The iconic Roman shipyard Canados continues the development of its Gladiator line of fast open yachts and is currently building the first Gladiator 961 Speed, a 52 Knots – 29.22-meter.

The Gladiator 961 Speed - despite its performance level, 42 knots cruising and 52 top - is an in-house design with hyper luxury interiors by world’s famous Cristiano Gatto Design firm from Venezia.

In addition to its unique construction quality, the Gladiator 961 features a perfectly integrated sport-fly offering the best of both worlds, astonishing performances and extended social areas.

The Gladiator Philosophy

Capitalizing on over seven decades of luxury yacht building, Canados started producing the Gladiator line of boats aiming at bringing to the market the quality, the flexibility and customization levels that were so far only available on large yachts.

With models capable from 37 up to 85 knots, depending on the power packages, all Gladiators offer the best consumption to mile ratio; thanks to superior naval architecture.

The Gladiator 961 Speed will be launched next spring 2023 and will be unveiled to the general public at the 2023 Cannes Yachting Festival. She will be, for now, the Gladiator line flagship.

Gladiator 961 Speed – Ata A Glance

Reaching speeds in excess of 50 knots with a 29,22-meter/96’ luxury yacht is not easy task, especially when reliability is an essential factor.

During the engineering phases of the Gladiator, nothing has been left aside:

- Hull is made of E-Glass and Vinylester resin lamination using infusion process;

- Deck and superstructure are made of vacuum bagged carbon fiber;

- All floors are structural and made of vacuum bagged E-Glass with an Airex® coring to reduce weight, eliminate squeaking, increase rigidity and reduce noise underway.

- All interior furniture, produced in house, are made of lightweight cored material such as high-density polyurethane foam or composite and aluminum honeycomb;

- All cleats are made of titanium and forged carbon fiber;

- Fuel tanks are structural and made of composites;

The Gladiator 961 Speed is available with three different power packages.

- Twin MAN 2000 HP with U-Drives and propeller shafts for clients looking for speeds in the region of 38 knots;

- Twin MTU 16V 2000M96L delivering 2600 HP;

- Triple MAN V12 – 2000 HP for the most speed addicted clients.

In the last two cases, engines are coupled to JDM Surface Drives equipped with JDM Auto-Trim and Auto-Flaps computer allowing to electronically reach, at a given speed, the best tabs and trim settings optimizing fuel burn.

With a Gladiator, Canados discusses consumption in liter per Nautical Mile as talking about liter per hour with a boat running on average 10 knots faster than any of its closest competitor is truly irrelevant.

Hull 1, which will be based in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, is currently being built in the triple engine configuration.

As of today, hull number one has been completed, faired, with all structural floors already glassed in, all bulkheads installed, lower deck piping and structural tanks completed and carbon fiber deck in the making and planned to be installed in June with engines going in in July.

Luxury And ComfortO at Its Best

Despite the numerous constraints linked to performances, Canados’ engineers prioritized comfort and ease of moving onboard, inside and outside.

The large transom sun pad hides a 3,80-meter jet tender launched with a hidden crane. The laminated glass windows recessed on the swimming platform are located above the propellers for easy visual inspection of the transmissions. To add to the excitement, a heavy-duty camera will be installed, recessed in the transom underneath the swimming platform, relaying the images of the three 5-Blade surface propellers spinning on the onboard TV screens.

The aft deck offers a lounge area for 12 people with direct access to a wet bar with grill, ice maker and fridge. At night, two carbon fiber poles will take place at each aft corner of the sun pad to install a 1,60 x 2,80 m screen which will turn the entire aft deck into an outdoor cinema.

The foredeck is coming with a lounge with two gigantic sofas and an ergonomic sun pad.

The fly-bridge, commonly called a sport-fly on such boat, is, here too, bare none the largest in the category and the only one offering a true wind protection when underway.

Safety is always a priority onboard every Canados. This is particularly felt with the height of side bulwarks. They will allow guests to comfortably walk around the boat even underway.

The main deck interior is designed with two face-to-face sofas with full height side windows offering unobstructed views of the water. Further fore, the round dining table is separated from the wheelhouse by a floor to ceiling totem equipped with a mirror TV wall.

The helmsman will be seated in the exact center line for a better feel of the boat at high speed. Visibility from the wheelhouse is considerably increased by the structureless single glass panel windshield.

The lower deck cabins access stairwell is located to port of the wheelhouse while, to starboard side, is the automatic side deck access door to the passageway.

An independent stairwell aft leads to the Boffi® galley, crew quarters for four and to the engine room access.

Down below, the boat is offered either with three cabins and a home cinema or four cabins. Hull number one will be a 4-Cabin layout with the full beam master in the center of the boat, two twins on each side and the VIP at the bow.

As part of Canados standard, the Gladiator 961 speed will be entirely painted in Awlgrip HDT offering phenomenal gloss and depth.

The client, an experienced boater who always self-operated his previous boats, insisted since the genesis of the project, that he wanted to be able to team up with the captain to run the boat himself when wished.

Therefore, the boat will be equipped with electronic assistances such as a maneuvering joystick coupled to transmissions, bow and stern thrusters, as well as 360-degree cameras.

And this is also where, the CE homologation of the Gladiator 961 Speed under 24-meter has an important impact.

Interior designer Cristiano Gatto was not assigned an easy task. He had to comply with a strict road book and specification from the builder to remain in the acceptable weights and balance of the masses and at the same time was asked to fulfill all clients wishes in terms of décor.

It had to be modern, fresh and elegant. Client’s directions were somehow clear. The décor was to be welcoming, easy to maintain and timeless. It was to be original, high quality but not pretentious. A family man, attached to the comfort of his kids and friends, the couple was as much concerned by the comfort of the guests than by their own comfort.

For the main deck, Gatto opted for a mixture of natural materials such as Poltrona Frau white and taupe leather for the walls, lacquered wood for the ceilings, linen for the sofas with decorative inserts in gun powder color metal while natural panels will be made of satin blond ash wood. The floor is made of Esthec styled teakdecking to give the feeling of a natural extension of the aft deck inside.

In opposition to the very natural colors and materials, the side cupboards are made of varnished carbon fiber to remind that the Gladiator 961 Speed, despite its luxury interiors, is first and foremost a piece of advanced engineering and technology.

The lower deck is no different in terms of atmosphere except for the floors dressed with wood parquet and custom made carpet with some walls dressed with custom embossed leather created for Canados by Marine Leather from Naples.

Short Specification:

Dimensions and capacities

Length overall (L.O.A.) 29.22 m / 95’10’’         

Length of hull (CE) 23.96 m / 78’7’’

Maximum beam  6.35 m / 20’10’’  

Draft to propellers  1.40 m / 4’7’’  

Empty displacement 62 tons / 136,700 lbs

Full load displacement 74 tons / 163,100 lbs

Fuel tanks capacity 8,000 liters / 2,144 US Gal.

Water tanks capacity 1,500 liters / 396 US Gal.

Grey water tanks capacity 415 liters / 110 US Gal.

Wastewater tanks capacity 380 liters / 100 US Gal.

Engines and performances

Engines 3x MAN 12V 2000 hp

Maximum speed 52 knots +/- 3%

Cruise speed 44 knots +/- 3%

Cruising range 360 NM

Canados Current Order Book

2022 Deliveries

Canados will deliver 17 boats this season from 43’ to 143’.

The current order book stands at 33 boats including an Oceanic 76’ Shadow, an Oceanic 100’ Shadow, an Oceanic 143’ Tri-Deck, a Canados 152’ and two Gladiator 96’.

2022 - 2023 Launches

2022 will see the launch of the 25 knots 143’ Oceanic Tri-Deck while in 2023, 4 new models will be launched in addition to about 24 Gladiator:

- Oceanic 76’ Shadow;

- Oceanic 100’ Shadow;

- Gladiator 571 Blade;

- Gladiator 961 Speed.

What Makes Gladiator Really Different!

In addition to jaw dropping sea-going capabilities and construction quality, exceptional performances, clients are enjoying the unique experience of being able to create their own custom boat.

No vinyl in a Gladiator, the entire ceilings are upholstered in premium Poltrona Frau Italian leather.

No gelcoat, all our boats are entirely painted in Awlgrip. No Made in China hardware, but only European stainless-steel, anodized aluminum, stainless steel or forged carbon and titanium cleats and the list is almost endless.