Uniesse Yachts background

Uniesse 48

I bought a new 2001 48 Uniesse Express in 2004. All warranties were in place.
The boat had been on the market for 3 years at a price of $1.5 million, hence the long time to sell it, especially as it was a totally unknown brand in Australia.
The boat was powered by twin MAN 700 hp with an easy cruise of 30kn and top of 37 to 38 kn.
I forget the MAN model, but they were the latest and first to be sold in Australia.

Performance was outstanding. Very good offshore, even added game poles and caught black marlin regular.
Also had a hardtop added as the bimini and clears drive me NUTS on all boats I have owned.
Having said that, the few times I dropped the bimini and went for a full speed run, it was the most fun you can have out of bed!
Propellers were something that attracted a lot of attention whenever she came out the water. Oversized!
Shafts were oversized.
Not a good boat for tight turns, BUT manoeuvrability in a tight marina was a breeze with all the torque from the props and power.
Wonderful SOLID feel on the boat when hitting head seas. Had many hours in moderate to heavier seas. They are NOT a typical mass produced boat.
Mine had a passerelle which made a great diving board, but was a pain otherwise as it was always in the way. The marlin board is part of the hull and is used to carry the tender.
The boat had EVERY option so it was fun. The out-door areas well thought out with BBQ etc. and good seating plan with big open cockpit.

Issues: Overall quality in regards to furnishings is excellent. Top level hardware and marble. Woodwork= top quality.
3rd cabin only good for storage. Small second head. Fresh water electric toilets use a lot of water. Good size lazerette could hold extra freezer which is needed for a longer cruise as there is little refrigeration.

Stainless work superb. A windshield that I was VERY careful not to scratch or crack as it would be only available from the factory (forget that!).
Elliptical stainless bow rail tops. All the welds were invisible.
Cored hull above the waterline, with solid glass below waterline. Don’t buy blue hull, you will spend your time waxing or end up with a faded denim look.

Factory Backup/Service: NIL NIL NIL!
Example: When I got onto the plane and notice a diesel smell, I had my son take the helm and we tried again. I noticed fuel POURING out the breather outlets.
Contacted the factory. Was ignored for 6 weeks then finally got an email that this was “normal”. They had plumbed the breather without thought. I had a plumber draw up a simple solution. Asked the factory to pay and they refused and said I should carry less fuel. There were some other issues, however, the factory made it clear that Italians are so superior to us dumb Aussies, that I gave up and realised there was no point.
Engine room is very tight. Most the sound insulation was falling off within the first 3 months of use. There was no clagging on those hose/exhaust areas that could burn a hole in your hand if you touched them if you went to check the ER underway.

MAN Support in Australia: EXCELLENT. Which was lucky as there were a few issues with the MAN’s. Port engine would sometimes decide to go into idle when the boat was at full throttle (this made for the tightest turn the boat ever made!).
This happened on a long cruise to Moreton Island and the local MAN dealer immediately put their mechanic (the only one in Queensland who knew about these motors) on a ferry to meet us and fix the problem.

Overall: Terrific boat but there is no factory support. Be wary of the MANS.
There are few UNIESSE around so I consider them “orphans” as there is not much info to compare re-sale value on a purchase. There was a 57 for sale through Global in Florida who were the US agents. The price went so low that I believe the factory bought it and shipped it back to Italy however this was a rumour. This particular vessel was the one used in the movie with Jessica Alba, “Into the Blue”.
Hope this helps.
Photos can be found in the Thread on this Forum under; MY for sale 50’+

Great post Kafue!

I have heard this story repeatedly about several Italian brands.

I have heard this story repeatedly about several Italian brands. (repeat intended)


Recently, I met with the product/warranty manager for a leading yacht builder who is so frustrated with Italian suppliers lacking interest, care or prompt response, he is removing Italian sourced components in their entire line of yachts.

That boat was beat to death and was eventually repossessed. Not sure where it ultimately ended up.

Thanks and you are welcome.
As to which parts will needed from Italy, that's a tough question.
Many major items such as engines and generators etc. are no problem. I think they were powered mainly by MAN and Volvo.
Fittings such as door locks etc. can be replaced with local products when needed.

Major items: windscreen which is beautiful on the 48, 43, 57 will be hard to replace, passerelle/davit are all from Italy so you will have issues. All the manuals that came with my boat were generic and related to any UNIESSE so don’t count on any help with them.
Electrical plans, plumbing etc. will be a problem unless you make a friend at the factory.

What would concern me most is the re-sale. They do not have a good record so you will be in a tough spot for getting back out of it.

Forgot to mention in yesterdays post: They have these little thin reading lamps at each berth, right near the pillow. They get so hot that I removed them all for fear of a fire being caused when a blanket/pillow etc. got burnt.

Cheers.

Kafue, isnt the passarelle opacmare or besenzoni? pretty standard stuff..... (??) EDIT: although i have had terrible warranty experience with opacmare - they just denied warranty flatout.... so basically useless there... but its a "commodity brand", any yard would be the same...

as far as the custom glass stuff, it is an issue on most "rare" boats... but you should be fine for everything else.... I wouldnt shy away just because there is no dealer.. as for the resale, keep that in mind when purchasing, i assume you are buying used since you mention old models, so beware of the inability to command high resale value and factor that into the negotiation. i have always been impressed by the quality the few times i was on board their 70 or so in the early 2000's.

Yes you are probably right about Opacmare and Bensenzoni, but then who wants products (very expensive ones) with no back-up?

Quality overall is good on UNIESSE, which made me always wonder why the HECK they don't wake up to the fact that the after sales experience is just as important as the sale, probably more! Bad news travels fast.

I doubt they will make any headway in the US with a high end product at a premium price and an arrogant attitude.
my 2c.

I agree with you about the arrogant attitudes... nonetheless about besenzoni/opacmare (and again, my experience was only with opacmare service), but in terms of a product its not a question of "who wants".... you really dont have much option...

I suppose for smaller boats it may not be much of a necessity, but after a certain size, you really have no option for having a gangway and 95% of them are besenzoni or opacmare... the other 5% are either some US brands (nautical structures springs to mind, apparently with a good product but not that popular for some reason?) and a bunch of custom ones on the larger yachts (above 30-35m)...

I suppose that shipyard support dealhership support is "nice to have", nonetheless, once you go out of warranty you learn that you can have things fixed at 1/3rd the cost, and in half the time.... so I guess it is easier, but if you are really a do-it-yourself-er, it doesnt make much difference, alhtough it really is what sets brands apart in terms of success in the us market...

Uniesse Is the Worst

I owned a 55' Uniesse Motoryacht for several years. They did a great in building the vessel and in doing all the specials that I wanted. But they are a total disaster with warranty work. They will do NOTHING! And I am referring to the new management group from Italy as well as their previous broker. Also, I had some exhaust issues do to poor design. I had to replace the entire exhaust system due to salt water corrosion. They didn't even want to learn about the problem. I could go on and on but you get my drift.

In general everyone speaks good about Uniesse in Italy, for its good sea-keeping and quality construction.
The 48 and 57 always received amazing reviews from owners.
I would consider Uniesse one of the best three builders in Italy for the medium sizes.

During good times they built, about twenty boats a year, so they where never a mass producer builder type. Recently those numbers have been only a couple of builds a years.
It's a pity about the after sales service reviews here, I would consider a used 42 Open as one of my next boats for the future.

I disagree, the 42 as compared to the 48 open are so different in sea worthiness and comfort and the older the models get the less the price difference. Certainly a high quality build and wonderful performance. I would wait for a 48 long before putting myself into owning the 42.

Warranty work...what a joke!

I would agree that the vessels are sea worthy and well built. BUT they make zero attempt to provide ANY warranty service. Thy will not acknowledge any issues that should be their fault. For example, my exhaust pipes rusted out. They did so because the design allowed sea water to remain in the piping. They were advised of the problem and they did NOTHING! Secondly, I had a lot of grime enter my cabin thru the air conditioning vents. Again, they would not even acknowledge the issue.
At one point the owners agreed to come over and visit the boat which was about one mile away form the Ft. Lauderdale Show. They never showed.
I would NEVER buy another Uniesse. They boats are beautiful and the issues that occur are not that untypical. The problem is that once you buy the boat you are totally on your own. And on your own with a vessel that will have a LOT of issues.

Yes Kafue I know that the 48 is a much better boat to the 42, but its expenses make it not affordable for me.
You have to consider that the 48 is over 15 meters, and 700hp engines versus the 450 of the 42 which makes for higher fuel costs. Here in the med each extra meter is lump in extra berthing, and winterizing costs.

We are looking at a 2005 57 Uniesse, needs a LOT of work, has been very neglected. If we get a very good price on it, and fix it up, I'm thinking we could end up with a nice boat for the money. Want to live on it a few months a year, and travel a bit.
Anybody have any thoughts on this idea? Are we asking for trouble?

I had opposite experiences on a brand new (at the time) 2013 55' express. I ran it from Ft. Laud to St. Maarten. It had 800 mans and was seriously overpropped at 1850 rpms we were seeing 90% load factors, the boat pounded in even a 1' sea and we had to slow down from it's 34 knot cruise to 24 knots most of the time, it's COG was too far aft and it just pounded in anything. We had a HUGE amount of issues with it.

1st leg of the trip, we had a hydraulic leak from under the helm/above the guest stateroom ceiling that put about 2-3 quarts ALL over the bedding, carpet, walls, huge mess. Well they use screws that were too long and it punctured the hose. 2 hours after pulling into Nassau the VIP stateroom had 1" of hot water all over the floor, we had to shut the valve off to the hot water tank, because a 90 degree fitting that was spraying, but it was behind a wall where you could see it with a mirror, but could not access it. Next leg of the trip to Long Island was un-eventful. The next leg, the port trim tab stayed stuck down, the inside of the hose collapsed and it turns out they had some issues with the same hose and continued to use it. Next leg of the trip, the bracket holding the gear oil filter snapped off and shredded the filter, the port man started leaking coolant from a fitting. Next leg, we pulled into San Juan, and now the VIP had an 1" of water all over it again, turns out it was the cold water 90 degree fitting behind the same wall. The owner destroyed the nightstand so we could access it. We had another issue with something electrically but I can't remember what it was......I've never seen this much stuff break on a boat on one delivery.

The Uniesse 57 is a wonderful boat, one of the best in its class.
I know many owners who owned 42, 48 or 57s and buyed bigger more expensive boats then Uniesse and still consider it as the best boat they had.
The sport-fish hybrid design where always the best boats built by Uniesse and designed by American Fred Hudson, and if you go pontoon talking in most Italian marinas
everyone will tell you this.
What left to be desired by Uniesse was its after sales service. especially outside Italy.
The 55 was a new model launched in 2011 or 12 for the more Med style looking sport yacht replacing the 54.
There is some test videos of them being tested in rather rough seas and they seem sea worthy in those seas. (you can seem them on Youtube).
But saying this recent years where very sad for Italian boat builders with most them barely surviving cause of government hunt on tax evasion and many just shutting down the doors.
Its not an excuse for delivering such a boat as Capt J describes but anyways I have seen boats sinking on delivery from other top brands on delivery.

I have never boarded a 55 but I had a sea trial with the 54 (previous model) in 1 to 1.5 meters seas and the boat cruised at 25 knots as it was a normal day at the water with no banging at all.

This thread backs up what I've been saying for years about:
a) stay away from dark hulls,
b) stay away from new boats that don't have substantial representation near where you boat, and a good reputation for taking care of warranty matters, and
c) buy a boat with good bones, pre-owned so you can get it serviced anywhere and not pay the mark-up for a warranty that will end up being more trouble than it's worth.

Unlike another Italian builder we all know well, Uniesse seems to put out a very good boat, but then you deal with the rest. I'd be inclined to be a second owner, but not the first. .

Superb as usual. This should be the standard to follow on real unbiased, true to heart ownership statements.

Went over the listing, that hardtop is worth building a boat around!

Cheers.

NYCAP if everyone thinks how you would, we would end up with only Sea Rays in the US, Princess in the UK, Azimut Cranchi in Italy etc etc.

And in my experience of visiting boat builders and boat shows over the years, I must admit the family owned small number builder are usually testimony to more quality and real human interaction of people who want to sell a boat.

You build reputation over time, and everyone have to start from Zero.