The sunglasses are in place, a handful of passengers secure a seat in the cockpit lounge behind the helm. Marcello Maggi has also taken up position next door. The President of the W-Fin Sarl Group, to which the Wilder brand also belongs, is accompanying the trip off the southern French coast. Cast off, the captain starts the two MAN V8 engines and steers with a bubbling sound and 1.5 to three knots towards the bay, where the water is only rippled by other day trippers.
100 per cent in-house design - the WiLder 60 bears the signature of the in-house Centro Stile studio and has a masculine sports car look with dynamic exterior lines and an angular deckhouse, lots of brown with black and shimmering bronze plus paint. The layout of the 34-tonner is pragmatic, with three cabins flanking the saloon and galley below deck and the owners residing in the bow.
Water splashes five metres high at the stern
The "speedometer" of the aluminium construction quickly shows 30 knots, consumption climbs to 204 and 185 litres, the 956 kilowatt power packs with surface drive roar at 1900 revolutions each. At just under 40 knots, a considerable stern wave piles up and the water splashes four to five metres high. The gentle vibration underfoot has long since turned into a sole massage, yet the 5.4 metre slender lady is surprisingly calm on the water.
Not quite, as the stern wave of another yacht gets in the way, shaking the guests a little. The noise makes conversation difficult, one passenger remarks quietly: "A yacht concept like this is perhaps a bit out of date". However, his facial features reveal that he is still enjoying the whole thing.
Time for anecdotes that put what we have just experienced into context: "I was travelling at 60 knots yesterday," says a guest, pointing to a tender a few metres away and adding the story of a man who had a contact lens blown out of his eye by the wind. "I once had a lady with glued-on eyelashes who couldn't close her eyes," adds his neighbour. Now the female passengers are laughing too.
WiLder 60: US-Americans in particular like outboards
At eleven knots and a relaxed 1330 rpm, the tension disappears from the faces of the doubters: 88 litres of fuel consumption - that sounds almost economical for the Wilde 60. On the way back, the company has to be patient, the entrance to the harbour is jammed with dozens of yachts. Some come dangerously close, but Quickmarine's bow and stern thrusters effortlessly keep the WiLder 60 on course. "Where do you think the owner will be travelling?" asks Marcello Maggi. "The southern French coast," he simply says, "maybe Corsica too". Where else.
This could soon change, as the WiLder 60 outboard is in the starting blocks. In this variant, four Mercury Verado 600 outboards at the stern power the floating sports car. The target group is different, with US Americans in particular ordering such a vehicle. "They are simply more practical," says Maggi, "The engines are easy to maintain. And if something breaks, you can easily replace it." Pure pragmatism. The maximum speed remains the same at 40 knots - so the chances of being one of the first to reach the harbour or dream bay and securing the best berth are good, even on the other side of the Atlantic.
Technical data WiLder 60
- LOA: 18,9 m
- Width: 5,43 m
- Depth: 1,11 m
- Displacement (full): 34 t
- Material: Aluminium (Alloy 5083)
- Exterior design: Centro Stile Wider
- Interior design: Centro Stile Wider
- Construction: Wider Engineering
- Class: CE category B
- Cabins: 3
- Motors: 2x MAN V8 1300 (956kW)
- Gearbox: 2x ZF 665 A
- Drive and propeller: Surface Drive Top System TS 80 + Joystick + DPS
- Genset: 1x MASE 16.2kW VS17.5 LOW 50 Hz
- Bow and stern thruster: Quick Marine BT QSY 300-300 (300kgf)
- Maximum speed: 40 kn
- travelling speed: 35 kn (range 200 nm)
- Tank: 3000 lt
- Fresh water: 500 lt
- Waste water: 250 lt
