Open up the Aicon

Over the 26 issues Boat Owner has been reporting on the trends, dreams and boats for sale in the Arabian Gulf market, there has been a gradual shift in attitude as to what are the ‘preferred' boats to bring in. On arrival I was categorically told that anything other than a fishing or flybridge boat would not sell. But has that really been the case? Obviously any yacht brought out to the Middle East needs a high degree of shade and air conditioned areas, but that's exactly what the modern open offers.

In terms of squeezing the most out of the dollar per metre, certainly a flybridge model makes sense - it offers an extra al fresco area for entertaining; gives a high platform to look around from; and, in essence what some owners are after, makes the boat look bigger than those around it. But the extra height and superstructure weight also sacrifices a flybridge's looks, performance and stability. The higher the centre of gravity gets away from the bowels of the hull, the more it will rock. This is where the modern ‘open' has filled the EU/US markets. The Open model of a series is usually sports sleeker lines, increased performance and is often more contemporary in style - more sports car than saloon.

Launched in the middle of last year, the Aicon 62 is the smaller of Aicon's two open models, introduced along the same lines of its older 72 sibling and following its exterior profile. "The Aicon Open is very different from a number of builders who start with a flybridge and then move to an Open," explained Western Marine's Jyrki Jaamaa. "The Aicon has a specifically styled Open superstructure built to maximise the feeling of spaciousness inside." Sitting stern-to underneath the austere shadow of the Burj Al Arab in Jumeriah Beach Hotel Marina, the Aicon 62 certainly held her own against the parade of yachts almost twice her size, in part due to her high, slab-sided freeboard and bulbous superstructure. Keeping only a slight rise of the sheerline along her length tames the sporty image the Open builder often goes for, while the topsides are broken amidships with a large circular porthole for the master suite, a design feature shared with all Aicons over 20 metres. A decisive dark band stretches above the waterline to add the perception of length to the hull, ending at the thick teak bathing platform, set at a suitable height for stepping onto from the dock.

Passing by the almost full-beam transom lazarette, three deep-set steps that cover the passerelle rise to starboard, bring the guest up to main deck level at the quarter, where an electric capstan has floor controls to ensure reverse docking is precisely executed. Unlike a flybridge cruiser that often uses the aft deck for a transom bench, Aicon has set up an outside dining-cum-sunpad area, which benefits from its own bimini that springs out of the built-in backrest surround to provide shade for up to eight diners, folding down again when the teak table is lowered so that loungers can catch the sun. To port of the longing area, access to the single en suite crew cabin drops down through a hatch, while a further piston-assisted hatch set into the teak sole lifts to allow access to the huge engine room. Unlike some open models that squeeze engines into an almost unserviceable area, the twin V-drive MAN V12s had room to spare in this arrangement, with standing headroom throughout the engine room allowing for extra storage of working gear without encroaching on access to all the vital service areas.

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