Azimut 34 Atlantis Review, Specs and Used Buying Guide

Why the Azimut 34 Atlantis exists

The Azimut 34 Atlantis was Azimut's attempt to sell a genuinely small boat without diluting the name on the hull. It arrived in 2012 as the baby of the Atlantis Collection, slotting in under the Atlantis 38, 44, 48 and 58, and it is still the only Azimut 34 in the modern lineup, which is why anyone typing "azimut 34" into a search bar almost always ends up here.

The brief was tight. MBY's reviewer summed up the problem neatly: shrink a boat by ten percent and build costs barely move, but the retail price has to fall much further, while the buyer's expectations stay exactly where they were. Atlantis described its answer as aggressively priced, landing roughly 15 to 20 percent above mass-production French and German rivals and about the same margin below the swankier Italian brands.

What makes the 34 interesting a decade on is how it hit that number. Instead of stripping out quality, Azimut changed the way the boat was built, and that decision is the main reason clean examples still hold their value.

Seaway, vacuum infusion and a boat built in modules

For the 34 the Atlantis technical office brought in Seaway, the Slovenian engineering house behind Greenline and production work for several big builders. Barche described the project as a three-way collaboration: the yard's infusion know-how, Neo Design's styling, and Seaway's process engineering.

The hull is resin-infused with vinylester in the outer layers and PVC core, the deck and topsides are infused over balsa, and a structural grid plus a semi-structural tray stiffen the bottom. Interior modules are assembled, plumbed and wired outside the boat, then dropped into the hull before the deck goes on. Power and Motoryacht pointed out that this gives assembly crews room to work, which tends to show up as neater wiring and fewer squeaks later in life.

Both magazines that tested the boat in rough water commented on the stiffness. Barche ran it with seven people aboard in waves up to about two meters and could not make the hull slam; MBY called it utterly solid and rattle-free.

One cabin, done properly

Below decks the 34 makes a choice many rivals avoid: there is only one separate cabin. Instead of squeezing in a cramped forward double, Atlantis left the bow open as a saloon with a V-shaped dinette that converts into a large double, about 6 feet 4 inches each way according to MBY, with a galley to port and a head with shower to starboard.

The real trick is the mid cabin. A raised chaise longue beside the helm on deck creates headroom over the head of the transverse double below, and testers on both sides of the Atlantic rated it one of the best aft cabins on a sub-40-foot boat. Barche measured 195 cm (about 6 feet 5 inches) at the entrance.

The trade-off is storage. MBY noted open shelving instead of lockers around the dinette and galley cupboards that are partly occupied by the fridge and microwave. A couple will be very comfortable; two couples for a week will find the lockers full by day two.

Cockpit, hardtop and deck

The 34 was only offered with a hardtop, and Neo Design's sweeping spars keep it from looking top-heavy. A manual vinyl soft section opens most of the cockpit to the sky. Aft, a 2.5 square meter swim platform can carry a tender up to about 2.5 meters, and a settee snakes across the transom and up the port side into the chaise.

A starboard wet bar carries a sink, with a grill and fridge on the options list. Side decks are narrow at about 21 to 28 cm depending on who measured, but the rail is high and runs all the way aft, which matters on a boat that will attract first-time owners. Up front is a sun pad for two or three.

• Single double helm seat, fixed, with a hinged floor panel so taller drivers can stand and look over the screen
• Cockpit table converts into a sun pad
• Electric engine hatch that lifts the whole aft seating module for excellent engine access
• Teak cockpit and platform, bow thruster and trim tabs were options on most early boats

On the water with twin D3s

Atlantis kept costs down by offering a single engine package: twin 220 hp Volvo Penta D3 five-cylinder diesels on Duoprop sterndrives with mechanical, non-assisted steering. Every tester loved the result at the wheel. Power and Motoryacht's European editor called the handling sublime and described high-speed turns that barely scrub off speed; Barche said the steering never stiffened even though it has no power assist.

Power and Motoryacht's test boat, carrying half fuel and five people, reached 31.4 knots at 3,950 rpm burning 25.6 gph. The most useful cruise sat between 3,000 rpm (22.2 knots, 15.1 gph, about 228 nm of range) and 3,500 rpm (27.2 knots, 20.9 gph). The hull will stay on plane down to about 18 knots. MBY, with the big generator and air conditioning aboard, saw 30 knots flat out and 26 knots at 3,500 rpm.

The D3s are working hard in this hull. MBY's tester wondered aloud what the boat would do with D4-300s, and owners who load the boat heavily in hot climates should expect top speed in the high 20s.

Owning and running one in the US

Running costs are modest for a diesel sport cruiser. At 22 knots the pair burns roughly 15 gph, so a 60-hour season uses around 900 gallons. Sterndrive service (bellows, U-joints, anodes, Duoprop props) is the recurring line item, plus annual impeller and filter work on the D3s. Expect roughly $14,000 to $28,000 a year for a Florida or Northeast boat once slip, insurance, bottom paint and routine service are added, more if you keep it in a premium marina.

Volvo D3 parts and dealer support are easy to find in the US, which makes the 34 less exotic to own than its badge suggests. Azimut dealers such as MarineMax sold the Atlantis line, so service records from a franchise dealer are worth asking for.

Used market, production run and what to pay

The 34 was built from 2012 until at least 2019, when Yachting still listed it alongside the Atlantis 43 and 51; it later disappeared as the range moved to the 45 and 51. Most boats on the market are European, and many carry CE category B plates and metric instrumentation. US-delivered boats tend to have air conditioning, the bigger generator and a thruster.

Expect asking prices from about $130,000 for an early, tired boat to $240,000 or so for a late, well-optioned example with low hours. Engine hours on D3s matter more than on bigger diesels, because these small high-revving engines spend their lives near the top of the power curve.

Awards and reputation

The 34 picked up Vessel of the Year honors from Vela e Motore in 2012 and won the Sportscruisers category at the 2014 Motor Boat Awards. MBY's verdict was that Azimut had managed the hardest trick in the business, a boat that feels like a quality product at a price that would worry competitors, and that if you only want one cabin it is a bargain.

Its reputation on the brokerage market is similar: a well-built, handsome and fun weekender for two, judged harshly only by buyers who expected a two-cabin family boat.