Pardo GT75 Yacht Review

When I stepped aboard Pardo’s new GT75 at the Cannes Yachting Festival with a posse of fellow marine journalists, a company rep in the cockpit described the yacht as “a luxury villa at sea.” Hyperbolic prose? Sure. But actually, it didn’t take long to conclude that this description of the Italian builder’s new flagship was essentially spot on. She’s sleek, modern, Italian, comfortable—and very pretty.

The GT75 is now the most substantial yacht in what is now a seven-boat lineup for the Cantieri del Pardo shipyard. Headquartered in Foli, Italy, Cantieri del Pardo got its start in 1973 with sailboats—and is particularly known for its super high-end Grand Soleil line. Since 1973, they’ve floated over 5000 of these wind-driven hulls. “Everybody involved in the company are pretty much sailors,” said Roc Babarovic, Pardo’s longtime business development manager. “I started out sailing. (Marketing manager) Veronica Bottasini was sailing when she was little. Our COO (Vincenzo Candela)—he’s a sailor. The only brain behind marketing that has been bringing so much freshness to the company, Fabio Lazzari, has not been involved in sailing. Which is probably a good recipe to bring some diversity into the approach.”

But, said Babarovic, there was a realization that sailboats were simply a sales-limited part of the yachting market (actually, like nine percent). Back in 2016, the company saw a power opening in the rapidly evolving walkaround dayboat segment—then dominated by Wally and Fjord. And in 2017, they launched the 43—an elegant, angular and muscular two-stateroom dayboat that could be optioned with twin 435-horsepower Volvo Penta IPS drives. Since that time, Pardo has been on a roll. Today their 250-build power portfolio bears three lines spread across seven yachts ranging in size from 38 to 75 feet; the open Walkaround series and the enclosed Endurance and GT lines. Today, the GT75 is not only the yard’s newest boat, but its flagship. Though she’s a production vessel, she’s also quite customizable. Depending on your need for belowdecks entertaining and galley space, she can be built with two to four staterooms on her lower level—and a galley either up, or down.

From dockside, there’s no mistaking the GT75 for anything but a Pardo-built performance luxury entertainer. She’s characteristically angular, with a reverse-raked bow that features a beautiful, curved swath of stainless out front that’s both accent and functional wave slicer. Her gunwales are fairly flat until you’re astern, where they plunge down to the beach platform at a stairwell-parallelling 45 degrees. Her black hardtop bears a forward-raked, spray-shedding windshield. Removable wire and carbon-fiber railings all around will keep passengers and crew on board when navigating rougher waters.

At the stern, the beach platform rises just above the waterline, and is a perfect spot to unfurl a couple of starboard and port lounge chairs to watch the kids swim. In the center of that platform, a swim platform with retractable stairs can be submerged for swimming or raised to serve as a wide passerelle. Just above, a huge platform-served garage will hold a 12-foot tender.

Five steps above the beach platform, you’ll find a 70-square-foot sunpad with rearward-angled backrests. I reckon eight or nine people (Pardo says 10) could actually fit on it—and that doesn’t even include an equally ample C-shaped seating area between the sunpad and the cockpit. The arrangement is partially roof-covered—and entirely bimini-covered should the sun seriously blaze. The seating area can even be optioned with a lowering, folding table to make the sunpad at least a third bigger still. Off either side, those down-angled gunwales become fold-down terraces that increase the stern beam to over 20 feet. This is a boat built for serious hosting—especially when you consider a bow sunpad and U-shaped lounge/dinette that could comfortably hold, oh, another eight to 10.

The GT75 can be spec’d with a topside starboard galley, but the twin-cabin model I was aboard instead features a galley below, creating even more entertaining space inside her thoroughly modern salon. Ahead of the massive sliding rear doors, vertical windows reveal an amply-lit, tidily-designed interior. Wood floors and trim are varnished in a warming honey tint. An L-shaped couch is served by another elevating, fold-out table to create either a dining area or lounge. The TV folds down from the ceiling, where it can even be viewed in the cockpit. There’s beautiful glass cabinetry above to starboard and port, and a full-service wet bar right behind the helm. Two sturdy full-sized doors open to the wide walkways to both starboard and port just off the helm, too. and overhead, a louvered skylight brings in plenty of air and sky. Another skylight above the helm will dramatically enhance airflow underway. With all the doors, windows and roof vents open, this is actually among the most open “closed” boats I’ve ever seen in this size category.

At the slightly elevated helm, the captain sits right in the center of three chairs in front of a fully adjustable steering wheel. Sightlines are excellent all around—and are only further aided with Garmin’s Surround View camera system.

While cramped but functional en suite two-bed crew quarters are accessed from a separate bow hatch ladder, the main living areas are reached via a far more civilized starboard stairwell. In this twin-cabin version, the lower entertaining area was, again, vast. The galley runs fore to aft and features a full-sized fridge/freezer, a double sink and a center island to keep the chef stable underway and in communication with the eight or nine guests who could sit opposite the galley on the C-shaped dinette. A dedicated dayhead sits right off the galley to port. The forward stateroom is a full-beam VIP, served by an en suite, bidet-equpped head. The full-beam master sits opposite the galley astern with a bidet-equipped head also en suite, and like the forward cabin, the walls above the beds feature striking, asymetrical panels and the same backlit glass-paneled shelves found abovedecks. The overall effect is soothing and very chic.

Propulsion-wise, the GT75 is no slouch. She can be configured either with a trio of 800-horsepower Volvo Penta IPS 1050s or 1000-horsepower IPS 1350s. The builder is claiming a 35-knot top end. “GT” is a common moniker for “Grand Tour” and in this case, it’s an apt moniker. With a 1,080-gallon fuel tank and a 290-gallon water tank, she’ll be capable of extended (1000 NM at slow cruise speeds, better than 300 in the upper 20s)—and speedy—grand tours between scenic backdrops in the Med or the Caribbean.

So is she really a “villa on the sea” Indeed. Lots of people who can afford a boat like this tend to opt for hotels while in port. With the GT75, they may well instead opt for their floating villa.

Pardo GT75 Specifications:

LOA: 74’11”
Displ: 106,483 lb.
Beam: 19’8”
Draft: 5’5”
Fuel: 1080 gal.
Water: 290 gal.
Power: 3/800-hp Volvo Penta D13 IPS1050 or 3/1,000-hp, IPS1350

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Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/cruisers/pardo-gt75-yacht-review