Alberto is on his first experience as a cabin cruiser owner. He has chosen the outboard Tuccoli T280, but in a custom-built version. Why this choice? He tells it like this:
I met the Tuccoli boats by chance. A Tuccoli 370 was moored in the port of Lavagna, I noticed it and then I read up on the yard. I had the idea that Tuccoli were solid, high-performance, safe, dry boats… Sensations that were completely confirmed during the in-water test with the T280 outboard. With Alessandro and Tommaso, whom I particularly thank for their dedication, we went out on an August day with a two-metre wave and very strong rain and wind!!! Despite the situation, I felt completely safe.
I chose a Tuccoli because it’s a boat that allows me to experience the sea or the lake to the full, with my large family – I have four children – in total safety and comfort despite its ‘small’ size (it’s still a 28′!). Then there was an interview in which Marco Tuccoli declared: “the new Tuccoli boats wink at the family”… I’d say that was decisive! At the shipyard, they then came to meet my needs. So much so, in fact, that we defined a custom-built version with two cabins instead of just one. The two cabins are a necessity given the size of the family, space is never enough!
The choice of Mercury engines depended instead on the performance (fuel consumption and power) of the new V8 as well as the possibility of associating them with the steering joystick, which in my opinion is truly a revolution, especially for those who, like yours truly, are not sea dogs….. and above all allows the boat to be steered optimally during the mooring phase, even without experts on board.
I preferred to ask a shipyard for a one-off instead of turning to a manufacturer who already has a boat with the desired layout on its list because I could not find any models on the market with the characteristics of the Tuccoli 280, with a similar price/quality ratio. What’s more, I was given the opportunity to take part in the project, working alongside the yard’s in-house design studio (I don’t know how many small shipyards have this plus), identifying solutions with them that, I hope, will become part of the standard two-cabin model!
I chose the boats from the Collesalvetti-based yard despite the fact that neither I nor any of my family members fish. However, it seemed natural to look to them for my first cabin boat with which I hope to sail at least three weeks of summer ‘cruising’ in addition to weekends. I tend to use the boat to visit places that are difficult to reach from land, such as the islands of the Maddalena Archipelago, Croatia (Kornati Islands), Greece’s Ionian Islands, and the Tuscan Archipelago. Since I live near the lake and the 280 can be transported by truck and without an escort (it’s 3.04 metres wide!!!) I will also take it on the lake, indeed I hope to be able to sail in other lakes that I have never seen before (Maggiore and Garda).
I mainly use the boat with my family and we are usually in the company of friends, some with the dinghy, some with the boat. And, frankly, I hope for their sake that they will soon switch to a Tuccoli!!!
