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

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!

Mapism has a kind and informative post above and deserves to be read again in all fairness.
Quoting Mapism "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."

This is correct...

A lot of Yacht Forums members are from the marine service side of yacht ownership. Our sweat, blood and tears are spilled in many bilges and offer us a great opportunity to see and repair many parts you and your surveyors just can not see, experience or appreciate.
In Jacksonville FL, not many Muts hang around. It's just an little south Georgia river town.
I have worked on 8 to 10 Muts of various models and age thru the years. So I'm the junior Mut Tech on this Forum.

I'll offer just some comments;
You will never find an accurate ships electrical schematic if one at all.
You probably will not find any accurate hull schematics on plumbing (raw or fresh water), A/C systems (ducting, wires & coolant lines) and/or other items.
I assume that every boat is assembled by a different group of folks that just throw it together before the cap comes down. This results in near every boat is built different, one of a kind (that week?).
A/C pumps and other items that do need maintenance are installed in impossible places for a normal person to not just reach, but barely put a finger on. Remember, installed before the cap came down.
So on my above comments, You can understand that Mut service is going to require more tech hours, possibly modifications to your boat and a longer service visit. Knowing now about muts, then, I wish I could of passed on that work and serviced something (anything) else.
One member called Da Mut; the Bayliner of Italy. He was kindly speaking.

Lack of factory support and no spares should be considered also.

I'm not even to talk about Marine Max, That would ruin my day.

Please do a YF search on these tubs. You may find some almost happy customers that have posted.

IMO, keep walking. There are real yachts out there to shop that will project your money further.

The series 60 engine IMO is now near bomb proof. Still get all records and survey well.
MANs do well also. A good MAN shop needs to be close and will be considered a part of your family soon.

The Prop Smith (or like) tool is near common on lots of different boats and different propellers these days.

It's the B S & T that your going to dread trying to self service your ship.
It's not the pumps failing, it's getting to them for service / replacement.
Clocks are ticking on many water hoses. Good luck on finding, repairing, replacing any hose or plumbing issue.

You will not be able to estimate yard work based on your friends Hatteras repairs.
Impossible to forecast, just realize, yard work will mostly cost more for repairs.

Blisters and cracks may become a part of your custom decor as your ship get older.

Have you a plan how to get on / off the boat? Your Wife? Your guest?
I'm not sure of your exact model but please consider this also. Lots of euro models make egress a hazard sometimes.
This condition will also change from dock to dock.

If you realize (for real) there is a reason the up front cost is lower than other brands for similar models, Then I guess you have talked your self into it's purchase.

Never heard of a MAN air cooler failure.
MAN has no gear cooler. It is installed by the marinizer who mated the engine with the clutch/gear.
So the gear cooler service depends on the clutch mfg.
There is some attention required on the tube shaped H/Es. However, Not abused, they last a long while.
There is a rebuild service available also.
Now just servicing these, sense MAN has no zincs and better materials than CAT, keep it clean and not full of mud is most all required.

I would consider the cost of MANs water paths thru/around the engine to be one of the cheapest to maintain per years and/or hours.

Search YF for the MAN board topic. Recently I understand a less expensive clock repair is in place.
Other than that, Boards are expensive for all brands. I think Volvo is the tallest priced per hp.

Yep, Injector pumps cost a lot for two engines. Rarely required.

Kind of a personal joke to me. MANs and Detroits luv to leak oil.
When you think all are fixed, they just start over again.
Probably one of the better scores for Cats (not many IMO), they don't leak oil as much.

Your looking at a used boat again. Ensure records are there for all factory recommendations, re-torque heads for example.
Survey all very well. Poor maintenance by the previous owner is not a fault of the engine mfg.

I see we were typing at the same time.
I'll get back to your last post tonight.
Got to get out and work on our 42 year old beast.
71s rule

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!

Gear, Clutch even called the transmission, all the same on a floater.
Yes, That is installed pending the Gear, Clutch or transmission. Probably the only zinc on that engine.
Some ZFs have internal oil oil coolers. Other MFGs use the coolant from the engine to cool (or heat) their clutch oil.

That looks like a typical MAN clutch install,, Twin Disk..

Working on your #11 post now.

... A good MAN shop needs to be close and will be considered a part of your family soon..

I'd say that this is the part that no boat owner wants to hear, especially those that cruise often and go far.

A good shop taking care of their brand correctly, should make those long leg trips less worrisome. And, if there a problem, they know who can help if not, they will be there on the next flight.
My Heavy Cat & Detroit crews do take advantages of their frequent flyer miles.

Water and sanitation hoses, from what I know it's a pain on most boats. Are you suggesting that it's even worse getting those replaced on Azimuts?

No schematics on hose runs. My comments on, Installed before the Cap came down applies again. As on some boats I have worked on hulls (not all Muts) where sometimes you have to run new hoses and abandon the original hoses in place. Our company had a well documented policy and procedure page on this for customers to recite and sign.. Yes they had to read it aloud.

Boarding/off boarding applies to any vessel with high freeboard. I don't see how it would be different in Sunseeker, Marquis, Princess, Hatteras ...just to name the few. So far I observed no issues, it's either via platform or attached passarel.

Stern in / on every time? Imagine your coming up to a restaurant for diner. How the F***** you going to get crew off to catch lines? You have to look this over with an open mind. Take all cases in view during your dreams. I know you did not mean Hatteras when you were typing. I have never found a NC hull you could not board near the wheel house doors. Hatt mini hang ladders are SOP here.

Blisters - is this your observation in general on different models? Does it get bad or is it few that can easily be touched up during bottom paint?

Blisters are a long term issue for all cost reduced hulls. This happens because of mold release (polished gel coat) that passes water. Some brands/formulas allow this to happen faster than other brands/formulas. Sometimes, none at all. Who spent the extra dollars on your bottom during hull mfg is a sign of the rest of build quality. You got blisters; cost cutting… The only reason.
New blisters are an eyesore. Grind them out, let completely dry, wash well, dry again, fill, fare and seal. Then paint. New blisters will be back if you don’t clean and reseal the whole hull. I have walked thru many surveys where the seller stated some barrier coat was just applied, during bottom survey it looks like a mine field. Survey all well. The more in depth (moisture meter, IR, Gross thermal or even my fave; bang on her with a mallet) is a must if not more than one.

If your finding old blisters that have not been sealed, this could be an issue. Water is (micro) pumped in between the layers of glass. These laminates of those fine hand laid turn to mush.

However, I have never found a floater to sink from this,,, Close but not sink..

Capt Ralph said: ↑

...If you realize (for real) there is a reason the up front cost is lower than other brands for similar models, Then I guess you have talked your self into it's purchase...


No, not at all. I'm doing research and got it down to 3 different brands and models. The more I study them the more I'm seeing that 62 Fly could be the "happy compromise". For this reason I opened this thread so I can learn what I still don't know and determine if there are really red flags that I should consider as an indication to stay away from Azi in general or just 62Fly. I was considering 55Fly (same years range 2004-2007), but it doesn't offer the same comforts/space. And of course the issues you guys describing seem to apply to Azi as a brand, not a particular model.

What are the other brands your looking at? In a hurry? IMO, another month will be like shooting fish in a barrel. Start expanding your searches. Those that were tight budgeted, will be the quick bargains soon.



Go ahead and post the ads your looking at. We can rip them up quickly.

Don’t be in a hurry. Who knows, this Mut may be a good deal after all (doubt it)..

Don't worry about metric vs ASE. They are common. However, I do prefer a V strut vs a single arm when applying big HP to the water. Not sure what Muts use, concerned a single design is the final strut.