Boat Review | Six centuries of history below the keel

Camuffo 65, quality without fads

It took 15,000 hours of craft-based work and 571 years of experience to make the Camuffo 65. Marco Camuffo is an engineer from the Veneto region – he was born in 1932 into a family that since 1438 has been building craft so perfect they’ve been described as “Stradivari of the Sea”. “I designed it without any input from modern architects who try to please their clients, and especially their clients’ wives, with elaborate, often irrational solutions. And, as always, I bore in mind what my father said, and his father before him and so on down the generations – a ship should have good seaholding in all conditions, and should return home safe and sound, with no broken bones.” It’s impossible to tire of listening to Marco Camuffo, as his family history is so rich in nautical episodes and events. The Camuffo yard is unique as it’s not only the oldest, but it’s also one of the few that still builds wooden boats, the only one to do it with an instrument maker’s skill.

As Camuffo says, “Wood is an extraordinary material, with unbeatable insulating properties, protecting against cold, heat and humidity, and it has a high coefficient of elasticity, excellent for absorbing the impact of the waves. The C 65 is built in reinforced marine superlaminate, with 19 crossed layers, glued with thermosetting phenolic resins to create indestructible strips 20 millimetres thick and 20 metres long, used for both the sides and the bottom. It’s as sturdy as the solid wood it’s made from. The hull is further strengthened by the traditional frame, which is lacking in a fibreglass build.”

The Camuffo 65 is a 20.15-metre flybridge motoryacht with an emphasis on seafaring qualities and no concessions to passing fads. She has traditional lines and layout for a design of this size, with a main deck intended for socialising, three large cabins on the lower deck, and crew quarters forward. There are two galley solutions offered – on the main deck, beside the helm station, or below deck, immediately to port of the access stairway. In this case the saloon is roomier and more open.

The flying bridge with second helm offers generous sunpad room and a dinette with service unit. Of course, as this is a custom build, the choice of layout and furnishings is down to the client. One thing is certain – the finishings and working of the precious woods used in the interiors are just about perfect, and there’s also that lovely, evocative wood smell. Two features reflect the yard’s own choices – the tender is stowed on the ample beach deck, “because it’s easier to launch it from there,” Camuffo explains, “using the handrail as a crane, and it saves space in the interior or on the flying bridge.” Another of the yacht’s distinctive elements is the enormous full-beam lazzarette. As Camuffo says, “there’s room for all those things, stores, spares, water toys, personal effects and luggage that people take on cruises but never know where to stow.” We should also mention the new Camuffo 65’s outstanding performance – her two 1015hp Caterpillars mean she can touch 38 knots, the yard’s owner says, “and with a half load and at one-third power she can cruise at 28 knots, no trouble.”

Giorgia Gessner

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The glittering world of yachting

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