Two Flexplorer 165s arrive in Ancona for outfitting at Cantiere delle Marche
From a single platform, two completely different pleasure boats will be born thanks to the builder's customization capacity
Cantiere delle Marche has just welcomed the two Flexplorer 165 hulls to its Ancona facility. This transition to the outfitting phase is a significant milestone, allowing us to witness how the same design can take completely different paths. Despite their identical DNA, with Hydro Tec lines and a hull designed for long-distance cruising, these two vessels will demonstrate the extent to which an owner can influence technical customization.
The first of the two hulls posed a significant engineering challenge to accommodate the owner's desired regulation pickleball court. It wasn't just a matter of space, but of actual structural integration. Given the size of the court, CdM had to extend the upper deck overhang, creating a sports arena with spectator areas on the sun deck. The deck was also reinforced to accommodate touch-and-go operations with an EC130 helicopter. Mechanically, the vessel is equipped with two 970 kW Caterpillar C32 Acert engines, capable of propelling her to 15 knots with a range of nearly 4.800 miles at 10 knots. The project was born from a collaboration with Christian Bakewell of Burgess, with interiors by Design Unlimited that promise to break traditional molds.
The other Flexplorer 165, sold together with Chris Holtzheuser of Allied Marine, follows a philosophy more oriented towards pure adventure and fishing, typical of North American owners. Here, the priority was heavy load handling: the A-frame crane was upgraded to 4,5 tons to handle a 28-foot Grady-White Freedom 285 tender and two other tenders. Flexibility is also key inside: Giorgio M. Cassetta designed interiors where the sky lounge or a cabin on the lower deck can be changed depending on the number of guests or the type of trip. While retaining the same Caterpillar engine as her sister, this vessel boasts a slightly longer range, exceeding 5.000 miles at 10 knots.
The superyachts we see side by side in the shipyard give an idea of how the Flexplorer platform guarantees seaworthiness, but everything else is a blank sheet of paper where engineering can find solutions to often extraordinary requests.
C.G.
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