Trial and test of EVO 43 published on BARCHE (May 2016)

THE 43 IS THE FIRST MODEL IN THE NEW EVO YACHTS series of Sea Engineering Group, which since 2008 has built over 150 pleasure boats with the brands Blue Martin and Blue Ice. With the collaboration of the Technical Studio of Valerio Rivellini, the shipyard wanted to bring this new range to market to satisfy a yachtsman’s every desire. This is a thirteen metre craft that clearly wants to impress, with many ideas projected into the future, but there is also real substance in everything that the boat owner might love or might need in a second home. The EVO 43 is highly technological, is built ‘around man’ says one of the slogans and is customizable to make it fit as perfectly as possible the expectations of customers who appreciate quality and design and like to stand from out others. The construction in infusion has allowed us to save 20% of the weight. It is a vessel on which even the smallest things, such as mere hinges, for example, have been built specially and exclusively for it. It is an all Italian product that adds to the pride of our shipbuilding industry in the world. It is a day cruiser with character that showcases all its originality in its marked forms and lines, in which its straight bow and high sides softly and tastefully converge to aft. Everything is designed to make navigation more ergonomic, starting with the bollards and fenders that disappear so as to not interfere visually or physically. However, what immediately attracts is the width-adaptable cockpit. Though already boasting dimensions that guarantee considerable comfort, an electro-pneumatic system, activated by digital command, opens the sides of the cockpit outwards, in just thirty seconds, to amplify the deck-space by a much as 40% and obtain a dining area, solarium or lounge 6.30 metres wide!

Thanks to a great on board tech, everything can be managed from a touchscreen or a tablet or iPhone. In the cockpit optional loungers disappear into the flooring when not needed and modular cushion seating can be rearranged to create a large dining area for guests or a generous sundeck. The exterior is enriched by a galley equipped with 4 induction burners and a 180-litre icebox under the helm seat. The console is minimal, but elegantly embedded in a curved plane of light wood is all you will need. The helm is then wrapped around by a 8 mm glass windshield. At stern is another gem, though optional, which allows you to mechanically extend a bathing platform out of the aft deck through 270 degrees so that it becomes a convenient gangway or way to easily get in and out of the water. The interiors are well organized and ceiling height allows you to stand upright at any point.

Fine quality materials have been used such as teak, crystal, leather and luxurious fabrics that brighten the various spaces, which consist of a double cabin, a wood and ceramic inlaid bathroom with shower, a V-shaped dinette with a table that electrically retracts down into the floor to convert the whole space into a second bedroom if needed and a 42” TV/mirror on the forward wall.

SEA TEST

Beyond being immediately struck by the originality and elegance of this boat seen from the dockside, my approach to the EVO 43 in the water was of intense curiosity. The first question I asked, perhaps trivial, is whether you can navigate with the sides open, maybe for distraction rather than for any specific reason, and the answer is yes, but obviously at reduced speed. There is no engine noise to be heard on board as the perfectly soundproofed engine room allows you to talk normally even when at the highest of revs. The other great quality, to be immensely appreciated, is that you can only tell that speed is increasing by keeping an eye on the instrumentation panel, as the hull in no way alters its equilibrium with the variation in throttle or increase in knots. The level of comfort is thus high and the controls of the EVO 43 offer you a pleasant sensation of total control, of mastery of the sea, but also of utmost safety and protection of yourself and your crew, meaning that it is also ideal for families with children.

The Volvo Penta Ips 600 engines of 435 hp each allow you to reach a top speed of 34 knots (The shipyard states a top speed with clean hull of 38 knots) maintaining an average range of more than 200 miles with a full tank of fuel (1000 l). With the engine at 2800 revs the speed/consumption ratio is more interesting, with almost 26 knots and 105 l/h which rise to 165 l/h at full throttle. The stern hull deadrise is of 18°.