Benetti 171

For Benetti project manager Elisabetta Di Noto, hull FB 237 is a special project for several reasons. Having worked as technical coordinator on Amnesia and Allegro, the young naval engineer first project-managed Sunday, but 52-meter (171-foot) Latinou is the only time she has been involved in discussions with the yacht owner before the contract was signed and the GA finalized. It is also Benetti’s first custom yacht project to have an in-house interior designer rather than one brought in by the owner.

The advantages for Di Noto and the client are twofold. First, it means there is no abrupt transition for the owner when the commercial department hands the project over to the production team. Second, working with in-house designer Mauro Izzo means that someone working on site can quickly make decisions.
 

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"Another plus," says Di Noto, "is that instead of working with an outside owner’s rep, we have surveyor Antonio Pozzi and broker Antoine Althaus from Fraser Yachts. So again we’re keeping it the family, so to speak."

This tight-knit infrastructure has enabled the work flow to progress smoothly and rapidly. During any new build there are modifications to the contractual specs, and with Latinou this meant installing an integrated lighting system, Dometic A/C control and extra bathroom facilities in the garage and on the sun deck. These modifications had to undergo feasibility studies in terms of time and cost, "but when you have a flexible and obliging client, as in the case of Latinou, we will do all we can do incorporate the owner’s requests," adds Di Noto.

The management process has worked so well that Benetti moved up delivery. When I visited Latinou in Livorno late last year, the yacht’s main systems were already up and running after the generators had been tested at full capacity through a load bank. Following sea trials there will still be plenty of time for the captain and crew to settle in before the owner takes delivery.

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