Ferretti 881 and 881 RPH, a Used Flagship Buyer's Guide
Ferretti's 88-foot flagship of 2005 to 2012, with a 22-foot beam, standard anti-roll gyro, teak beach garage and 31 to 32 knots from twin MTU 16Vs.
- Length
- 88.7 ft27.03 m
- Beam
- 22.1 ft6.72 m
- Cruise
- 27 kn
- Cabins
- Full-beam master amidships, bow VIP double, two twin guest cabins; two crew cabins aft
- Used price
- $1.4M to $2.6M
On this page
- Overview
- The Ferretti 881, an old-school flagship
- Builder numbers worth knowing
- A master suite built around two hull windows
- Galley, helm and the teak beach
- Ride, speed and the anti-roll gyro
- The 881 RPH with its raised pilothouse
- 881 versus 880 and 960 on the used market
- Specifications
- Price and value
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Used buyer checklist
- Rivals
- Our verdict
- FAQ
The Ferretti 881 is an 88-foot 8-inch, four-cabin flybridge built from about 2005 to 2012 as the yard's flagship, also offered as the 881 RPH with a raised pilothouse. About 56 hulls were launched before its bottom was reused for the 960.
- Buyers wanting 88-foot volume on a budget
- Owners who will refit to their own taste
- Crewed Mediterranean or Caribbean cruising
- Families who value a calm ride at anchor
Ferretti 881 by the numbers
- Speed to length ratio at cruise
- 3.17A planing cruise. Fast passages in exchange for much higher fuel burn per mile.
- Horsepower per ton
- 53 hpStrong power to weight for a planing hull.
- Length to beam ratio
- 4.02 : 1A slim, easily driven hull.
The Ferretti 881, an old-school flagship
Anyone shopping a Ferretti 881 for sale is looking at the boat that sat at the top of Ferretti's planing range for most of the late 2000s. It replaced the 880 as the yard's flagship around 2005 and held the job until the 960, whose builders openly started from the 881's hull. Power and Motoryacht's 960 test noted that the 881 bottom had proven itself over some 56 launches, which gives a good idea of how many were built.
Yachting's tester, cruising from Cannes to Monte Carlo, called it a product of the old school of motoryacht design and meant it as praise: a pilothouse pushed well forward to create a big salon, a wide beam for interior volume, a shallow-deadrise hull for easy planing and a pale, lacquered cherry interior that he rated one of the most restful he had seen. Ferretti, he wrote, was one of the few builders refining what it had done before rather than reinventing it.
Builder numbers worth knowing
Ferretti's own 2007 technical sheet gives 27.03 meters (88 feet 8 inches) overall, a 22.15-meter waterline, a 6.72-meter (22-foot 1-inch) beam, 9,000 liters of fuel (about 2,378 gallons) and 1,200 liters of water. Displacement is 71.2 tonnes light and 82 tonnes laden, the boat is rated for 24 people, and the yard predicted 31 knots top, 27 knots cruise and 400 nautical miles of range with 2,200-horsepower MTUs. Its anti-rolling gyro (ARG) was standard, not optional.
That beam is the defining number. At more than 22 feet it is wider than most 88-footers of its era, which shows in the salon, the engine room and the master suite.
A master suite built around two hull windows
Ferretti's innovation on the 881 was the large hull windows in the full-beam master. To port the bedroom side has a seat beside one window; to starboard another window sits over a full-size bathtub, and an interior window lets you see from the bed through the semicircular glass shower to the sea. Yachting's tester said that if he owned it he would leave the captain on the helm and spend the passage down there.
Forward are a double cabin in the bow and two twins, each with an en suite in cherry and marble. Two crew cabins sit aft of the master, with access to the engine room, which can also be reached from the cockpit.
Galley, helm and the teak beach
The galley is forward of the dining area with its own outside door and a door into the pilothouse, so crew can work without crossing guest areas. Yachting liked that logic but was less kind about the helm: a big seat that looks like a double but only has working room for one, a corner settee that feels more like a breakfast nook, and a dashboard of dials with little order to it below the three screens. Ferretti's Naviop monitoring system was standard.
Outside there is a cockpit table, a flybridge with barbecue, bar, sun beds and an optional hot tub under a bimini that reaches out from the arch mast, though the reverse-angle windscreen offers little shelter. In the stern, a garage for a small tender or personal watercraft has a door that hinges down to form a teak-decked beach at water level.
Ride, speed and the anti-roll gyro
Yachting's test boat had two 2,000-hp MTU diesels and reached 32 knots, with 27 knots coming up effortlessly as a cruise. The weak point was noise: the gearboxes, isolated on a V-drive arrangement, produced a whine at speed that carried into the otherwise peaceful accommodation. Owners and surveyors should listen for it on a sea trial and check gearbox mounts and couplings.
The standard ARG gyro is the boat's secret weapon. Unlike fin stabilizers, it keeps working at anchor, so a swell rolling into a bay does not spill drinks. On a used 881, though, the gyro is also a maintenance item: ask for its service history, bearing records and any refurbishment, because a failed early-generation gyro is an expensive repair.
The 881 RPH with its raised pilothouse
Ferretti later added the 881 RPH, which keeps the hull and lower deck but adds an upper deck carrying a raised pilothouse. The salon is symmetrical with double sofas on both sides and a retractable 32-inch TV between lounge and dining table for eight, finished in light elm rather than cherry. The master keeps its two big hull windows, with two twin cabins and a VIP in the bow.
The RPH was fitted with uprated MTUs of 2,211 hp each, and Ferretti quoted 29 knots top and 26 knots cruise, a little slower than the standard 881 because of the added weight. Brokers sometimes list the RPH simply as an 881, so check the profile photos.
881 versus 880 and 960 on the used market
The Ferretti 880 that preceded it was a slightly narrower flagship of about 2003 to 2005 with twin 2,000-hp MTU 16V 2000 M91s; the 881 has more beam, bigger hull windows and the standard gyro. The 960 that followed reused the 881's bottom but added about nine feet aft for a garage and a main-deck master, and costs far more. For many buyers the 881 is the sweet spot: true 88-foot volume for roughly $1.4 million to $2.6 million.
Running costs are serious. Fuel tanks of nearly 2,400 gallons, two big MTU 16V engines, generators, the gyro, crew of three and dockage for a 22-foot beam add up to roughly $280,000 to $480,000 a year in the US before depreciation and refit.
Ferretti 881 specifications
| Length overall | 88.7 ft27.03 m |
|---|---|
| Waterline length | 72.7 ft22.15 m |
| Beam | 22.1 ft6.72 m |
| Draft | 6.3 ft1.93 m |
| Displacement | 180,779 lbs82, kg |
| Fuel capacity | 2,378 gal9, L |
| Fresh water | 317 gal1,2 L |
| Cabins | Full-beam master amidships, bow VIP double, two twin guest cabins; two crew cabins aft |
| Berths | 8 guests, 3 to 4 crew |
| Heads | Four guest bathrooms (cherry and marble), day head, crew heads |
| Maximum persons | 24 |
| Standard engines | Twin MTU 16V 2000 diesels, about 2,000 to 2,200 mhp per engine, V-drives |
| Optional engines | MTU 16V 2000 M93 at about 2,400 hp per side listed by YachtBuyer; 2,211-hp MTUs on the 881 RPH |
| Maximum power | 4,800 hp |
| Cruise speed | 27 knots |
| Top speed | 31 knots |
| Range | 400 nm |
| Hull type | Wide-beam planing hull with shallow deadrise aft, V-drive installation |
| Hull construction | GRP |
| Builder | Ferretti Yachts (Ferretti Group), Italy, Italy |
| Naval architect | AYT (Advanced Yacht Technology) and Ferretti Group Engineering Department |
| Other design credits | Studio Zuccon International Project |
| Production | 2005 to 2012 |
| Status | Discontinued |
Figures come from builder documentation and independent tests where available. Displacement is usually quoted light, so a loaded cruising boat will weigh more. Compare these specs with another model.
How much does a Ferretti 881 cost?
Current listings for 88-foot Ferrettis of the 881's years include a 2006 boat in Fort Lauderdale at $1.699 million, a 2007 boat in Mexico at $1.8 million and a 2008 boat in Turkey at 1.8 million euros. The RPH version, later hulls with uprated engines, a recent MTU top-end, a working ARG gyro and refreshed electronics and interiors command the higher figures.
Estimate your yearly cost
A planning estimate using common rules of thumb: insurance near 1.5 percent of value, maintenance near 3 percent, haul out and bottom paint by length. Your marina, region and use will move these numbers. Open the full cost calculator.
Versions and options
- Ferretti 881
- Flybridge flagship with forward lower helm, cherry interior, standard ARG gyro; twin MTU 16V 2000 of about 2,000 to 2,200 mhp.
- Ferretti 881 RPH
- Raised pilothouse version with an upper deck, elm interior and 2,211-hp MTUs; builder figures 29 knots top, 26 knots cruise.
Ferretti 881 timeline
- 2004Ferretti 880 tested by Power and Motoryacht as the yard's largest model
- 2005The 881 takes over as Ferretti's flagship
- 2007Ferretti's spec sheet lists the 881 with 2,200-hp MTUs and standard ARG
- 2008881 RPH presented with 2,211-hp MTU engines
- 2013The 960, built on the 881's proven hull, is announced as the new flagship
Strengths and weaknesses
What owners like
- 22-foot beam gives exceptional interior volume
- Standard anti-roll gyro that works at anchor
- Spectacular master suite with hull windows over the bath
- Teak beach garage door
- Proven hull reused for the 960
- Large used fleet of about 56 boats
What to weigh up
- V-drive gearbox whine reaches the cabins
- Helm ergonomics criticized in tests
- Reverse-angle flybridge windscreen gives little shelter
- Early gyro technology is costly to repair
- Interiors and electronics now 15 to 20 years old
Used Ferretti 881 buyer checklist
Take this list to a viewing. Your ticks are saved in this browser so you can come back to it.
Always commission an independent marine survey and an engine survey before you buy. How a marine survey works.
Rivals to consider
Sunseeker 90 Yacht
Faster British alternative of the same years with a sportier ride.
Compare side by sideOur verdict on the Ferretti 881
The Ferretti 881 is one of the best value big Ferrettis on the market. Its wide hull, standard gyro, superb master suite and teak beach still impress, and the bottom was good enough for Ferretti to build the 960 on it. The weak points are known: gearbox whine, a fussy helm and the age of the gyro, electronics and cherry interior. Buy on the engines and the gyro first, cosmetics second, and budget for a refit; done right, you get an 88-foot flagship for the price of a new 60-footer.
Ferretti 881 questions answered
How much is a Ferretti 881?
Recent listings range from about $1.7 million to $1.8 million for 2006 to 2008 boats. Expect about $1.4 million to $2.6 million across the production run.
What is the Ferretti 881 RPH?
A raised pilothouse version of the 881 with an upper deck, an elm interior and 2,211-hp MTU engines, quoted at 29 knots top.
How fast is the Ferretti 881?
Yachting reached 32 knots with 2,000-hp MTUs and cruised at 27 knots. Ferretti predicted 31 knots top.
What is the difference between the Ferretti 880 and 881?
The 881 replaced the 880 around 2005 with a wider beam, larger hull windows in the master and a standard anti-roll gyro.
How many Ferretti 881s were built?
Power and Motoryacht cites some 56 launches of the 881 hull, which Ferretti later reused for the 960.
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