We tested I-Boat’s new 39-knot 10-meter walkaround.
Here’s how it went and how it sails.
There is a dream shared by every sailor: get a boat.
And I’m not talking about buying it, I really mean making it: designing it according to one’s needs and building it to one’s own measure.
Make it our own.
This is what drove Francesco Izzo, president of the company of the same name, his son Eugenio and engineer Giovanni Di Procolo, to create a new boat that would meet precise requirements for seaworthiness and comfort, which are too often sacrificed for aesthetic purposes.
I-Boat, our test
The result is a 40-foot walkaround (10.8 m hull length, then registered boat, becoming 12.2 m overall) with a minimalist, aggressive but elegant design.
It is #404, after the famous error the browser returns when it cannot find a web address, the first boat from the new I-BOAT shipyard, an acronym for Innovative Boat.
In short, a boat the likes of which is yet to be found.
In a word: innovative.
You may wonder what’s innovative about what at first glance might look like yet another angular walkaround with folding flaps.
Let’s start with the facts of the matter: before you make an investment you look at what the market is looking for, and this is the class most in demand: the walkaround.
The Hull of I-Boat
The geometries of the hull, studied by engineer Di Procolo, CEO of I-BOAT, are the result of several CFD simulations, which focused on a design cruising speed of 26 knots, moreover actually held in testing.
And it is worth remembering that the correlation between theory and practice, never taken for granted, is the first symptom of a well-thought-out design.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAVECq9iEiA&t=162s At this gait, the step – single and not very deep – distributes well the pressures on the hull, with an 80-20 ratio between bow and stern, leaving a large ventilated area aft of the step, in function of efficiency but above all of the search for stability.
Criterion, in my opinion, far more useful and exploitable than the search, often an end in itself, for maximum speed, which is still around 38/39 knots in the conditions of the test (6 people on board, full of water and fuel, long wave).
How is the 10-meter walkaround thought out
Rising above the waterline, at knee height, after the last spray rail, the dead work widens conspicuously in relation to the live work, creating a kind of “groove” from bow to stern, which, remaining in shadow, streamlines the shapes of the hull, as if to lift it over the water.
A fine stylistic solution whose real purpose is to increase the internal usable width, and thus volumes.
Here we come to the pivotal point of the project: space.
In this sense, the needs of those who go to sea, spend the day there, and want to be comfortable on board are recognized.
Everything is laid out to be easily accessible.
It is striking how easy it is to move all around the outboards (on test a pair of 350 hp Suzuki dual-prop), where the stern platform is connected to the deck and, once open, to the folding flaps, forming a single terrace on the sea that makes every area of the boat usable.
The stern platform can be lowered to facilitate entry into the water, or raised to step up onto the dock.
The lowerable flaps are placed above two booms that extend the hull beyond the transom to provide support where the additional weight of the mechanisms would cause excessive tacking at certain gaits.
A good design solution for not sacrificing performance on the altar of comfort that is now a must-have for this market segment.
The wet bar according to I-Boat
Set back from the engines is the wet bar, a true stylistic feature of the shipyard: a position as central as the moment of the meal and its preparation, amid guests, friends, and family.
Under the t-top, between two comfortable longitudinal seats, a retractable table can go up.
At siesta time, this whole configuration can be transformed into a large sundeck.
Accessible via wide, secure walkways, forward of the console is another sundeck, shaped directly on the fiberglass so as not to take away interior volume from the cabin below, following to the centimeter the proportions of Le Corbusier’s famous chaise longue.
These curved lines make it possible not only to install an additional light point to illuminate the cabin, once the relevant cushions have been removed, but above all to have a comfortable seat even while cruising, enjoying the sea view, without bouncing your back on the typical flat sundecks…speed and waves permitting!
Finally, the interior also benefits from well-thought-out space management.
In the end, what does a day cruiser need?
A bathroom, tall and separate, but above all a shower that allows easy and convenient use.
It has been made concealed, so as not to take away volume from the main room: by moving a bulkhead, it transforms into a real shower stall.
And in case you want to spend a few nights on board, the interior sofa converts into a double bed by electrically lowering a bulkhead, while still sacrificing the forward hold, convenient for not scattering bags around.
The site’s in-house production
All of these solutions have been conceived, designed and, for almost all of them, manufactured directly by I-BOAT, thanks in part to the experience and technical skills gained by Izzo Spa over five generations of operating on naval outfitting.
This considerable human and manufacturing capital offers two obvious advantages: a containment of costs, thanks to the possibility of internalizing most of the processing, but above all a high degree of customization.
Not only by letting the customer choose from a series of predefined fittings, but by working with him so as to find the solution that best suits his needs, realizing a part of that dream that is making one’s own boat.
In short, a true sartorial product, for which Naples has always been synonymous with excellence.
How much does I-Boat cost
There is no official price yet, which will be disclosed only at the Genoa Boat Show, but we have been told in advance that its basic version, which by the way is significantly lighter and available inboard, thus also very attractive for charters, will have an aggressive attack price against direct competition, against a comparable level of quality.
