Canados launched three motor yachts at the Cannes Yachting Festival, displaying the contemporary but wide-ranging vision of the 70-year-old shipyard based outside Rome. Designer Marco Casali created an elegant look for all three yachts, while giving each its own signature style.
The Canados 888 Evo features a bright interior with white-china lacquers, Poltrona Frau leather, natural satin oak, and high-gloss ebony Macassar and American walnut floors on the main deck. Canados fully intended for hull number one to be a knockout fashion statement, and it was, but the yard also wanted to be sure that everyone knows the 888 Evo shares the seaworthy hull of its highly popular Canados 86. The 888 Evo is an entirely different animal, with a larger flybridge, new teardrop-shaped saloon windows that are floor to ceiling, and a much larger swim platform at the transom that creates a sizable beach club.
Canados 888 Evo. Photo: Courtesy Canados
Canados’s goal for the 888 Evo (standing for “Evolution”) was to be the most elegant vessel in its class. With so many strong competitors, the yard may not be able to claim that lofty prize, but the Evo comes pretty darned close. Features like a custom Boffi galley with opening and closing partition, electric curtains, light dimmers, expansive foredeck lounge, and flybridge decorated with Talenti furniture lift this yacht to the highest quality levels. Like all Canados yachts, the 888 Evo’s interior can be highly customized by owners with all types of stones, Poltrona Frau leathers, fabric, and decor. It’s also a fast yacht, with twin Caterpillar C32 Acert engines that deliver a top end more than 30 knots.
Canados 808. Photo: Courtesy Canados
Canados’s second world premier is another 80-something-foot yacht, but a very different design from the 888 Evo. The 808 Maximus has the sharper, edgier profile that many new flybridge motor yachts are showing. But it has some significant differences from competitors. Casali’s marching orders were to design the features of much larger yachts into the 80-foot hull. He did a masterful job with the main deck, putting a six-person dining table in the foyer next to the aft cockpit, with a semi-circular door that connects the interior area and cockpit. When open, one has the feeling of dining alfresco. Closed, it feels like a more formal dining area. Positioning the dining table aft also allowed Casali to free up the main saloon, incorporating more living space between the floor-to-ceiling windows. The open-plan effect is more like an ultra-modern pied-à-terre than a typical yacht saloon.
Main saloon of the Canados 808. Photo: Courtesy Canados
The master suite also has an open, innovative layout, thanks in part to the full-beam design that gives enough space to put a lounge area next to the horizontal side windows and not cramp in the queen-size bed. Three steps down from the bedroom in the passage to the bathroom is a large walk-in closet. The bathroom is most likely the largest in its class, with a tiled, glassed-in shower that looks like it belongs on a 150-foot superyacht.
Master suite of the Canados 808. Photo: Courtesy Canados
Positioning the master suite on the main deck also allowed Canados to offer the four-stateroom option on the deck below. That is almost non-existent on a boat this size. If the owner chooses a three-stateroom version, the bonus is the enormous, full-beam VIP that Canados says is the largest in its class. Like the 888 Evo, the big motor yacht is fast: The 808 Maximus has a projected top speed of 30 knots.
Gladiator 428. Photo: Courtesy Canados
Of course, any shipyard near Rome has to have a Gladiator class of yachts. The company’s new Gladiator 428 is a stylish-looking, 42-footer with a sleek hull and open transom area. It will make an excellent day boat, particularly since it pushes past 55 knots. The 428 is the smallest yacht that Canados has built in the last 30 years, but the quality components lift it to the top of that increasingly popular open-boat class. Its “crystal cockpit” includes a touchscreen console set up for easy, intuitive operation, while also being integrated into the boat’s electrical equipment. The captain can control the sound system, bilge pumps, lights, navigation electronics, engines, and other components. The cockpit has excellent social graces, with facing lounges along both sides, and a broad, four-person sunbed at the transom. It also has two wide, nifty steps to the foredeck. The owner has a choice of 400 exterior colors that can be matched with seven colors of the synthetic teak for a custom look. The cabin is also buyer’s choice, available with many fabrics and wood veneers.
Cabin of the Gladiator 428. Photo: Courtesy Canados
As the name suggests, the Gladiator 428 was designed to hang tough in all weather conditions, providing a dry ride offshore. The lightweight hull is made of the same advanced composites and exotic materials as most offshore raceboats. The 428 can be powered with sterndrives, inboards with surface drives, or triple outboard engines. Speeds range from 38 knots to 55-plus knots. This Gladiator will be one beautiful beast on the water.
Center console and lounge of the Gladiator 428. Photo: Courtesy Canados
