People | Matteo Marzotto

Starflex, passion personified

Not all boats are the embodiment of their owner’s dreams come true. Oftentimes people commissioning yachts simply want them to be good-looking, comfortable and as large as possible. Matteo Marzotto is not one of those individuals as he made sure his Mochi Dolphin 64’ Fly Starflex was something very special. Thanks, in part, to the fact that he is good friends with Norberto Ferretti himself. On one of the many rainy days of this spring, we went to Cesenatico to see this red Mochi delivered to her owner. And there we got a demonstration of how far a yard can go to satisfy a client plus how valuable a client’s suggestions can be to even a large yard.  
“I asked for a lot of changes and not just to the décor,” smiles Marzotto. “First and foremost, I wanted to change the position of the sofas and the dining area from the standard version.”  In fact, the table with the U-shaped sofa is now to port just inside the glass door that separates the main saloon from the cockpit and is completed by red director’s chairs (“My mother’s idea,” he laughs). The sofas, ceilings, helm station seats and leather trim on the main deck are all red too. As is the hull itself (“A patented red that makes this Mochi 64’ a once-off”). Even the carpet in the owner’s cabin is red! “Red’s always been my colour – ever since my earliest experience in business with Valentino.”
The fibreglass and outside cushions and upholstery are Ferretti white. “I preferred it to the cream colour that’s normally used aboard the Dolphins.” And this just shows how willing the yard was to meet Marzotto halfway. “There is another detail that shows how close our collaboration was: my bicycle holder. It took a lot of thinking about but in the end they devised this marvellous example of industrial artisanship at which Italians excel.”  This system of hooks and pulleys affixes the bike to the ceiling of the engine room – a simple but truly ingenious solution.  
Marzotto also wanted a larger TV unit and had the table redesigned to accommodate more comfortable seats. He even had the glass door in the master shower inverted to make it easier to reach the bathrobe hanging on the hook beside the door. “There are also frames on the closet and locker doors in the cabins that I’m going to put photographs in,” says Marzotto.  
What interested him most during the build, however, was the technical side. “I wanted the quietest air conditioning system possible and energy efficient generators. I also wanted generous space out on deck: if you’re at sea you have to be near the sea. Nothing else (size, speed) interests me.”
So why a Mochi 64’? “It’s perfect for where I’m at in my life right now.” And with that Norberto Ferretti himself swept in and bore us off to enjoy the festivities.
(Yacht Capital, n.7/2008)

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