Galeon 700 SKY

The Galeon 700 SKY sits above the 650 SKY in the Skydeck line and is Galeon's own evolution of the 680 FLY - it keeps that boat's interior thinking and its finish, and replaces the flybridge with a compact top deck under a three-part carbon hardtop, plus a larger sunroof over the saloon. It is not the same boat, though: at 72' 10" length overall on a 66' 2" hull it is ten inches longer than the 680 FLY, and it is lighter, which is the more interesting half of the comparison. Carbon construction cuts weight and allows slimmer supports, so the glass panels that wrap the main deck living area have less structure interrupting them.

The numbers. Beam is 17' 3" and draft is 4' 10" without propellers. Fuel is 885 gallons across two unequal tanks and fresh water is 211 gallons, with 87 gallons of grey and 79 of black. Mass in light craft condition with base engines is 81,791 lbs, with a further 15,454 lbs of rated load, which is 1,785 lbs more than the 650 SKY beneath it carries and a genuinely useful margin on a boat this size. Bridge clearance is 25' 8" and transport height is 29' 11". The hull is CE Category B and rated for sixteen aboard. Power runs from 2 x 1,000 hp to a ceiling of 2 x 1,300 hp and top speed is up to 30 knots.

Accommodation is four cabins with three heads. The full-beam master runs across the boat below deck with large windows, a vanity station and real wardrobe space; the VIP is forward with its own en-suite shower room; and two further guest cabins sit between them, buildable as doubles, as twins, or as a single with a Pullman that folds out of the hull side and conceals a drop-down desk or vanity when it is stowed. Aft, the volume behind the transom is either a large tender and toy garage or a cabin for two crew. You choose one.

Galeon quotes up to 30 knots for the 700 SKY. Ask for observed burn at your normal cruising rpm in writing at sea trial and work your own range off 885 gallons - on a boat this size that single figure is worth more than any brochure paragraph.

Read the fuel number carefully, because it runs against the grain. The 700 SKY carries 885 gallons; the 650 SKY below it carries 991. The larger boat carries 106 gallons less, in two unequal tanks rather than a matched pair, and it is rated for more power - up to 2 x 1,300 hp against the 650's 2 x 1,200 hp. If long legs between fuel docks are part of your plan, that combination deserves a conversation before you compare the two on length alone.

The weight is the other number worth stopping on. Light craft condition is 81,791 lbs, against 85,010 lbs for the 680 FLY - and the 700 is the longer boat. The carbon hardtop and carbon supports are why. Maximum load is 15,454 lbs against the 650 SKY's 13,669 lbs, which is what a lighter structure buys you back in carrying capacity. As always, treat 81,791 lbs as a light craft figure with base engines and nothing aboard, and get a rigged, loaded weight before you size a lift.

Power runs from 2 x 1,000 hp to 2 x 1,300 hp - a 600 hp spread. Drive the specification you intend to order rather than whatever is on the demo boat, and do it loaded. Draft is 4' 10" without propellers and bridge clearance is 25' 8"; both are worth checking against your berth and your route before anything else.

The main deck is built around privacy, which is unusual at this size and is the thing owners notice after a season rather than on a first walkthrough. Guest and master cabins have separate entrances from the main deck, so people are not routed past each other. A foldable door separates the galley from the cockpit and lets it serve both bars. Opposite the galley you can have a second bar or a rest area, working through slide-down windows. The helm carries twin sport seats, followed by the main dining and entertainment area, and a one-piece glass door gets you to the bow quickly.

Below deck the master stateroom spans the full beam with large windows, a vanity station and generous wardrobe space. The VIP is forward with its own en-suite shower room. Two further guest cabins sit between them, and this is where the flexibility is: they can be built as doubles, as twins, or as a single with a Pullman berth that folds out of the hull side. Folded away, that Pullman conceals a drop-down desk or vanity table - so a cabin that sleeps two when the family is aboard becomes an office when it is not.

Aft, the choice is a large tender and toy garage behind the transom, or a cabin for two crew. Same volume, one answer. Watercraft can also live on the hydraulic bathing platform, which is adjustable and doubles as the swimming and boarding space.

Up top, the Skydeck carries a central helm station, passenger seats and a wet bar, all under a three-part carbon hardtop that closes the deck off for a sportier profile and for shelter. The cockpit below takes either an oversized C-shaped sofa or a smaller L-shaped seat with a sun pad behind it. Forward, the sundeck converts into four separate seating areas with twin pop-up dining tables - which turns the bow into a room rather than a sunpad.

Galeon describes the 700 SKY as an evolution of the 680 FLY, and that is the right word: it keeps the interior thinking and the finish, and it changes the top and the structure. It is not the same boat wearing a different roof. The 700 is 72' 10" against the 680's 72' 0", and it is lighter - 81,791 lbs in light craft condition against 85,010 lbs - because the top deck and its supports are carbon. Both carry four cabins plus crew across three heads. If you are cross-shopping the two, the questions are the top deck, the weight and the layout flexibility, not the size.

Within the Skydeck line the 700 sits above the 650 SKY, and the gaps run in both directions. The 700 is longer, has more power available and carries 15,454 lbs of rated load against the 650's 13,669 lbs. The 650 carries more fuel - 991 gallons against 885 - and opens to a 24' 3" Beach Mode beam at anchor; if the balconies matter to you, get the 700's open beam in writing at the order desk. Compare the two on how you will actually use them, not on length alone.

Against the wider 70-to-75-foot market the 700's case is the combination of carbon weight-saving and a genuinely flexible guest deck. Four cabins that can be doubles, twins or a Pullman single with a concealed desk is a broader range of answers than most builders at this size offer, and the choice between a full toy garage and a two-berth crew cabin lets the same hull suit an owner-operator or a run boat. The Azimut Fly 72 at 74' 5" and Ferretti 720 at 73' 10" are the two closest comparisons.

One thing to settle first, because everything else follows from it: garage or crew. They occupy the same volume behind the transom, and it decides whether this is a boat you run yourself with the toys aboard or a boat somebody runs for you.

The 700 SKY fits the owner who wants flagship volume without a flybridge silhouette. The top deck sits under a three-part carbon hardtop that closes it off completely, so you keep the central helm, the passenger seats and the wet bar up there while the boat reads as a large sport coupe from the dock. Bridge clearance is 25' 8".

It fits a family whose crowd changes. The two guest cabins between the master and the VIP can be built as doubles, as twins, or as a single with a Pullman berth that folds out of the hull side and hides a drop-down desk or vanity when stowed. That is a cabin that sleeps two on a family fortnight and works as an office the rest of the year, which is closer to how most boats this size are actually used.

It fits someone who has decided how the boat will be run. Behind the transom you can have a large tender and toy garage or a cabin for two crew, and that single choice separates an owner-operated boat carrying its toys from a boat with a professional aboard. Sixteen are rated for the day and four cabins with three heads sleep the party.

It fits people who load a boat heavily. Maximum load is 15,454 lbs against the 650 SKY's 13,669 lbs, and the difference exists because the carbon top deck saved weight elsewhere.

It is the wrong boat if fuel range at speed is your first priority. It carries 885 gallons where the 650 SKY below it carries 991, and it is rated for more power. And it is the wrong boat if the fold-down balconies are what you came for without asking first - find out exactly what Beach Mode does on this hull before you assume it does what it does on the model below.