8 images

The rule-breaking superyacht Logica 147

31 March 2015 • Written by Brendan Lewis

For a yacht whose start in life was anything but conventional, the razor-sharp Logica 147 has emerged not only great, but amazingly well adjusted.

The owner, a media and real estate tycoon based in Canada, had no intention of entering the superyacht business when he asked the Benetti Sail Division – a yard more known for its canoe-sterned motor yachts – to change tack by building the 44.8 metre superyacht in 2011.

Superyacht Logica 147 is for sale

Her deceptively simple profile comes from the drawing board of Luca Brenta Design, a studio best known for the 37 metre Vitters sloop Ghost and its influential styling work with Wally Yachts. This, though, was the design team’s first motor yacht project, and its sailing pedigree is clear in Logica 147’s lean, low-slung styling. The more generous spaces afforded by a motor yacht meant Lorenzo Argento of Luca Brenta Design could let his imagination run wild, and this is most evident in the spectacular 5.5 metre pool on the roomy foredeck and sun-worshipping platform atop the upper deck’s coachroof.

The sharp, narrow-entry bow of the Logica 147 superyacht

Photography courtesy Logica Yachts

But in the middle of the build he realised he wanted ownership of the entire project, so he bought the Logica brand from Benetti Sail Division and shifted his part-built yacht to a different yard in Viareggio for fitting-out. At a stroke he became a superyacht builder – and a very good one. The evidence was the talk of the Cannes Yachting Festival in September 2014; all clean lines and smart, dark navy hull, Logica 147 gleamed beside the entrance of the Vieux Port as if standing guard.

The main saloon of the Logica 147 superyacht

Logica 147's sharp exterior styling flows seamlessly into the bright, contemporary interior from Martin Kemp Design, a London studio that has established a solid reputation for its work in yacht and jet design and also in high-end private properties. Logica’s owner particularly admired Kemp’s work on the yacht and residential projects of developer Candy & Candy, and you can see echoes of the luxurious minimalism of modern penthouse apartments in Logica’s straight edges and rectilinear layouts, highlighted by vast windows throughout.

Vertical and horizontal lines such as the stainless steel splines in the oak-floor planking in the saloon emphasise the interior spaces’ height and depth. Reflective surfaces – mirrors, glass, polished ebony, lacquer – lend a sense of opulence and substance, as does the use of leather and luxurious fabrics throughout. Alongside these design touches are unexpected twists: optical fibres woven into the rugs and there are unique lighting fixtures by Kemp, the show-stopper amongst which is an incredible chandelier above the dining table that wouldn’t look out of place in the Tate Modern. Painted wooden panels, meanwhile, screen the sturdy mechanics of the side doors onto the main deck.

Logica 147's dining table, a piece of art in itself

“Lots of the detail – things such as the stainless steel, the leather and the marble – is there to show what we are able to do as a boutique shipyard,” says Logica 147’s captain Thomas Donati, who came from the owner’s prevous boat and worked on the project throughout the build.

Nothing illustrates this boutique approach as well as the resin-encapsulated, turquoise, “liquid metal” bulkhead panelling, which is the first thing you encounter on entering the saloon through the cockpit doors. The panelling was custom made by Ian Abell at the Based Upon studio in London, and is best used as a stunning backdrop to the dining table.

The spacious and bright master stateroom aboard Logica 147

The main deck master cabin wins all the prizes for accommodation. Those big windows are used to maximum effect, creating a bright, appealing space that overlooks the long foredeck and pool. Down a few steps behind the sleeping area are a small lobby office and a marble bathroom along the centreline, with a bath that sits underneath a skylight and large, walk-in shower. Down below are four comfortable guest suites, and, unusually, a VIP cabin tucked in the stern, behind the engine room and handy for the beach club and fitness equipment.

All this style is more than backed up by Logica 147’s performance, with that straight stem and attractive retro flare adding more than just a sense of purpose to the yacht’s exterior.

An aerial view of Logica 147, showing off her pool on the forward deck

“She is full displacement, with a long waterline,” naval architect Pierluigi Ausonio, from PLANA Design, explains. “The hull is particularly efficient.” Lorenzo Argento from Luca Brenta Design adds: “Working with Ausonio, we tried to optimise the transom exit and bow entry because that’s where noise and vibration are generated and what we achieved with a small team in terms of noise and efficiency was above expectations.”

Proof of the pudding is in the Logica 147’s performance. “She does 17 knots at full load – actually, 16.9 knots to be strictly accurate,” her owner says. Easing back to 15 knots gives the yacht a 3,200-mile range and reducing speed still further to 10 knots increases range to 6,500 miles. “She is fantastically economical and very stable – on sea trials with RINA we did a full-speed 360 and only heeled by seven degrees,” adds Captain Thomas Donati. “With the stabilisers on it was only two degrees. They (RINA) were very surprised.”

Glass was used creatively on Logica 147

Great pains were also taken to keep noise and vibration to an absolute minimum. Captain Thomas Donati says that regardless of the boat-speed you simply cannot tell from the wheelhouse whether the engines are running. Her owner adds: “At full speed there is silence in the saloon – you can hold a conversation. At 10 knots we cannot hear the engines in the cabins.” He admits to some noise in the sixth cabin in the stern, caused by the auxiliary generator mounted on the other side of the bulkhead; a shame since in other respects the roomy VIP suite is the best guest cabin. “We learn from these things,” he says. “My previous boat was a 30 metre made in Italy – it was supposed to be a speedboat, but it was too heavy. We learned from that too. With this yacht we didn’t want to make the same mistakes. We have been very careful with the quality.”

Logica 147 was launched in the summer and according to Captain Thomas Donati completed a three-week, 1,700-mile shakedown cruise around the western Med – Corsica, Sardinia, Tunisia and the South of France – without a hitch, including one non-stop, 23-hour passage without a single buzz or bleep from an alarm. That must be virtually unique for a new yacht. As a customer, owner and now boatbuilder, Logica’s owner has a unique perspective on the superyachting business: “Buyers in this market can be difficult people,” he says. “Perfection is expected – it’s normal. You have to always balance costs with expectations.”

View from the sun deck on Logica 147

Given all the things that could have gone wrong – from using a designer unused to motor yachts to taking on a superyacht halfway through its build – the owner claims not to have found the construction stressful, and actually found it acted as a kind of therapy. “The build was very enjoyable – it had a calming effect,” he says. “It takes time and patience to achieve perfection. All the details have to come together: concept, décor, design. It is very interesting to work with engineers and naval architects.” There are plans afoot for an even bigger version of this first Logica, which will exhibit the same heady mix of form and function. More time and patience, then – and one of the calmest shipyards in town.

Photography courtesy Logica Yachts