In the midst of constant doubt over the future, one thing is certain. Innovation, sustainability and – above all – design, continue to serve as industrial, linguistic and semantic guidelines for the world of boating. A new sense of measure has emerged; a state of harmony that shakes off the hyperbole of the not-so-distant past to focus on a formula that embraces both aestethics and ethics, producing a continuous flow of outstanding results. 2023 proved to be the best year ever for the Italian leisure boating sector, with a record of EUR 4 billion in exports, representing 15.9 percent growth over 2022, which had already seen excellent results. All this has been achieved in spite of a slowing of the Italian economy in general, and of exports in particular, due to multiple criticalities of a global nature.

This success is, according to the department of studies at Confindustria Nautica, due to a series of factors, first and foremost of which is Italy’s global leadership in superyacht production. Again, in this case, the numbers paint a clear picture: 600 yachts commissioned or under construction, for an overall linear total of 22,000 metres, representing an all-time record of 51.4 percent of orders. Turkey is in second place, with 132 yachts under construction for approximately 6,000 metres overall, followed by the Netherlands, with 80 yachts and almost 5,000 metres commissioned, and these are just the top three worldwide. From this perspective, the relationship between the worlds of yachting and furnishing is clear.

Today’s boats no longer represent an alternative to life on land, but rather a continuation, sought by people who want to live on board - either alone, with a partner or, above all, with family and friends – in the same manner and with the same spaces, materials and even comforts they enjoy at home. Having surpassed the marked difference between life at sea and at home, between informality and formality, boats – in particular at the higher levels – are seen as an extension of domestic and professional life, thus representing a bridge to further horizons of existence and well-being. The new wave in marine design encapsulates these demands, offering flexible and hybrid layouts, with spaces that are more fluid and thus better suited to life on board, particularly in terms of needs that were not previously considered and that could be defined as transversal, such as offices, gyms and spas. The byword continues to be regeneration, a concept closely related to sustainability but that is, once again, expressed through a human-centric form of design that allows the user to experience well-being wherever and whenever they want. 

Opening image: the Custom Line 38 sailing off the coast of Dubrovnik, Croatia. This displacement yacht is just one example of Italian excellence in the field of boating, particularly in the segment of vessels over the length of 24 metres, for which Italy alone produces 51.4 percent of boats on a global scale.