italianadvanced

The Ferretti 620 will have Americans speaking the language of love.

By chris caswell

78 november 2011 / yAchTing www.yachtingmagazine.com

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The ferreTTi 620 Tops ouT aT more Than 32 knoTs.

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I was prepared to “like” the new Ferretti 620, but I was fairly

sure that I wasn’t going to love her to death.

She is, after all, the latest confection from this Italian builder

on this side of the Atlantic, and she’s full of stitched leather and

whitewashed oak and the many amenities you’d expect in an

Italian palazzo overlooking the sea.

It would be easy for me, calloused yacht tester that I am,

to dismiss the 620 as just another Portofino Palace, a stylish

transporter of crumpets and champagne along the Riviera. She

seems like a yacht designed for lazy afternoons in the sun, a few

getaway weekends moored stern to the quay in St. Tropez, and

perhaps an annual outing to Corsica or Sardinia. She doesn’t

seem a yacht for the “serious American yachtsman.”

And then I had The Epiphany.

She is esattamente the kind of yacht our serious yachtsmen

will appreciate because, you see, this is how we use our boats

too. Language differences apart, Italian yachtistas are just like

American skippers. We don’t set off on voyages to tropic isles

and we don’t plan to live aboard. We, and they, have limited

time in our busy schedules, which means that a weekend aboard

is a vacation, and a Sunday boat ride and barbecue are what

anesthetize us for the workweek ahead.

They may go to places like Monte Carlo or Porto Venere,

but we have Block Island or Catalina or the San Juans or the

Keys. Sometimes we get a week or two to spend aboard, and

so do they. There is an international bond among yachting

enthusiasts who, if they are honest, will admit they never have

enough time to enjoy their boats.

And the Ferretti 620 is perfect for all of us, Italian or American.

More than a little of this perfection is the result of the Italian

builders listening to experienced American advisors like Brian

Kelley, the North American Ferretti product manager.

The basic 620 is a very nice yacht, but Kelley quickly realized

that it needed some massaging to fit American needs and tastes.

First to go was the stern passerelle, which

is rarely needed here in the New World,

and which eliminated some complexity

and added space. Next to go was the

enclosure around the galley that, again,

is de rigueur in Europe, where the cook’s

presence should be tasted but never seen.

In America, the chef is part of the family

and isn’t to be locked away.

This tinkering has created a yacht that is

a delight on many levels. She is a powerful

performer that is exceedingly comfy for two

couples and kids on a weekend, and she’s a

yacht that begs to invite your best friends

aboard for a barbecue.

Which is not to say that there are not a

few, um, Italianate quirks, but none that are

either so irritating or so incurable that you

wouldn’t buy this yacht. More later.

At first glance, there’s no question that

the 620 is Italian, with curvaceous lines,

a sheer that romps rather than swoops

and a rakish look from reversed transom to swept-back spoiler.

Of course, so many North American builders either use Italian

designers or steal their ideas that the 620 might well be built

in Nebraska. But, no, this is authentic Italiano, from the dual-

language electrical panels to the Euro appliances in the galley.

Neither of these, I must add, are the problems I mentioned

earlier. The panel labeling is clear, and appliances, such as

Miele, Bosch and Isotherm, are now as easily repaired stateside

as are GE or Whirlpool.

With the bulkhead removed from around the galley, your

first impression when you step into the salon is of an unbroken,

airy expanse. The absence of bulkheads between the cockpit

and the wraparound windshield makes the salon seem immense.

With the galley and a buffet/bar aft on one level and the

entertainment area and helm raised slightly, it fulfills Norberto

Ferretti’s goal to “bring the outdoors into the yacht.”

When the window by the galley is hinged up and the sliding

doors are moved aside, even the shaded cockpit is included in

this sweep of salon. One particularly impressive feature is the

one-piece curved windshield unmarred by the usual support

mullions, and if you don’t think glass bends, consider that it was

perfectly f lat before being sealed into place.

The midsection of the salon has a leather couch facing an oversize

wraparound settee. The glass table expands for dining or contracts

to turn the area into a lounge to enjoy the pop-up TV to port.

On our test boat, salon décor was a mix of white leather upholstery,

pale ash woodwork, gray stitched leather paneling and chocolate

fiberglass sections. Neutral and very appealing, it underlined that

this is an adult yacht and not one for kids armed with Crayons.

The galley is sleek and stylish, with a composite counter and

good backsplashes, although missing any fiddles on the front

edges. Included in the appliances are a Bosch four-burner cooktop,

The shaded cockpiT opens To The galley and salon areas.

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microwave, dishwasher and Isotherm refrigerator hidden behind

ash paneling. Two of the counters separating the galley, as well

as the counters on the facing buffet/bar, were inlaid with stitched

white leather to match the seating. In my world, that would mean

we were drinking only white wine, because I would slit my wrists

if I discovered a circular vino rosso stain on that sumptuous Italian

leather. (On second thought, I wouldn’t: Blood also stains!)

Galley stowage is of the “let’s eat out” size, and, while a

large wine locker is under the helm seat forward and there is

dedicated space for Ferretti glassware in the buffet, Americans

may find it challenging to stash a box of Wheaties — lots of

smallish nooks, no pantry. I’m told this is being addressed, so

bring on the breakfast cereals.

The helm is clearly designed for a slim Italian, and most

Americans will probably want the helm seat moved aft a bit

so they don’t become a permanent fixture wedged between

seat and wheel. Tucked under the seat console is a wine cooler

(remember, white only!), and the entire dash assembly has a

lovely faux suede finish.

Outboard of the helm seat is the

electrical panel, and I liked the Lucite

cover over the lower horizontal section

to protect against spills. Our test 620 was

fitted with a Furuno NavNet 3D monitor

and three digital MAN engine screens,

with space for more. I love the compact

ZF shifters for their precision, and perhaps

because they remind me of the equally

precise controllers for my childhood

model trains. I also give Ferretti credit for

a monitoring panel that shows the yacht

in profile, with tiny lights indicating

any systems in use. It’s a multilingual

warning of bilge pumps that are running

or running lights that are not.

The master suite is everything you could

want in a cool and serene getaway — with

one caveat. Located below the salon, the

master spans the full beam, giving anyone

The masTer suiTe is full beam and full of naTural lighT (above); The galley feaTures Top european appliance brands.

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in the forward-facing queen-size berth the full benefit of views

through large windows (with two opening ports) on each hull side.

A built-in bureau is to port, a settee to starboard, and there is a

large walk-in closet off the entry from the foyer. Just as thoughtful

is the hidden full-size washer and dryer in the foyer.

OK, now we come to a quirk. The master head also spans

the full beam just abaft the suite, with a Tecma MSD and

vessel sink all the way to starboard, and a large shower with

seat all the way to port. This leaves a rather useless walkway

between the two. With a second door to the head on the port

side and a centerline shower, this could be a terrif ic his-

and-hers head without dead space. When I left, Kelley was

noodling out how to do it.

Forward, the larger guest cabin continues the “bring the outdoors

in” theme with big windows on each side of the queen-size island

berth. The cabin is simple but elegant, with one large drawer under

the berth and two hanging lockers, and it has a comfortably large

en suite head with a shower that Americans will appreciate.

Finishing up the accommodations is the children’s cabin on

the starboard side, with two singles and a private door into the

day-head, which has a two-part rotating door that creates a

shower “tube” when needed.

Then, of course, there is the crew cabin. Instead of the usual

impossible European ladder into a dungeon, this has a nearly

impossible stairwell from the corner of the cockpit that leads to a

quite civilized (but tiny) cabin with single berth, head and shower.

For owners on this side of the pond, it’s a good place for a teenager.

Or that slim Italian who can get down those narrow stairs.

a hallmark of The 620 is iTs openness — The lighT, floWing

inTerior connecTs Those aboard To The World ouTside.

WHO IS THAT MAN?

mAn diesels are found on many yachts

these days, including the Ferretti 620

shown on these pages, but most people

have only a vague sense that they are from overseas.

mAn (maschinenfabrik Augsburg-nürnberg) actually cel-

ebrated its 250th anniversary in 2008, but, of course, it hasn’t

been building diesels that long. The company traces its roots

back to an ironworks founded in the ruhr steel region of ger-

many in 1758, and, over the years, it moved from mining to ma-

chinery to steel construction, including many major bridges.

in the late 1800s, rudolf Diesel (shown above) worked for

four years with mAn engineers as he created the fi rst diesel

engine, never seeing how successful mAn diesels would be-

come, since he threw himself off a channel ferry in despair.

World War ii was both a high point and a low point for mAn.

its diesel engines accounted for the success of german U-

boats and the land-based Panzer tanks, which also made mAn

factories a target for highly destructive Allied bombings.

After the war, the company was reorganized and moved

into commercial truck and bus production. in 2006, mAn built

the fi rst diesel engine with more than 100,000 hp to power a

huge ship capable of carrying more than 9,000 containers.

in 2011, a controlling stock in mAn was acquired by

volkswagen, which plans to create europe’s largest truck

builder by combining mAn and Scania of Sweden. The

company now builds diesel engines in germany, Denmark,

France, china, the czech republic and india.

All mAn marine diesels are turbocharged, intercooled

four-stroke engines with four valves per cylinder.

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The bridge, however, has very comfortable stairs from the

cockpit, making access safe and secure. Once there, the helm

is tucked to starboard with a double-wide bench seat, and

the instruments are in a fold-up pod that closes for weather

protection. Opposite is another double-wide, and the entire

forward area to the venturi windscreen is a huge sun pad.

Behind the companion seat is a wet bar with space for a

barbecue, and a wraparound couch and fiberglass table that

fills the after end of the bridge. One item of concern that I’ve

mentioned several times is the radar mounted on the low spoiler

just behind the couch. This is right at head level and well inside

the 13-foot safety zone recommended by Furuno for radar

emissions. As I wrote before, you can turn the radar off when

anyone is on the bridge, but that’s where you’ll want to be in case

of fog. On the other hand, you may be able to put a raw steak on

the f lybridge table and cook it to your preference by changing the

range on the radar. I don’t know, but it seems worrisome.

Power for our test 620 was a whacking great pair of

1,100-horsepower MAN diesels, offered as an option instead of

the standard 900-horsepower MANs normally ordered for the

American market. The bigger diesels are V-10s, and they seem

to be very quiet, with less vibration than V-8s.

The engine room is a delight, with nearly full headroom,

rubber nonslip on the walk-around areas and full gelcoat

in the bilge. Access to the engines is excellent, with dipsticks

mounted facing inboard, oil and water filters close at hand,

and a protected sight gauge for the fiberglass fuel tank, which

separates the engine room from the crew quarters. The standard

genset is a 21.5 kW Onan, which is a change from the usual

Kohler found on Ferrettis, and it makes a compact and quiet

package in its sound shield.

We didn’t have any seas to challenge our test, but since the

620 hull is an extended version of the successful Ferretti 592,

I have no qualms that it is soft-riding and dry. And, to put

it succinctly, it hauls. We topped out at more than 32 knots,

plenty rapid for a 62-footer weighing in the neighborhood of

37 tons, which I take to be a testament to her slippery hull

lines. At an easy cruise of 2000 rpm, we were still knocking

off over 25 knots and the engines weren’t breathing hard.

We may not be carrying a cargo of Dom Perignon to Monte

Carlo, but Americans will nonetheless find a great deal to love

about the Ferretti 620. She is absolutely perfect for how most of

us use our yachts, and she is solidly built, thoughtfully equipped

and thoroughly luxurious. Don’t miss this Italian beauty. ❏

Ferretti Group of America, 954-462-5527; www.ferretti-yachts.com

rpm knoTs gph db(a)

600 6.8 8.9 62

900 10.8 17.2 62

1200 12.9 22 62

1500 15.9 45 62

1800 21.8 64 64

2100 28.3 89 68

2350 32.2 116 70

TesT condiTions: Speeds were measured by GPS off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with calm seas and 5-knot winds, with ½ load of fuel, ½ load of water and five people on board. Fuel consumption was calculated by the electronic engine-monitoring system. Sound levels were measured at the lower helm.

LOA: 61’7”

LWL: 52’6”

BEAM: 17’3”

DRAFT: 4’11”

DISPL.: 82,673 lb.

FUEL: 978 gal.

WATER: 140 gal.

ENGINE OPTIONS:

2 x 900 hp MAN diesels

ENGINES TESTED:

2 x 1,100 hp MAN diesels

BASE PRICE: Upon

request

The forWard facing full beam masTer has

large porTs on eiTher side.

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