No boat catches the eye quite as quickly as a natural-wood vessel like the NOX SV. Or so we thought. The new Heritage 9.9 from Italian shipyard Castagnola Yacht blends its natural wood aesthetic with a glossy black hull shell that gives away its secret ingredient: carbon fiber. The “Wood in Tech Skin” construction is designed to bring together the performance of carbon fiber with the rich, timeless look of wood … and it catches the eye every bit as quickly as wood alone.
Castagnola Yacht chief Gabriele Maestri concocted the formula behind the 10-m (33-ft) Heritage 9.9, seeking to find just the right balance of grounded tradition and cutting-edge innovation. Enlisting the pens of Nauta Design and architectural services of Studio Names, Castagnola pursued Maestri’s vision with a build method it calls Wood in Tech Skin (WTS), essentially coating the outside of the wooden deep-V planing hull with a thin layer of epoxy-infused carbon fiber.
By leaving the wood exposed on the other side, life onboard is as warm and pure as Mother Nature intended. Castagnola spills a little of that warmth over the sides with the teak siding of the gunwale.
Castagnola promises that the WTS construction makes the Heritage much easier to maintain than a traditional wooden boat while providing light, agile performance on the water. The wood, meanwhile, absorbs sound so things remain quiet even at top speed.
Conceived as a limited-range weekend cruiser or superyacht chaser, the Heritage 9.9 houses a single cabin with bathroom below deck near the bow. The vessel can be specified as a hard top, but the open version shown boasts an airy deck with a pair of sun loungers just fore of the aft swimming platform. A lounge with wraparound vis-a-vis sofas and adjustable table merges seamlessly with the compact cockpit tucked below the sleek windscreen. There’s also a small galley with sink and cooktop.
To further enhance the classic wood looks, Castagnola declutters the wood dash panel, allowing it to serve as a natural canvas for an array of analog gauges. The larger digital screens and controls are housed below this panel.
The 6.5-ton Heritage 9.9 comes powered by a pair of 320-hp Yanmar engines equipped with pods. It cruises the water at 34 knots (63 km/h) and can hit speeds up to 40 knots (74 km/h). With its 500-L fuel tank, the Heritage journeys up to 160 nautical miles (296 km) at 30 knots (56 km/h).
Yacht brokerage Equinoxe International is handling Heritage 9.9 sales and lists the vessel at €590,000 (approx. US$717,000).
Stunning wood-carbon fiber yacht tender melds tech and tradition [New Atlas]