On board the spaceship-style WHY200 superyacht from Wally

The Wally WHY200 created waves with its unusual lines. Clare Mahon overcomes her initial concerns about its quirky appearance with a little help from designer Luca Bassani

You’ve got to love that person who just comes right out and says it – and Luca Bassani, the founder and chief designer of Wally, is that kind of guy. “Non mi piacciono le curve,” I don’t like curves. It’s his simple answer to my question as to why the exterior lines of the new Wally WHY200 are very much the opposite of curvaceous.

It’s said with a smile and a chuckle and is as simple as that: if Bassani had wanted curvier he would have gone curvier, but that’s not his thing. And so far, doing and designing things his way has stood him in good stead: just as Wally sailing yachts shook up the world of superyachts, Wallypower boats and Wallytenders have also left their mark. Their looks may call to mind something that splashed down from outer space in the dark of night more than something that headed out from port one morning, but that’s just what you get when you don’t like curves.

What Bassani does like is living well and spending time on the water – preferably moving fast on a boat that is innovative, functional and efficient. While their aesthetic impact is significant, comfort and performance have always been part of the equation. In fact, Bassani has always said that, for him, function comes well before form. That hasn’t kept Wally yachts from winning several of Italy’s prestigious Compasso d’Oro design awards.

Featuring a distinctive glass and carbon top, the WHY200’s exterior design is all sharp angles – the one exception being the curve of teak wrapping over the twin garages aft.

The WHY200 has naval architecture by Laurent Giles and its interior is by A Vallicelli & C Yacht Design. The engineering department at the Ferretti Group, the company that now owns Wally, also contributed and as the brand’s chief designer Luca Bassani had the first ideas for the project and the final word on its looks. The result is an 89ft, sub-200-gross-tonne semi-displacement yacht that still looks Wally despite having a 15ft-high freeboard and a beam so ample that it broadens the meaning of wide body. The straight bow flares back slightly and the yacht’s hull lines are broken up by a continuous strip of glass at main deck height and a black jag along the lower deck. The superstructure is classic Wally: angular to the point of looking slightly dangerous.

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source: Boat International