Yamaha partners with Lion Yachts on outboard 60ft flybridge

Italian builder Lion Yachts has produced a new 60ft flybridge powered by Yamaha Motor’s XTO outboard engines.

The 27-ton flybridge is powered by Yamaha’s XTO 425hp V8 and was a client request.

Lion says the client was a long-time boat owner of many different styles of boat, who felt that the simplicity and reduced corrosion and maintenance cost of an outboard compared to a traditional inboard system was a far better choice, even on a boat of this size. He also wanted to free up valuable space for a tender garage or additional crew cabin by mounting the engines outside of the vessel.

To accommodate the brief, the Lion Yachts team designed a lifting aft deck to allow four fully tiltable engines to be maintained and removed if required.

“We forecasted around 30 knots, this was the target from the customer … and we achieved 36 knots top speed,” explains Ernesto Chiesa, field engineer at Yamaha Motor Europe. “The boat is planing around 14 knots at 3,500rpm and revs all the way to 6,000 giving an excellent range for fast, efficient cruising. Personally, I was very happy for Yamaha to, once again, exceed the customer expectation.”

It is claimed that the slow-speed handling and mooring experience also exceeded expectations and is in line with an inboard equivalent, despite the weight being further aft and the boat having more windage than is usually expected for an outboard vessel.

The vessel utilises Yamaha’s Helm Master EX control rigging system with joystick, autopilot and steer-by-wire controls.

Because the engines are physically mounted outside of the boat, Lion claims there are greater levels of comfort for the crew due to reduced vibration, engine noise and fuel smell.

Michele Parini, Lion Yachts, adds: “We are enthusiastic about the boat. We are sure that the new trend is outboard engines, with our project we have taken what is possible with outboards to the next level.”

Further on the horizon, Lion Yachts don’t believe they’ve reached a limited at 60 feet, having aspirations of a 24m powered by multiple XTO 425hp V8 engines.