De Antonio D50 Coupe Yacht Review
I’m not the first person to be duped by the De Antonio D50 Coupe. The first time I saw her from a dock in Fort Lauderdale, I assumed the day yacht had a pair of brawny sterndrives under the big sunbed at the transom. But then I stepped aboard the new flagship from this Spanish builder. Somebody pushed a button near the helm, and that four-person sunbed rose up on an electric hatch to reveal four white Mercury Verado 300-horsepower outboards.
“That engine hatch and enclosure that surrounds the outboards makes the De Antonio unique,” said Lucas Hackathorne of Nautical Ventures, the U.S. distributor for the brand. “It gives the boat the look of a sterndrive vessel, and that’s appealing to many people, particularly those who want a full swim platform. And yet the boat offers the performance of an outboard. Plus, because the outboards are protected by the enclosure, they require less maintenance, particularly in a place like South Florida, where saltwater can be harsh on engines.”
De Antonio calls the feature an “engine chest” and it’s available on most models in its line of production powerboats that ranges from 28 to 50 feet. (The feature is not on the builder’s E 23 catamaran, which premiered on the world stage in August as the official electric boat of the 37th edition of the America’s Cup.) The company—founded in 2012 and now operating from its headquarters in Barcelona—says the engine chest is just one example of how De Antonio brings new ideas to boating.
Another cool idea: The sunbed’s backrest tilts up to reveal a deep compartment sized for an 8-foot tender and electric outboard. The inflatable sits on its side and is lifted with a manual crane. There’s a separate mount for the motor, along with a charging receptacle. It’s a nice arrangement, but if the owner doesn’t want an inflatable, the space functions as stowage.
The element that attracted the most attention from passersby on the day I saw the D50 Coupe was at the foredeck. There, in the space where you typically find a sunpad, was a soaking pool. This human livewell was created with acrylic glass laid over the fiberglass deck and framed by stainless steel. To fill the pool, press a button to engage the intake system. Water is pumped in from wherever the boat is anchored. Adults can cool down here or kids can splash around to their heart’s content. When it’s time to raise anchor and go, press the button again to drain the water. Hackathorne says this option could add another $30,000 to the base price of the boat. If you go with the jacuzzi, that’s another $5,000.
The D50 Coupe is a new model in the growing day-yacht market. More boat owners, it seems, are hankering for long, open luxury boats. They want to run them over to a sandbar for the day or cruise up the ICW for dinner at a dock and dine. Consumer demand for day yachts was behind De Antonio’s decision to launch its D50 Open in late 2022. The D50 Coupe strongly resembles that model. The major difference? It has a full helm deck enclosure, which can make it more comfortable to get out on the water in less-than-perfect weather.
The D50 is a day yacht at heart, but it can do weekends. The standard layout on the accommodations level includes a head and two cabins. Even belowdecks, De Antonio brings a fresh perspective. To wit: The amidships cabin with U-shaped lounge and ottoman is a great space for entertaining, but when it’s time for lights out, the ottoman slides up against the lounge to create a queen berth. “Other boats offer just a standard sleeper in that space,” said Hackathorne. “Here, you can go down and hang with friends in air conditioning and enjoy the stereo system. It’s an extra social space. You can do more than just sleep here.”
The accommodations are roomy, in large part because the D50 is built on a deep hull with tall, straight sides and an aggressive axe bow. The hull gives the De Antonio that European look that’s really captured boaters attention around the world in recent years. In addition to salty lines, the hull should offer reliable offshore performance. I wasn’t able to sea trial the Coupe, but the builder says she takes waves well, as the axe bow is built to move water off to the sides when pushing through waves. The hull is also stepped, for better performance.
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At anchor, the wide beam should create good stability. “I often tell people you don’t need a Seakeeper on this boat, because it’s so stable,” said Hackathorne. “Even when you get on the boat from the dock, it won’t dip from side to side.”
The D50 Coupe can be ordered with two, three or four Mercury outboards, up to 1,600 hp max. In performance tests conducted by the builder on a boat with twin 600s, the boat ran 48 knots at top end and cruised near 30 knots. At cruise it burns 40 gph and returns 1.17 mpg. Note, when the motors are off and the drives are trimmed up, the tip of the drives remain in the water due to the engine chest, but just slightly. And when engines are trimmed up, they won’t have any effect on the sunpad—it can be used when engines are set at any trim level.
The D50 Coupe I saw in Fort Lauderdale was priced close to $1.3 million, and it had a slew of options—everything from a hydraulic swim platform to a generator, a joystick piloting system and fiery orange upholstery that played well against the cool gray hull. Said Hackathorne, “We can spec out the boat according to the owner’s needs, so he or she can make it their own.”
De Antonio D50 Coupe Specifications:
LOA: 48’ 8”
Beam: 14’ 4”
Draft: 2’ 3”
Displ.: 25,353 lb.
Fuel: 396 gal.
Water: 118 gal.
Power: 2/600-hp Mercury Verados
This article originally appeared in the October 2024 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
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Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/outboard/de-antonio-d50-coupe-yacht-review
