Sorry to post on topic again. It always seems to bring out the flamers. :-)

Here's a description of an interesting boat I was aboard a few days ago.

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Barca Molto Bella!


Attila the Hun apparently didn't have much of a navy. When he invaded Italy in
the spring of the year 452, some mainland residents fled to islands in an
enormous lagoon on the western shore of the Adriatic Sea. Attila's main armies
pressed south toward Roman Empire's western capital at Ravenna, leaving the
refugees relatively unmolested. After sacking much of northern and central
Italy, Attila opted to relocate his hordes back across the Alps before the
onset of winter. The network of islands once again proved secure against
Attila's murdering rapists and pillagers while they returned through the
district during their strategic withdrawal. Some of the refugees repatriated to
smoldering farms and villages and began the long process of restoring a culture
and an economy, while others decided to remain on the islands and rebuild in
the more secure location. Within 14 years, the island settlements grew to a
point where the residents agreed some formal organization would be desirable,
and a dozen islands elected representatives to form a government. The newly
organized city was called "Venetia", or as we English speakers prefer to say,
"Venice."

Over the course of the subsequent millenium and a half, the original islands
became one of the most picturesque cities in the world, with a network of
canals substituting for most of the major thoroughfares and many of the side
streets. Venice developed a maritime economy, and well-made boats were a
necessary requirement of daily life. The Salvagno family was among the earliest
residents of Venice, but according to Elio Salvagno they may be relative
latecomers in the boat building trade. Master boat builder Salvagno admits that
his family has only been building boats for about the last 1000 years.

The stereotypical Venetian watercraft is the long, narrow, gondola- laden with
honeymooners, sightseers, or conventioneers and lazily push poled or rowed
through the confined canals. The antiquated gondolas are as colorful and quaint
as horse drawn carriages in New York's Central Park, but just as in New York
more people in Venice travel by motorized taxi. Unlike New York, the majority
of taxis in Venice are "water taxis." Elio Salvagno's firm, Cantiere
Mononautico Serenella, builds some of the most elegant water taxis imaginable.
Four of his boats can be found in the United States- two of them on Lake Union
in Seattle. Patrick Smith of Maple Bay Boat Boats is selling one of them for
the original importer, Bob Lamson. Patrick arranged for us to view "Bella
Sorella", a 100-hour " dealer demonstrator" vessel that has never been retailed
or registered.

Venetian water taxis are shallow draft, narrow beam boats with very low
superstructures. There are over 450 bridges across the canals in Venice, many
of them old stone edifices with limited vertical clearance. "Bella Sorella" has
a low, sleek, fast appearance. Similar boats have been used in "chase scenes"
in action movies filmed in Venice.

Elio Salvagno is one of the last remaining wood boat builders in Venice, and
his water taxis are available with either cold molded mahogany hulls or, (as
"Bella Sorella"), with a top quality, hand laid fiberglass composite
construction. Cantiere Serenella often builds patrol boats for the Italian
Carbinieri, and incorporates the same high structural integrity into the far
more elegantly finished water taxis. The deck, house, and interior of "Bella
Sorella" is exquisitely varnished African mahogany, with burled maple interior
accents.
The visual effect is nothing short of spectacular, and by deliberate design.

Salvagno may build his masterpieces in Venice, but each vessel actually begins
years before the keel is laid, in the tropical hardwood forests of Africa,
South America, or Asia. Salvagno travels around the world and personally
selects the logs from which he will create a boat. His experienced eye knows
which logs are less likely to contain knots or objectionable blemishes. After a
period of initial seasoning, the logs are cut into a series of large planks.
Each plank is then restacked in the same position that it occupied in the
original log. Spacers separate the planks during seasoning and shipping, but
only a saw cerf separates the grain on the edge of one plank from the grain on
its nearest neighbors. Once the sawn log is received in Venice, the craftsmen
can be certain that adjoining pieces on the finished boat will be shaped from
adjoining planks. If the decks and superstructure on "Bella Sorella" are so
evenly grained, stained, and uniformly matched that they appear to all be cut
from the same tree, they almost certainly were.

"Bella Sorella" is powered by a 200 HP, Volvo diesel and propelled by a
duo-prop outdrive. (A V-drive option is available on a newly ordered boat for
those who would prefer an inboard). Bob Lamson commented that the outdrive
configuration makes the boat very maneuverable. "Some of the canals in Venice
are no more than about two or three times as wide as this boat, and you will
come to a point where you need to make a sharp, 90-degree turn between two
stone buildings. There isn't a lot of room for error, so the boat needs to be
as nimble as possible."

"Bella Sorella" sports a gleaming, mahogany planked foredeck with a flawlessly
varnished finish that only appears to be at least an inch deep. A glistening,
stainless cleat is positioned in the center of the deck, and a remote control
stainless spotlight at the bow.
A subtle toe rail rims the foredeck, and even though "Bella Sorella" is now a
couple of years beyond the factory door the entire effect retains that rich,
solid, essentially perfect panache that one might associate with the casework
of a Steinway concert grand

Just aft of the foredeck are the forward cockpit and the helm. The hand made,
five-spoked custom steering wheel is to port, surrounded by classic analog
gauges recessed into a sweeping, burled maple dash. Oh, my! A jaunty white
bimini top protects the driver from rain or extremely intensive sunlight, and
folds neatly against the top of the highly polished, streamlined stainless
windshield frame when not in use. A pair of fantastically comfortable,
adjustable, white leather seats accommodate the taxi driver and a starboard
watch.

The bimini top does not extend all the way to the top of the main cabin,
leaving an open area between the helm seats and the forward bulkhead of the
main cabin so that passengers can board. Practical as well as elegant, port and
starboard gunwale seating in the boarding area converts almost instantly into
boarding steps and allows graceful and secure access between the cockpit and
the dock. Stout stainless handrails on the forequarters of the main cabin are
unobtrusive, yet oh so perfectly placed to assist passengers on or off the
boat.

Just as a privacy screen separates the passengers in a luxurious limousine from
the front seat and the driver, a pair of sliding doors glide precisely together
to close the forward bulkhead of the main cabin. The limousine analogy can be
extended to the interior of the main cabin- opulent well beyond even a grand
expectation and finished with hand selected, premium materials to an exquisite
standard. One struggles to remember the last visit aboard a boat that created a
similar impression, and it would not be unusual if no previous occasion came to
mind. Fawn colored Italian leather upholstery, created from hides well matched
by a very discriminating eye and hand stitched by master craftsmen is placed
along the gunwales below the long, horizontal cabin windows. Most hotel lobbies
and many private clubs would be put to shame. The headliner is suede, and the
walls and accents fitted with birds eye maple and burled walnut trim.
Everything fits so perfectly and precisely, it's a wonder that assembly isn't
done with micro tools and tweezers.

On warm, sunny days the passengers aboard "Bella Sorella" might care to enjoy a
fresh air boating experience. The window in the aft bulkhead descends to allow
a section of the cabin top to slide forward, effectively opening the aft third
of the main cabin to the elements. If conditions should cool of or deteriorate,
it takes only a few moments to slide the cabin top back into place and raise
the aft cabin window again.

A refrigerator with icemaker is enclosed behind decorative solid mahogany doors
in a furniture grade locker on the port side. Several drawers with custom
inserts for bar glasses are concealed behind the same doors. The drawers are so
well supported by bearings that they seem almost to "float" into the cabin when
pulled open.

The Volvo diesel is located in a well-insulated engine room below the ornate
aft deck. We did not get underway in the "Bella Sorella," but Bob Lamson
assures us that engine noise is minimal. With the attention to all other detail
that is so extremely obvious aboard "Bella Sorella", it would seem all but
inconceivable that Elio Salvagno would allow an unduly noisy boat to leave the
works at Cantiere Serenella. With the 200HP engine and the duoprop outdrive,
top speed is reported to be 28 knots and a comfortable cruise is said to be
closer to 22.

"Bella Sorella" would be an ideal craft for specialized service. She would make
a stunning tender for a megayacht. A tour company or a waterfront hotel could
put her to excellent use. Corporations or individuals frequently entertaining
out of town visitors could host some unforgettable tours of local waters aboard
"Bella Sorella." She is a head turning, eyeball popping "wowzer" of a runabout
day cruiser, certainly unsuited for extreme introverts who would hope to go
through life unnoticed.

The lack of a serious galley or head, (although a porta potti could be stowed
under the foredeck) makes her less adept as an island hopping vacation cruiser-
but families who would define boating as traveling by water between resort
hotels at Rosario, Roche Harbor, Poet's Cove, and similar destinations could
certainly arrive at their lodgings in an elegant and memorable style. The
boat's design doesn't lend itself well to most types of fishing, (and bringing
a wet, scaly, bleeding fish aboard such a craft seems almost inconceivable, in
any event).

It would be easy to imagine Paul Allen or Bill Gates taking an early morning
cruise in "Bella Sorella," but one needn't be a gazillionaire to afford Old
World craftsmanship and uncompromised style. Patrick Smith at Maple Bay Boat
Company can assist you with the purchase of a new, custom tailored, Cantiere
Motonautico Serenella at a price not so far out of line with what one might
expect to pay for many mass-produced 30-footers. Buyers are invited to travel
to Venice and meet with Elio Salvagno during the construction process, and what
better excuse could there be for a vacation in Italy?

Prospective buyers eager to begin enjoying a Venetian "water limo" are invited
to make offers on "Bella Sorella". Her asking price, well below replacement
cost, is $180,000.