The Benetti B.NOW 72M: Where Italian Elegance Meets 250 Square Meters of Ocean

Photo Credit: Benetti

Picture this: you're standing at the center of a 250-square-meter beach club, surrounded by water on three sides, an infinity pool at your feet, and the Mediterranean stretching to the horizon. This isn't a resort. It's your yacht. The Benetti B.NOW 72M Oasis Deck represents the Italian builder's most ambitious semi-custom project to date, a 236-foot flagship that redefines what's possible when you blend traditional displacement yacht comfort with revolutionary outdoor living.

Benetti sold the first hull in June 2023 with delivery scheduled for May 2027. The B.NOW 72M sits at the top of the B.NOW series, designed in collaboration with British studio RWD, and it brings something the superyacht market hasn't seen at this scale: a beach club that doesn't feel like an afterthought.

Who It's For

This yacht targets owners who've outgrown the 50-meter segment but aren't ready for the operational complexity of a 90-meter custom build. You're looking at 16 guests across eight cabins, plus accommodations for 17 crew in eight crew cabins. That crew-to-guest ratio tells you everything about the service level this yacht delivers.

The B.NOW 72M makes sense for families or groups who actually use their yachts. The Oasis Deck configuration prioritizes social spaces over ego, function over formality. If your ideal charter season involves rotating groups of friends, multi-generational gatherings, or extended Mediterranean summers where the yacht becomes a floating home base, this layout delivers.

The steel hull with aluminum superstructure keeps displacement at approximately 1,950 gross tons. That's manageable for experienced owners stepping up from smaller yachts, but substantial enough to deliver true ocean-going capability and the interior volume you expect at this length.

Design & Layout

RWD's exterior design language emphasizes horizontal lines and elongated windows that stretch the yacht's visual length. The profile reads sleek without sacrificing interior volume, a balance that's harder to achieve than it looks. The 42-foot beam provides exceptional width for the length, creating interior spaces that feel more like a 250-footer than a sub-240.

The Oasis Deck is the headline feature. At over 250 square meters, it's the largest iteration of Benetti's signature beach club concept. The infinity pool sits at the center, surrounded by flexible lounging areas that transition from daytime sun exposure to evening entertaining. Benetti designed a dedicated guest staircase that connects the main deck directly to the Oasis level, bypassing crew areas entirely. That separation matters when you have a full house.

The owner's deck occupies the entire bridge deck level. You get a full-beam master suite with two en-suite bathrooms, a private study, and a forward-facing lounge with its own bar. The forward positioning delivers unobstructed bow views, a luxury that's increasingly rare as builders push owner's suites aft. A private exterior deck extends the owner's domain outdoors.

The main deck houses seven additional guest cabins, including a VIP that spans the full 42-foot beam in the forward section. The main saloon flows into a dining area and bar, with floor-to-ceiling windows that blur the line between interior and exterior. The sundeck adds a spa pool, sunpads, and additional lounging areas for guests who prefer elevation over proximity to the waterline.

A Weekend in Sardinia

Marco and his extended family took delivery of their B.NOW 72M in Porto Cervo mid-July. By Friday afternoon, 14 guests were aboard, three generations spanning ages 8 to 78. The Oasis Deck became command central: kids in the pool by 9 AM, adults claiming loungers with espresso and newspapers, the whole group gathering for lunch under the shade structures. When the teenagers wanted privacy, they disappeared to the sundeck. When Marco's parents needed quiet, they retreated to the main saloon. By Sunday evening, as they motored toward Bonifacio, Marco's father pulled him aside: "This is the first boat where nobody felt like they were in anyone else's way." Lesson: at 236 feet with the right layout, space stops being theoretical and starts solving real problems.

Performance & Handling

The B.NOW 72M runs on diesel mechanical propulsion with an optional E-Mode hybrid system available. The hybrid setup pairs conventional diesel engines with electric drives from Yanmar, giving owners the ability to run on electric power alone in harbors and anchorages. That's not just about being green; it's about eliminating engine noise and vibration when you're stationary.

Top speed hits 16 knots, with a cruising speed of 12 knots. At 12 knots, range extends to 4,500 nautical miles. That's transatlantic capability with reserves, or the ability to run the Western Mediterranean all summer without constantly thinking about fuel stops. The 11-foot-6-inch draft keeps most marinas and anchorages accessible, though you'll want to verify specific locations in advance.

The steel hull provides the mass and stability that makes a displacement yacht comfortable in open water. You're not getting the snap and response of a planing hull, but you're also not getting the motion. At this size, the yacht settles into a rhythm in moderate seas that lets life continue normally below decks. The beam and hull form work together to minimize roll, critical when you have multiple generations aboard with varying tolerance for motion.

The Ownership Conversation

Benetti hasn't published official pricing, but comparable 72-meter semi-custom builds from Italian yards typically start around €95-100 million before customization. Annual operating costs on a yacht this size run €8-10 million, covering crew salaries, fuel, maintenance, insurance, and dockage. That's roughly 10 percent of purchase price annually, a ratio that holds across the superyacht market.

The 17-crew requirement means you're running a professional operation. Captain, chief engineer, chef, chief stewardess, deckhands, stewardesses, and support crew. This isn't an owner-operator yacht. You're managing a team, which means either hiring an experienced captain who can handle crew management or working with a yacht management company that takes that burden off your plate.

The E-Mode hybrid option adds upfront cost but delivers operational savings and flexibility. Running on electric power in port eliminates generator noise, reduces fuel consumption, and increasingly matters in Mediterranean harbors implementing environmental restrictions. The payback period extends over years, but the quality-of-life improvement is immediate.

Benetti's Service Net provides global support through a network of service centers and partnerships. At this size, you need that infrastructure. Parts, technical support, and warranty service become critical when you're operating far from the build yard. The B.NOW 72M benefits from Benetti's 150-year history and the resources of the Azimut-Benetti Group, the largest builder of yachts over 24 meters globally.

Where to Start

Explore full specifications at www.YachtSpecsDirect.com.

Browse available Benetti inventory at www.mintedyachts.com/benetti.

The B.NOW 72M represents Benetti's clearest statement yet about where the semi-custom market is heading: toward yachts that prioritize livability over spectacle, function over formality, and spaces that actually get used over spaces that photograph well.