The brand focuses on design and style to offer the best quality of living onboard.

Performance, design and elegance thus become the ethos of the whole range because each Italia Yacht is conceived to be contemporary, fast, safe and reliable, comfortable and spacious, fun to sail, for both cruising and racing enthusiasts.

In the design of Italia Yachts 16.98 the tradition of the great ocean going fast cruisers is reborn and updated with the latest hydrodynamics. Italia Yachts 16.98 is a very blue water, conceived to cruise long distances, combining performance, comfort and timeless style, with the guarantee of safe arrival even under the harshest conditions. The Italia Yachts 16.98 is a complete all-round boat with the performance you would expect from a fast cruiser. Seagoing boat behaviour, yet classic and original lines. The result is a yacht to sail easily, even with family crew in which to enjoy long cruises and all that a sailing cruiser can offer.

The deck layout is reminiscent of a maxi-yacht. This allows expansive areas free from equipment: a separate cockpit area, side decks and large areas for sunbathing. All the equipment is of the highest quality, starting from the winches for jib and mainsail trim which are perfectly sized. All winches can be electrically powered. On the coachroof there are tracks for the jib sheets inclusive of travellers, and 14 clutches and relative deck organizers are installed on the deck plan. All pushpits and stanchions are made in stainless steel and side gates are installed on both sides of the boat.

The large teak cockpit is divided into three areas. The forward part is dedicated to the guests, and completely free from equipment. The benches are served by a large table with folding wings, protected by a dodger. Under the benches there are two deep lockers for equipment. In line with the helms, the cockpit floor is lowered; the maneuvering area is concentrated close to the wheels, with ergonomics that allows the helmsman to control the whole boat independently using the four winches. Behind the helms a flat and clear surface can be fully allocated to a sunbathing area, in direct connection with the sea. Under the cockpit floor there is a large storage compartment to store equipment and facilities, while on one side there is a liferaft locker.

The coachroof design characterizes the boat, and strongly represents the signature of the yard. The distinctive portholes design is further emphasized by the presence of different levels that give movement to the whole profile. The grid on the coaming provides a touch of exclusivity, hiding other portholes.

The coachroof is conceived to allow the storage of the dodger and all of the lines, which run recessed up to the winches. The central area of the coachroof is perfect for sunbathing; on each side there are the jib tracks, with adjustments sent back to the cockpit, for optimal line angles.

The numerous hatches are all flush to the deck. The anchoring system provides a windlass for an anchor housed on a steel bow roller. The slightly angled bow benefits the anchoring operation. A bowsprit can be supplied as well as a pivoting system that hides the whole anchor arm. The through deck furler and foldable mooring cleats emphasize the tidiness of the whole area.

Construction and details. The hull and deck enjoy the structural rigidity and weight advantages of construction in foam sandwich with biaxial and unidirectional fiberglass and vinyl-ester resin. The central part of the hull is in solid laminate, to support the areas with the greatest load. In the central area the structure is composed of a grid of galvanized steel, to resist the high loads of the keel, shrouds and mast, and also allow a greater capacity of the fuel and water tanks, all seated in this lower and central zone. All bulkheads are laminated to hull and deck. There is a watertight bulkhead between the anchor and sail locker and the crew cabin.

Various solutions and mood-boards are available for interior customization. The layout includes three cabins and three bathrooms plus an accommodation crew at the bow complete with services.

The styling, clean and linear, is based on coated surfaces in natural wood, alternating with white lacquered parts, in order to ensure optimum brightness while maintaining a warm and cozy atmosphere.

The detailed elements include the use of polished steel. Numerous handholds and the spaces between the furniture, never too large, together with the total absence of sharp edges, allow to move in total safety even when sailing with high heeling angles.

The shipyard allows customizations of furniture, materials, finishes and layouts.

Every Italia Yachts 16.98 detail represents the exceptional build quality of the boat, with the use of materials of excellence and careful craft finishes. Every team member contributes to the design bringing their own experience. This brings product development to unrivaled harmony of hull design and sail plan. The stern section is drawn to limit the wetted area, making for an easy motion forward of the mast counteracting the usual tendency of the bow to dig deep into waves.

Italia Yachts is committed to design and create lighter and stiffer boats to get maximum performance.

That is why the IY 16.98 hull and deck are built in foam sandwich with a PVC core, in variable density for different areas, and the skin in fiberglass.

With a 19/20 rig and three spreaders 20 degrees angled, the sail plan represents a balance between performance, stability and ease of handling, even downwind, typical of long ocean crossings. The naval architecture suffers no limit dictated by the interior. In fact, the aft position of the mast greatly enhances the bow length (J=6.40 m), which, offers a generous foretriangle to ensure optimum power in rough seas and to arm a big Code Zero or generous downwind sails; in addition the sail plan was designed to enable an efficient staysail

The standard version is provided with an aluminum boom and three spreaders mast by John Mast, with discontinuous rod rigging and closed turnbuckles. Upon request, a carbon mast and boom solution is available. The furling drum recessed below deck is manual with the ability to divert to the halyards winch. Electrification is optional. All the running rigging is made with ropes made of Dyneema® cores.

Italia Yachts 16.98 is proposed with various versions of the keel, in order to satisfy the different ways to use the boat. The standard version, for those who want maximum performance or have no draft limitations, provides a 2.90 m T-shaped keel, with Weldox 700 steel blade and a lead torpedo. There is an L-shaped keel for shallow draft. The rudder has a standard high aspect ratio and it is 2.50 meters deep.