Cranchi 66 Main

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The year is 1865. The civil war ends, Lincoln is assassinated, the Matterhorn is ascended for the first time, and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, ending slavery in the United States. It’s hard to believe, but Giovanni Cranchi is already hard at work on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como, building high-quality fishing and cargo boats.

It is, in these economic times, somehow refreshing to find a boatbuilder whose history is measured not in years, but in generations. The success of Cantiere Nautico Cranchi stands as a testament to nearly 150 years of Cranchi family members who have faithfully carried on the standards set in those early days.

Take a walk through the new Sixty 6 Fly (really, that’s how they spell it) and you’ll see that quality is a tradition that hasn’t wavered in five generations. Yes, this is a thoroughly modern European yacht with all that suggests: swoopy lines, acres of sun pads, coolly stylish interior. Yes, it’s got a huge list of standard equipment that includes everything from a complete spare parts kit to a corkscrew in a fitted drawer (Viva Italia!) to a forward-looking infrared FLIR camera for night running. But it’s when you get to the details that you realize what really separates a Cranchi from all the rest.

Take the fuel and water fillers on the side decks, for example. Cranchi could have bought an off-the-shelf, chrome-plated filler, but that wasn’t good enough: A welded filler might weep with age, while a cast filler might develop cracks. So a machinist somewhere in the depths of the four Cranchi yards took a billet of solid stainless steel and then meticulously machined it into a jewel-like piece of hardware that you would never even notice unless you looked. But it will also never fail.

Wrap your hand around the oversize welded stainless-steel rails, and you can feel that they are not just solid but really solid. Looking into lockers has always been a way to judge quality: Some lockers are roughly finished, and others (like those on the Cranchi) are finished to the same level as the living areas. But scrunch around until you can see the top of the Cranchi locker. In several lockers are tiny hatches, which allow you to reach the stanchion bases without ripping apart the luscious interior.

I also found so much redundancy on the Sixty 6 Fly that I started to wonder if the company was getting two-for-one deals on systems, but, no, that’s just how it builds its boats: extra water pumps so you can always take a hot shower, extra air conditioning so the cabins are cool, multiple bilge pumps in the same spaces so there is never a question of failure.

This particular Sixty 6 Fly (forgive me, but I’ll call it the 66 from here on) was ordered by an American yachtsman already on his second Cranchi, and he made some thoughtful changes to the layout, which underline the builder’s flexibility.

At first glance, this is your typical Riviera rocket, with its steeply raked windscreen, free-form windows and melted lines. There are, by actual count, no fewer than four sunning areas on the deck and bridge.

Step aboard the extra-wide hydraulic swim platform that, in this case, launches a 12-foot Nautica RIB with a 40-horse outboard at the touch of a button. Easy teak stairs lead to the first entertainment area: the afterdeck with wraparound dinette, a fiberglass wet bar and, of course, a sun pad.

I know the Italians engineered aqueducts and highways when most of the world was living in mud huts, but, for a true engineering miracle, you have to examine the doors between afterdeck and salon. All three panels slide down smoothly to become “Dutch doors,” opening the salon to fresh air and easy conversation with the cockpit. Bellissima!

The standard interior has a comfortable settee with table to port, opposite a counter that hides a pop-up TV and doubles as a buffet, while a second seating area is forward near the helm. The owner of this 66 switched those two areas, moving the buffet forward and creating a pleasant seating area aft in the salon with facing lounges. Even better, part of the seating can be moved closer to the fold-out dining table, allowing four couples to enjoy a meal without crowding.

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Dining, in fact, is one of the features the owner mentioned when I asked him what he enjoyed about his 66: “We spend a lot of time in the Bahamas, and we have four separate dining areas aboard, depending on our needs.” In addition to those on the afterdeck and salon, there is another table on the bridge and one on the foredeck sun pad that converts into a U-shape settee with large table. It would be delightful to dine there, enjoying dusk in a quiet anchorage.