boston Whaler, just to name four. The list is potentially very long. Yes, but how much? We decided to collect and tell you about the milestones of boating, the real “Classic Boats,” those boats over 25 (25+ years old) that have made boating history and, consequently, have a different value, an added value. However, you have to start somewhere, and we decided to do it with her, a great local boat, top of the Made in Italy.
Baglietto Elba: the dawn of the Italian Motoryacht
It was 1958 and a newly designed cruiser was launched in Varazze, Liguria. Success was immediate. The first Italian production motoryacht, the Baglietto Elba, had been born. A historic date and a memorable boat, to be followed by a history of great success.
Baglietto Elba – Why her?
Designed in the late 1950s, the Elba is the first recreational boat model in which solutions of both interior habitability and open spaces are studied, adopting formulas that are still identifiable today. It is in fact on the Elba that, for the first time, a forward owner’s cabin, separated from the dinette by a door, is designed and conceived. Also here, for the first time, the dinette table turns out to be convertible, allowing the space to turn into a double berth, a solution still present on most boats today.
Shifting the focus to hull and water lines, another step forward is made on this very Baglietto. Bolstered by the wartime experience of the conflict, the hull recovers military solutions, soaring long and narrow to maintain considerable gaits even in heavy seas, without having to vary the revs and thus keeping the set speed constant.
Thus, not only is the Elba a combination of innovations, it is also the first production motoryacht in the Belpaese, if not Europe. But how is it born? Actually, on commission from a specific client, as custom. The boat, however, named Elba, immediately aroused vast interest, so much so that it was immediately converted to mass production. A successful production that would go on until 1963, when the last of 42 examples was launched, again in Ligurian waters.
Baglietto Elba – Spaces on board
Starting from the stern, according to the strict standards of the time, we find the sailor’s quarters. A rather narrow and cramped cove. Ahead of the command post, on the other hand, is access to the guest area, capable of passenger berths: 2 in the forward room, i.e., the owner’s cabin; 2 overlapping berths are instead obtained from the lounge’s fold-down sofa back; a final wide berth is obtained on the dinette, converted by felling the table, which uses the sofa backs as a mattress.
Coming from the cockpit, down the ladder present in the salon are the toilet facilities on the left, and the kitchenette on the right, consisting of two burners and an icebox, possibly replaced by a refrigerator.
In terms of deck life, on the other hand, the boat features neither pulpits and candlesticks nor handrails, instead sporting an extremely sleek look with obvious U.S. influences. The only note at the far bow is a sapling to show off the yard’s guidon, while a sundeck is located in the deckhouse. In the cockpit, however, there is a sofa, while the command area houses two fold-down seats.
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Technical Specs
| Baglietto – Elba | 1958 – 1963 (# 42 copies) |
| Length Over All (LOA) | 11.30 m |
| Baglio Massimo (Bmax) | 3.10 m |
| Maximum Immersion | 1.00 m |
| Vacuum Displacement | 6.5 ton |
| Full Load Displacement | 8.00 ton |
| Maximum Power | 2x GM 471T with 197 hp |
| Maximum speed at 2300 rpm | 26 kn |
| Speed at 2000 RPM | 20.8 kn |
| Autonomy at 2000 RPM | 14 hours |
| Tank Capacity | 835 L |
| Fairing | Half Round Monohedral Type – Laminated Wood |
| Forehand & Ribs | Laminated Mahogany |
| Hull Bottom | Curved Mahogany Plywood |
| Hull Sides | Double Mahogany Planking |
| Deck Planking | Mahogany Plywood with Canvas |
| Bunks | 5 |
| Toilet Facilities | 1 |
| Balgietto Shipyards | www.baglietto.com |
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