Imagine about 15 years ago an owner coming to the shipyard and asking for an elegant 13-meter boat, a day cruiser, to leave from Punta Ala, Tuscany, have lunch in Corsica and return home in the evening. Something Rivarama-style for instance, which, however, at 41 knots top speed, is still too slow. All that remains is to create a custom-made one. This is how Mas 42 Sport was born, which has remained a unicum (with a twin sister whose tracks have been lost) in the history of boating, made by the Como-based Mas yacht yard-now no longer in business-designed entirely by the Milanese architect Paolo Rossi, Engineered by the shipyard and featuring an original hull by the “design wizard” Fabio Buzzi.
5 record-breaking boats designed by Fabio Buzzi
Mas 42 Sport, the fast cruising boat was already born 15 years ago
“I won the competition held by the shipyard for this new model they intended to produce, I designed the whole boat, exterior and interior” -Paolo Rossi tells us – “and to achieve the required performance the shipyard relied on the wizard of fast boats, Fabio Buzzi. It was not a given that he would accept, partly because he did not usually work on such boats. And then Mas was also a very small. As luck would have it, at that precise moment he probably already had in mind to make a similarly sized, high-performance hull for military use. And so he accepted“.
The project, however, went on for a long time from the start. The architect Rossi had been commissioned to design the entire boat (exterior and interior), whose hull-and along with engines, axles and propellers-was then engineered by Buzzi and FB design, in tandem with engineers from the Mas shipyard, which also made the model from mold with its 5-axis pantograph. Altogether it took more than 2 years of work.
“I worked for several months in tandem,” continues architect Paolo Rossi, ” with the construction site. and Eng. Buzzi “fighting” with him (and it was real war in his Annone Brianza offices) to get some boarding weight. Sweat every kilogram to be in line with the client’s expectations in terms of elegance, luxury, while still ensuring the required performance. I remember focusing on every detail I could, including the docking bollards. Again, it has been long and difficult work, but full of rewards.”
Mas 42 S, what if this boat came out on the market today?
At the end of the work in 2007, the boat was presented in the water at the Cannes boat show. Powered by two 715-horsepower Cummins, it managed to reach a top speed of 53 knots. It was therefore a fast, powerful, comfortable and elegant boat with few rivals on the market (perhaps none, considering all the features jointly).
The deck also mirrored the space and usability requirements of today’s “premiere” decks: a stern sundeck, a step up to the rear deck, and then a center table with sofa and seating for 6 to 8 people, outdoor galley and sink/fridge hidden from view just behind the wheelhouse. The pilot and co-pilot’s station deliberately kept separate from the rest of the cockpit to emphasize the boat’s extremely sporty vocation. A beautiful self-supporting, double-curved windshield-with its own specially made mold-and an electric soft top concealed from view when not in use-Bentley-style-were the finishing touches to create an instant classic. There is also garage space on board for a small inflatable tender that is inflated and ready to ‘use.
Inside the boat?
The interior is not as spartan as one would expect from a hull capable of such performance. One large cabin and a comfortable bathroom with no visible counter molding, only noble and natural materials. Blond teak, matte lacquer, linen, leather, and some polished steel details. No visible spotlights, LED lights embedded in grooves ensure, with 4 differentiated lighting levels, the desired settings. Electric blackout blinds, state-of-the-art audio video systems (of the era), air conditioning with invisible slots, trim and type of outfitting borrowed from large custom yachts. In short, a miniature super yacht born from a very long design work and made with expert carpentry and technique. A 53 Kn speed mini-superyacht.
Where has Mas 42 gone?
How is it possible that a boat with all these features did not work in the market? First of all, the Mas 42 S had very high production costs mainly due to the ‘craftsmanship of the construction, the quality and general care of the equipment and components. This resulted in an inevitably high launch cost. For the second specimen launched, in fact, solutions were sought that could be more easily replicated in scale. It was also hypothesized to extend the range both upward (52′) and downward (35′). The shipyard, however, entered the financial crisis that affected many manufacturers in those years, especially the “small ones” who were trying to create “quality,” and, within some time, closed its doors. Now the ball is in the collectors’ court, but if you are looking for a used one with a story behind it, well, give it a thought.
Boat data sheet:
- Loa: 12.64 m
- B.max: 4.01 m
- Weight: 11.36 t.
- Fuel: Diesel
- Fuel capacity: 1,200 l
- Water: 340 l
- Engine: 2 X QSM11 Cummins (715 hp / 526 kw @ 2,500 rpm)
- Hull: Deep V (23rd deadrise) – Step hull
- Max speed: 54 kn
- Cruising speed: 40 kn
- Style: Arch. Paolo Rossi info@paolorossistudio.it – www.paolorossistudio.it
- Hull project: Fb Design
- Photo by: A&B Photodesign
- Engineering: R&D MAS
