Pershing 108

The sea trial was pubblished in Superyacht 29 – Summer 2011

This Italian brand has recently presented its 108’ which is an interesting blend of elegance, functionality, and technology rolled into one smart product of reasonable size.

Let’s just remember: the nautical sector has been badly hit by the international recession, which was made worse given numerous mistakes made light heartedly by many yards, as well as collateral institutions ( laws dealing with credit policies) over the years.

These events scar, and more than a few are licking their wounds today. The selection was radical and inevitable, and just a handful managed to weather the storm with little affordable losses because they were solid enough, with top quality products that could genuinely face up to market requirements. And now however taking lower profits they can afford to launch new models sure of their client networks and sincerely interested buyers.

Such is the case for Pershing, being Gruppo Ferretti’s “sports” brand that has recently presented a 108’ which is ready for delivery as a yacht capable of satisfying market requirements and trends as well as riding gracefully over wave tops, while considering also the many features and class this boat of moderate size can proudly boast.

The classic Pershing look has been upgraded to better suit the 108’s overall length, the interior layout has been reorganized and is both rational and worthy of the brand it carries. On the technical side several innovative, brave, and successful solutions have been installed. First class media have appreciated it as much as the large group made up of members of the international press that were at the presentation which clearly shows the great promotional effort Pershing put into this as it wished to make the presentation of the new model coincide with a very important declaration: Pershing is very much on the market and is working at maximum capacity, as confirmed by our recent visit at their premises.

The crowded press conference was initiated by Norberto Ferretti with his usual flair and enthusiasm: “The completion of this new prestigious model makes me a proud man for the incessant team work put into this project with highly skilled and specialised personnel involved in a task that was both intense and thrilling”. Naval architect Fulvio De Simoni took the floor seconds later highlighting the strong interaction the project required of the men working on the technical aspects which was quite innovative for Andrea Frabetti technical engineer who’s responsible for the development of the products as he himself later reported. Nada Serafini, Brand Manager at Pershing concluded: “ We are proud in presenting the first hull of the much expected Pershing 108’ and we’re convinced this is to become one of the leading models of the range, thanks to the upgrading of technical aspects and to the highly personalized interior design work”.

We’re obviously looking at a state of the art boat, and not only for its layout and on board technology, but for its power house which has been split three ways for the first time so as to guarantee performance with a vigilant eye on environmental impact.

The standard version of the Pershing 108’ comes with three MTU 16V 2000M 94 L diesels with 2,638 mHP and thanks to three drive shafts and Arneson surface propellers, the boat has a top speed of more than 42 knots. The same boat can cruise in economy mode for more than 1000 nautical miles at 10 knots, on one engine only (the one at centre) thus substantially reducing fuel consumption.

Cruising this way the boat travels at low speed very quietly. When not fully laden the boat can plane on two engines alone and reaches interesting speeds which is a very useful asset should an engine fail momentarily. On board comfort has been rated as very high, with very low noise levels. The Pershing 108’ with an LOA of 32.90 m foresees 4 guest cabins and 3 for the crew. However the yard offers the choice of three different layouts with a view to create more versatile spaces according to clients’ wishes.

Reference was made to the general performance of the hull and engines with flattering results on the theme of fuel consumption in the course of the conference. Perhaps to prevent any objection concerning the realistic fuel quantity this kind of boat requires, it has been argued that finally this kind of boat is not conceived to cross oceans and, therefore the fuel used is per se limited due to the nature of the routes normally undertaken and the brief seasonal periods of use. What else, after all this too is a case in point.

For further information: Pershing

by Carlo Nicolini

The sea trial was pubblished in Superyacht 29 – Summer 2011