Our newspaper has never hidden its fondness for classic boats, classic boats . As soon as we heard about Scilla (ex-Duchess) we could not help but rejoice. We are not the only ones who care at the end of the day!
Hai una Classic Boat? Celebra la sua storia! Farlo è semplicissimo
We are talking about one of Sangermani’s very first motor projects, a pilot boat, built in 1966. Almost 60 years for this mythical 10-meter boat, which today has regained its former (and never discussed) glory.
Scilla, this is how a 1966 Sangermani is reborn.
Behind it is shipowner Cesare D’Amico, entrepreneur and CEO of the eponymous d’Amico Shipping Group, who wanted to refurbish this piece of history. It was a stroke of luck for the hull, which, after 15 years on a slip, found itself in the hands of architect Tommaso Spadolini, who, with owner D’Amico, has worked on four yachts in 30 years 19 to 48 meters and to the refitting last year,
of a 1978 Magnum 38
.
Credit also goes to Salvatore D’Amico, son of Cesare, the one who actually scouted the boat. The refit was done at the Azzurra shipyard in Gaeta under the supervision of Spadolini and Ferdinando D’Urgolo, owner of the Latium shipyard where the work took place. The goal was to salvage as much as possible of what was on board, and the fact that we were dealing with a Sangermani certainly worked in our favor.
“The high quality of the original Sangermani construction ,” explained Tommaso Spadolini, “ was immediately apparent to us . We brought the whole thing back to planking and only had to intervene in three or four places by making reinforcements and restoring the wood. We, then, opted for an external wet-system treatment so as to ensure maximum waterproofing and guarantee easier maintenance in the future.”
Scilla, 1966 Sangermani: the works.
Looking at this boat you will surely have been struck by the rope coping (original of the time). What is it for? When plastic fenders, as convenient as they are aesthetically unappealing, did not exist, people used to use old pieces of rope to make them. The same goes for the coping, which serves, precisely, to protect the boat from dock impacts.
In the dashboard, everything remained as it was then at the general setting level, except for the throttle handle. Also true to the initial design was the decision not to have multifunction screens, only analog gauges.
The filter pane, i.e., the porthole in the front section of the plexiglass fenestration, was disassembled, refurbished, and reassembled.
“In the cockpit, we had to reconstruct, again keeping true to the design, the caissons, adding practical C-cushions,” Tommaso Spadolini continues. “With the addition of a table, it becomes a comfortable dining area. There was also originally a fish cooler under the aft seat: we replaced it with a large refrigerator. To make it even more cozy, two tubulars can be inserted into the side rod holders recessed into the deck to support the awning, which is zipped to the superstructure so that the entire cockpit is sheltered“.
Even a bit of modernity
Not everything remained “identical.” Comfort was surrendered aft with the ever-present (today) aft platform that certainly facilitates entry and exit from the water. At the stern, the engines have also changed. Originally there were DAFs with 225 horsepower each, and the idea was to keep them, but in practical test a re-engineering gained in usability. With two new aspirated engines from AS Labruna on the original shaftline it now touches 24 knots as opposed to 14-15 knots of speed from the old ones.
The electrical system, on the other hand, was entirely redone by equipping the boat with the 220V outlets that are there, but hidden!
Below deck, however, the real treat: all the mahogany is original, both of the structures and the dunnage. In the refit/restoration everything was recovered, painted and polished. Also original are the formica kitchen counter tops and bronze switches.
Hai una Classic Boat? Celebra la sua storia! Farlo è semplicissimo
