Azimut 42 Flybridge, a Used Buyer's Guide

Why the 1999 Azimut 42 still turns up on shortlists

Motor Boat & Yachting has a simple test for whether a boat has aged well: go back and drive it again. The magazine did exactly that with the Azimut 42, returning 14 years after its 1999 launch for its used boat series. The verdict was that early interiors look dated because of their fabrics, but the exterior has held up remarkably well. That matches what you see in marinas today. A 42 from the early 2000s still looks like a modern Italian flybridge from the dock, which is not something you can say about many of its British contemporaries.

The Azimut 42 also mattered to Azimut. It sat above the Azimut 39 in a range that went all the way to the 100 Jumbo, and when MBY later tested the Azimut 40 it compared that boat's surprisingly efficient hull directly to the 42's. For buyers, the 42 is now a sub-$250,000 way into a properly built 43-foot flybridge with twin diesels and two en suite cabins.

The 1999 original versus the 2003 42 Evolution

YachtBuyer splits the model into two generations: the original Azimut 42 from 1999 to 2003 and the Azimut 42 Evolution, also called the 42E, from 2003 to 2010. Azimut's own figures show how close they are. The 2002 web specification for the original lists 13.29 meters overall, a 4.16-meter (13-foot 8-inch) beam and a 1.10-meter draft. A brochure archived in early 2003 gives 43 feet 4 inches including the pulpit, a hull length of 42 feet 7 inches, a 13-foot 6-inch beam, 3 feet 5 inches of draft and 14.7 tonnes at full load, with the same twin 390 mhp Caterpillar 3126 DITA engines.

The bigger change came late in the run. By 2010 Azimut's 42E sheet listed twin 380 mhp Cummins QSB 5.9 engines with 31 knots maximum and 28 knots cruise, against 34 and 30 knots for the Caterpillar boats. Tankage stayed at 1,200 liters (317 gallons) of fuel and 500 liters of water throughout. On a listing, the engine brand is the fastest way to place a boat; the hull number confirms the year.

• Original 42 (1999 to 2003): Caterpillar 3126 DITA, 390 mhp each
• 42 Evolution (2003 onward): revised dimensions, Caterpillar power at first
• Late 42E (around 2010): Cummins QSB 5.9, 380 mhp each

Two cabins or three, and how the 42 uses its beam

Azimut quoted the 42 with two or three cabins and four to six berths, so check which arrangement a particular boat has before you travel to see it. Most boats have two cabins served by two heads, which is the formula almost every European 42-footer followed at the time, and the main deck pairs the saloon with a lower helm under a big windshield.

MBY's used boat review praised the visibility from the lower helm but noted that there is no standing headroom there, which matters if you are tall and plan to drive inside in bad weather. The fabrics and joinery of early boats are very much of their era; many owners have re-upholstered, and a boat with a recent interior refresh is worth a premium.

Up top is where the 42 earns its keep

The flybridge is the reason most people buy a 42. MBY's reviewer described the upper helm as the part that really sets the boat apart, giving the full open-air Azimut driving experience. If a boat has gained an aftermarket hardtop or a heavy bimini frame since it left Italy, inspect the mounting points for cracking and think about the extra weight up high.

Deck details follow the bigger Azimuts: a 20 kg anchor on a stainless arm, a 1,000 W windlass, four bollards and two spring cleats, a stainless fender bar and stainless fairleads built into the stern, plus a hot and cold cockpit shower and a 3.3-foot swim platform with a fold-back ladder. It is a well-equipped boat by the standards of its day.

Caterpillar 3126 power and a hull MBY called efficient

Azimut claimed 34 knots maximum and 30 knots cruise at half load for the Caterpillar-powered 42, from 780 horsepower in total. Underneath is a variable-deadrise hull, 17 degrees at the transom, with longitudinal strakes for directional stability and four-blade propellers in semi-tunnels. MBY did not publish a full speed and fuel table for the 42 that we could find, but its later Azimut 40 test made a point of saying that Azimut had produced an unexpectedly efficient hull with the 42, particularly at high speed.

Realistically, a 20-year-old 42 with a full load, a clean bottom and healthy engines should cruise in the mid to high 20s. With 317 gallons of fuel you are planning coastal hops, not long offshore runs. If a seller quotes 34 knots, ask when it was last measured and with how much fuel and water aboard.

Foam core, isophthalic gelcoat and the osmosis question

Azimut's 2003 brochure describes hand-laid fiberglass using multi-axial cloth, PVC foam cores in the hull supports and superstructure for stiffness and insulation, an isophthalic gelcoat for UV and osmosis resistance and a special resin for mechanical strength, all backed by a five-year warranty against osmosis and on the structure. That was a serious specification for 1999.

Two decades later, the questions are about water. Foam-cored decks and superstructures are fine until fittings are rebedded badly or stanchion bases crack, after which moisture can migrate. A surveyor with a moisture meter and a sounding hammer is essential, and you should haul the boat to look at the bottom in person. Blistered boats are not a death sentence, but the repair cost belongs in your offer.

Do not confuse it with the Brazilian Azimut 42br

Searches for an Azimut 42 for sale can also turn up a much later boat. Around 2014 Azimut's site listed an Azimut 42br for the Brazilian market, with a 4.22-meter beam, 15.2 tonnes displacement, twin 480 mhp Cummins QSB 5.9 engines and a hull credited to Michael Peters. Those figures match the Azimut 43, not the 1999 42. If a listing shows a 13-foot 10-inch beam or 480 hp engines, you are looking at a different boat with a different value.

Azimut 42 prices, from tired 1999 boats to late Evolutions

In 2026 a realistic asking range is about $130,000 to $260,000. First-generation boats with original Caterpillars and dated interiors cluster at the low end, mid-2000s 42 Evolutions sit around $160,000 to $210,000, and the last Cummins-powered boats can reach the mid-$200,000s if they are clean. A UK listing for a 2005 42 Evolution asked about $172,000, which is consistent with that picture.

Annual running costs, excluding fuel and depreciation, are typically $32,000 to $58,000 for dockage, insurance, engine and generator service, haul-out, canvas and routine repairs. Keep a contingency for the first year, because boats of this age nearly always need hoses, pumps, batteries or electronics.