Upon entering the CRN offices, in the port area of the Italian city of Ancona, in the Marche region, the land where Raphael was born, the feeling is that of being halfway between a Renaissance workshop and a sophisticated laboratory of design, planning and engineering. Between 3D models of luxury yachts and samples of fine interior fabrics, visiting the historic shipyard for its 60th anniversary offers a palpable glimpse of what it means to build bespoke boats.
CRN manufactures fully customized boats from 45 to 95 meters and its designers follow the client step by step, from the conception of the hull shape to the choice of pillowcases. "This is the most beautiful phase for the owners, because they can really imagine the boat of their dreams", explains Gabriele Piacenti, project architect who, between a Triathlon race and a business trip to Dubai, is in charge of many of the projects from the shipyard.
The Costruzioni e Riparazioni Navali (CRN) brand was born in Ancona in 1963 and since 1999 has been part of the Ferretti Group, a world leader in the design, construction and sale of luxury pleasure yachts. The firm currently has a fleet of 400 active boats in the world and is an example of Italian excellence, style and elegance, internationally known for creating unique works, in steel and aluminum, the result of the synthesis of different ideas, knowledge and professionalism, and with the aim of giving body to the wishes of the client.
The group's Super Yacht Yard extends over an area of more than 80,000 square meters to which a thousand workers go every day, including managers, engineers, architects, technicians and craftsmen. The shipyard is part of one of the most important ecosystems in Europe in the nautical sector, where it is possible to build up to fifteen yachts at a time. However, the job always starts with a blank slate and the task of the CRN team is to make the point guard's fantasies come true.
In this sense, the so-called over rendering, that is, the excess of high-profile but unrealistic projects, could have complicated things. In reality, according to Piacenti, "even if today nothing is impossible to achieve, and what seems so today probably will not be so tomorrow, our clients know very well the sea and the limits that must be respected." However, each new ship is a challenge that requires new solutions to overcome the limits imposed by space and materials, so much so that many of the innovations that CRN first introduced have now become industry standard.
Investigating how the client wants to experience their boat and enjoy their time on board leads to the creation of various concepts and proposals, up to the drafting of an initial general plan. From here on, the project begins to be defined and redefined, in ever greater detail, inch by inch, as it comes to life. This phase can last from a few months to more than a year and leads to the perfect synthesis of all the elements: hull, bow, stern, length, beam, draft, performance and peculiarities of the decks such as the volumes of the spaces, the design of the beach club, cinema, gym, spa area or tender bay.
A tailoring job that, according to Piacenti, makes luxury yachting "the last true area of patronage", since it is made up of projects completely open to innovation, both functional and aesthetic, and where "there is always something that is not had done before"; they are design and production adventures involving all the arts and professions. Along the way, the owner is provided with 1:10 scale drawings of each room, and three-dimensional models of individual portions are built, in some cases even miniatures of beds and other furniture are made.
For the actual construction phase, the hull arrives at CRN's shipyard in pre-assembled blocks to be modeled by the workers who fan the nine decked ships. Inside, fit-out work and on-board systems are carried out, while the hull undergoes a painstaking caulking and painting process that can take several months to achieve perfection.
Finally, the carpentry enters the scene, which is responsible for dividing and building the various rooms and internal spaces. Thanks to these specialized craftsmen, an amazing level of customization and flexibility is achieved, allowing for all the changes that the client will require during the construction phase.
In fact, styles, materials, colors, fabrics, finishes, everything can be customized, and always with the best suppliers. Among them is a true heir to Italian Renaissance art: Guglielmo Jencinella, known as Mino, is an elegant man who eschews the definition of an artist: "I am a craftsman, or rather an upholsterer."
Mino has been producing high-quality upholstery in his workshop-laboratory in Jesi, near Ancona, since 1975, and his creativity has found the ideal showcase in luxury yachting. "Value is in the hands" is the motto of the master, whose work is supported by a team of faithful and enthusiastic disciples, including Maria Silvia, for whom "luxury should surround you, you should feel it on the walls" and " when a client wants to be daring, everything is more fun for us”.
In these lands, art is a vocation that only the modesty of the artisan tradition forces us not to declare, but it is also a project: in fact, CRN works with world-renowned artists and designers who decorate the interiors of yachts with their works, embellished with precious woods and marbles or handmade wallpaper. However, these masterpieces are not untouchable museum pieces, but real houseboats that, no matter how precious and delicate their finishes, are designed to be fully available to families, children and even dogs and cats.
The last stages before the yacht is handed over to its owner are the launching in the shipyard's private port and the subsequent testing phases. Art takes time, although "often the client shows up at the launch directly with their suitcases, ready to test their toy in the open sea," says Piacenti.
However, in the months after entering the water, the boat is put through a series of scrupulous tests where the shipyard, together with external technicians, certifies and verifies that every aspect of the work reflects the required standards of excellence. “All yachts have some small problem, because they are unique pieces, but we make sure that they have as few as possible and we carry out monitoring throughout the life of the boat”, explains the architect.
When the journey, which began with a confused idea and a blank sheet, comes to an end, from being a simple client, the owner has become a true co-author: what he imagined has materialized into a unique and exclusive masterpiece. , with the unmistakable signature of a naval boutique; better, from the workshop of a Master.
