Drawing No. 84 by Carlo Sciarrelli, ITALIA was designed and built by Cantiere Craglietto of Trieste in 1981 as a pure, fast, elegant and sober cruising boat. It is heavily sailed, has few berths and a perfectly usable interior when sailing. It is a traditional boat with a high level of finish, with no features peculiar to a specific period, such as a plumb or clipper bow, no decorative motifs, and no rails on deck. She has a marconi mast but in wood, tiller rudder. In varnished wood, mahogany and teak, Sciarrelli described her as a boat that is yacht and boat at the same time, from all eras.
She has a cutter rig with a single set of spreaders, quartered low shrouds, and a bomber rigging.
ITALIA is registered with the Trieste Harbour Master's Office with registration number TS 1941 D.
History
Carlo Sciarrelli was awarded an honorary degree in Architecture by the University of Venice in 2003. The motivation reads: "His creations have brought naval architecture design closer to the threshold of art".
During the lectio magistralis he gave on that occasion, Sciarrelli presented the designs of ITALIA saying: "This is one of the most beautiful I have done". And in his well-known book Lo Yacht, Origine ed evoluzione del veliero da diporto, published by Mursia, in which ITALIA drawings appear, Carlo Sciarrelli writes on page 415: "The last boat I present is something else. It stems from the statement in this book "in my opinion, Dyarchy (*) is the most beautiful cruising boat still afloat'. Well, the client asked me for a boat of that type, and more beautiful than Dyarchy".
ITALIA was built in only one example and its model is kept in the Museo del Mare in Trieste.
The boat, as is to be expected given Carlo Sciarrelli's design inspiration, immediately revealed herself to be extremely well balanced, powerful and fast, especially in strong winds and seas, balanced and gentle to steer, manoeuvrable even in light breezes, comfortably habitable both at sea and in port.
Sciarrelli recognised one of his teachers, perhaps the main one, in Bruno Veronese, one of the proponents of the metacentroid hull theory, which he applied in the design of cruising boats.
(*) Laurent Giles, 1939
Construction and Interior
The construction is classical, planking courses of kaja mahogany on steam-curved acacia frames. The planks are copper riveted and not caulked, but glued. It is extremely solid: the planking is 28 mm and the battens every 20 cm, and the stringers are galvanised steel. Originally, the deadrise was clear-coated and the deck was teak. The deck was redone in 2014 in ivory-painted plywood and it was decided to forgo flatting on the sides in 2017, when they were enamelled in Awlgrip's oyster white shade.
The superstructures, gunwale, gunwale and masting (such as the curved gangway and swim ladder) are painted cuprous. The deck, redone in 2014, is made of plywood.
Interiors, superstructures, cockpit bulwarks, deckhouse and skylights are solid mahogany.
NTERIOR
6 berths in 3 cabins.
Entering, to starboard, large chart table with hold-down belt, chart pouch, bookshelves, instruments, electric panel and waxed wardrobe; below table, refrigerator and drawers.
To port, full galley with retaining belt, cabinets, drawers, lockers, sink with hot and cold water mixer tap, and with seawater tap, both electrically and foot operated; oven and gas cooker.
Saloon: two sofas and two high berths with anti-roll sheets, table, lockers.
Bathroom with two entrances, from saloon and master cabin, with washbasin, shower, electric and foot operated, hot water, Baby Blake toilet, mirror and lockers.
Master cabin with two bunks with anti-roll sheets, hanging wardrobe, bedside table, chest of drawers, settee with a locker under the seat, bookcase, cupboards.
Behind a bulkhead with no openings is the forward cabin/cabin - sailor's cabin at the time of the first two owners - with access from the deck, with two bunks, sink, chain well, ample stowage space. Only one berth and toilet appeared in the plan, but this was never installed.
All the interiors are varnished flatting and ivory paint.
Equipments
MACHINERY
Yanmar 4JH5E diesel 53 Hp Installed new in 2016. Engine hours 819.
Indirect cooling (heat exchanger).
Max Prop three-bladed propeller.
Stainless steel fuel tank 350 litres.
Cruising speed at 2,100 rpm over 6.5 Kt, at 2,300 rpm over 7 Kt
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
- 6 x 110 Ah batteries
- Alternator on engine
- 220 V battery charger
- Electrical panel with circuit breakers
- Deck and tricolour masthead lights, deck lighting, instruments
- Autoclave
- Boiler (220 V current or engine heat exchanger)
- Refrigerator
FRESH WATER
- 2 stainless steel tanks totalling 600 litres
- Water pessure for cold and hot water in kitchen and bathroom
- All taps are also powered by foot pumps
- Shower with hot water in bathroom and cold water in bow toilet
- 20 litre boiler connected to the engine or 220 volt mains
- Waste water tank with automatic drain
INSTRUMENTS
- Cassens & Plath binnacle course compass
- Sailor vhf
- Furuno Gps
- Furuno Radar
- Navtex Furuno
- Echo sounder
- Log
- Windex
- Raymarine tiller-mounted autopilot with control unit in a cockpit locker
SAFETY
- 2 electric bilge pumps, one of which is automatic directly connected to the batteries without going through the electrical panel
- Manual bilge pump operated by helmsman
- Equipment within 50 miles for 8 people
- Arimar raft unlimited from the coast for 8 people
- Two horseshoe lifebuoys with light buoy and floating line
- 4 safety belts
- Safety World jack-lines
ANCHOR
- Lofrans 1000 Watt horizontal electric anchor winch
- 75 m 10 mm chain
- Various thick cables and chain sections
- Anchors: Spade anchor 35 kg, Delta 25 kg, Anchor 10 kg
RIG
Cutter Rigging with a single row of spreaders, quartered shrouds, bow thruster.
SAILS
Sail area sqm 116.30
5 bags of sails, all in cream colour:
- Mainsail Olimpic two reefs high, as per Sciarrelli's plans, sqm 52.00 gr 350/sqm
- Yankee Olimpic sqm 50.00 gr 325/sqm
- Foresail Olimpic sqm 14.30 gr 350/sqm
- Flying jib new BeSails sqm 14.50 gr 350/sqm
- Gennaker with Hood sock
- Hood furler for the yankee with new 8 mm line
- Small jib made of heavy fabric and cut flat to be strung on the backstay to hold the bow in the wind at anchor in the event of a swinging motion
WINCH
In the cockpit:
- 2 for yankee sheets
On the mast:
- 1 for mainsail halyard
- 1 for yankee halyard
- 1 for foresail halyard
- 1 for mainsail reef
On the boom: 2 old type
OTHER
- National flag pole at stern
- Varnished mahogany ladder from the water
- Clear-coated arched wooden gangway
- Cockpit cushions
- Fenders: 6 cylindrical and 2 round, all with cream-coloured soft wing covers
- Hatch covers
- Sprayhood
- 3 awnings
- Complete companionway
- Pioneer stereo with four speakers, two in master cabin, two in saloon
- Seawater hose in bow with electric pump for washing chain and deck
- Seawater faucet in galley with electric and foot pump