Fast Start for Benetti B.Now 50M
Following a remarkable early order book, the B.Now 50M has been described as the ‘most popular 50m model in history’. But whereas hull one Iryna has a traditional aft deck, most subsequent orders have chosen the Oasis Deck option.
A world premiere at the 2022 Monaco Yacht Show, the B.Now 50M is the first in a family of four steel B.Now models, which also includes the 60M, 67M and 72M. UK-based studio RWD designed all four and each is available with a traditional aft deck or the Oasis Deck®, which was pioneered by the shipyard’s Oasis 40M and rolled out on the new Oasis 34M.
Benetti announced in Monaco that a staggering 16 units of the B.Now 50M had been sold as of late September, also stating that B.Now construction times are 30 per cent shorter than market standards due to advanced construction technology and hull engineering solutions.
The stunning early sales figures make the 499GT, four-deck superyacht “the most popular 50m model in history”, according to Sebastiano Fanizza, Benetti’s Chief Commercial Officer.
“It’s elegant, it’s dynamic, it’s a 50m steel yacht, it’s a Benetti designed by RWD,” Fanizza says. “That’s all I need to start a discussion with a buyer.”
Iryna, hull one, shows the steel and aluminium hull by P.L.A.N.A and RWD’s clean, sporty exterior lines to good effect. Andrew Collet, RWD Project Manager, admits: “B.Now has automotive design cues, stripped-back surfaces. There’s no fuss or unnecessary details; everything you see is there for a reason.”
Traditional or Oasis
The vast exterior spaces include an aft beach area with a glass-walled pool, an enormous forward lounge on the upper deck, and an open sun deck. About 40 per cent of the yacht’s ‘walkable’ living space is outdoors, according to Azzurra Beani, Benetti’s Project Manager for the B.Now 50M.
When viewing from a dock or boarding, it’s the beach club that first welcomes you and Iryna features the model’s traditional aft deck. As well as the pool, the beach area includes an internal zone that can be accessed through a gullwing hatch on the starboard side as well as a stairway from the main deck.
The covered area includes a sauna and a service area complete with shower, while a drop-down side platform to starboard can expand and open the beach club to offer sea views, breeze and access to the water.
However, the Oasis Deck option for the aft area has been chosen for the majority of the first 16 orders, according to Beani.
With the Oasis Deck®, the aft deck starts with a flat swim platform and a wide swimming pool, which is flanked on each side by four steps up to the main part of the beach club. On both sides, the curved bulwarks can drop down, so everyone on the two main lounging sofas, in the pool or any sunbeds can enjoy a 270-degree view of the sea.
A four-step central stairway then leads up the main deck, which starts with an aft cockpit with bar and seating area that feels connected to the rest of the beach club – or Oasis Deck. “The Oasis Deck option spans a remarkable 150sqm of outdoor area, which is a lot compared to any other 50m yacht,” Fanizza says.
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Detailed but Relaxed
The main deck starts with a partially covered aft deck or cockpit. On Iryna, the area features two curved sofas and two chairs around an oblong coffee table, with guests able to enjoy views of the pool and sea.
All the indoor and outdoor social areas, furniture and décor can be customised and outfitted by each owner, as it was on Iryna.
The interior, which RWD designed in collaboration with the Benetti Interior Style Department, starts with the saloon, with Iryna’s owner choosing a sofa and two chairs on port facing a TV on starboard side. Forward is a short hallway and then the formal dining area, which has full-height windows on either side.
On Iryna, interior claddings and ceiling panels are made with a variety of woods including silk coloured frisé maple and a smoked oak featuring contrasting dark shades. The ceilings feature tanned ivory leather, while the recesses are treated with satin-finish sheet palladium, the platinum family’s most precious metal.
The colourways in each setting play on ivory, brick and moka nuances, from the walls to the dark honey coloured silk and bamboo carpet.
Iryna’s owner, who upgraded to the B.Now 50M from within the Azimut-Benetti family, has added to the décor with nautically themed works of art including several beautiful and valuable maps.
A starboard hallway leads past the staircase to the owner’s suite, which has an integrated private balcony with sliding glass door, an indoor seating or coffee area, a large dressing room and en-suite bathroom, and a luggage area in which every detail is personalised.
“It’s basically a private saloon for the owner,” Beani says. “The philosophy of the yacht is to live outside, so even when you’re inside in the master suite, you can completely open the verandah door and have the room fully open to the outdoors.”
A midships elevator links the lower, main and upper decks, while there are separate interior stairways for guests and crew. The lower deck features four nicely designed en-suite guest cabins midships, while in the bow are the crew quarters, which include four twin cabins, a captain’s cabin, laundry area and a good-sized crew mess.
Outdoor Living
The upper deck features two of the yacht’s largest outdoor areas including a vast aft deck that guests can reach from the main deck by an external staircase to port.
Aft is a long sofa facing an oblong coffee table and two chairs, while forward in the covered area is a large dining table arranged lengthways that can seat up to 10 people. The area can even become a cinema because of a pop-up TV to starboard.
The alfresco dining area leads into an elegant skylounge, where there’s a chair and a huge L-shaped sofa to starboard around a wooden table with fish carvings, while to port is a large TV. However, the room’s winning piece is a gorgeous map of the world on the forward bulkhead.
Forward is a gym with private shower, the ship office and the wheelhouse, which features standing room only by the wheel, a helm chair on each side, three console screens and five stand-up monitors.
The deck’s other outdoor space is forward of the wheelhouse, where the enormous open foredeck features two L-shaped sofas facing a large sofa cum sunbathing area.
Upstairs, the large sun deck has a covered central dining area with a media space, an uncovered aft area with sunbeds and a large barbecue, plus a forward bar counter offering impressive views. The garage is located forward on the main deck and can house a 6.25m tender, a jetski, a rescue boat and four Seabobs.
Fitted with twin 1,400hp MAN V12 engines, the B.Now 50M has a top speed of 15 knots and a range of 4,500nm at a speed of 12 knots, with a fuel capacity of 60,000 litres.
However, like all B.Now, B.Century and B.Yond models and Benetti custom yachts, the B.Now 50M is available with the E Mode Hybrid system, which offers a variety of operating modes that mix the use of diesel engines, electric engines, diesel generators and advanced lithium-ion batteries.
Based on annual use of 400 hours under way and 600 at anchor, the shipyard says fuel consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) can be reduced by up to 24 per cent and nitrogen oxides (NOx) by up to 85 per cent, according to data supplied by the B.Yond 37M’s E-Mode Hybrid system.
Traditional propulsion or hybrid? Traditional aft deck or Oasis Deck®? Even if your mind is made up and the production time is impressive, there’s a huge backlog of orders, which is why B.Now 50M’s big sisters are becoming increasingly popular in the wake of the world’s most popular 50m yacht.
This article first appeared on Yacht Style.
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