Azimut 40 Fly Review and Buying Guide

Azimut 40 or Azimut 40 Fly, two different boats behind one badge

Type Azimut 40 into a listings site and you will get two boats that share little more than the number. The first is the Azimut 40 flybridge that Motor Boat & Yachting tested as a new boat in its March 2005 issue: 40 feet 10 inches long, an unusually wide 13 feet 10 inches across and powered by twin 380 hp Cummins. The second is a narrower 40-foot 2-inch flybridge that appeared as the Azimut 40 on a separate model list on Azimut's website around 2011, and which YachtBuyer files as the 2011 to 2013 generation. On paper it is the flybridge twin of the Azimut 40S and a close relative of the Azimut 38.

Most of this guide covers the 2005 boat, because it is the one the original Azimut 40 Fly reputation rests on. The later boat gets its own section further down. Before you book a flight, check the beam on the listing: 13 feet 10 inches means the 2005 design, roughly 12 feet 8 inches means the later one.

One more wrinkle: YachtBuyer dates the first generation from 1995 to 2004, which does not square with MBY reviewing the 40 as a brand new model in 2005. Treat any listing's model year with suspicion and confirm it from the hull identification number.

The 2005 Azimut 40, a 40-footer with a 45-footer's girth

MBY's headline for its test was Space Invader, and the reason was obvious from the cockpit. The 4.22-meter beam made the Azimut 40 considerably wider than the 13-foot Fairline Phantom 40 and only 2 inches narrower than the Princess 45. Headroom of 6 feet 4 inches runs through most of the boat, including the owner's cabin, and the tester felt the interior was on a par with longer rivals such as the Princess 42 and Sealine F42/5.

The layout is the familiar twin cabin, twin head arrangement that almost every 40-foot flybridge uses, so Azimut concentrated on details. The galley drawers and lockers are lined with non-slip rubber, there is a three-tier crockery drawer beside the dining table, the cabin doors have rubber seals to stop rattles, and light switches sit at waist height. Azimut also moved away from high-gloss American cherry toward lighter finishes, which keeps the boat feeling less dated than many of its contemporaries.

Standard kit that rival builders put on the options list

The line from MBY's review that owners still quote is that Azimut took their accountants out boating and threw them overboard. The 40 came with power steering, an autopilot, a black water holding tank, a generator and an electrically raised and lowered hi-lo saloon table as standard, plus a fold-out cockpit table that hinges away under the cockpit seats when you get under way.

On deck, oversized mooring bitts in the cockpit corners sit beside multi-directional fairleads, a feature usually reserved for much bigger yachts, and the anchor locker has a chain wash, a separate chain hopper and stainless wear strips beside the cleats. The side decks are 11 inches wide on teak, the flybridge is 30 inches deep around most of its perimeter, and the teak stairs to the bridge have a full-length handrail. Fuel fillers sit inside recessed overflow wells so spills do not stain the teak.

• Power steering and autopilot as standard
• Generator and black water tank included
• Electric hi-lo saloon table and fold-away cockpit table
• Large cockpit bitts with multi-directional fairleads
• Dual Racor filters with changeover valves as an option

The flaw MBY could not forgive, a fixed lower helm seat

For all its generosity, the 40 has one design decision that testers hated: a fixed, non-adjustable lower helm seat. MBY called it baffling on a boat at any price, especially since the Fairline, Sealine and Princess alternatives all offered comfortable adjustable seats. The flybridge seat, by contrast, is large, supportive and on sliders, and the upper dash adds a deep sliding drawer by the helmsman's right leg.

If you mostly drive from the bridge, the issue fades. If you plan to run from the lower station in a Northeast fall, consider budgeting for a replacement seat base. The other notable compromise is that the engine room and lazarette are combined, so there is no separate dry stowage at the stern; Azimut compensated with six cockpit lockers, including dedicated spaces for the fridge, shower and shore power.

Resin infusion, a structural liner and a vinylester skin

Under the gelcoat, the 40 was a step forward for Azimut. MBY reported that the hull was built with vacuum-bagged resin infusion, which promises a more consistent laminate, and that this was the first Azimut to use a fully molded structural hull liner instead of laminated stringers. A vinylester skin coat, more expensive and more resistant to osmosis than standard resin, underpinned a five-year osmosis warranty. The tester rated the build quality as good as it gets.

For a used buyer, that is good news. An infused, vinylester-skinned hull from this period is a better starting point than many hand-laid 40-footers of the same age. It does not remove the need for a survey, but it does mean that hull problems on a 40 are more likely to stem from neglect or poor repairs than from the original lay-up.

31 knots on 380 hp, and why slower cruising favors the British boats

Azimut quoted 31 knots maximum with the pair of 380 hp Cummins, and YachtBuyer lists a 27-knot cruise. MBY could not verify those figures itself, because its test boat had a perspex display floor over the engine room and a malfunctioning trim tab, so its data file used Azimut's numbers. Even so, the magazine judged the hull efficient at high speed, noting that rivals would need bigger engines to match 31 knots.

The flip side is that the 40 cannot escape its bulk at lower speeds. MBY's comparison suggested that if you cruise in the low to mid-20s, the slimmer British boats travel further on each gallon. Handling is comfortable rather than sporty: the tester likened it to a Lexus SUV rather than a sports saloon, with less sharp steering than the Phantom 40 and less of a soft ride than the deeper-V Princess 42. With 291 gallons of fuel, plan for coastal legs.

The 2011 to 2013 Azimut 40, a narrower boat from a different model list

Around 2011 Azimut's website carried a second model list that ran 40, 45, 48, 53 and upward, the same list that showed an Azimut 43 marked for the Brazilian market only, and the Azimut 40 on it was a different boat. Its specification gives 12.24 meters (40 feet 2 inches) overall, a 3.86-meter (12-foot 8-inch) beam, 12.5 tonnes at full load and twin 355 mhp Cummins QSB 5.9 engines on V-drives, for 31 knots maximum and 24 knots cruise at half load. Fuel is 1,100 liters and the hull has 17.9 degrees of deadrise. Those numbers match the Azimut 40S sport yacht almost exactly, and the engines and tankage match the European Azimut 38.

Azimut described this 40 as the boat that opens its flybridge collection, built at the Avigliana yard, with an owner's cabin in the bow, a twin amidships, a private bathroom for each, a dinette that converts to an extra berth and LED lighting throughout. A 2013 example was recently listed on Lake Travis in Texas at $399,000, which is the best current marker for this version.

Buying an Azimut 40 Fly in 2026

For the 2005-era boat, a realistic asking range is about $180,000 to $250,000, with documented Cummins service and a healthy generator worth a premium. The later 2011 to 2013 Azimut 40 typically sits between about $320,000 and $420,000. Annual running costs for either, excluding fuel and depreciation, should land around $30,000 to $55,000 depending on where you keep the boat.

Whichever you choose, run a proper sea trial to full throttle, check that both boats reach their rated rpm, and have a Cummins-trained mechanic review the engines and aftercoolers. On the 2005 boat, spend a few minutes at the lower helm before you buy and decide whether you can live with that seat.