Founded in 2005, the Yihong Yachts shipyard in Zhangzhou near Xiamen is one of China’s biggest yacht manufacturing facilities and has more than 200 employees. Production includes Aquitalia luxury yachts and the Sea Stella series, while the yard also builds catamarans, lake boats, shuttle boats, floating homes and steel-hull yachts up to 60m.
Until recently, Yihong focused on the yachting market in China, where it’s one of the domestic leaders. Still, the company has also sold boats to the UAE and other places in Asia such as Japan and South Korea.
However, last year marked a turning point for the Aquitalia Yachts brand, which is now going global following dealer appointments in Asia (Raffles Yacht, also international advisor), Europe (LKW Pavic) and the US (United Yacht Sales).
Since September 2023, Aquitalia has exhibited at several major shows, starting at the Cannes Yachting Festival with the Europe debut of the Aquitalia 78 before heading to the US to exhibit at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.
Most recently, Yihong made its Southeast Asia debut at the Singapore Yachting Festival, where it displayed an Aquitalia 68 and introduced the brand with new dealer Raffles Yacht. Both Yihong and Raffles Yacht support The International SeaKeepers Society, Asia, as part of their commitment to ocean sustainability.
Originally the Chinese shipyard was the OEM for Aquitalia, which was founded in Florence by a group of naval architects. Yihong acquired the brand in late 2008. In China, the Aquitalia brand is known as Shui Shen, which translates as the God of Water.
Aquitalia’s Best-Seller in Singapore
The Aquitalia 68 was launched in 2016. Since then, the company has built some 40 units and still have half-a-dozen or so hulls in production for this year. Besides the 68, Aquitalia produces other models such as the 64, 78, 85 and the flagship 95, as well as a 72 powercat, a model whose design has now evolved to a 75.
The Aquitalia 68’s exterior has pleasing lines. You can’t help but think of a sophisticated, racy ‘Italian’ when you look at her.
“We like our yachts to reflect the essence of the water, so in terms of the look, we use a lot of flow in the shape of the boat,” says Michelle Ye, Yihong Yachts’ CEO and Chairwoman, who was in Singapore for the model’s Southeast Asia debut.
As flowing as the exterior lines are, the Aquitalia 68 has an expansive 20ft beam, which makes it almost 3ft wider than a similar-length yacht from a leading Italian builder. The beam is notable in the conventional aft cockpit and more so on the flybridge, which has a curvy sofa wrapped around the aft end and starboard side, while a double sunpad forward rounds off the lounging space.
The foredeck has a double sunpad surrounded by outward-facing seating; the aft cockpit makes the most of the boat’s 20ft beam
The beam is also notable when you step inside the spacious saloon. Furthermore, the Aquitalia 68 in Singapore is special. Legend is a charter-friendly version of the model and the first to feature a new interior by Italian studio Pulina Exclusive Interiors, which incorporates the brand story with the 68-footer.
“The interior, especially in the new design by Pulina, reveals the relations between water and nature in the design language,” Ye said.
“The Aquitalia 68 offers spacious areas because the beam is wider than most similar-size competitors. This allows the boat to offer more open area for the designer and owner to utilise the space. This is important as open space is popular for this size of yacht.”
The lower deck features three beautifully appointed cabins and three bathrooms. Set down a couple of steps from the lower-deck lobby, the full-beam master suite is vast, with a huge sofa to starboard combining with the bedside to create its own social area during parties. Aft of the bed is the bathroom to port and a walk-in wardrobe to starboard.
At the aft end of the yacht, accessible from the swim platform, is crew quarters with two bunks and a head. There seems to be only one feature missing from this Italian-inspired luxury vessel and that’s a hydraulic swim platform. Upon enquiry, it’s revealed that it wasn’t requested by the owners of the hull in Singapore, who will charter the yacht, but is available as an option and is included on most orders.
The boat’s load displacement comes in at a very respectable 46 tonnes and there are twin Volvo Penta D13-800 engines installed in a spotless, soundproof, full-height engine room. Depending on sea conditions, the engines provide a cruising speed of around 14 to 15 knots, which isn’t super-fast but fine for a day out on the water. With such a large hull, Aquitalia has also thankfully included a bow thruster for added manoeuvrability.
With its robust build, Italian design and quality finishes, the Aquitalia 68 represents a unique opportunity in today’s luxury yachting market. It also proves that ‘Made in China’ can be a positive thing.
“We have an in-house design team and are a more boutique-style brand, so we can tailor a boat’s interior design and layout to the client’s needs,” Ye says. “Usually, customisation is only offered by European brands on larger yachts or superyachts, but with us, the owner can enjoy this kind of service from the size of the Aquitalia 68.”
And with a price tag from USD 2.2 million, Legend is a real bargain for what you get, with the base price rising to about USD 2.7 million for a full-spec version including a second helm, upgraded engines, hydraulic swim platform, passarelle and the likes. With large outdoor and indoor spaces, and interior décor elevated by the new Pulina collaboration, the Aquitalia 68 just might be a real ‘God of Water’.
www.yihongyachts.com
www.aquitaliayachts.com
www.rafflesyacht.com.sg
Images courtesy of Raffles Yacht / Aquitalia
This article was first seen on YachtStyle.co.
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