After turbulent years which saw various negotiations, takeovers, and agreements, in 2021 the historic Cantieri di Pisa was acquired by Enrico Gennasio, former President – together with his brother – of Alfagomma: a company an important international player in the fluid handling sector in hydraulic and industrial applications. Marco Massabò was appointed as CEO of the shipyard.
The first steps after the acquisition focused on:
- the enlargement and renovation of the production site that had been idle for years, located at the Darsena Pisana along the Navicelli Canal;
- a refit that allowed the employees who had been laid off to return to work immediately and generated cash flow. At the end of the works, the refit activity will be able to count on a space of 34,000 sq.m.
With regard to the enlargement and renovation of the site, the investments and works made are important, and more will follow.
Historic and new buildings
These works are part of a multi-year plan to relaunch the brand. The modernisation project involves maintaining the offices in the main warehouse as the historic area, extending this structure and raising it to a height of 20 m. Another existing structure will be extended, again to a height of 20 m, and a new warehouse will be built alongside it.
These two buildings will then be connected by a 20-m high / 14-m wide covered structure for the passage of boats. All the production facilities and administrative spaces will occupy an area of 17,500sq.m, 900 of which will be dedicated to offices. The facilities also include a 600-m quay, a 300-tonne travel lift, a 20-tonne crane and a 300-tonne boat trailer.
Stylistic innovation and materials
As regards yachts, the aim is to develop new models in the wake of the brand’s heritage. As proof of this, the planned lines will take the names of the historical ones: Polaris, Saturno and Akhir.
One of the fundamental criteria of the new course will be the boats’ lightness and great attention will be paid to stylistic innovation and the choice of materials: the hulls will be in steel, the superstructures in aluminium and composites. Cantieri di Pisa’s chief designer is Antonio Luxardo, who with Optima Design (founded by Luxardo and Michele Zignego in 2004) will also take care of the engineering of the new projects.
Three main steps for the ‘CdP’ brand
In May, the Polaris 48 project was presented: the first of the new models in which the 3 yacht lines signed ‘Cantieri di Pisa’ will be declined.
In July, a custom explorer was sold with a steel hull and composite superstructure, 37.5-m long (design and engineering are by Marcelo Penna); its delivery is scheduled for 2026). It will be the first unit of the new custom division that will build yachts under the ‘CdP’ brand.
Finally, in August, the design of the new Saturno 56 was presented.
Interview with Marco Massabò, CEO of Cantieri di Pisa
What are the main features of the new Cantieri di Pisa boats?
We encourage owners not to try to recreate their New York, Monte Carlo etc. home on the water: we want to maintain a clear identity of the boat and its ‘marinity’.
We started by asking ourselves: “How do we reduce weight on a 70-m boat?”. We have invested heavily in R&D because we are certain that weight, hull shapes, materials and their optimisation are crucial in the design and construction of a yacht.
What does this mean on a practical level?
We work with carbon for part of the superstructure and other elements such as, for example, the hatches, the masts. Consider that a 56-m hatch in stuccoed aluminium weighs about 3.5 tonnes, in carbon it comes to 1.5 tonnes, plus the pistons which have to move 2 tonnes less of the aluminium hatch.
And these materials must be suitable, functional and high-performance: for example, on site we weld sheet metal cut at 45°, which is currently used in Northern Europe, much more functional than the traditional 90° sheet metal that is still used in Italy.
What is your strategic position on the Italian scene?
In Italy, generally speaking, the nautical sector has made a choice related to ‘volume’: we, on the other hand, are going to make a different product. This means that our business plan does not envisage building 100 boats a year, but a few important boats, even 90-m long. Cantieri di Pisa wants to become the yard of reference for making quality.
We have seen the Polaris 48 project: how will the development of your range continue?
The Polaris 48 is going to be an iconic boat, because it completely shatters the explorer concept; it is more than an explorer, it is a voyager. The complete range will consist of the Polaris 38, Polaris 48 and Super Polaris 60.
In addition to the Polaris 48, we are working on the first model of the new Saturno line (the more classic one), and then the revival of the historic Akhir line will follow.
Our whole range will have a strong brand identity: this for me is fundamental, thus the three lines will have features in common. They will be boats with a strong character and very recognisable.
At the end of July, you signed for a 37.5 m custom. How does the custom division fit in?
The new custom division complements the rest of our production, but without overlapping. In order to keep these two realities well separated, custom-built yachts – which are not part of our ‘Cantieri di Pisa’ range – will be signed with the ‘CdP’ brand.
We must ask: what will the new Akhir be like?
The Akhir, with their iconic lines and their performances, in the golden years of Cantieri di Pisa became practically a brand. Thus the new Akhir project, on which we have been working for a year and a half, is a fundamental part of our strategy. We started from Spadolini’s stylistic features, trying to bring them up to date, and we are working to create a fast 44-m boat. You cannot make a displacement Akhir, because weights and materials are crucial.
“Cantieri di Pisa have always produced boats with innovative technical and stylistic solutions” said CEO Marco Massabò.
“The repositioning of the wheelhouse elevated above the cockpit and saloon was born in Cantieri di Pisa, and the ribbon windows as well, just to give two examples. These models represented and changed yachting in the 60s and 70s”.
Today Cantieri di Pisa wants to re-propose the historical ranges of the shipyard while respecting the DNA and interpreting it in a modern key. These yachts will be strongly recognisable and will represent a marriage between the stylistic features and refined lines of Cantieri di Pisa’s boats, and the most recent achievements of modern boating in terms of design innovation and technology. The cult model in the history of Cantieri di Pisa is the Akhir.
“It is a yacht with lines that have become iconic but unfortunately have a time gap of about 20 years. Before rethinking the Akhir, we studied its fundamental characteristics with in-depth research on lines, stylistic features, intersection of volumes. We tried to determine, in a technical-scientific way, the parameters on which to work for the new Akhir. If we take a historical photo of an Akhir and the new Akhir, the continuity is evident; then, of course, if we look at the design in more detail, the marks that characterise the new line are also clear”.
Polaris 48
With this 48-m, the Cantieri di Pisa are kicking off their relaunch. The project presented is that of a voyager with large outdoor spaces available to guests even while sailing and organised for long stays on board.
With Antonio Luxardo, Chief Designer of Cantieri di Pisa, we discover the new Polaris 48. The first major design constraint was to stay under 500 GT.
The exteriors
“The Polaris 48 belongs to the voyager typology, i.e. it takes the autonomy of explorers and adds large, versatile outdoor spaces and refined interiors” Luxardo emphasizes. “Traditional explorers do not have large outdoor spaces that can be used while sailing, whereas we have developed the upper deck terrace, which almost completely covers that of the main deck. Basically, with the same GT we have increased the usable space even while sailing by 100%”.
In addition, once the tender and toy are disembarked from the main deck (3 tenders, one of which is 8-m long, or a rescue boat and 2 jet skis can be taken on board), the side walls open up to the sea, and at the extreme aft end there is a swimming pool well connected to the beach club.
The open deck on the upper deck is a huge space of 150sq.m that can be sheltered from the sun with curtains. “These two terraces, when the boat is stationary, allow enormous versatility for outdoor use, more or less sheltered from the sun. We are also developing a system of transverse stairs that will connect the decks starting from the beach club: it’s a different solution to what has always been done, but I think it’s extremely useful, because it will take up less space and connect all these areas more directly”.
The interiors
As far as the interior is concerned, on the main deck there is a 50sq.m saloon and 2 cabins – owner’s and VIP – while on the upper deck there is an indoor dining area connected by huge sliding windows to the terrace.
For the night, in addition to the two cabins on the main deck, there are 4 guest cabins on the lower deck and 8 berths for the crew (the captain stays in the Bridge Deck). However, this layout can be customised according to the owner’s wishes.
The interior design is by the Parisotto + Formenton studio, which designed bright rooms with a warm atmosphere based on shades of brown and white. As a tribute to the brand’s tradition, they chose materials evoking the old Akhir line, including pickled teak, carbon fibre, bronze, glass and brass. The colour palette and furnishings conjure up a marine mood, while the sleek lines and extensive glazing ensure a continuous dialogue with the light and the view.
Technical aspects
“As far as the technical part is concerned, we have worked on a new hull, which is also an integral part of the design of the bow that has a special wave piercing, and appendages that improve the hull’s hydrodynamics and performance. The hull will be in steel and the superstructure in aluminium with carbon parts”.
The yacht will be powered by two Man V12 1650s, with an expected range of about 4,000 miles at 10 knots and a maximum speed of 16 knots. The yard is also carrying out some research to propose a hybrid propulsion system as an alternative to the traditional motorization.
