by Francesco Michienzi – photo by Alberto Cocchi

GENEROSITY IS NOT A QUALITY THAT YOU CAN BUY OR GET GIVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE IT TO START OUT WITH. The story of Ugo Pellegrino is first and foremost one of courage: the proof that without bravery you won’t do anything, and that if you don’t have it not even intelligence can help you. And courage has a lot of different faces: that of generosity, curiosity, necessity, pride and recklessness.

When Pellegrino recounts how the Arcadia shipyard started out, he lets the depth of spirit that typifies certain very sensitive men shine through. «In 2006 we were called by somebody who had made an investment in the model-building and fibreglass moulding sector. Since he wasn’t a businessman, he asked for advice on how to progress. He realised that it was too difficult for him on his own, and so he asked us to buy into 33% of the share capital. After the premature death of the third shareholder Benny, who was a close family friend, we bought a further 33% and thus found ourselves with 66% of a company in a sector that we didn’t know, but one which we were starting to understand. We then also bought out the rest of the firm, and became hundred per cent owners of a very nice, but complicated, company».

Since 2008 Pellegrino has made investments totalling around 40 million euros, of which 31 million were made in the first ten months of the company’s existence. The most recent investments were in warehouses in the former Apreamare areas, a part of the marina that has meant that the firm is autonomous in terms of moorings, launches, service and after sales.

After careful analysis of the fact that the models and moulding sector wasn’t going to pay, Pellegrino came across a design for a strange boat, of a type never seen before. He fell in love with it, and decided to start off with a 85-footer. Pellegrino continues,

«Selling the first boat was a really nice, and unrepeatable, story. In 2010 we took our first model to Düsseldorf, and on 23^rd January, the first day of the show, we sold it. The German magazine Boote Exclusiv had published a rendering and this owner immediately fell in love with the design, to such an extent that he came to the show to buy the boat without ever having seen it».

The owner in question is a person who is very much aware of the environment, and who has internalised the concept of a slow boat with reduced levels of fuel consumption. He is investing part of his personal fortune, which amounts to around five billion dollars, in third-world countries, by buying entire, untouched territories, restricting deforestation and returning them to the country of origin.

A clearly emotional Pellegrino described him thus: «A special man who is fascinating and who has interior beauty, someone from whom I have learnt a great deal. I met him again many years later in Hong Kong. I can say that this is a bit our typical client, a man who has plenty of nautical culture who is not used to showing off». Since then, of the thirty boats produced, eleven have been Arcadia 85s.

Pellegrino is proud of the culture of his company. «With our business vision, we have enabled a very new yard like Arcadia to grow. The yacht sector is very dangerous, and it is one in which a lot of operators live beyond their means. I think it is important to keep your feet on the ground. Business logic is to have an industrial-type organisation and management to create a product that is completely handmade by craftsmen, like a Ferrari or an Aston Martin. At Arcadia, everything is done in house including moulding the fibreglass, so we have complete control over the quality of the production process».

The Sherpa XL ha appeared at the Cannes Yachting Festival, and for Pellegrino that is just as emotional as the launch of the first 85-footer. «It is an incredible boat, it has nothing to do with its size.  The interiors and the external areas arehuge, it is a very beautiful product».

The concept of the Sherpa XL, which was developed in partnership with Hot Lab design studio in Milan, which had already worked with Arcadia Yachts on the interiors for the A105, turns on the layout of the three decks. The decks are staggered in the bow, allowing the central stair block to feature reduced differences in level. A special system of fitting things together that, as well as providing a lot of space despite limited overall height, has meant that the designers could play around with the volumes.

Ugo Pellegrino’s shipyard has, to its credit, introduced new concepts in how a boat can be experienced: in the past, cockpits were small and difficult to use, whereas Arcadia has joined together external lines, in a break from tradition, with a functionality in the interiors that previously was unthinkable in a boat of this size.

(Arcadia Yachts, generosity and courage – Barchemagazine.com – September 2019)

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by Valeria Caldelli – photo by Andrea Muscatello

IF HE COULD TURN BACK TIME,Mario Cecchi would become amechanic, because dismantling engines and putting them back together has always been his passion, yet his three boats are all sailing ships. «They’re more environmentally friendly, and they don’t make so much noise», he says, to explain the apparent contradiction.

However, feeling compelled to dismantle something, he tinkered with the rudder of his nine-metre fibreglass boat, a Freedom with two masts but no shrouds. The reverse gear still doesn’t work, but the boat now moves more quickly.

For Marco Cecchi, nothing can replace the quiet pleasure of a challenge. Born on the banks of the Arno in Tuscany but a long-standing adopted citizen of Viareggio, and a seafarer and friend of all seafarers, he has a thirst for a challenge in his blood. Not so much in the sports field , but in the world of business.

It was in 1978 when he ended up with a sample of a new substance in his hands that dried instantly like a varnish: Teflon. It is now known universally, since it entered our homes on ‘non-stick’ pans, but at the time it just seemed like a slightly strange product.

When the young Marco went to investigate its characteristics, he discovered it was a polymer with a low coefficient of friction, and a few tests revealed its excellent flow-enabling properties. So he said to his father «I’d like to try it on rowing boats and racing cars». His father shook his head: «You won’t get anywhere», he replied. But Marco succeeded. And Cecchi Gustavo & C. became one of the first companies in Italy to successfully bring to market aproduct that would go on to revolutionise both the maintenance and manufacturing of boats.

Gustavo was the father, and Marco the stubborn son who now runs the business. He joined it in 1972, after a period spent building boats in a shipyard. Since then hehas been travelling backwards and forwards across Italy to sell ‘his’ varnishes and ‘his’ resins, products he himself modified based on insight gleaned from new scientific discoveries, but also from adverts, newspapers or the internet.

In this way he has gradually ‘developed’ the various epoxy resins, additives, fillers, sealants, varnishes and enamels that he produces. From the very start, Marco catered for both wooden and fibreglass boats. By listening to boat owners, captains, fishermen and other customers in various regions across Italy, he gets to understand the most important issues they’re dealing with, what he calls his ‘learning’ time.

And then, once he’s learnt, he invents new materials and responds to his customers’ queries, from a ‘spongy’ deck and water damage to the base of the rudder or mast, through to osmosis ‘bubbles’ beneath the hull of fibreglass boats and joints on wooden or plywood craft.

«You have to avoid becoming a fish in a tank: you need to take a new step every day to keep up withthe times and ensure you have the right product», he explains. «On many occasions, however, I have had to give up various projects, because I knew I wouldn’t have the right customers. We are a small company, and I have never wanted to bite off more than we could chew. It’s impossible to launch a car at 200 mph if it can’t get above 100 mph».

His watchword is the Japanese term Kaizen, meaning constant improvement, but in small steps, day after day. On the other hand, he’s a perfectionist, and feels he owes a lot to a physics teacher who planted in him the ‘seed’ of curiosity.

Curiosity gave rise to experience, and experience gave rise to the best ‘remedies’ for various situations. «Which is better: your grandma’s cooking or your mum’s cooking?», he asks, before adding «Children normally say ‘Grandma’s’. It’s not about the recipe, but about habit, and manual skill…». For this reason, he also invented some initials, which he likes to add to his signature: NL Marco Cecchi, where NL stands for ‘non laureato’, meaning ‘non-graduate’. Just to be clear.

If you ask the perfectionist what he does in his spare time, he’ll reply that he thinks about work. But that’s not entirely true. In reality he spends hours in bookshops, looking for titles and authors that pique his curiosity. From medicine and engineering to psychology – everything except novels, «because life is already a novel, and there’s no need to add any more». He reads them all from cover to cover, and keeps those that fascinate him on his bedside table. He often gives copies away to clients and employees, and even gets them reprinted at his own expense when the bookshop is out of stock.

In his room, on the first floor of 253 Via Coppino, in Viareggio, the teak floor is treated with his own products, because he likes feeling like he’s on the deck of a boat out at sea. On the walls, meanwhile, alongside the photos, the jams his brother-in-law gives him and the traces of memories that not even the most epoxy of his epoxy resins could make waterproof, there is another sea.

A sea of books. On everything, from engines and interpreting dreams to sailing, medicine and physics. Here, every day, he takes on another challenge, and overcomes it. But only in small steps: through kaizen, as we mentioned above.

At this point the Marco Cecchi  businessman turns into a philosopher: «Sometimes the days all seem the same to us, but actually every moment is full of surprises, which we only understand afterwards. Someone once wrote– I don’t remember who – that it is not discovering new land that is important, but looking with new eyes».

(Marco Cecchi, a man of rare sensitivity – Barchemagazine.com – June 2019)

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Stefano Campanelli has held important management positions in large Italian companies and, more recently, he has been the Commercial Director of Ferretti Yachts. He will take care of the market launch of the new Mase Generators products, from the new VS line at variable speed, to the new hybrid and electric propulsion systems.

Through the production of these systems, Mase is investing in research and development of more environmentally friendly systems for both energy production and boat propulsion.

Stefano Campanelli stated: “Mase has a widespread product catalog catering to the most varied fields of application and the great number of recently introduced innovations besides the ones currently underway do represent a very strong motivation for me; I can’t wait to put all of my energies into this very stimulating corporate developing path”.

Debut in the USA for the new VS range.

This new phase of expansion of Mase Generators also goes through the Miami Boat Show, to be held from 14 to 18 February 2019.
The company will be present at both the Miami Boat Show at the Marine Stadium and the Yacht Show in Biscayne Bay.

Mase Generators will present generators for any type of boat thanks to differentiated products and ranges. Miami will also be exhibiting the new models of the VS series, variable speed generators that aim to transform the way of designing electrical systems on board thanks to their characteristics of efficiency, lightness, and silence. The VS range currently consists of five models from 6 to 15 kW, but Mase also manufactures custom generators of any power.

(Mase Generators: Stefano Campanelli is the new Sales Director – Barchemagazine.com – February 2019)

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by Francesco Michienzi – photo by Alberto Cocchi

The sea, an element that to an extent is still unknown, always gives new sensations. For those who are looking for peace, or simply calm, far from the frenzy of everyday life, it is an effective answer. To experience it in its most authentic aspect, a boat is the ideal solution. Looking for and finding a balance while sailing is a situation, which is absolutely perfect for this.

Andrea is a successful man, he works in the logistics sector and says that he is only an amateur owner; but you wouldn’t say that if you saw him manoeuvre while mooring his Ferretti Yachts 550 Fyb.

He probably meant to say that he only goes out on his boat for fun: «The boat is a chance to completely enjoy myself: I have always liked the sea, and to me it means relaxation. The boat fits into that desire perfectly. My work often takes me abroad, and having time off is very important for me, and the boat gives me that chance».

This Ferretti 550 Fly  is Andrea’s third boat. He had a 50 foot open and before that a 44. You could say that this is the first real boat to go on comfortable cruises with all the family. In the past he has sailed on inflatable boats or on friends’ boats. «I was born in a coastal city, Livorno, so the sea has always been an important part of my existence».

There are four adults in the family, as well as two grandchildren and they use the boat nearly every weekend. Including three weeks cruising, our owner does as much as 150 hours’ sailing a year, when the average Italian pleasure boater does only around 50.

When buying a boat, every sailor assesses their own needs: «For me, there was the need to find a vessel that allowed me to experience unknown sea. Since I didn’t have that much experience as an owner, I looked for a product that allowed me to handle the sea with ease, which was welcoming for the family, and which met everybody’s needs, so we bought the Ferretti 550 Fly. I have to say that the path we followed was the right one, because we began with a fairly small, open-style boat, which meant that we could discover all the secrets of sailing. We started with the basics and in a few years we had enough experience and confidence to go on longer, more difficult cruises with the tranquillity of dealing with a long journey without major problems».

Andrea tells us: «I recently sailed round Italy because I took delivery of the boat at Cesenatico and sailed it to Marina dei Cesari at Rosignano Solvay. I did around a thousand nautical miles in 53 hours. It was a beautiful experience and I had the chance of discovering so many different places which can only be appreciated from the sea».

It was also a great chance to try out the new boat: «I thought it was a perfect test, really nice because we also had some rough sea, and so I was able to really try it out, especially in the Gulf of Messina. The Ferretti 550 Fly  hull and the seakeeping is excellent».

Andrea continues: «Every time that we go out on the open sea it is a new experience, one that is never the same as the previous day».

We ask him if he is calm when skippering, or if he gets a bit worried: «I am very calm and I have to say that this calmness is also because of how good the boat is, because that is really important, especially for those like me who got into sailing as adults».

Andrea’s family has got a good relationship with the boat. They are happy and they use every aspect of it: «We cook, we do our laundry and use everything the boat has. We customised it specially so that we could enjoy it as a family». The boat is also, to an extent, a moment of freedom to escape everyday life.

That also means a lot to Sandra, the wife of the owner: «We like to think of the boat as being our house on the sea. I am always happy to use it, relaxed. I love being on a boat and I really like travelling at sea. We found this boat which means all the family can live well on board, and which also easily houses even the two small children and it felt like a fantastic chance to spend the holidays together. The boat is a delight and the sea is a marvellous place to be. Tranquillity and solitude are important for me too, they mean that I can recharge my batteries after a tough week. I really love the sea, and the silence, and I really love the open sea».

The Ferretti 550 Fly  was bought from Maurizio and Giovanni Granai’s GPY company: «Maurizio is definitely a point of reference as a person, because this is still a fairly unknown sector and has a lot of dark areas, and so having a person to trust for any kind of advice or decision is really important, and goes beyond the simple client–supplier relationship».

(Owners and their boats: Andrea & Sandra and their Ferretti 550 Fly – Barchemagazine.com – October 2017)

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by Alessia Cherubini, photo by Andrea Muscatello

Talarico Cravatte has become a reference point for man’s elegance thanks to their care for details, the selection of first quality fabrics, the rigorously Made in Italy and the support of qualified labour.

Produced in a limited edition and handmade using refined textiles and a special technique, Maurizio Talarico ties were given to the heads of state who participated at the G7 meeting in Taormina. For the United States of America’s president, Donald Trump, a tailored red satin silk tie was chosen. That was not the first time that an American president received a Talarico tie. «Matteo Renzi gave one to Barack Obama and his wife in the occasion of their last dinner at the White House, right at the end of Obama’s mandate. It’s been a great satisfaction for me, many people read the news and contacted me, it was hardly possible to talk of anything else at the atelier».

Also, members of parliament, senators, entrepreneurs and journalists do appreciate the artefacts of the Roman atelier, among them old time politicians like Maurizio Lupi and Mario Baccini but also spokespersons of the Five Stars Movement. Even some well-known female figure chose to wear Maurizio Talarico ’s creations, like the defence ministry Roberta Pinotti and the secretary of the Fratelli d’Italia party, Giorgia Meloni. Both loved in particular his foulards.

To those who ask him an advice on what colour tie to wear, Talarico provides neat answers. «According to me there are no colours in the world of ties. There are events, such as the Pitti in Florence, that influence styles and man’s current fashion. To me a tie goes with the clothes that a man has in his wardrobe and with the mood with which he wakes up in the morning. The tie is indeed a mirror of men’s personality. There are men who manly wear plain colour ties, others micro or macro fantasy ones, not to talk of those who want them of a specific tailored size or who only wear wool or cashmere. The truth is that it is the tie who influences man, not vice versa».

(Agosto 2017)

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Erwin Bamps, CEO of Gulf Craf talks about the philosophy of his UAE located shipyard with 35 years of history. “We design super yachts for ocean going performance, but actually to provide also exceptional outdoor and indoor spaces that are interconnected…“

(Erwin Bamps: “This is the philosophy of Gulf Craft” – Barchemagazine.com – November 2017)

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CUSTOM LINE HAS ITS ORIGINS IN A BUSINESS IDEA THAT FOUR PEOPLE HAD. FOUR PEOPLE WHO RELISH A REAL CHALLENGE, and with a very clear vision of the future: building boats of up to 40 metres, using composite materials and an industrial approach. The company was founded in 1996 by Norberto Ferretto, Ottavio Cascino, Carlo Moschini, business partners with 30 per cent of the capital stock, and by Lamberto Tacoli, who held 10 per cent. In 1999 the company was acquired by Ferretti Spa. Zuccon International Project was responsible for the interior and exterior design of the first three models, 94’, 104’ and 112’.

Gianni Zuccon recalls: «The idea was to make boats over 90 feet long. We suggested using a modular system, but to avoid discussing it as we felt that clients who could afford a boat that size may not have been happy with an industrially-constructed craft. At that time, yachts above a certain size were all tailor made. But with a modular moulding system we could ensure great flexibility in construction, with internal compartmentalisation that was completely different from one boat to another. This meant that an owner could choose from as many as 432 different combinations. We then also applied that concept to the size and shape of the boat, and could make changes to the moulds for the superstructure and deck».

The Custom Line 104 was never produced, even though in the way it was put together it looked like the most balanced boat. The 112 and the 94 were the most commercially appealing. The three models had a central part with compartmentalisation which was essentially identical, the only thing that changed was the positioning, which was determined by the size of the engine room – which was itself a function of the size of the engine used. Eighty-five per cent of the superstructure was almost always the same, there were some different components in the windows or the fibreglass topmast, which was also used as a distinguishing mark. Over twenty years, 18 models were made, eight from the planing line between 94 and 128 feet, and ten from the Navetta line, including the Navetta 43m, a project executed as Custom Line in 2002 and later marketed as CRN, and the new 42 metre which we will see next year.

In 16 years, 70 Navetta series boats have been sold. The record belongs to the Navetta 30m, which was brought to market in 2000 and of which 18 have been produced. Another one for the record books is the Custom Line 37 metres, that we will see at the Cannes Boat Show, of which three have been sold off plan. Ten years after the creation of the brand, the Custom Line 100 was introduced. Its design was based on the idea of a continuity of surfaces, both opaque and transparent, and was determined by the type of boat in question and thus how volumes were allocated in them. This made it possible to have more options of how external spaces can be used, and has been done by creating different spaces – such as the dining area at the end of the bow – and thus allowed privacy and onboard comfort to improve. Continuity was also the key to the approach in creating the internal areas. Here the presence of the single large window – which links the main deck and the bridge on the upper deck – underlines how it is possible to identify a parallel between the two creative paths, internal and external: this reflects how the planning can be traced back to a single chain of thought, driven by the same wishes and goals.

Professor Zuccon recalls: «The 100 was our breakthrough boat. It had been decided that we needed to introduce a new product to replace the 97; we talked about it for months with the owners, with the sales department staff and with the boatyard engineers because it was not easy to replace a successful boat with another that required significant investment. Fortunately we sold the new boat well. For me, the Custom Line100 was an extremely demanding project since it had to match up to the preceding 94’, 97’ and 112’ boats from the range. Measuring up in this well-established length range meant we had to show how the new product was part of an existing family with strong features and individuality, and also that we had to innovate: bringing stylistic, functional and technological solutions that reflected the constant research and experimentation process in the planning field».

In 1999 the Navetta series was added to the line of planing yachts. Gianni Zuccon says «The Navetta boats are in part their architect’s dream, what he believed in, his aspirations, and above all Norberto’s judgement. It is in my nature not to want to go fast, I don’t like noise and having to hold on when I am sailing. I like to travel in silence, and to hear the sound of the water. This is something I said again and again, until, at the end of the 1990s, Norberto said to me: “Listen, Architect, how about giving some thought to slow sailing?”. I immediately latched onto this request and began to think up a 24-metre boat – which was considered large, but nevertheless accessible. Shape, function and size – these are the parameters that you can’t ignore, particularly when you have to make a vessel for an owner who is going to spend a lot of time at sea, living in and completely inhabiting the boat as if it were his home. I have always been fascinated by slow boats, because I am convinced that they are pieces of architecture that stand out from other means of transport because they can be lived in, and you can inhabit the sea. The sea is a changeable place, which is not always the same, whether you move a lot, a bit, or stay still. There is always the concept of liveability, meaning that humans are always more important and not just temporary spectators. Architecture is the expression of the essence of a place, and is the culture of the community that meets up and embraces the culture of the place: the sea on the one hand – a moving sea, or a calm sea; and the boat on the other».

The story of Custom Line is continually evolving, with new models like the 37 and 42 metre Navetta boats, with contemporary interiors, in line with the approach taken in configuring the external volumes, without ever losing sight of its special status – as a marine space.

(Custom Line: tailored to people’s needs – Barchemagazine.com – September 2016)

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“THE PLEASURE AND PRIDE IN SEEING YOUR OWN BUSINESS THRIVE AND OBTAIN APPRECIATION, inspire confidence to an even larger clientele and expand plants, are a spur of progress as powerful as the profit.” The words of Luigi Einaudi represent exactly Pietro Ranieri’s feelings. The 50 years of activity of the Calabrian entrepreneur, founder and owner with his two sons Salvatore and Antonio of the Ranieri International, tell the story of a man, an expert manufacturer and a reference in the boating sector.

During his entire career, his work has been driven by great commitment, spirit of sacrifice and passion for innovation, the same values that allowed small and medium Italian companies to succeed across the world with products characterised by innovative techniques and style. When it was founded in 1966, the company specialised in the power boats sector; later Pietro Ranieri started to focus on recreational crafts, an industry that had yet to take off in Soverato at that time.

The security and reliability of all its models has been paramount from the start. Since the 80s, showcasing its products at boat shows has been fundamental to growth and new commercial opportunities. In the last few years, thanks to its commitment to rely only on Italian production, the company has sensibly expanded across Europe.

One of the essential elements of Pietro Ranieri’s entrepreneurial vision has always been his determination to control directly all design and manufacturing stages, in order to be able to solve promptly any technical issue that may arise. The story of Ranieri International is the story of the dream of a boy from Calabria proud of being Italian, who during the past 50 years of work and dedication has been able to create an international company, passing on his emotional and ethical values to his children, creating job opportunities and positively contributing to local economic development while promoting Italian professionalism and craftsmanship.

(Pietro Ranieri, the pride of doing – Barchemagazine.com – June 2016)

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