The stunning Great Wall, the captivating Forbidden City, the spectacular Tiger Leaping Gorge, and the cosmopolitan skyline of Shanghai. Typically, a trip to China revolves around one or more of these iconic tourist destinations. However, there are those who fly halfway around the world to visit high-end Chinese shipyards instead. This is the story of Mauro Corvisieri, CEO and the heart of Custom Boat. It’s a narrative with a distinct “before” and an even more significant “after”—one that will lead to the construction of a new range of Custom Boat power catamarans over 60 feet. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves: let’s first understand what Corvisieri was doing in China.
As mentioned, the road leading to the new Custom Boat power catamarans runs through China. It all began with a long-standing client of the shipyard, for whom a C.Boat 27 SC had previously been developed. “We first took notice of this Chinese builder during a search to meet the needs of this prominent client, who was looking to purchase a catamaran” Corvisieri explains.
The collaboration went far beyond simply recommending a shipyard. “To ensure our client received the very best, we became directly involved as technical consultants. In fact, the shipyard brought us on board, recognizing the value of our experience and our know-how in the custom yachting sector” the Custom Boat CEO emphasizes. He adds that “our contributions focused on specific technical aspects such as cabin soundproofing, electrical system details, and specific assembly methods to make inspections easier, as well as aesthetic touches to give the hull that signature ‘Made in Italy’ feel.”
Targeted interventions and fine-tuning. Because, as Mauro Corvisieri points out, “during our four-day visit to the Chinese shipyard, we saw their production excellence firsthand—from the fiberglass work all the way to the furniture installation.” It is precisely from this meeting with an Eastern shipyard dedicated to the highest quality that the future Custom Boat catamarans are taking shape, born from a now-imminent joint venture between the Italian brand and the Chinese builder.
It’s a well-known fact that Custom Boat is not your typical builder. Every new hull under the C-Tender and C.Boat brands is built from the ground up based on the client’s specifications, offering a level of customization that approaches 100%. However, what truly sets Custom Boat’s creations apart is the meticulous attention to volume and freedom of movement, along with a long-standing preference for displacement “navettas” with steel hulls.
“In this Chinese builder, we found high-level quality that rivals our European and Italian counterparts, as well as a construction philosophy very similar to our own” Corvisieri admitted. He explained that “they also build large steel and aluminum vessels, and even in the catamaran production we’ve been overseeing, the influence of much larger hulls is clearly evident.”
Custom Boat’s founder was also particularly impressed by the extensive focus the Chinese shipyard places on tank testing. “They use significantly large models—at a 1:30 scale—to get precise data on how the hulls will behave in the water.”
This was more than just technical consulting, which confirms Custom Boat’s role as an international benchmark in bespoke design. During the technical meetings between Mauro Corvisieri and the shipyard management, the foundation was laid for a collaboration that will likely lead to the construction of the first Custom Boat power catamarans—a new line to be developed in tandem with the brand’s expansion into the Eastern market.
The primary driver behind this move, as previously noted, was the high quality observed in both the materials used and the assembly process. Additionally, the ability to access more competitive production costs compared to European standards is a significant factor. This will allow the brand to bring high-quality hulls to market at substantially lower price points (Corvisieri estimates savings of up to 30-35%).
“Our goal is to begin the joint construction of multi-hulls as soon as possible, integrating European and Italian components while leveraging our extensive design and construction expertise. We aim to launch fully customizable Custom Boat catamarans, starting at 60 feet, on the European market by 2027” Corvisieri states.
The launch of Custom Boat power catamarans was, in many ways, already written in the brand’s destiny. We are talking about a builder that, from its inception, has placed central value on interior volume and onboard comfort; therefore, multihulls represent a consistent and almost natural evolution.
This move is also driven by a clear market trend already identified by several shipyards. However, as Corvisieri points out, “Our competitors, especially when it comes to multihulls, are offering very high price points. For this reason, following the current trend in the automotive industry, it is time to put our trust in high-end Eastern production. In this specific case, I have seen the quality of Chinese craftsmanship firsthand, and I have absolutely no doubts.”
It couldn’t be any other way: the future Custom Boat power catamarans will also be highly customizable. As Corvisieri previews, “No elements will be pre-molded; everything will be crafted using grounding/furring techniques, following our highly-regarded construction methods.”
After all, Custom Boat has made personalization its trademark, and it has never wavered from this commitment. The founder recalls, for instance, the creation of two mid-ship terraces on a 55-footer, the installation of a water purifier specifically for a dog’s water bowl on a flybridge, and even the fitting of a urinal in the head of a super-luxurious C-Tender 55.
Now, we just have to wait for the developments of this unprecedented joint venture to discover what the Custom Boat power catamarans for the European market will look like. In the meantime, the Italian “nautical tailor” continues to produce: this week, the shipyard is customizing a C-Tender 60 into a 68-foot version, while construction of a new aluminum C.Boat Isola 92 is scheduled for this summer.
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