Azimut 85 Yacht, Review and Used Buyer's Guide

The galley that started the boat-show gossip

When the Azimut 85 appeared at the Genoa Boat Show in 2005, the talk on the docks was not about its engines or its hardtop but about a galley. Carlo Galeazzi, Azimut's long-time interior designer, ran it diagonally across the main deck so it pushed well past the centerline in a diamond shape, with the dining table set on a matching diagonal. Power & Motoryacht called the result a tour de force that broke the rules, and Motor Boat & Yachting reported that rivals quickly copied it, to Azimut's irritation.

That galley explains the whole boat. The 85 was designed as a big, voluminous flagship for the Fly range, with a helm set far forward and enough beam that designers did not need to fake a sense of space. YachtBuyer dates this second-generation Azimut 85 from 2005 to 2010, and it is the boat almost everyone means when they search for an Azimut 85 yacht or an 85 foot Azimut today.

Why diagonals work on this main deck

Most designers divide a long rectangle into smaller squares because diagonals usually waste space. On the 85, Galeazzi used the beam to fit a big square seating area aft and a dinette opposite the lower helm, then angled the galley so it could face both forward and aft without blocking sight lines. Sliding counter partitions open to the dining area and wheelhouse, and doors lead both into the saloon and out to the side deck, so crew can serve without walking through the guests.

Testers were not uncritical. Yachting found the stainless refrigerator mounted with its doors opening aft, a poor choice on a fast boat where contents shift, and noted a whine from the ZF gearboxes in an otherwise very quiet interior. It also judged the helm's touchscreen monitoring display too dark to read easily and the trim tab controls poor. These are details a buyer can check or fix, but they are worth knowing.

Owner or Classic, two ways to arrange the lower deck

Azimut offered two lower-deck plans. Both put a VIP suite in the bow and two twin-berth guest cabins between it and the master, all en suite. The Owner version borrows space from the forward starboard guest area to create a dressing antechamber leading to the master bathroom, plus a second shower room to port, so the suite ends up with two bathrooms, one with a full-size tub. The Classic version keeps a slightly smaller master with one bathroom and gives the VIP more emphasis.

MBY measured the master as occupying half the space below decks, with a central double, two wardrobes, a sofa, a desk and room to walk around. The master has its own companionway from the forward corner of the saloon, while guests use a stair beside the helm into an unusually spacious lobby. Two crew cabins sit in the stern, which is why the 85 has no tender garage.

• Owner layout: full-beam master with two bathrooms and a dressing area
• Classic layout: smaller single-bath master and a larger VIP
• Two twin-berth guest cabins in both versions
• Two crew cabins aft, no garage

A flying tennis court overhead

MBY opened its review with the hardtop, which it likened to a tennis court floating 20-odd feet above the water. It shades almost all of a flybridge PMY measured at about 40 feet long, and a fabric section rolls back inside the frame to let the sun in. Under it sit a big dining table for eight or more, sunbeds and settees around a starboard helm, an electric barbecue, a spa pool aft and tender stowage with a crane at the back.

The foredeck dinette, with an optional bimini, gives a private spot in port, and the cockpit has a hydraulic teak table that drops to turn the settee into a sunbed. Not everyone liked the exterior. Yachting thought the mix of square windows and portholes along the hull robbed the design of cohesion, and MBY said the boat looked better from the inside out. Inside the master, those windows earn their keep.

Caterpillar C32 torque and how the 85 drives

PMY reported that the 85 was the first yacht in Italy fitted with the 1,825 hp Caterpillar C32A, driving through ZF V-drives with a 2.5:1 ratio and 41 by 56 inch four-blade props. Alternatives were Caterpillar C30s at 1,572 mhp, standard C32s at 1,675 mhp or MTU 16V 2000 M91s at 2,030 mhp. MBY's boat ran the earlier 1,652 hp C32s and still managed just under 30 knots heavily loaded, while Yachting saw 30 knots.

The character is torque. At about 80 tons in seagoing trim, the 85 planes sedately around 15 knots, and once past 1,500 rpm the speed builds quickly to 20 knots and beyond. That low planing speed is useful in a chop when you want to stay on top without pounding. PMY measured 75 dB(A) at the lower helm at full speed thanks to heavy soundproofing, and testers praised the 17-degree deadrise for a cushioned ride, although no at-sea seating beyond the helm was a weakness Yachting flagged.

Docking a big flybridge with one joystick

The test boats carried the optional Sea Energy maneuvering system, which ties engines and thrusters to a single joystick, plus a wandering lead in the cockpit for stern-to docking. Yachting thought it turned the 85 into a yacht two people could handle, and MBY liked the button labeled Only Bow Thruster that drops back to conventional control if things get confusing. Hydraulic bow and stern thrusters of 27 hp were on the option list.

On a used boat, confirm the joystick still works with the original engine controls. Twenty-year-old maneuvering electronics are a common failure point, and parts can be hard to source.

The Azimut 85 on today's used market

Supply is small but steady. YachtBuyer recently counted three Azimut 85s for sale, with second-generation boats around $2 million and a first-generation boat near $1.2 million, and second-generation listings averaged about 398 days before selling or coming off the market. Compare that with the $6.4 million as-tested price PMY reported in 2006 and the depreciation curve is obvious, which is exactly what makes a good 85 interesting now.

Running costs are firmly in crewed-yacht territory. With 2,378 gallons of fuel, two 33 kW gensets, 144,000 BTU of air conditioning and an 85-ton hull, expect annual fixed costs from the mid hundreds of thousands once crew, insurance, dockage and yard work are included.

The earlier 85 Ultimate and the 88 that followed

YachtBuyer lists an earlier first-generation Azimut 85, the 85 Ultimate, built from about 1998 to 2004 at a similar 26-meter length. It is an older design with different styling and interior, and on the market it trades well below the 2005 boat, so check the build year on any listing simply titled Azimut 85.

Looking forward, the Azimut 88 introduced in 2007 shares the 85's 2,378-gallon fuel capacity and, in its second generation, the same 21-foot beam. That suggests the 88 grew from the 85 platform, so a buyer who likes the 85 should also look at early 88s. Note that length figures for the 85 vary by source: YachtBuyer lists 86 feet including the pulpit, while PMY's test quoted 88 feet overall.