Looking for Feedback on Azimut 62FB (2004-2007)

Fasten your seat belt.

HAH !

The reply from olderboater is based on the fact that you are not going to hear a lot of appreciation for Azimut in general, in this forum.
As I learned here, this is also due to the US distributor not being as helpful as they should.
Another issue I read about in other threads is related to electrical systems, allegedly different between each boat and difficult to deal with.
So, stay tuned for alternative suggestions, more than anything else...

But as an Italian who knows close to nothing about the US peculiarities, but has seen more Azimuts than I can remember, here's my 2c.
As a builder in general, they are among the largest and most successful in the whole industry, and I'm not aware of any company in any business which reached a similar position by building garbage.
They aren't among the top qualitywise, and as a builder they are much more targeted at mainstream, industrialized processes rather than semi-custom build, as some other Italian builders used to offer, particularly back in those days. But they are also priced accordingly.
The specific boat you are considering has been by far the most popular in Europe in her size bracket, during all the production years.
Cat-18 powered and on straight shafts, so pretty decent lumps of iron in the engine room, but any owner-operator could appreciate a better accessibility.
At sea, she wasn't a speed demon, but good for cruising at anything between 20 and 24 kts, topping 30 or so.
Seakeeping was pretty good for the type of boat, with a variable deadrise hull with semi-tunnels and a deepish V astern (16 or 17 degrees, as I recall).
Not very beamy vs. her length generally speaking, but Azimut always mastered very well the usage of interior spaces, so you are unlikely to feel her less spacious than any other similar length boats - if anything, the opposite.
The layout was a strong selling point when the boat was presented, with 3 nice and full headroom cabins, all ensuite, and a rather unusual arrangement where the VIP cabin can access both her own head and also the one of the 3rd cabin. A solution that would be appreciated by your guests, whenever you should have just one couple onboard, who could enjoy separate heads - unheard of in a guest cabin, also at much larger boat size.
Crew quarters astern are also good enough.
But I'm not commenting the layout further, because it's the easier thing to check, and you are the only person who can tell if it suits your own needs or not.

The latest units of the 62 were slightly updated (called 'Evo', but I can't remember from which year exactly) with larger glued windows both in the master and in the VIP cabin. But if you ask me, I'd rather stick to old school s/steel framed windows, which are more trouble/leak-free.
They yard made extensive use of sandwich construction, sometimes also in the whole hull, which could become problematic whenever some thru-hull components were retrofitted without caring enough about a proper, extensive re-sealing.
But actually, I'm not sure if the 62 hull had sandwich construction or solid lamination, under the w/line.
Blistering is also relatively common, in Azimut hulls.
Anyhow, this is all stuff that a decent surveyor can check, without struggling to identify problems, if any.

The electrical system, contrarily to what I read here in a few occasions, is not among typical Azimut problems, at least on this side of the Atlantic.
This might have something to see with the fact that they have a production plant also in Brazil, from which maybe most of the production is sent to the US, but this is something I can't be positive about.
One thing which is instead a recurring problem, even if not too serious, is the quality of teak, wherever used on external decks. Luckily, not many first owner specced it on the main deck and the flybridge, so if you find a boat that only has it in the cockpit and swim platform, probably you will have to replace just the latter, which is no big deal. In the cockpit, all depends on how much exposed the boat was left in her lifetime, but I've seen early 2000s boats whose cockpit was normally enclosed when not used, and the teak floor was still quite acceptable.
Another point worth mentioning for the 62 are the GRP "cheeks" under the stern fairleads, that can develop cracks if the boat was exposed to strong snatches on the mooring lines.
But again, easy to spot during survey.

All that said, neither Azimut in general nor the 62 in particular would be my personal choice, and among Italian builders there are others which I like better.
At this specific size and age, Sanlorenzo would probably be my choice, but I blamed beforehand the fact that you are likely to get suggestions about alternatives more than comments on the boat you are interested in, so let's not get into that!
What I think is fair to say, if you like the style and the layout and the survey doesn't highlight any major problem, is that you would struggle to find a much better value for money, among plastic flybridge boats in this size bracket.

Good luck for your search!

Every time I read the arm and leg for maintenance on MAN's, I have to say that's not our experience at all. We find them to be very reliable and as easy to get serviced as any brand. People act like CAT's have no issues, but they have their share as well. Often those who refer to MAN issues aren't referring to the current generation. When I speak well of them, I am speaking of Common Rail.

I think that story about MAN parts being more is old and outdated. CAT parts are not cheap today, nor is service. You look at the items you quoted above and price those same items for other engines. On a used boat, maintenance costs are going to reflect the care and treatment by previous owners. And, no, you can't compare half the hp. We've managed 5 boats with MAN's and never encountered any major maintenance, just regular periodic maintenance. No fuel pumps.

The two year service you refer to is:

• Change both valve caps on expansion tank
• Remove and clean, flush intercooler
• Remove and clean, flush heat exchanger
• Remove and clean turbocharger
• Remove and clean charge air coolers and pipes

If there are no issues with those parts, then it's definitely not close to $20,000. If the parts need to be replaced, a different story, but then those same parts are expensive on CAT.

As to capable mechanics and service, we've had no problems, but then we are in an area with good support. We do use regular providers and trained MAN mechanics.

One other warning. I don't argue about what you consider an arm and a leg, but hope you can then afford financially and mentally to lose one, because buying a 13 to 15 year old boat, you're highly likely to incur service in the first year of ownership in that range, the $20k range.

Sorry if I gave the impression that blistering and sandwich construction are somewhat related, because they aren't.
The problem of sandwich construction under the w/line is that if and when water finds its way inside, it can soak the sandwich, and depending on the extension and duration of that, even the hull strength can eventually be affected, in the worst case.
But as I said, I wasn't sure about the 62' specifically, and according to your findings the hull has solid GRP lamination, so no worries on that.

Hull blistering instead is something "starting" from the gelcoat, and can be more or less superficial, again depending on how old the boat is and whether she's kept in the water at all time or periodically dried out.
It's not uncommon on Azimuts hulls, regardless of whether sandwich or solid, and mostly depends on how carefully microbubbles of air were removed while rolling the first layer of mat after the gelcoat.
So, that's essentially down to how careful a specific workers team was, while laminating the hull.
But there's no way for you (or anyone else) to know beforehand, other than by checking the hull.

Anyway, that alone is not something that would make me rule out a particular boat, in the age range you are considering.
First of all, wherever such blistering is present, it's usually very superficial, and only affects the gelcoat.
Secondly, more than likely the boat will need a full removal of the old antifoul anyway, and that is the best occasion for blasting out any blistering, clean and close the holes with a vinylester filler, and eventually treat the whole bare hull with 3 or 4 epoxy layers.
Done that, you will be very unlikely to hear again of the problem for another 30 years, if not more.
That's more expensive than just re-apply antifoul of course, but not the end of the world, either.
And if the problem appears upon survey, the job cost can well be part of the price negotiation.

Just another point on MAN engines: the 900 that you mentioned is indeed notorious.
It was the very first CR version of their V8 block, and right after they introduced it, many yards adopted it to power their models that up to then were equipped with the mechanical V8/800, whose reputation was very solid.
But shortly afterwards, MAN began to be overwhelmed by warranty claims, mostly due to CR teething problems.
How well and reliably they were addressed, depended on the specific competence of the dealer involved, considering also that back then they were just beginning to learn CR engines.
Bottom line, together with their V10 of that era (particularly the semi-electronic 1050, but also the CR 1100), I would include the 900 among the MAN engines that I would rather not have in my boat.
But other than that, I agree with the previous comments about MANs being much better than the old wives' tale about man-grenades suggests.

Sorry, I meant to say but I forgot:
I don't think the cutlass bearing of the Azi 62 (or any other Azi model for that matter) have any peculiarity, other than being probably metric.
70mm, if I should guess. Pretty much off the shelf items anyhow, at least here in Europe.
Not sure about how much more difficult it can be to find metric sizes in the US, but certainly Azimut isn't the only EU builder in that market...
Someone else from your neck of the wood will surely be able to confirm that better than myself, anyhow!

I agree and would prefer MAN's in a Euro boat. They're very good engines, as are the C18's, but Azimut generally doesn't use a lot of CATs. I agree with what everyone else said about the Azimut maintenance, especially Ralph. RUN don't walk, from the Marquis. Do yourself a favor and buy a 63' Sunseeker Manhattan. The Searay 580 Sedan Bridge was also a very good boat and very good sea boat, great performance. Access to things in the Engine room is a bit tough.