Ocean Alexander 35 Puro Reviewed

“I want to show you my favorite place,” superyacht designer Giorgio Cassetta says as we climb the stairs to the sky lounge aboard the Ocean Alexander 35 Puro.

With wide windows and wood soles reminiscent of the teak decks outside, the room is barefoot-elegant. Its centerpiece is a bar that is as much a sculpture as a service area, opposite a seating area and custom-made coffee table by Poltrona Frau in Italy. This is a level of luxury rarely seen on a 113-footer. Full-glass walls separate the sky lounge from the wheelhouse, with different degrees of opacity to suit the privacy preferences of the captain and guests.

There’s another reason this area aboard Cassetta’s first Ocean Alexander project makes him so proud. “She’s the only boat in her size in probably 15 years to have an upper-deck walk-around layout,” he says.

Full-beam bridge decks have been the default ever since maximizing volume became a priority to buyers, builders and designers. Yet between the yacht’s 24-foot beam and the creativity of Cassetta’s studio, the side decks neither encroach on the sky lounge nor sacrifice safe access. The trick is inboard-angled glass, just enough at shoulder height to lend the sense of more freedom of movement.

Altogether, the 35 Puro stands apart from not only the competition but also other Ocean Alexanders. It’s high on style and doing things differently to try and help Ocean Alexander break into new markets, yet the yacht remains rooted in the practicalities that have earned the builder loyal customers. “She needed to be an Ocean Alexander through and through, but she needed to be radically different in many ways,” Cassetta says.

One of the most evident is the decor. Hull No. 1—which premiered at the Palm Beach International Boat Show in March and sold over the summer—has the Nautique style. Cassetta chose warm-toned mahogany stained to look like teak, charcoal-stained oak accents, and white soles with stainless-steel strips (for the dining area) to create a contemporary vibe for European buyers while still appealing to American customers.

These tones and textures continue outside. That continuity is crucial, Cassetta says, given how global owners increasingly treat their yachts. “It’s not a hotel. It’s a home on the sea,” he says. “It needed to be classy, but absolutely welcoming.”

Also classy and welcoming: stairways. Designers and builders of smaller motoryachts tend to treat stairways as utilitarian features. Yes, they might be crafted of wood or have stone treads, but their design and engineering largely focus on connecting one deck to another. By contrast, the external stairs aboard the 35 Puro are the Cassetta studio’s “stairway to heaven,” a hallmark of its larger superyacht designs.

Owners and guests can stand at the base of the steps on the main deck and see straight into the sky two decks up thanks to floating treads. The internal stairway from the guest staterooms to the sky lounge has an atriumlike effect, more open than is typical for a yacht this size. Similar to the stairway to heaven, owners and guests can stand on the lowest deck and see straight up to the yacht’s sky lounge.

Something large-yacht owners increasingly seek is flexible space, especially outside, where all-day living is a priority. The 35 Puro’s bow lounge has convertible configurations. For a front-row seat underway, there’s a U-shaped settee and table nestled against the wheelhouse, with a sun pad a few feet forward. For sunbathing, the sun pad slides aft over the table (via tracks) and fills in the settee, transforming it into an even larger sun pad. Another option is to fill up the hot tub, otherwise concealed beneath the forward sun pad. Or keep the U-shaped settee, but move the table halfway toward the hot tub and settle the small sun pad atop it. Now you have seating, sunning and soaking spaces.

Even with all the marked differences, the Ocean Alexander 35 Puro remains true to shipyard tradition. There’s well-planned stowage throughout, especially in the galley, which includes a 100-bottle wine refrigerator. A wet bar is on the main deck aft, at the salon’s entry. Deck crew can access foredeck gear without guests getting underfoot.

“Every passageway, every storage area, everything was optimized,” Cassetta says. “But that doesn’t mean it’s as large as possible. Everything needs to be the right size.”

He points to the custom dining table, explaining how ratios account for dish size. “Everything was really built in detail, down to this level of OCD,” he says.

Whether OCD or just smart detail, it’s exactly what Ocean Alexander wanted. “Giorgio’s done an incredible job,” says Sally Doleski, Ocean Alexander’s vice president of marketing. “The entire idea when we reached out and started collaborating with Giorgio, and hence her namesake, is a pure yachting essence.

“There really is a huge, untapped marketplace that we never really truly appealed to stylistically,” Doleski adds. “Regardless of whether [the boat] is in Monaco or off the coast of Hong Kong or down in Australia or in Fort Lauderdale, it’s going to fit anywhere in the world because it checks all the boxes.”  

Beautiful Brightwork

Giorgio Cassetta’s team rethought exterior stainless-steel handrail design. On this yacht, it resembles flowing ribbons instead of rounded rails. The yard’s welders did a “beautiful” job, Cassetta says. “It’s executed like jewelry.”

Smart Step Up

Hull No. 1 grabbed the attention of a couple seeking a larger-size yacht with striking design details and excellent alfresco spaces. The owners plan to cruise the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands and the Northeast United States.

Total Transformation

In a first for Ocean Alexander, the swim platform is a transformer, lifting up and extending out for a variety of uses. It has chocks too, since yachts in this size range often carry water toys. 

Take the next step: oceanalexander.com

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