Uniesse 48 Fly

The Cadillac Allante came about after a fusion of minds. It was an all-American car beneath the bonnet, but subtly Italian on the outside. Its body was conceived by Sergio Pininfarina, a well-known designer who has also shaped boats, and it wowed the motoring industry.

When the Allante was unveiled to a crowd of dealers they rose to their feet and cheered as one. I know this bit of trivia because I entered the words 'Italian Cadillac' into my computer's search engine. And then listened to some sound bites. Why, you ask?

Well, if ever there was a boat that had a likeness to an Italian Cadillac it is the Uniesse 48 Fly. Another meeting of minds - that of American hull designer Fred Hudson and Italian boatbuilders Uniesse Marine - has resulted in a stately boat with the best American deep-vee hull and terrific Italian build quality and styling.

I loved it so much I couldn't hold back the whoops of delight as I turned the wheel in successive rotations, as one might when driving a Cadillac on the Great Ocean Road or down those impossibly tight roads which wind their way along the Amalfi Coast. Sports handling it is not, but it has handling to die for.

After stepping off another European boat which was longer on the waterline, the Uniesse 48 felt better. There was no noisy chine chattering, no airtime as you crossed the waves, no choppy handling. The Italian Cadillac cruised through the waves as though passing bumper-to-bumper traffic in an overtaking lane.

THROWING ITS WEIGHT AROUND
The third Uniesse to be imported to these shores within a year, the 48 Fly follows hot on the heels of the 48 and 42 Open. It's not a huge boat for a 48-footer, but it is very well proportioned and luxuriously appointed.

The fitout - with leather, marble and beautiful light timber joinery - is almost restrained when compared to other Italian craft. Unlike many of the foreign cruisers washing up on our shores, the Italian-made boat is best described as classy, not glitzy.

The handlaid fibreglass hull is stiffened with longitudinal and transverse stringers and topped with a balsa-cored deck and topsides. The fittings are overbuilt and all the deck gear is bolted through metal plates.

All the bulkheads and the furniture are laminated to the hull and the deck for additional strength. The hull itself is constructed by two affiliated companies owned by Uniesse, using one-piece moulds to eliminate joints.

Each layer of the outer skin is applied by hand and incorporates isophthalic resin to guard against osmosis. On average, hull construction takes two months to complete. Strict temperature and humidity controls are followed and the end result is a boat with a five-year warranty.

The Uniesse 48 is no bantam weight at 21,500kg unladen, but it is this weight, plus the beautiful deep-vee planing hull from Miami-based Hudson, that makes the boat travel so wonderfully through the water. No matter what they say, the Uniesse 48 is testimony to the merits of weight for ride.

A three-quarter keel aids stability, while pronounced chines help generate lift. Despite just one strake a side, the boat displaces the water back and to the sides. Turning the wheel this way or that, the hull doesn't fall over or dig in like some boats with big bolt-on boarding platforms.

Though it mightn't be obvious, the hull runs almost to the end of the oversized boarding platform. This platform, backed by a pasarelle that doubles as a dinghy lift with a 250kg capacity, totes your tender or jet-powered water toy to your favourite anchorage.

The shipyard offers a choice of two colours for the gelcoat: white or blue. Uniesse ensures the hull is perfectly fair and that the boat is delivered with a mirror-like finish. This was most certainly evident on the 48 Fly. Its clean, off-white, uncomplicated finish and lines brought the neighbours out of hiding.

LUNCH UP TOP
While there isn't a moulded staircase, the ladder up to the bridge works just fine. There you will find a U-shaped lounge to port, on which six people can lunch around a rectangular table. The skipper has a bench seat that isn't, surprisingly, adjustable in any way.

Storage exists under the helm bench seat and the lounges, but not all the holds are lined. Back aft, surrounded by stainless safety rails, there is a useful sunpad comprising two upholstered cushions fixed with press-studs.

All the brightwork around the boat is just beautiful. The one-piece rail around the bridge windbreaker, for example, is handcrafted and the fixing brackets are like works of art. The moulded targa arch is another highlight - a one-piece thing made in a split mould - as are the fully teak-laid decks including the bridge.

Access via a hatch with piano hinges leads to the dashboard wiring. I found everything you need for coastal cruising, including a Raytheon RL74 and 70 radar and chartplotter, depth and tridata displays, searchlight, twin MAN digital engine displays and a Max Power bowthruster.

As for lunch up top, no worries. Crew will love the dedicated amenities centre with a Miele cooktop, sink with hot and cold water, and drinks fridge. The MMC electronic controls and stainless wheel provide driver pleasure and only a bimini top is needed so everyone can escape the midday sun.

COCKPIT ROMP
Local buyers will welcome the good-sized cockpit which can be used for anything from trolling-up a tuna to kicking back in the shade or sun at anchor. The aft lounge has storage below for fenders and lines and can seat four people. Two more can lob on the loose convertible armchairs that fold out to sunpads.

There are dedicated storage pockets for a liferaft under the starboard coaming, the shorepower connection, hot/cold deck wash, fuel cut-offs and engine shut-offs, and isolators. A two-stage opening marlin door leads out to the massive boarding platform, which is big enough for two couples to stretch out with the tender removed.

The fore and aft bollards give you an idea of the boat's integrity - bloody solid. Two steps lead from the cockpit around the sidedecks, that are proportionately wider than most flybridge boats, to the foredeck.

The foredeck sunlounge provides a private place to work on your tan, while the deep chain locker has a windlass remote and deck wash.

The walk-through bowsprit is a beauty for dolphin spotting or taking on passengers. A heavy-duty stainless rubbing strip will guard against kissing wharf poles.

Engine room access is through a large lazarette in the cockpit holding an 11kVa generator to power the boat's air-conditioning system. Though I failed to find a ladder helping you down, the saloon carpet and a floor section lift to reveal access to the engines and their Racor filter and strainers.

OPEN PLAN SALOON
The 'stately not glitzy' theme, and the terrific sense of space and uncluttered design, are no more evident than when inside the sumptuous saloon of the Uniesse 48 Fly. Headroom is at least 2m, probably more, and light streams through the big eagle-eye saloon windows.

Blond-toned timber, off-white liners, cream leather on the lounges, navy blue carpet and a walnut dash facia provide a sense of understated elegance.

There is evidence of quality in the big sliding cockpit door fashioned from tempered glass, with a thick stainless steel frame. The opening saloon windows are designed to be leakproof. You get blinds for privacy, trendy Italian hatches and portholes for fresh air, and air-conditioning for summers afloat.

To starboard are two circular leather lounges. The first one can seat six people around a dinette. It also has a push-button retractable stanchion to create an additional double bed.

Behind the windscreen is another dinette that's better again for doing waterfront dinners, as it has two separate stools and terrific views through the tinted windscreen.

As you step inside, you'll also find an entertainment centre with television and video, icemaker, wet bar and three drawers immediately to port.

Ahead of this is the lower helmstation which, like the second dinette, has a great view forward. Skipper and mate get to sit on a bench seat before a cute timber ship's wheel that's the nautical equivalent of what you might find in a Cadillac.

GALLEY, LAUNDRY, CABINS DOWN
Between the entertainment centre and the lower helm to port is a set-down galley. It's not so far removed from the saloon that you won't be able to strike up a conversation, but it is far enough removed so you're not looking at food all day.

Not that there is anything wrong with this galley. It has one-piece verdigris-coloured marble benchtops, lots of food-prep space, twin sinks, a water gauge where you can see it, plenty of timber drawers and pot storage, and appliances including a four-burner Bosch electric cooktop (needs a fiddle rail) and an overhead microwave.

There's a 140lt fridge and dishwasher, rubbish receptacle and organised storage for crockery and cutlery.

In superyacht fashion, a walk-in laundry and storage area runs off the galley. You need to duck, but once inside there's a Miele washer/dryer, ironing area, linen press, and heaps of lockers and shelves for victuals and tools.

Accommodation comes via three cabins, yet unlike some boats of this length, none of them are cramped. The first guests' cabin to port, down five steps from the saloon, has twin single berths. Covered in blue and camel striped bedspreads, with blue and gold pillows, these berths felt big enough for a line-out jumper to sleep on.

The hanging locker has a soft-touch liner, which is also used to create a nice nautical panel effect on the walls. There's a shelf for storage, lots of headroom, an opening porthole, designer reading lights and flush light switches. The door is oval or ship-like and the door handles and catches are stylish and rattleproof.

Across the other side, the master guests' cabin has a double berth with a full wardrobe and hanging locker, plus two more lockers, so guests can swing a month's worth of clobber and accompany you on that big trip north. The day head, shared by the guests' cabins, runs off the companionway and includes a trick Grohe shower nozzle from the ceiling and a big sliding curtain so you can soap up and not make a mess.

Owners get to sleep on a big island double bed in the bow, flanked by recessed portholes with timber facias that provide a nautical feel. There is a separate stereo, his-and-hers hanging lockers, a safe, three drawers under the bed, mirrors and air-conditioning controls.

The owner's ensuite, with green marble vanity tops, includes a full shower with folding door. The nozzle is another trendy Grohe fitting which points out of the ceiling. A deep sink, towel rails, electric loo, and hooks for hanging bath robes make both bathrooms practical and pleasurable.

HARBOUR FLIER
While I may be drawing a long bow likening the Uniesse 48 Fly to a Cadillac Allante - the car was most popular as a convertible, not a hardtop - its handling is most 'Cadillacesque'. The well-proportioned hull has a surefooted, solid, glorious feel on the water, banking like a skater in graceful arcs that are inspirational.

The boat's twin MAN D2876LE40 700hp engines (only the second set of the new generation, all-electronic MANs to arrive in the country) were easy to command with fingertip-light Mathers electronic controls, which had less than one second delay.

After my drive, I sat in the shadow of a street light outside the restaurants on Woolloomooloo's trendy Finger Wharf. The Uniesse looked just great doing circuits in front of Orso, an Italian restaurant with Italian waiters, who glanced the boat's way.

But it was the owner of one of the upmarket apartments, who poked his head over the fence and asked for a closer look, who was captured by this boat's appeal. It has love at first sight lines, a sexy interior and handling that will court even the most experienced motor boaties who think they've seen it all before.

HIGHS

LOWS