With the traditional “coin ceremony”, which took place in Livorno, Benetti celebrated the laying of the keel of a new megayacht, the custom yacht, FB283, a 62-metre long vessel, with 5 decks, a steel hull and aluminium superstructure.

The “coin ceremony” is an ancient practice, which can be traced back as far as the Romans, involving placing a coin under the keel of a vessel for good luck – for the ship, the crew, and her passengers.

“In building the FB283, Benetti is using its great experience in making custom yachts – declared Sebastiano Fanizza, Chief commercial officer  for Benetti – demonstrating the richness of their know-how and their successful manufacturing and engineering processes. The owner, with whom we had an open and direct dialogue, immediately appreciated this aspect together with Benetti’s innovative skills, in order to give life to his ideas.”

Indeed, for this custom yacht, the owner asked the company to satisfy four demands: speed, silence, autonomy and fun for the family. And Benetti, together with Van Oossanen and Giorgio M. Cassetta, worked very carefully in studying a displacement hull and the spaces on board.

In addition to an extruding stern and a long bow, FB283 is designed to guarantee the highest performance with a cruising speed of approximately 20 knots and, at the same time, plenty of autonomy for navigating without needing to stop over. The elegant and sinuous design of the exterior, together with the essential and modern design of the interior, which is particularly bright, is articulated into a comfortable family environment, that includes a number of places for equipment storage, for diving, the tender and water toys.

“From the first moment – noted Cassetta – we created a transparent and constructive relationship with the owner, which allowed us to define, in great detail, this exciting design. We are grateful to him for leaving us the space to come up with a design that represents a milestone for our studio.

Nicola Nicolai,  Yacht Consulting & Project Manager, participated in the design as a consultant before the purchase and will manage the entire building process, as a representative of the owner and as project manager. “We are honoured at the trust that has been given to us in the management of this project – said Nicolai – so full of innovative elements and stimulating in the timing. Personally, I am also happy to be able to help the owner to see his dream turn into reality and to be able to work with such an experienced shipyard and a team of skilled professionals.”

Giuseppe Orrù