Lazzara Yachts

LAZZARA 106: SPACIOUS VOYAGER
- BY Daniel Spurr / Photo by Scott Pearson

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That's good enough for NASCAR star Jeff Gordon, who bought hull number two.

The Lazzara 106 is constructed of biaxial and triaxial fiberglass, which allows engineers to orient the fibers in the direction of the loads on any given part of the hull. Vinylester resin is used through the skin coat to prevent osmotic blistering. The hull is cored with end-grain balsa. All parts are vacuum-bagged for targeted glass-to-resin ratios and to eliminate voids.

Trim throughout the interior is a dark, reddish makoré veneer oriented in starburst patterns and given a high-gloss finish. Corners, columns and pilasters are solid fluted wood, stained to match the makoré.

The galley has granite countertops and features Sub Zero and KitchenAid appliances, all of brushed stainless steel. Two bar stools encourage chatting with the chef, and dinette seating under a large flat-screen television provides an informal gathering place.

Forward and down a flight of stairs from the galley is a guest stateroom with private bath. As with all the staterooms, it features it own television, DVD player and stereo.

The master stateroom is located just aft of amidships, where motion is least. The standard configuration includes his-and-hers baths with shared tub and shower. The bulkhead behind the tub is overlaid with a light-colored marble framed in black and gold Portoro. To either side of the king-size bed are end tables with madrone burl tops.

Adjoining the master stateroom is a private reading room that, with the addition of a desk, could also serve as an office.

In good weather guests have the choice of gathering under the flybridge hardtop at booth or bar seating, or aft on the upper deck, where a Jacuzzi with sun pad is located. The spacious upper deck also provides additional settee sitting and stowage for the tender and motorbikes. A spiral staircase leads down to the aft deck, which features a teak sole, wet bar and settee.

Stairs port and starboard lead to a large swim platform flanked by PWC pods. A transom door opens to the crew quarters - captain's stateroom to one side and hi-lo crew bunks on the other - and the exceptionally spacious, well-engineered engine room.

The three principal decks - main, upper and lower - are nicely integrated, providing smooth traffic flow, generally with more than one entry into each area.

The modular tooling of the 106 allows Lazzara to rescale the same essential design between about 90 and 130 feet. Dick Lazzara says the company's objective is to narrow the gap between production and custom building so that both the company and the customer can enjoy the economies of series-produced yachts, yet retain the ability to make certain choices that accommodate different needs.

But the pleasure of yacht ownership runs far deeper than design. Uniquely, this builder wants to support the owner's yachting lifestyle in every aspect, including the training of owner and captain at "Lazzara University," providing insurance and brokerage services, maintenance and more. Unlike some builders, which refer warranty problems to individual equipment manufacturers, Lazzara assumes responsibility for all installations. In a program called SeaCheck, once each year a Lazzara technician visits the yacht to perform a comprehensive survey of more than 1,200 different items. The results are shared with the owner and crew, and the data is also fed back into the company's ever-evolving base of information.

The owner of Impulse previously owned a Lazzara 94, which he loved. "But (this one) is faster and smoother," he says. "I spent six days at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show looking at boats. I had cash in my pocket and couldn't even get on some of the boats. Lazzara didn't even have complete drawings of the 106 yet, but I stayed with them because they always do more than they promise. Lazzara delivers a turnkey boat. On our first cruise I arrived in the Bahamas with a small overnight bag. Everything else I needed was on board. Nobody else does that."

Perhaps the best description of the kind of attention to detail that characterizes the Lazzara philosophy is a story Dick Lazzara likes to tell about Walt Disney. According to Lazzara, while touring one of his theme parks Disney noticed a window slightly out of square. After receiving instructions for it to be fixed, his staff protested that no one would ever notice the problem. "Perhaps," Disney replied. "But they'll feel it."

The same applies to his yachts, Lazzara says. Not everyone can define perfection, "but they should feel it when they come aboard."

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