Alex Smith takes a look at the best boats that are on show at the Cannes Yachting Festival 2024, with several global launches
Founded in 1977, the Cannes boat show takes place in the beautiful French city every September and showcases almost 600 boats, including motor yachts, superyachts, catamarans, tenders and sailing yachts.
The official line-up of boats for the 2024 Cannes Yachting Festival features hundreds of boats in all shapes and sizes. In fact the show is so bog that it can be difficult to know where to start in terms of taking a look at the latest models.
Fear not, MBY’s Alex Smith has taken a look through the programme and has pulled together his expert list of the best boats at Cannes Boat Show.
16 of the best boats at Cannes Boat Show
Azimut Seadeck 7
Azimut is coming out all guns blazing at Cannes with not one but three new show debuts. The freshest of these is the Seadeck 7, which was still having the finishing touches applied to it just weeks before the show.
Like its smaller sibling, the Seadeck 6, which was launched earlier this summer, the 7 has a strong focus on sustainability and will be the first Azimut to feature a full diesel electric hybrid drive.
A single-level main deck that features sliding glass doors along the port side and out to the cockpit blurs the boundaries between inside and out, while a compact flybridge leaves
space behind it for a substantial solar array.
Four cabins and three heads provide sleeping space for up to eight guests plus a further ensuite crew cabin if needed.
Ferretti Infynito 80
The big news from Ferretti this year is the second model in the Infynito range. Like its bigger sister, the Infynito 95, the 80 is all about comfort, volume and refinement rather than sporty looks and high speed. To that end it features a bluff bow, a wide beam of almost 21ft (6.36m) and a raised pilothouse design that frees up the main deck for more entertaining space.
However, the defining feature of every Infynito is the unusual covered foredeck lounge dubbed the ‘all-season terrace’. With its louvred sunroof and privacy-glass bow window, it provides enough shelter to use all year round while still allowing guests to enjoy the views and feeling of being outside.
Owners can choose to have this fitted with either an extending dinette for alfresco meals or a bar and stools with a full-width opening window into the galley. With no lower helm to worry about, this galley area occupies the entire front section of the saloon, leaving the rear half free for a large lounge and either an inside bar or dining area.
Princess S65
Nestling alongside the pontoons at the Vieux Port will be a pair of Princess world premieres in the form of the S65 and S80. As the smaller of the two, the S65 might lack the gorgeous air intakes we so admired on the S72 but it still delivers all the low-profile loveliness you would expect, thanks to a flybridge that is shunted aft and dropped deep, creating plenty of space for a set of sunroofs above the main deck helm.
The new boat will also share the same four-cabin, three-bathroom arrangement as the F65 but it’s the outdoor spaces that are really likely to impress.
At the back end, a huge fore-and-aft sunbed-topped tender garage is positioned between a neatly conceived engineering compartment to port and an ensuite crew cabin to starboard. Forward of this, a U shaped seating and dining area looks forward toward an inside-outside galley and a pleasantly sheltered corner seat to starboard.
Sunseeker Predator 55
This is the first chance to see the new Predator 55 in the flesh, giving potential buyers the opportunity to compare it with its sibling, the Superhawk 55. The transformation from open weekender to hard-top sportscruiser certainly looks to be as clever as it is comprehensive, giving the Predator its own distinctive character as well as a more cruising-oriented design.
Owners can choose between a galley-up or galley-down layout, and if you go with the former, the vacant space below deck can be specified as a lower saloon, a third cabin or a utility room. Two other larger cabins, each with its own ensuite bathroom and additional headroom, provide greater comfort for guests.
Pearl 82
This could well be one of the surprise stars of the show.
No other boat in its class appears to pack in quite as much as the new Pearl 82 yet it still manages to undercut most of the competition on price.
The key to this clever packaging is a raised pilothouse design that leaves room beneath it for a main deck master cabin with its own foredeck terrace, as well as four more ensuite doubles on the lower deck. The innovations continue further aft with folding side platforms, two different cockpit configurations and a garage that’s large enough to house a Williams 395 and a Sea Doo jetski.
Absolute Navetta 53
Looking to escape Cannes’ sweltering festival pontoons? Absolute’s new 53 is a great way to do it. It comes with all the latest features you would want from a modern Navetta cruiser – plunging gunwales, large aft cutaways, huge staggered hull windows and vertical glazing in an upright superstructure.
While that makes it look much more dynamic than the previous 52, it’s good to see that the internal spaces are organised in much the same way. On the lower deck, the forward VIP takes up the slack for the full-beam owner’s cabin and large port bathrooms with a diagonal double berth to make best use of the day heads’ angled forward bulkhead.
There’s also a twin to starboard down here, and up in the saloon, the floor-to-ceiling windows are combined with rounded corners and subtly angled furniture to add extra charm to the 53’s traditional big-volume trawler-style space.
Beneteau Swift Trawler 54
While the styling of Beneteau’s new Swift Trawler 54 looks likely to flex more toward the smaller Swift Trawler models than the superyacht-inspired Grand Trawler 62, the ingenuity behind the internal design looks very strong.
Rather than simply revel in the volume that a trawler design can bring, Beneteau has decided to divide each level into discernible zones for extra intimacy and homeliness.
The saloon, for instance, features three sections – an upper dinette adjacent to the helm; a casual lower lounge with a coffee table; and a transverse galley between the two. The galley is cordoned off from each space by means of a glass screen but you can still communicate easily or escape to the port side deck by means of the galley door. And the delineation of the deck levels also collaborates in that separation, enabling you to step aside from the main party and chill out in peace, exactly as you might at home.
Down below, you get a full-beam owner’s cabin with an ensuite bathroom, plus a forward VIP, a port bunk room and a port bathroom with Jack and Jill doors – and while that might sound quite formulaic, the design intelligence down here again looks pretty impressive.
FIM 500 Regina
Fabbrica Italiana Motoscafi (FIM) has come a long way in a short space of time on the back of a range of stylish open boats from 34ft to 47ft. During this year’s Cannes festival, the yard will be revealing its largest craft to date, the new FIM 500 Regina.
The most distinctive feature of the new 500 is a swooping carbon-fibre hard top that links up with the windscreen to create a nicely sheltered helm position. This incorporates 3kW of solar panels to help power the ship’s systems and keep charge the batteries charged. Another neat idea is a two-part sunpad on the foredeck with a sliding front section that can be pushed forward to create an aft facing bench at the bow.
Solaris Power 60 Open
Solaris has earned itself a reputation for building some of the prettiest motor boats afloat and the new flagship of the Open range will only serve to enhance that view. Curves in all the right places, an elegant flowing side profile and smart but restrained detailing give it effortless presence on the water. Even with a plain white gelcoat (Solaris typically opts for bolder colours), it oozes style.
It’s a similar story up on deck where folding side terraces increase both the size and the outlook of its already generous cockpit, while a long open hard top (with the colour matched to the hull) provides plenty of shade for its occupants.
Pardo GT75
antiere del Pardo, an icon of Italian boating for more than 50 years, is set to launch three new boats at Cannes, and for motoryacht aficionados, the most exciting of them will be its new flagship GT75.
While this third and largest GT model is designed to straddle the slick, feel-good day boats of the Walkaround P Class and the more practical four-season Endurance platforms of the fly-equipped E Class, it certainly appears to flex quite decisively in favour of outdoor entertainment.
The aft deck, for instance, features a huge beach club zone, spread across three different levels with a set of fold-down terraces that are set higher than usual and can be adjusted to any angle, enabling you to use them as sofas, sun loungers or lateral dive platforms.
The space between them can be left open for freestanding furniture and tender stowage or it can be fitted with a huge central sun pad above an enclosed tender garage. If you opt for the former, you also get direct access to the beach club from the owner’s cabin through a set of steps leading up to sliding glass doors.
Pershing GTX80
Although the GTX80 made a brief appearance at the Venice show in June, this will be the first chance for most visitors to get up close and personal with it. As with the original GTX116, this is. Pershing’s attempt to create a crossover yacht that offers the style and brand values of its high performance craft, with a bit more space in exchange for a little less pace.
Triple 1,000hp IPS1350s still push it to a useful 34 knots (its sister yacht, the 8X, tops out at 48 knots) but now the focus is on guests having just as much fun at anchor as the skipper has underway. Folding side terraces and a two-tier bathing platform combine to make a vast beach club zone where guests can spread out close to the water, and because the LOA is genuinely under 24m (rather than the LLL), it’s not subject to the strict anchoring limitations affecting many craft in the South of France.
Wilder 60
This isn’t just a new boat. As the first entry from WiLder, an offshoot of parent company, Wider Yachts, this is the world debut of an entirely new brand. The core idea behind it is to introduce superyacht-level comfort, refinement and detailing on an easy-to-handle 60-footer that can be fully customised in line with the owner’s requirements. And in light of Wider’s recent work with the WiderCat 92 multihull and the Moonflower 72 superyacht project, the company looks very well placed to make that happen.
Built entirely from aluminium, boat number 1 looks likely to come with a fairly conventional layout, comprising a collection of central seating and sunbathing furniture, orbited by full walkaround side decks.
Those side decks ascend up a trio of steps toward the bow, helping create the volume down below for a private forward owner’s suite to supplement the guest and/or crew cabin amidships. Between these two zones, the central saloon will feature a galley and sofa, plus a starboard day heads.
Fiart P58
Designer Stefano Pastrovich did brilliant things with Fiart’s original P48 and he will again be showcasing his talent in Cannes with a new P-Line flagship. Like the P48, the P58 is a multi-purpose cruiser with an elegant multi-tier main deck, a raised cushion-lined bow and a cavernous space below decks that’s tailor-made for customisation.
In terms of layout, the new boat is split into four key sections. At the back end, a pair of asymmetrical sunbeds looks aft toward a stern deck with a drop-down transom. Ahead of that, you take a step up to a large dinette with an alfresco galley, a dining table for eight and a pair of extra sunbeds.
The bow supplements that with a slightly recessed sun deck and the option of a retractable Japanese-style table. And down below, that multi-tier main helps create a huge central lounge with nearly 10ft of headroom, lots of natural light and a big galley with an American-style fridge. As standard you get two large ensuite “owner’s cabins”, one forward and one aft and, in line with Fiart’s quest to deliver a taste of the superyacht lifestyle, there’s a third heads dedicated solely to day guests, as well as a crew cabin with its own ensuite.
YOT 41
Cannes has become a hotbed for powercat premieres and the YOT 41 is likely to be one of most interesting yet. Just a year after the launch of its debut 36-footer, the new YOT 41 promises more comfort, more power and more fun, and its capacity to equip a family for a longer cruise is a key part of that.
It comes with two spacious cabins, each with private ensuite facilities, as well as a deck layout that includes a pair of fold-down aft platforms that expand the beam to more than 19ft. That means you have about 270 sq ft to play with and the modular furniture is designed to make the very most of that. Rated to carry up to 20 people, it features a pair of dinettes at the stern with convertible backrests and tables so you can rig it for sunbathing.
You can also opt for an electric platform between the outboards with a 200kg lift capacity, enabling it to operate as a chill-out zone, a toy-launch station, a swim platform or a simple passerelle. In addition to the squared-off bow lounge, you also get a midships settee and galley, as well as the luxury of four helm seats in the shelter of the wraparound screen.
Swan Arrow
Once you’ve finished investigating Pardo’s GT75, why not come and take a look at this? Having kick-started its powerboating mission in 2021 with a startlingly elegant 43-footer known as the Shadow, this famous Finnish builder is back with a 76ft walkaround weekender that adopts much the same approach. You get the vertical stem, the flared gunwales, the open transom and the hardtop. But this time, the grander scale enables the inclusion of roof-mounted sun pads and accommodation for up to six.
While the standard belo- decks layout comprises a full-beam owner’s suite and a forward VIP, separated by a downstairs lounge with galley and day heads, the optional three-cabin layout sacrifices the lower seating area for an extra twin.
Cranchi 62
Cranchi is launching two new boats at the show – this all-new 62 and the 67 Corsa, a sportsfly version of its existing 67 flybridge. It’s the former that is likely to prove more interesting, if only because it’s the first big Cranchi to feature a plumb bow.
But that’s not the only innovation. The 62 also gets a tender garage that converts into a beach club and a hydraulic platform capable of carrying a jet ski. Teak decking that extends through from the cockpit into the galley and dining area blurs the boundaries between inside and out, while a sunroof over the forward end of the saloon and a skipper’s door to the side deck should do the same for the helm position.
More guest areas on the flybridge and a safe and sociable foredeck lounge provide extra functionality. And that continues below deck with three ensuite cabins and an optional crew cabin. We’re not sure if the pink tinge to the renderings is a genuine hull colour or a whim of the artist but we look forward to finding out.
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