“The project kicked off in 2018 when the owner of a Solaris 72 told the yard he wanted to move up a category,” says Lorenzo Mascarucci, product manager of Performance Boats, the superyacht division of Solaris Yachts. A new 33-metre Solaris Yachts will be launched in July 2021.
These are the two dates of the Solaris 111, which went to sea under the name CeFeA, while the name of the owner who wanted to go up in size is Marc Giorgetti, the Luxembourg-based manager now at the helm of Solaris Group, which includes four brands: Solaris, Solaris Power, Performance Boats and CNB. With an overall length of 33.77 metres and a beam of 7.90 metres, the Solaris 111- CeFeA is the flagship of Solaris Yachts, but also the first model in a line that includes a 99-footer and a 130-footer and bears the signature of a designer deeply rooted in the history of the Italian yard. T
he lines are in fact by Javier Soto Acebal, a designer who is also well known to Giorgetti, whose second yacht was a Solaris 72 designed by the Argentine yacht designer. “The owner’s brief,” continues Mascarucci, “was very clear. The boat had to have large living spaces outside and inside. It had to be marine and comfortable. A refined blue water cruiser. The general layout was also clear.
“The request was basically for a flush deck boat, but with the engine room easily accessible, under the saloon. Then the owner’s quarters aft and an interior layout with defined, separate spaces for guests and crew. To respond to these requests, while maintaining clear references to what Mascarucci calls “the Solaris story”, Performance Boats, in addition to the experience of Soto Acebal and his team, was able to count on Carlo Torre and his Monaco Yacht Temptation for project management and general design.
Construction in carbon prepreg using the Sprint process, a 45 mm Corecell core (“Ensures the best insulation and soundproofing”), post-cure at 90°C, displacement of 78 tonnes with 28 bulb keels, lifting keels (from 3.90 metres to 6.05 metres), 43.6 metre Southern Spars mast, Magic Trim by Cariboni and Harken on deck. This sophisticated construction, layout and equipment is combined with a sail plan that, when sailing upwind, is 645 square metres with furling and self-tacking jib, while the gennaker of 911 square metres takes the total sail plan to 1,556 square metres.
These are the main features of the technical profile of the Solaris 111- CeFeA which, however, as Mascarucci points out, in her external layout stands out in the current panorama of large yachts.
“Usually in Raised Saloon yachts, but with an engine room under the saloon, the deckhouse slopes up towards the stern. We worked a lot with Soto Acebal and Monaco Yacht Temptation and, despite a height of more than two metres in the saloon (2.10 metres, ed.) and an excellent height in the engine room (1.65 metres, ed.), we managed to design a low but very, very balanced and light deckhouse.
But going back to the technical data, one number is missing. This is the number of square metres of interior floor space in addition to the deck areas: the guest cockpit and the private aft terrace. “The interiors cover 167 square metres. A series of rooms in different materials. From Canaletto walnut to leather, fabrics and alcantara.
The interiors were designed to optimise the systems so as not to take away space to be lived in comfortably and where, from the design, to the organisation of the rooms, to the finish of the materials, to the grains of the wood, we wanted to show that, when it comes to refinement and comfort, a large sailing yacht has nothing to envy from a motor yacht.
The interiors of the Solaris 111- CeFeA are organised and designed in a linear and sophisticated way, combining habitability and comfort. At the stern, the 8 metre by 5 metre owner’s suite has a double bathroom, a living area and a study area with a large window giving access to the terrace. Also aft of the living area, which is lit by the deckhouse windows and also includes a playroom, are two double guest cabins, while the entire bow section is reserved for the service and crew areas.
“We wanted to create,” concludes Lorenzo Mascarucci, “not something different from what already exists, but something more. In fact, the new Solaris 111- CeFeA is intended to be an alternative proposal, also for those who want to switch from the motor to the fascination of sailing. All of this is based on the values and qualities – from handling at sea to safety, from comfort to easy sailing – that have distinguished all Solaris Yachts of all sizes since 1974. Even in the 33-metre CeFeA.
Emilio Martinelli
