Vismara VXR5 – Now Launched

The brand new Vismara VXR5 saw the water for the first time earlier in July. Il Gionarle della Vela magazine was in Viareggio to see this innovative new yacht touch the water and report on what makes her so very special.

Have you always dreamed of a boat that lurches upwind less than the others, totally self-sufficient from an energy point of view, which you can use all year round because even the cockpit becomes a cabin when it’s cold? Just a dream… there is no absolute boat to live like, rather better than at home. We visited it.

It is called VXR5, is 15.50 m long and has just been launched by the Vismara shipyard.

Living comfortably without giving up sailing

It was born from the union between Alessandro Vismara and Marco Marioni with his wife. It is difficult to find such competent and passionate people, but above all able to create an object that, concretely, meets the needs of those who want a boat with all the requirements to always navigate and live on board, with all the comforts. But without giving up the pleasures of sailing.

Yes, because, usually, if the boat is too comfortable it is not good for sailing and vice versa. If you prefer sailing, it is more uncomfortable. Vismara and Marioni seem to have reached the right compromise. And now we explain how they managed to achieve an apparently irreconcilable result.

There is no longer internal and external on the Vismara VXR5

The project revolves around a boat born in 2015, the V50 Dragon, which had, ahead of its time, some features that are only now gaining ground.

The first innovation is that the cockpit and the interior are on the same level. To understand this, there is no need for the descent ladder.

Of course, the cockpit is very deep. But this solution allows you to have on your head, without looking like a disgrace, a real fixed roof (the T-Top in jargon) that covers the entire cockpit.

It seems irrelevant, but this solution “enlarges” the convivial area of ​​the boat, with an inside / outside solution that no longer exists.

In addition, a structure such as the T-Top allows you to completely close the cockpit area with transparent covers, so as to enjoy this nerve center of the boat in bad weather and / or cold, both during navigation and in port. All the year.

Because this boat swerves less

Why does the Vismara VXR5 swerve less than other boats? The secret is a very ingenious system in its simplicity. If you look at the numbers of the boat, you will be amazed at the 1,300 liters of water that can be loaded. It is not just a question of water autonomy. Two water tanks are installed on the two sides in the center of the boat, in addition to the usual central one. When you are skidding with a simple water pump you move the fresh water upwind. And obviously the water drains onto the leeward side. Straightening increases substantially. It’s obvious. The water that drains into the sea is not a problem. The Vismara VXR5 has a powerful state-of-the-art desalinator that allows you to always manage fresh water, without ever having to attach to the column to refuel. There is another trick that makes this boat unique. When you are at anchor and there is a bit of ondina that makes you dance, fill the entire load with 1,300 kg of water and the boat sinks just enough to make it much less susceptible to rolling.

Because it is a real sailboat

Okay, but a houseboat so conceived will suffer from poor sailing performance. No, because, like all Vismaras, it is built in glass/carbon sandwich, and the interiors are built without any counter-molds and contribute to the rigidity of the structure. The mast is, of course, also made of carbon.

And if you take a look at the hull lines above, you will immediately realize that the design is that of a high-performance boat, with flat and full lines in the stern as if it were a racing boat.

The result (even if we haven’t tried it) is a sailboat that walks strong, thanks also to a keel blade with a well-ballasted torpedo that also allows you to reduce the draft to just 2.50 meters without penalizing too much the performance. The advantage of lightness (displacement 13,000 kg) is not only for sailing but also when sailing by motor.

Other geniuses of the Vismara VXR5

And here’s the other genius. Taking advantage of the maximum width (4.30 m), which reaches as far as the stern, Vismara and the Marioni couple have equipped the Vismara VXR5 with two engines and relative sail drives. Double advantage. A unique maneuverability that allows you not to use the bow thruster and in addition the security of having two motors as well as two 12v and two 24v alternators.

Vismara and the Marioni have also solved another problem, that of antifouling, always taking advantage of the innovation available on the market. The Vismara VXR5 has a Slips Dophin silicone antifouling that guarantees 5 years of unaltered performance. Just give it a clean because it does not attack algae and animals.

Energy independence that is not seen

And we come to energy independence, another essential point for a boat that is born to sail, if necessary, without touching the ground for very long periods. Do you remember the T Top roof of the cockpit? Here are installed 1.4 kw solar panels, absolutely invisible because they are painted in the same color. And therefore they eliminate the unsightly effect of solar panels.

Sail at night and see where you put your feet

Another simple but brilliant idea of ​​the VXR5. Sailing at night without seeing if you go to the bow where you put your feet. A nuisance when you have to use flashlights on your head. But here the problem has been solved with technology. The blanket is covered in white synthetic material with fluorescent rubber.

Finally! Almost traditional interior

Another innovative solution. The swivel table in the dinette has three functions: it functions as a dining room for 6/8 seats, it is reduced to a compact size and has the classic anti-roll edge which also functions as a correspondence. If you open it and lower it to the level of the sofa seat, it turns into a double bed.

And finally, finally, something classic. The interior layout. Starting from the bow. the large master cabin with double bed, double wardrobe and private bathroom with shower. Continue towards the stern and on the sides of the corridor there are two cabins, one with bunk beds and the other with a double bed. Immediately after a large bathroom with shower.

In the living room overlooking the cockpit: on the left C-shaped sofa with the magical table and on the right the kitchen consisting of tilting gas burners, double sink, two fridges plus a freezer, oven, large countertop and chart table outside. angle towards the bow for internal wheelhouse use.

Perhaps it is true, we are moving towards the absolute boat to live in it as and better than in a house.

Reproduced and translated from Il Giornale della Vela magazine.

Please contact Grabau International for more detail on this exciting new addition to the Vismara fleet.