As the first Azimut Seadeck 9, the yacht was baptized at the inland shipyard in northern Italy and is scheduled for delivery later this summer - she will make her public debut at the 2026 Cannes Yachting Festival.
A milestone launch for Azimut’s inland shipyard
Seadeck 9 is the first hull of the series’ flagship model and the largest project completed at Azimut’s Avigliana facility to date. The launch reflects the impact of a €50 million investment program initiated in 2023, which reworked production spaces, workflows, and infrastructure to support yachts up to 27 meters in length.
Unlike Azimut’s coastal yards, Avigliana sits at the foot of the Alps, an environment that has shaped the site’s highly integrated production approach. The facility manages the full construction cycle in-house, from fiberglass and carbon processing through to final assembly. This level of vertical control has been central to delivering a project of Seadeck 9’s scale and technical ambition.
Giovanna Vitelli, Chair of the Azimut|Benetti Group, described the yard as a distinctive force within the industry, noting that the constraints of building large yachts in a mountain setting have driven the development of new engineering and manufacturing solutions.
A flagship expression of the Seadeck series
First unveiled as a concept at the 2023 Cannes Yachting Festival, the Seadeck 9 sits at the top of Azimut’s Seadeck range, a series positioned around closer interaction with the marine environment and reduced impact during use.
The motor yacht’s exterior lines were developed by Alberto Mancini Yacht Design, with a profile that balances a strong, modern stance with open deck spaces focused on life at the waterline. At 26 meters, the Seadeck 9 establishes the visual and spatial direction for the series at its most developed scale.
Avigliana represents a unique reality in the industry: building boats at the feet of mountains has encouraged us to develop new solutions, to push our technical and engineering capabilities to the limit, and to manage the entire process, from fiberglass and carbon to the finished boat."
- Giovanna Vitelli, Chair of the Azimut|Benetti Group
At the stern, Azimut has centered the layout around what it calls the “Fun Island,” a multi-level aft deck arrangement designed as the yacht’s social core.
The Fun Island as the social heart on board
The Fun Island spans approximately 60 square meters across three descending levels, creating a tiered connection between the main deck and the sea. Terraces extend outward on both sides, framing a central pool and generous sun lounging areas, while a lowering swim platform brings guests directly to the water.
Rather than functioning as a transitional zone, the aft deck is conceived as a destination in its own right, intended for shared use throughout the day. The stepped geometry allows different activities to take place simultaneously while maintaining visual and physical links across the space.
This emphasis on the stern as a primary living area is a defining element of the Seadeck concept and reaches its most complete form on the Seadeck 9.
Interiors shaped by conscious design principles
Interior architecture for the Seadeck 9 was developed by Milan-based studio Matteo Thun & Antonio Rodriguez, continuing their involvement across the Seadeck series. The designers describe their approach as “Conscious Design,” with a focus on comfort, clarity, and the relationship between people and their surroundings.
Throughout the superyacht, materials, proportions, and lighting are used to create calm, legible spaces rather than formal interiors. Large floor-to-ceiling windows draw in natural light and maintain visual continuity with the sea, reinforcing the series’ back-to-nature theme inside as well as out.
The interior language remains restrained and tactile, with an emphasis on usability and atmosphere rather than decoration. The result is a layout intended to feel intuitive and relaxed across both private and shared areas.
In line with the wider Seadeck program, the Seadeck 9 has been engineered to accommodate a hybrid propulsion package from Volvo Penta. While the system installation is optional, the yacht is fully prepared for the hybrid configuration.
How the Seadeck range scales up to Seadeck 9
With Seadeck 9 now in the water at 26 meters, Azimut has effectively scaled up the core idea of the Seadeck range rather than changing direction. YachtBuyer’s full review of both the Seadeck 6 (17.5m) and the Seadeck 7 (21.7m) show the foundations clearly - and help explain what Seadeck 9 is likely to emphasize as the flagship.
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BOAT TESTAzimut Seadeck 6 Review (2024 Edition)
The Seadeck 6 introduced the Fun Island as the defining layout move, with its terraces, fold-down balconies, and a cockpit-to-saloon setup built around easy living close to the water. It also set the tone on refinement: our test highlighted notably low noise levels at cruise and a smooth, hump-free transition onto the plane. With a 4.5 star rating, it came close to the YachtBuyer Hall of Fame threshold and remains one of the strongest early indicators that the Seadeck concept works in real conditions.
The Seadeck 7 pushed the platform into a more “cruising yacht” format - adding a flybridge, an extra cabin, and the option of Volvo Penta’s full hybrid IPS system with electric-only running at up to 11 knots and up to 12 hours of silent hotel mode. Against that backdrop, Seadeck 9’s larger Fun Island, three-level terraces, and hybrid-ready setup read as the same priorities, expanded for a bigger footprint and a more showpiece debut at Cannes 2026.
Following the first Seadeck 9's delivery in summer 2026, the yacht’s first public appearance at the Cannes Yachting Festival is expected to provide a closer look at how Azimut’s flagship Seadeck concept translates from concept stage to finished yacht.
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