Following the arrival of Asia’s first wallywhy200 in Singapore last year, Wally is set to enjoy an even higher profile in the region this year with the arrival of at least two units of the new wallywhy150.
Since debuting in Italy at last year’s Venice Boat Show, the 24m wallywhy150 earned plaudits in France at the Cannes Yachting Festival, Europe’s biggest in-water show, before making its US bow at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the world’s biggest.
Coming up this year is the model’s Asia premiere, with hull two expected to be delivered in May after being sold by Speedo Marine to a client who plans to use it between the likes of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. As on hull one and most subsequent builds, hull two will feature the wallywhy200-inspired main-deck master suite, which offers 270-degree views around the towering bow.
However, the space will be used for a dining room on Asia’s next hull, which is scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong through Ferretti Group Asia Pacific in late summer. Both units destined for Asia have the upgraded option of three Volvo Penta D13-IPS1350 (1000mhp/735kW) engines, which give the yacht a top speed of 23 knots, a cruising speed of 20 and a 1,000nm range at 10 knots.
Stefano de Vivo, Wally’s Managing Director, said: “Our goal was to anticipate market demands by developing a yacht capable, once again, of being ahead of its time, starting from those innovative features that made the wallywhy200 successful.
“The wallywhy150 is a flexible yacht, ideal for experienced owners who understand and appreciate the skilful use of space, considerable living areas and its unmistakable personality. We’re sure the wallywhy150 will establish itself in the most diverse international markets.”
Familiar Shape and Style
Look from the side and the 78ft wallywhy150 looks much like the 88ft wallywhy200, with an almost identical profile to the 200GT ‘big sister’ that kick-started the why (Wally hybrid yacht) series, which features models numbered after their volume.
Like the wallywhy200, the wallywhy 150 features a full-length widebody design – so no side passages on the main deck – and is fronted by the almost vertical bow rising the height of two decks. Again, each side features two long, parallel strips of dark glazing that run below full-length ‘bulwarks’ in the chosen hull colour.
“In the next 20 years, I think that this shape of boat will be much more common because when you come inside and see the volume, you understand why,” de Vivo says.
Also like her big sister, the wallywhy150 is topped by an angular, stealth-like flybridge superstructure that only Wally could design, although this time it’s an open design without an enclosed skylounge.
Furthermore, the proportion of length and width is almost identical. In fact, the wallywhy150 initially just looks like a slightly smaller edition of the wallywhy200 – until you approach the aft deck.
Open Terrace and Flybridge
Instead of a beach club dominated by two raised garages accessed by drop-down sides, the wallywhy150 has a large, clean aft deck described by Wally founder Luca Bassani as a “terrace on the sea”, a concept he popularised on the Tiketitan and Tiketitoo sailing yachts over two decades ago.
The aft terrace features a high-low platform that can deploy a tender up to 3.9m (12ft 8in) and has integrated steps to port. Just forward are fitted low sofas with adjustable backrests, so guests can enjoy the sea views including through the glass-panelled bulwarks, or face forward into the remarkable split-level saloon.
To port of the sofas are steps to a fantastic flybridge, the yacht’s other major outdoor social zone. Sheltered under the end of the hard top, an attractive three-sided sofa takes centre stage and faces a clean, aft deck that can be dressed with sunpads and loungers offering clear views through wraparound railings.
Forward of the sofa is a wide wet bar, which is flanked by Y-shaped hard top supports and serves a covered dining table offering breezy alfresco dining for eight. Most of the upper deck offers guests panoramic views, even forward, where the recessed pilothouse is set four steps down and feels like a different planet.
Featuring two high-backed, Poltrona Frau helm seats and three Simrad screens, the enclosed control room recreates the Darth Vader vibes of the wallywhy200’s wheelhouse, with an almost all-black décor only interrupted by a light daybed on port side. You can also enjoy a front-on view of the pilothouse from the foredeck, a working area accessed by a low door starboard of the dining table.
Split-level First
If the terrace on the sea and open flybridge are notable differences to the wallywhy200, the saloon is also different. In fact, the double-height saloon is not only a first for Wally but also Ferretti Group.
On most motor yachts, the aft platform is well below the cockpit, but on the wallywhy150 it’s on the same level as the saloon, so a vast indoor-outdoor terrace is created when all the doors electronically slide out of sight. When needed, stoppers can be raised to create a seaworthy barrier.
“This is the first vessel with direct access to the sea at cockpit level with no stairs necessary,” says Bassani, Wally’s Chief Designer. “It’s effectively a floating loft on the water.”
The interior by Studio Vallicelli Design immediately stands out due to a 2.5m-high, ribbed-teak ceiling that rises like a wave above the saloon’s upper level, which is reached by four steps on either side. The lower and upper levels can feature an array of furniture and Ferretti Group has already designed multiple arrangements.
The lower level has an oblong dining table on hull one, a wide bar with bar stools for an upcoming US delivery, and low-slung loungers for the second Asia-bound hull, which has the dining room in the forward suite. De Vivo’s own ideas include bringing the outdoor vibe inside and continuing the unpolished teak decking into the lower level.
The upper level typically features an aft-facing sofa or sofas. On hull one, a large Edra sofa offers guests views of the aft terrace and sea, plus a central cabinet with a retractable, double-sided TV.
“As the beach club is on the same level as the saloon, it becomes so much more useable as you’re fully engaged with everyone inside. Even on the upper level, you’re overlooking the beach club and sea,” he says. “There are so many ways to arrange the saloon, so you almost want to have three or four boats just to try them all.”
Supreme Master Suite
In the forward bulkhead, a central door leads to a four-sided galley, the laundry facilities and stairs down to two crew cabins with en-suite bathrooms in the bow. The galley can also be designed in an open style, visible from the saloon.
The upper saloon also has a starboard door to the master suite, where a long hallway by the windows passes cupboards in fluted panelling before the door to the near full-width, twin-sink bathroom. Going beyond the bathroom door leads to one of the wallywhy150’s ‘wow’ moments.
Described as an “amphitheatre of the sea”, the symmetrical, spaceship-style bedroom offers spectacular views through windows wrapped around the bow and both sides of the room.
“All visitors love it, especially the ladies. They say, ‘Wow, yeah, I like this’,” Bassani smiles. “If the wives or girlfriends like it, then it’s a very positive sign.”
The guest cabins are on the lower deck. The standard layout includes two en-suite cabins midships, with an inward-facing double bed to port and forward-facing twins to starboard, while the forward,
full-beam VIP has a bed facing port to a large bathroom. Wally also offers the option of two full-beam VIP cabins by combining the space of the two midships cabins.
Overall, the wallywhy150 features many of the best bits of the wallywhy200, but offers a novel way to live on the water, with a huge aft terrace leading straight into a game-changing, double-height saloon.
“We tried to make the wallywhy150 a bit different from the wallywhy200 and we’re happy we had the chance to change the concept a bit,” Bassani says. “We needed something smaller as the wallywhy200 was too big for some people walking onto an 88ft motor yacht because it has the space of a 115-footer.
“A lot of people prefer the wallywhy150, but that’s expected because the wallywhy200 was the first to introduce the look and concept of the wallywhy series, so people understand it better and are more familiar by the time they see the wallywhy150. There are many reasons why the wallywhy150 is so popular.”
Photos by Gilles Martin-Raget & Toni Meneguzzo
www.wally.com
www.ferrettigroupasiapacific.com
This article was first published on yachtstyle.co.
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