116 Grande
The Azimut 78 Flybridge is a 77-foot luxury flybridge yacht with a generous beam of more than 18 feet that became the flagship of the Azimut Flybridge range when it was launched in 2019. Azimut started from scratch to develop this model, deploying new window schemes, deck arrangements and engine technology to produce one of the most modern and high-performance yachts the firm has ever built. This innovative approach to boat design was vindicated almost immediately when the yacht won the award for “Best Layout” at the 2019 World Yacht Trophies held in Cannes.
While the typical Azimut exterior features sharp, geometric lines, this yacht has been designed with smoother, cleaner curves for an ergonomic look with heaps of style. Large, wraparound windows, cut-away bulwarks, rounded edges, contoured glazing to the hull and an upper superstructure crafted entirely from lightweight carbon fiber are the work of Alberto Mancini, whose inspired touch is immediately apparent on the spacious flybridge. A pair of helm seats and a cocoon-style Batyline sunpad lounge dominate the front of the bridge, and directly adjoin a sprawling U-shaped sofa with a dining table and a port-side walk-in wet bar with stool seating, a serving platform and an electric grill. To the rear of the bridge there is plenty of extra space that can be used as dinghy storage or stocked with further seating. On the main deck there is a sheltered, teak-lined aft deck with a transom dining sofa and access down to both a swimming platform and a spacious tender garage. On the foredeck there is another lounge area with two sofas that have been fitted into a Portuguese bridge setting, as well as a large, twin-pad sunbed with unimpeded views across the bow.
Interiors on the Azimut 78 Flybridge feature the signature curves of designer Achille Salvagni, who has radically reconfigured the layout to create a large aft salon that can be fitted with either a pair of L-shaped sofas or with one sofa and a formal dining table. Sophisticated design touches include the use of mood lighting, bronze handrails, glazed ebony joinery, sleek carbon fiber walls, recessed shelving, mahogany surrounds, adaptable coffee tables and Venetian blinds. The salon is separated from the pilothouse by faceted, back-lit screen walls, transforming the forward area into an enclosed crew quarters should you wish for that extra level of privacy. Up here you will find a full kitchen galley with Gentas slate worktops and Miele appliances, a small dinette, a starboard access door and a maindeck helm station with a Volvo Penta Active Trim Control system and Joystick, an integrated Garmin monitoring system, and a leather-grip steering wheel. Also found in the pilothouse is a staircase that leads down to a three-bed crew quarters cleverly nestled against the lower bow.
Main access to the lower deck, however, is found amidship, and this curving staircase leads you to four en suite staterooms for up to 8 overnight guests. The full-beam owner’s stateroom features panoramic windows, a side sofa, a marble-clad bathroom with a sauna-style shower, a walk-in closet large enough to require its own porthole window and an HD TV that doubles as a full-height mirror when not in use.
The Azimut 78 Flybridge is the first ever Azimut Yacht to utilize triple Volvo Penta IPS pod-drive engines. With a combined horsepower of 3000 MHP, the engines fire this vessel to top speeds in the range of 33 knots and prove to be up to 25% more efficient than comparable engines. This yacht also benefits from CE Category A and NMMA certification for safe and reliable navigation when out at sea.
