Baglietto Ischia – Milestone of Made in Italy
Among the milestones of Italian boating, it undoubtedly finds its place a 16-meter like few others, an emblematic project of post-World War II reconstruction: the Baglietto Ischia. Classic Boat Elegant and strong with 7 berths (including two for crew), the Ischia is one of the most successful yachts of the time, with a production of no less than 72 units in just 6 years (’59-65)-numbers that take on even more significance in the context of semi-craft production with planking construction.
Baglietto Ischia – Origins
With the end of World War II, inevitably, production of vessels for war use waned, unbalanced by a lack of growth from “custom” construction, severely limited by general austerity. Bolstered, however, by the great technological boost and know-how that the conflict had brought, and facilitated by the regrowth that restarted with the 1950s, the Baglietto shipyards were able to find a solution destined to carry them on the wave of success: “mass” production for small pleasure craft, a desire that was growing rapidly at all the countries where the “boom” was emerging.
This period saw the birth of the design of boats intended for mass production, boats for the increasingly popular Italian Riviera, to which a new affluent class was increasingly aiming. And Baglietto, armed with wartime experience and considerable entrepreneurial ability, is in pole position. The “islands” series was born, inaugurated in 1958 by the legendary Baglietto Elba (11 m), immediately followed by the Baglietto Ischia (16 m), in 1959, which moreover would enjoy extreme longevity and multiple updates (Super Ischia and Super 1000).
Baglietto Ischia – Exteriors
Elegance to spare and classic style fully characterize this 16-meter, originally finished with a “garda blue” livery on the deckhouse (the first Ischia series). The hull design features a star-studded prow, and the overall lines are derived from well-tested studies, coming from the shipyard’s wartime experiences, and specifically from anti-submarine boats and M.A.S. (torpedo-armed speedboats) developed for the Navy.
The deck is structured around a solid central body, a covered superstructure characterized by a long, low forward deckhouse that rises toward the center of the boat, thus providing a raised and protected location for the wheelhouse. Sheltered here are the command post and equipment, surrounded by a cabinet complementary to the bridge and, aft, a guest sofa.
Aft, a continuation of the structure creates a second deckhouse in the cockpit, a solution that allows greater heights below deck, providing not only light to these volumes but also space for a double aft sundeck. Finally, in some versions, there is also a fly, located above the inside wheelhouse and externally accessible from the cockpit.
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Baglietto Ischia – Interior
Coming to the interior spaces, upon entering below deck the Baglietto Ischia welcomes with a small “navigation room” that is, an antechamber to the salon where the chart table and cabinets dedicated to instrumentation are located. Opposite this space is the galley, isolated from the salon, which instead occupies the forward portion of the boat center. Here, on the left, is a long bulkhead cabinet, and on the starboard side is a large L-shaped sofa with table, making this area the actual living space of the interior. Just beyond that is a double cabin and services.
The master stateroom is located at the far aft end and is complete with twin beds, furnishings and private bathroom with shower. Concluding the interior, at the far bow, there is instead a third cabin, intended to accommodate the two berths of a possible crew.
Propulsion
As for the Baglietto Ischia, the shipyard produced subsequent versions, the best known of which is the Super Ischia. The only difference between this and the former is the installed power and the resulting performance. In the case of the Baglietto Ischia, the standard motorization included a pair of G.M diesel engines with a total of 672 horsepower, replaced by a pair of Fiat Carraro engines in the Super version, for a total output of 1,200 horsepower. Regardless, the tank capacity was instead unchanged, firm at 2240 liters.
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Technical Specs
| – | ISCHIA | ISCHIA SUPER |
| Length Over All (LOA) | 16.00 m | 16.00 m |
| Baglio Massimo | 4.00 m | 4.00 m |
| Fishing | 1.10 m | 1,15 m |
| Vacuum Displacement | 14.00 t | 15.70 t |
| “Normal” displacement | 16.00 t | 17.70 t |
| Full Displacement | 17.30 t | 19.00 t |
| Motorization | Diesel G.M. 8V 71
(tot. 672 hp/bhp) |
Fiat Carraro CB 12 TC
(tot. 1200 hp/bhp) |
| Maximum Speed | 29 | 35 |
| Cruising speed | (2000 rpm) 24 | (1400 rpm) 31 |
| Cruising autonomy | 22 hours | 12 hours |
| Fuel Tank | 2240 lt. | 2240 lt. |
| Fresh Water Tank | 600 lt | 600 lt |
| Guest Posts | 7 | 7 |
| Crew Housing | 2 | 2 |
| Builder | Baglietto | Baglietto |
Discover Classic Boats from previous articles
Here are all the other great Classic Boats. If you have one and would like to tell us about it, please email us at deluise@panamaeditore.it
- Baglietto Elba, the dawn of the Italian series motoryacht (11.3m)
- Riva 25 Sport Fisherman, history of an Italian-American classic (7.5m)
- Boston Whaler Outrage 21, the Classic Boat that conquered Italy (6.5m)
- Grand Banks 42, from fishing boat to cruiser par excellence (12.7m)
- Italcraft X-44, the elegant cult fisherman of ’68 (14m)
- Mochi Craft Super 8M, the Italian way to sport cruising (8.4m)
- Italcantieri Bora 103, when the Italian state built pleasure boats (10m)
- Concorde 27 Spot Fisherman, the weekender for all that conquered Italy (8.2 m)
- Breaking the 50-knot wall: Italcraft Drago, the record boat (13m)
- Polaris & Super Polaris, the legendary 1960s cruisers by Cantieri di Pisa (13m)
- Chris Craft Super Catalina 28, the 1970s weekender that conquered the Belpaese (8.6 m)
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