34 Power Boating Canada | Volume 25 Number 4 www.powerboating.com

The Italian-built Sessa features striking lines and an Euro-style whether atanchor or on plane.

Triple Yamaha 350hp V-8 outboards provide more room insidethe cabin, and yet don't interfere with the view.

34 Power Boating Canada | Volume 25 Number 4 www.powerboating.com

The Italian-built Sessa features striking lines and an Euro-style whether atanchor or on plane.

Triple Yamaha 350hp V-8 outboards provide more room insidethe cabin, and yet don't interfere with the view.

thousand years from now collegeprofessors will be lecturing ourdescendants on how Italians of themodern era were famous for chi-anti and spaghetti, and even more

famous for building boats so pretty and sopowerful they could make a grown manweep. I know this future vision will come topass because I have just finished a sea trial ofthe new Sessa Marine Key Largo 36. It’s apowerful, luxurious day boat which was soalluring that at the end of the day, they hadto throw me off the boat and threaten to callthe cops if I didn’t go home. You’ll under-stand better if I tell the whole story.

Not long ago I caught up with the Sessa36 Key Largo in Miami Beach and took herfor a little ride. I spent the morning on Bis-cayne Bay feeling the bumpety-bump of thewater against the hull and hearing the trio ofYamaha V-8’s singing their siren’s song. With1050 horsepower hanging off the transom,Madame Sessa was undeniably fast. Dump-ing the throttle felt like I was hanging ontothe back of an extreme high-performancepersonal watercraft. I could literally feel thefour-stroke outboards bodily lifting the wet-ted surface out of the water, and over andon top of the bow-wave. The telling takeslonger than the doing. Stopwatch in hand, Iclocked acceleration from dead in the waterto 30 mph with an elapsed time of just 8.9seconds. Blistering the water at wide-openthrottle the boat nudged the 60 mph mark. Isuspect that tweaking and tuning the typeof propeller and the pitch might conceivably

raise top speed by one or two mph. By fuelflow meter and GPS readings, and by theseat of my pants, it became apparent thatthe sweet spot is 40 to 45 mph.

Note that while my test ride was riggedwith Yamaha V-8 outboards, diehard Mer-cury fans could substitute triple super-charged Verado 300-hp V-6s with 150-hpless and still travel 54 mph. Keep this inmind: besides the purchase price of eachengine, as well as respective fuel economyand top speed, another vital consideration isthe warranty term offered by the manufac-turer. As of this writing both Yamaha Marineand Mercury Marine four-stroke outboardshave a factory backed three year limitedwarranty term. Extended service contractstake effect when the limited factory warran-ty runs out. Yamaha’s package adds one,two or three years to the factory coverage,while Mercury’s offers incremental exten-sions up to a seven year maximum for thecombined standard limited warranty andextended service contract period.

Before we go any further you need toknow the Italian-built, Euro-style, Key Largo36 was designed for the Med, a sea notori-ous for big waves kicked up by strong windslike the Sirocco and Gregale and Bora. Inother words, here’s a sea kindly boat, onethat was built to be able to ply rough watersand still maintain an easy motion. No bigsurprise, the hull form boasts a nice, deepentry that neatly slices through big wavesinstead of slamming the bow into a wall ofwater. Underway she feels solid, like the rock

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A

Sessa MarineKey Largo 36Italian design and exciting performance: she’s far more than just a day boat

By Tim Banse

CRUISER TEST #1130PBC

The Sessa features a cockpit with more room forentertaining than may be found on some yachts.

of Gibraltar. The ride is eminently comfort-able and d-r-y. Handling manners are impec-cable. She tracks true going slow or fast. Upon plane the boat pirouettes through theturns like a big woman who’s really good atdancing. Dockside she’s just as nimble. Onthe morning of the sea trial, a strong windwas pushing the Sessa hard up against thefuel dock. But shoving off was no problemthanks to the oversized thrusters that feltlike they were powerful enough to breakloose a cruise ship. Returning to homeportlater that day, all that extra thrust gave usfinely coordinated control for confidentdocking maneuvers.

Obviously the powerful outboard motorsare the heart and soul of Sessa’s newmachine. Let’s pause a beat for a moment’sperspective. Aficionados may remember acouple of years ago when Yamaha Marinefirst introduced the 350-horsepower V-8s,and similarly, Mercury introduced theirsupercharged 300-hp V-6 Verados. Thesepowerhouse outboards arrived on the scenebecause boat builders had been pleadingwith the engine builders for more powerfuloutboards that were big enough to push aboat the size and weight of the Sessa Marine36 Key Largo. It wasn’t that long ago thatthis class of boat didn’t even exist. The pay-off for having these Jovian-proportionedoutboards is as simple as the sea is salt, andcontrary to what you might think, it’s notjust potent performance. Removing a couplethousand pounds-worth of inboard enginesand transmissions from the stringers, freesup considerable room inside the boat.

In this case, Sessa’s design team trans-formed what would have been engine roominto a massive mid-cabin stateroom. Thismeans the 36-footer boasts the interiorspace of a much larger boat. One particularly

36 Power Boating Canada | Volume 25 Number 4 www.powerboating.com

SESSAMARINEPBC

Above: Tim Banse at the helm withFastboats.com owner Randy Sweers.

Bottom: The open and expansive deck of theKey Largo 36 is the idea place to entertain anddine.

nice design element is the way the masterstateroom is flanked, both port and star-board, by huge panoramic side windows.The net effect is that the already generousaccommodation feels bigger than it actuallyis. And of course, you can also sip coffee andwatch the sunrise while laying in bed (It’s atwin that converts into a double).

While Sessa touts its Key Largo as a dayboat, truth be told, it’s more than that. It’salso a very capable weekend or longer cruis-er. The panoply of galley appliances rivals, ormay even surpass, what you have at home inyour kitchen. The dinette converts into adouble bed so the kids or another couple cancome along for the ride. The head, repletewith a standup shower, is spacious enoughto actually be comfortable. Must–have crea-ture-comfort options include the air condi-tioning and the electrical generator.

While it’s true the Key Largo 36 would bea great place to cook dinner and spend thenight in goodly comfort, Madame Sessa’smain claim to fame is that she is a real useboat. By that I mean most of the time aboardwill be spent outside, skimming along thewater, sunning on the forward sunpad, orsimply lounging in the aft sundeck withroom enough to entertain eight to ten fami-ly and friends.

So naturally it follows that there are cer-tain amenities on deck. The list includesthings like an L-shaped dinette, a basin witha mixer tap, an electric cooking hob, a cut-ting board, a fridge and of course an icemak-

er. At the back of the boat the motor plat-form pulls double duty as a swim platform.Snuggled away inside the compartmentresides a shower fixture with hot and coldfresh water. My test ride had the optionalretractable (electric) Bimini top.

The helm chair is electric and there’s tiltsteering to make it easy to get comfortablebehind the wheel. On the foredeck resides agenerously proportioned, upholstered sun-

deck. Getting forward is surefooted thanksto the rails and the wide walkway. The bowpulpit cutout makes it easy to set or retrievethe anchor.

Finally, Sessa Marine, one of Europe’slargest volume boat builders has expandedtheir horizons into North America. The builderhas signed a distributorship in the UnitedStates, Randy Sweers of FastBoats.com, inPompano Beach, Florida. !

37Volume 25 Number 4 | Power Boating Canada www.powerboating.com

S P E C I F I C A T I O N S

LOA 38’ 0” / 11.5 mBeam 11’ 6” / 3.5 mFuel capacity 317 gals / 1200 lFreshwater capacity 60 gals / 230 lHot water capacity 5 gals / 20 lHolding tank capacity 25 gals / 95 lHeadroom 6' 4" / 1.95 m

PERFORMANCE RESULTSrpm mph gph1000 8.2 4.32000 11.0 12.73000 20.0 23.04000 34 36.05000 47.1 60.05900 58 100 Time to plane 5.2 seconds

For more information contactFastBoats.com

1490 North Federal HighwayPompano Beach, FL 33062

(954) 581-8355www.fastboats.com or www.sessamarine.com