Now here’s a way to arrive in style. No more pulling up to the dock in your aging RIB or your well-used dink, the one with the scuff marks on the hull. Instead, consider the still-being-built limousine tender by Wooden Boats in its yard in Viareggio, Italy.
In this case, style is king. Indeed, Marco Arnaboldi, the Wooden Boats founder and designer, says he was inspired by Fellini’s iconic 1960-era film, La Dolce Vita, as well as by “the timeless design of the runabouts of the time.” The film, he said, celebrates Italian style and beauty.
The boat, named Limo Blue, has a fiberglass hull with reinforced carbon composite, and a deep-V hull for offshore work. It’s powered by a single 270-hp Mercury sterndrive, with a cruising speed of 30 knots and a top speed of 35 knots.
At 25 knots, it has a range of 100 nm, meaning it could venture 50 nm from the mothership to explore remote island beaches before having to turn back. It also has a hull draft of less than two feet, so it can safely navigate through any shallows along the way.
Wooden Boats
The interiors of Wooden Boats’ new tender can be customized, but Limo Blue has an open helm station with two seats forward, then two long sofas that can seat 10 passengers in the deckhouse, and two more seats, or convertible sun pads, aft.
It also has some nice touches, including a wine locker, LED lighting, USB outlets, and air conditioning. The entire deckhouse lowers to the height of the gunwale (5’ 2”) so it can be stored in the garage of the mothership.
Specs.: LOA: 27’2”; Beam: 8’6”; Draft (hull): 1’11”; Disp.: 5,900 lbs.; Fuel:39 gals.; Water: 18 gals,.; Power: 1×270-hp Mercury sterndrive. Read more:
