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It is 1968, and as the world simmers in turmoil, Italcraft launches a model destined to set the standard, a cruising fisherman, elegant and unmistakable. It will be one of the most beautiful boats built by the shipyard: theX-44, a Classic Boat timeless, true challenge to the overseas market.
A hybrid between fledgling industry industrialization and traditional grand mastery, this 14-meter was an immediate success, highly coveted for its marked habitability (4/6 berths) and impeccable speed and sea-keeping performance, strengthened by the great innovation introduced by the shipyard: the semi-planing hull.
A rational marriage of necessity and pleasure, the Italcraft X-44 was first produced in different versions: “Ambassador,” the open version; “Executive,” the fisherman with tuna tower; and “Super S,” the elegant model with fly. Between these they changed in interior layout and type of use, ranking, however, and always, at the top of the markets for each segment, offering great roominess and ample space for outdoor living.
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Except for the differences characterizing the exteriors of the different variants, mentioned earlier, X-44 provided two main spaces at the main deck. Aft, the cockpit faced the salon, which was enclosed in all versions except the “Ambassador.” In the bow, however, a large cleared pontoon was to be enjoyed as a sunbathing area, while the fly accommodated the external wheelhouse and respective seating, an optimal solution, contextualizing the standards.
Coming to the salon, more to be understood as a square, the spaces were elegant and qualitatively fine, made and finished in mahogany. Here then found space for the galley, just to the left of the access to the cockpit, facing the L-shaped table and sofa, placed instead on the starboard side. Instead, the wheelhouse, served by a single chair, was again on the left, surrounded 270° by the windshield. Central to this is access to the interior, offered in two different layouts.
The first, with three cabins, provided a forward owner’s suite consisting of two V-beds and en suite facilities. Also in this version, two separate guest cabins, both equipped with bunk beds, were located from the small hallway between the master and aft. Toward the center of the boat, abaft these, on the starboard side, there was instead a communal service room, juxtaposed to the stairway to the saloon. In the two-cabin version, the galley occupied the space reserved for the left guest cabin, rather than being in the salon, as in the 6-cabin layout.
Read about the other Classic Boats as well! Here are the legendary Baglietto Elba, Riva 25 Sport Fisherman, Boston Whaler Outrage 21 and Grand Banks 42
With the second half of the 1960s, Italcraft shipyards were among the first in Italy to take the path of serial production as commonly understood. The factories were therefore expanded, enlarged and updated, thus abandoning the processes linked to the artisan world, without, however, abandoning its cabinet-making tradition, which was simply adapted to the new production chain, now unraveled on assembly line and contemporary production phases, among the most up-to-date in the world. The transition thus saw the factories move, expanding from Bracciano to Gaeta, thus also seeing the production of the X-44 moved from one to the other.
Despite the transition, Italcraft still retains its DNA, maintaining a classic flavor that is not distorted in favor of seriality. Hulls, exterior lines and furnishings, are thus the result of the yard’s own technical department, which combines novelty with tradition, strong in excellent workmanship and considerable innovation. The latter, experience gained on the fields of competitive competitions. Famous indeed are his Sarima, in the X-1 and X-1 Golden Propeller versions, which successfully participated in several offshore regattas, such as the Viareggio – Bastia – Viareggio and to which, partially, the X-44 is heir.
In terms of construction, the cycle was laid out on an assembly line and began with the setting of the deck (teak on 5 layers of marine plywood ), which, when finished, was turned over to receive the frames, keel, bow wheel, and watertight bulkheads-all made of solid mahogany. Instead, the hull and bottom were made of mahogany laminated wood, as were the sides, with longitudinal courses. Having completed this first phase, the hull could again be turned over so as to proceed with the assembly of the extremely precise and refined fittings made of mahogany.
Valuable here was the yard’s focus on combining seriality with craftsmanship, using the same log to make each specimen, thus seeking the same homogeneity of color and grain. The superstructures, on the other hand, were made of marine plywood, while the flying bridge was built, at the same time, in a different department, in order to reduce time and be able to install it as soon as both distinct components were completed.
| Length Over All | 14.00 m |
| Maximum beam | 4.15 m |
| Fishing | 0.90 m |
| No-load displacement | 9.500 t |
| Original maximum motorization | 2x G.M. 8V-53 N 283 hp |
| Maximum speed | 27 kn |
| Cruising speed | 23 kn |
| Economic cruising speed | 20 kn |
| Fuel tank | 1,300 lt. |
| Fresh water tank | 400 lt. |
| Shipyards | Italcraft |
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Italcraft X-44 Super S (14m), the sleek, cult ’68 fisherman/cruiser – Classic Boat
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