LOA: 43 feet • BEAM: 14 feet, 8 inches • DRAFT: unavailable • DISPLACEMENT: 18,078 pounds (without engines) • TANKAGE: 264 gallons fuel, 105 gallons water • POWER: triple 350-hp Mercury Verado outboards • PROJECTED SPEED: 48 knots top, 38 knots cruise (with optional quad 400-hp outboards) • BASE PRICE: approximately $357,684 • CONTACT: G-Marine, Fort Lauderdale, (305) 330-1025. gmyachts.com
Fans of Cubism rejoice: Your ship has come in. Designed by Valerio Rivellini, the Evo Center Console adheres to the builder’s notion of form following function, and does so with a hint of Cubism.
At first take, the designer’s renderings made me think of Picasso’s paintings from the early 20th century, in which disparate angular planes intersect to assemble a whole. They were revolutionary at the time, suggesting a completely new way the world might be depicted, without following the strict traditions of verisimilitude.
Of course, the Evo CC is a not a Cubist work of art, but the designer’s use of sharp edges and unadorned surfaces intersecting one another at aggressive angles certainly rings the same bells. To Rivellini’s credit, his hard, industrial shapes mingle more harmoniously — and are more easily understood — than the more confrontational elements of Cubist painting.
In plan view, the Evo CC is shaped like an elongated, uppercase Greek delta. Although few, if any, observers will see this boat from directly overhead, the delta shape is worth noting because it fits so well with, and enhances other elements of the design. If the plan view, especially at deck level, were to narrow gracefully on its journey from bow to stern and roll inward, the visual impact of this boat would suffer. Imagine grafting Aphrodite’s barrel stern to the Evo CC. Doesn’t work.
The Evo CC’s nearly plumb bow follows the current trend in powerboat styling. Even stately displacement cruisers sometimes wear such a bow, which extends the waterline length to increase top speed — but on a high-performance boat, it does nothing more than appear aggressive. On the Evo CC, the stem greets the water with a pronounced knuckle, which stays clear of the water at high speeds while reducing the risk of rooting at displacement speeds in following seas.
No self-respecting high-performance boat would stoop to having a springy sheer line, and Rivellini has drawn the requisite reverse sheer, which appears to be straight back to the windshield, and then gradually descends to the transom. This treatment is purely aesthetic and adds to the boat’s masculine allure.
Disguising the acres of freeboard is difficult on a boat of this type, because the topsides are nearly plumb, but the rising chine, long rectangular portlights and air scoop on each flank just abaft the helm cleverly distract us. From a functional point of view, the high freeboard provides a bulwark for the side decks and simplifies the Evo CC’s profile by hiding the trunk cabin forward of the helm.
Each element of this design reinforces every other. The windshield, instead of forming a single arc, has four facets. Facets also delineate the after end of the helm console, the forward end of the trunk cabin and T-top, the trailing end of the sun lounge on the afterdeck, and the outboard sections of the transom. All of these seen in plan view form a wonderfully intricate display of top-notch design.
We often talk about timelessness, especially in the staying power of classically styled boats, and their friendliness, but who will deny the lasting impression of Picasso’s paintings and sculpture, and the art of his followers? The Evo CC ought also to remain as fresh in 50 years as she is today.
This article originally appeared in the July 2018 issue.
