On board the first two hulls in Columbus Yachts’ new Atlantique 43 series

What emerged on the page was a holistically designed motor yacht, with an inventive sailing boat-inspired stern, that would become the Columbus Atlantique 43. The first two hulls, Night Fury II and Frette, were launched in quick succession and showcase how owner choices can take such boats in wildly contrasting directions, when a design and a yard offers enough flexibility – from the number of decks to the volume and interiors.

Custom yacht builder Columbus was looking to dip its oar into semi-custom series boats for the first time, and Atlantique 43 caught their attention. While the yard had launched two 40-metre sisterships in 2012 and 2014, these were never intended to be the start of a series. Their focus had been solely on custom builds.

But about five years ago, the yard thought the time was right to explore semi-custom offerings. “Convincing buyers to wait is not the easiest thing in the world,” says Francesco Carbone, general manager of Palumbo Superyachts. And as he notes, “Not all customers are ready for a custom project – they want something proven.”

When yards make a series of boats, it’s usually designed for mass appeal; something that walks the line between tried and true and new and exciting. The Columbus Atlantique 43 bucks the trend with an unusual stern that doesn’t play it safe.

“We were surprised by how quickly they sold. It was the right project at the right time”

Rounded and tapered from the waterline to the bulwarks, it is purposely designed to resemble a sailing boat. “We asked ourselves, ‘Are sailing yachts or motor yachts the sexiest boats?’” says Lumini. “And 99 per cent of us answered ‘Sailing boats,’ because that’s the obvious answer.”

The Hot Lab team then pondered if there was a way to combine a seamless motor yacht superstructure with an elegant sailing yacht stern. The Atlantique 43’s organically formed superstructure is intended to look like it was carved from one piece of sandstone. “There’s one single line going from starboard to port side connecting on the stern,” says Lumini. “Our philosophy was to be as clean as possible, to only put on paper the lines that were really needed. In case of doubt, to erase rather than add.”

While the shipyard liked the concept, they were surprised by the novel stern shape. “We didn’t know how the market would react, but the more we looked, the more we liked it,” says Carbone.

It turned out the market reacted quite well. The concept was unleashed in spring of 2021, not long after Hot Lab had presented it to the yard, and by that summer the first two hulls were sold. Ocean Drive brought the owner of hull No 1, Night Fury II, and the owner of hull No 2, Frette, was brought in by Camper & Nicholson.

“We signed the first one in May and the second in July 2021. Then we sold the 47 and 37 Atlantique models – in one year, we managed to sell four contracts,” says Carbone. “We were in the golden era post-Covid, so the market was pretty hot, but even so we were surprised by how quickly they sold. It was the right project at the right time.”

The first two hulls sold so swiftly, in fact, that while the design was completely fleshed out, the yacht hadn’t been engineered yet. “A designer says, ‘Oh come on, that’s technical, we’ll solve it later’…because he doesn’t have to solve it himself,” Lumini says with a laugh.

The idea was to get broker and client feedback and then make adjustments during the engineering process, but that chance never came. The owners liked the concept exactly as it was presented. Music to a designer’s ears.

“That was a fantastic day as a designer,” says Lumini. “There’s always this battle between designer and engineer – the engineer might not say it’s impossible, but they’ll say ‘It costs too much, it will take too long,’ so in the end you reach a compromise. But in this case, I had my alibi to say, ‘No we can’t change it because this is what the owners want.’”

But, there were some variations between what each owner wanted, which was perfectly acceptable as the Atlantique 43 was offered with a range of options. Owners could choose the standard configuration, which forgoes a sundeck and has five cabins, including a main-deck master. Or they could add a sundeck on top and choose to have as few as four or as many as six cabins.

Night Fury II and Frette exemplify the variation afforded in this series, each speaking to their owners’ exacting needs

There is also scope to change the size of the superstructure itself to increase the interior volume by extending the main and upper deck saloons. “Twenty per cent of interior volume can be gained on the main deck and almost 15 per cent more on the upper deck,” says Lumini. “We might have owners who love to spend time outside and others who prefer to have more enclosed areas.” Night Fury II and Frette exemplify the variation afforded in this series, each speaking to their owners’ exacting needs.

Night Fury II, which will be based in the Mediterranean in the summer and Caribbean in the winter, has the standard Atlantique 43 configuration – no sundeck for a sportier look, larger outdoor areas and a fairly typical layout with a main-deck master and four guest cabins down below.

“They saw the concept just as we imagined it,” says Lumini. “They are a family who likes to have fun and will spend a lot of time on board.” The owners began promptly using the yacht after taking delivery in June and stayed on board until a week before the Monaco Yacht Show in late September 2024.

Frette, on the other hand, was destined for Asian waters. The main saloon is stretched by three metres, creating a vast foyer entryway. The upper deck superstructure is pushed to its limits as well, making way for a large dining room. Frette’s owner also chose to add the sundeck up top, and to change the layout by transforming the main-deck master to a karaoke lounge with an en suite hosting a massive sauna.

“The main deck on Frette is dedicated to entertainment,” says Lumini. The owner won’t spend as much time sleeping on board, but when they do, two lower-deck VIPs can be combined to create an ample owner’s suite. Owners don’t have carte blanche on determining the length of the main saloon, but can select either six or nine metres in length.

Lumini describes it as “modules”, likening it to configuring a high-end car, where there are options, but within reason. Hot Lab designed the 43 with a buffer in the volume to afford this level of choice; even with the added interior spaces, Frette comes in under 500GT. There is more leeway on playing with the interior layout, with the ability to shift bulkheads and add cabins. What can’t be changed? “The main compartments, engine positions and balcony size… those things are frozen,” says Lumini.

Inside, Night Fury II and Frette are as different as night and day. Night Fury II leans heavily towards Hot Lab’s original interior concept – masculine with dark colours. There’s a prevalence of natural materials, with tinted oak for the main veneer and beige travertine.

Interior details are layered and revealed as one looks closer. “In niches and behind shelves, you discover the stone hidden behind the joinery,” says Lumini. In the guest cabins, 40-centimetre-deep wooden bed frames are engraved with a metallic paint, while cut outs reveal the suede-and-leather headboard beneath.

While the owners didn’t fiddle with the layout, they adjusted the decor with their choices of loose furniture, decor and rugs. “They wanted something pure and modern, but comfort was also a main request,” says Lumini. The low-slung Italian sofas, for instance, are stylish but deep and comfortable.

“Frette is definitely lighter overall – as the owner is going to use the boat in an enclosed way, they wanted to feel as if the sunlight was streaming in.” The winter garden-style foyer, gained by elongating the main saloon, is finished with teak flooring that blurs the line between indoors and out. The owner requested fluid and organic furnishings, which are visible on the main deck where two curved Paolo Castelli sofas finished in white upholstery face inwards to create a circular, convivial space for conversation.

The owner of Frette wanted to strike a contrast between the bright main saloon and the areas that would be used for entertaining at night. The karaoke room has a more masculine feel with dark grey and blue finishes, and the upper deck saloon is finished in a burgundy lacquer – it’s a 100 per cent glossy lacquer that’s finished with extra layers of transparent polyester to create a sense of depth.

Taking pride of place on the upper deck is a custom Calacatta viola marble table, with two slabs book matched to make a four-metre long piece. In case the name didn’t give it away, the guest cabins are of course outfitted with luxury Frette linens, one of the owner’s many businesses.

Together, these two boats demonstrate both the possibilities of personalisation and broader trends in yacht design. “There’s a time for everything – in the recent past, the focus was on high sterns, which afforded more space in the beach club,” Lumini says. “But now the trend in the market is to have a strong connection with the water, so we asked, ‘how can we do it in a different way?’” From the sailing boat stern to the range of layout options available, doing things differently is an apt theme for the Atlantique 43. It’s a testament to what can be created when given the chance to dream.

First published in the May 2025 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.