Ferretti Yachts 850 Buyer's Guide, Price History and Specs

Where the Ferretti 850 came from

The Ferretti 850 was announced in March 2016, launched in July, previewed privately in Monte Carlo and given its public debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival that September alongside the new Ferretti 450. Yachting reported that four hulls were sold before the Cannes show even opened, all with the larger engines: the first to a Swiss owner who kept it in Antibes, the second to an Italian, the third to an American.

Under the skin it is the first Ferretti 800 of 2010 grown up. Motor Boat and Yachting explained that the hull is based on the outgoing 800, extended to about 85 feet 4 inches while keeping the construction length under 24 meters, which keeps it in the recreational category, and Yachting noted that it squeaks under the 78-foot load-line limit. Ferretti's commercial chief at the time called it a key role in the evolution of the range, with interiors comparable to a loft apartment.

One long window and a hidden raised pilothouse

Ferretti replaced the 800's trapezoidal hull windows with a single full-height window running the length of the superstructure and said that feature would mark its yachts over 80 feet from then on. The 850 has a raised pilothouse, but the way it melds into the flybridge with no clear break means most people do not notice it at first. Yachting called the look almost retro, timeless and elegant.

Rather than balconies, which eat interior volume and cost, the designers notched the bulwarks beside the salon glass to bring the view inside. Behind deep, rail-topped bulwarks, full side decks lead to a foredeck with a lounge and an island sunpad for at least four. An optional black hardtop covers about two-thirds of the flybridge with three large glass panels, and all flybridge furniture locks down on quick-release pins so it can be rearranged.

European or American galley, and the crew wall

Inside, the salon is one open canvas roughly 10 meters long from the cockpit doors to the side-deck door to port and the lower-deck stair to starboard. A wall forward of that separates the guest area from the crew area, with a pocket door to open or close it, and the first boat was furnished with dark-stained oak and freestanding Minotti pieces.

Owners chose between two galley plans. The European version tucks the galley forward of the helm, away from guests. The American version moves it closer to the main living space with a cocktail bar. The crisp white galley gained daylight from the base of the windshield acting as a skylight, and stairs lead from it to the crew area in the bow. An Asian Tai He Ban version was also offered.

• European galley: forward, crew-only, formal service
• American galley: closer to the salon with a bar
• Raised helm: compact single-seat station the first owner compared to his Lamborghini

Two VIPs, a twin and a full-beam master

The lower deck layout is not the usual one. Besides the full-beam master, also designed with Minotti and finished in flamed oak with satin brass trim, there are two VIP doubles, one amidships to port and one in the bow, plus a twin cabin to starboard. Each cabin has its own bathroom with a separate shower, and the master's head has large hull windows.

Crew get two twin-bunk cabins in the bow with their own en suite heads, which Yachting noted was better than the shared crew head often found at this size, plus a crew mess under the galley.

Garage, beach club and cockpit

The garage holds a Williams 385 jet tender, and its door folds down into the water to make a submersible beach club when the tender is out. Above it, the transom sofa runs the width of the garage, and its back cushion flips on a hinge to give lumbar support during meals at the cockpit table. If owners want more toys, the aft section of the flybridge can be cleared and fitted with a crane and chocks.

MAN V12 power and the Cannes trial

Two MAN V12 packages on V-drives were offered: the standard 1,800-hp engines, quoted at 29 knots top and 26 knots cruise, and 1,900-hp engines for 31 knots top and 27 knots cruise. Yachting tested hull one with the bigger engines on a calm Mediterranean morning, fully fueled, with a quarter tank of water, two Seakeeper 9 gyros and 12 people aboard, and saw 29.6 knots at 2,350 rpm. Motor Boat and Yachting recorded the same 29.6 knots at the 2016 launch.

Yachting's advice is to cruise slowly when you can: about 10 to 11 knots at 1,000 rpm, or 8 knots at 750 rpm, where range on the 1,783-gallon tanks exceeds 1,000 nautical miles. Ferretti quotes about 305 miles at fast cruise. Fully loaded, the boat weighs a little over 170,000 pounds.

Ferretti 850 for sale, and how it compares with the 860

Motor Boat and Yachting counted 30-plus 850s built in six years before the 860 replaced it at Cannes in 2022 on the same hull and machinery. That gives the brokerage market a steady supply. In 2025 a 2018 boat in Boca Raton with about 1,860 hours on its 1,900-hp MANs and zero-speed fins was offered at $3.957 million and has since been seen near $3.2 million; a 2021 boat with 31-knot power was listed at $4.69 million, and another 2021 hull near $5.25 million. A 2019 boat in Genoa asks about 3.7 million euros.

Compared with the 860, the 850 has a smaller single-seat lower helm, a galley tucked further forward and slightly simpler outdoor spaces, but it is about four and a half tonnes lighter and costs well under the 860's price. For a crewed family boat in Florida or the Bahamas, a 2019 to 2021 850 is one of the better value 85-footers around. Plan on $300,000 to $520,000 a year to run one properly with a captain and at least one crew.