The Azimut 68E Plus is a 69-foot sports cruiser yacht with a flybridge that was launched by Azimut in 2000. A top seller for many years, the 68 E Plus was given a stylish upgrade in 2006, retaining the overall feel and amenities on board the yacht but with updated décor, larger hull windows and new, high-spec engines. While no longer built by the Italian firm, this yacht remains immensely popular on the used and charter markets.
Curving motifs seem to be everywhere on this yacht, from the sinuous, curving lines of the Stefano Righini-designed fiberglass exterior to the layout of internal and external deck spaces. On the flybridge, for instance, you will find a rounded wet bar with an electric grill, a circular breakfast table, a half-moon dining sofa and a round sunpad, all in tones of Cycladic white. Of course, not everything up top is curved; a pair of upper helm seats squarely face a Venturi-style windshield, while storage room to the rear is a rectangular space, with a crane, large enough for a pair of water tenders or a large dinghy.
One level down and you come to a teak-lined aft-deck with a transom sofa and a glazed teak dining table, with steps down to a hydraulic swimming platform that traces the dimensions of the rounded stern. On the foredeck there is superb sunbathing space in the form of a raised, forward-facing sunpad that can host up to three sunworshippers.
The sides of the cockpit are glazed with a pair of oval windows in the shape of teardrops, though the only tears on board this vessel are likely to be those of happiness. A pair of plush, curved sofas sit next to triple Italian sliding glass doors at the rear, while glass-topped coffee tables, rounded cabinets, and a twisting staircase up to the flybridge give the salon a dynamic feel. A couple of steps up lead to a U-shaped dining sofa and a galley kitchen with a semi-circular wet bar for easy food and drinks service. The galley hosts a four-zone hob, a convection oven, two sinks, a full-height fridge-freezer, granite or marble worktops and masses of storage space. At the front of the cockpit sits a main-deck helm station with a comfortable leather piloting chair, a starboard side door to the deck, and a comprehensive package of Raymarine or Simrad electronics.
Below deck you will find room for up to 8 guests across a bunk berth with stacked Pullman beds, a port side twin room, a master stateroom to the bow and an amidship, full-beam owner’s stateroom at the rear. The owner’s room benefits from four-pane mullioned windows on older models, or, on Azimut 68 E Plus vessels produced after 2006, scallop-shell triple-pane windows. The bedroom is large enough to host a king-sized island bed, a walk-in closet, an S-shaped side sofa, a work desk or vanity station, and a large, marble-glazed bathroom with a jacuzzi-style tub. There is also a separate crew quarters accessed via a transom door with its own dinette galley, head and sleeping space for two.
The engines on the original Azimut 68 E Plus were a pair of 1,150MHP MTU diesels, offering top speeds of up to 33 knots, whereas the newer models are equipped with twin 1,360 MHP MAN V12 engines with top speeds reaching 35 knots and quicker acceleration. Finding a used Azimut Yacht for sale can be a challenge without the right broker. SI Yachts has been helping customers find the best boat for them since 1964.