There are lots of boats that qualify as Sport Express cruisers but none I have seen that equal the combination of features and benefits provided by the new Lazzara LSX Quad75. Propelled by 4 Volvo Penta IPS600 drives, the yacht combines Lazzara’s innovative design, advanced manufacturing technology and the performance obtained from the total of 1,740 hp, efficiently delivered via four sets of contra rotating propellers. The LSX75 will be a standard of comparison for yachts in its category.

The innovative use of four IPS drives yields significant benefits in all measures of what is important in an express cruiser: sparking performance, astounding maneuverability from the drives’ vectored thrust, and a surprisingly spacious interior. The accommodations include a large deck saloon, four staterooms, each with a private head, a two-bunk crew cabin accessed from the deck, and a day head at the after end of the saloon where it is immediately accessible to those who have just boarded from the aft swim platform. The LSX75 has a maximum speed of 34.2 knots, and, even more important, it has a sustained cruising speed of 31 knots on 71 gallons of diesel per hour, 0.44 nautical miles per gallon, for a range of 326 nautical miles, with 10 percent of the 830-gallon capacity in reserve. Operating on three engines the boat can cruise at 27 knots, and it can maintain 18 knots on only two of the four IPS drives. She planes at just over 12 knots and can cruise at 13 knots with an engine speed less than 2000 rpm, consuming only 13 gallons per hour, yielding one nautical mile per gallon of fuel consumed. Range at this speed, assuming a 10 percent fuel reserve is 740 nautical miles!

“Performance envelope,” a term used by aircraft engineers and test pilots, may be the most appropriate way to describe what the LSX75 can do under the widest variety and combination of conditions. In the case of the LSX75, the envelope includes the maneuverability it achieves at cruising speed. The radius of her turning circle, 614 feet, is about a third smaller than is customary for a vessel of this size. The vectored thrust from the quad IPS drives makes low-speed maneuvering even more impressive. The yacht is normally controlled using a conventional wheel and throttle, however the joystick used for low-speed maneuvering makes docking or undocking and navigating no-wake zones a point-and-shoot exercise. Gently move the joystick in the direction you want the boat to move, and it will go there, slowly if you wish, with authority if you push harder on the stick. The system provides low and high maximum rpm settings when the helmsman is using the joystick.

The “magic” of maneuvering with the joystick and the yacht’s high-speed turning performance is a result of specially designed software. The program controls the amount of power delivered by each of the four engines, the direction of rotation of the contra rotating props on each drive and the angle at which each drive delivers its thrust. The helmsman has no need to know or be concerned about what the drives are doing, only the result, which is precise movement of his vessel in obedience to his commands. The yacht can perform as if in a ballet, rotating about its axis, with no lateral movement. It will make its captain look good even when current and wind are making others work hard to remain in control of their vessels.
No doubt the LSX75’s outstanding maneuverability and excellent cruise performance will sell boats to those who are particularly attuned to the performance aspects of boating, but first-class accommodations make a yacht of this size really successful. The choice of the Quad IPS drive system has a favorable impact on livability that matches their performance contribution. The surprisingly compact Volvo Penta IPS drives are installed just forward of the transom. Each engine and IPS drive requires only 86 inches from the inside of the transom to the front of the engine. As a result, the engineroom, while only about 11 feet long, is amazingly spacious, with excellent access to the four engines, the 25 kW Kohler genset and all of the accessories. There are three doors to the engineroom, one from the crew cabin and two from the afterdeck/swim platform, flanking the power-operated door to the tender storage compartment.
The space efficiency of the IPS drives results in a lower deck, which extends for approximately 53 feet from the forward side of the engineroom bulkhead to the after side of the forward bulkhead in the VIP stateroom in the bow. The full-beam master stateroom is located aft, just forward of the portside master head/storage locker area and the starboardside crew quarters. Based on a brief evaluation of sound levels during low-speed maneuvering and prior experience in measuring sound levels on previous Lazzara yachts, the sound of the engines will never be intrusive.

Moving forward, there are identical double guest staterooms port and starboard, each with a private head. Each stateroom has a flat-screen TV, audio system and connection for an iPod. Lighting throughout is controlled by a computer. The galley and dining area occupy the full beam of the boat forward of the main stateroom area and are open above to the deeply slanted triple windscreens almost 14 feet above. The effect is similar to that of a duplex apartment and keeps those in the saloon and the helmsman in contact with people in the galley and dining area. Twin vertical portlights port and starboard bring the outside world into the galley/dining area. The VIP stateroom, which has a centerline double bed, and a private head, is forward of the utility and clothes washer/dryer lockers.

A conventional deck layout provides wide side decks, protected by stainless steel railings, for safe and easy passage forward and aft. The deck abaft the saloon features a dining table, fixed and movable seating, and a second sunpad for lounging. Twin stairways provide access to the lower afterdeck and swim platform.

In the pilothouse, the twin-seat helm station is to starboard and presents the helmsman with a triple LCD screen assembly for the vessel’s radar, chart plotter and ISIS total ship information system. The entire navigation display assembly is mounted on a motor-driven adjustable-height platform, allowing it to be set to match a seated or standing helmsman. Controls include the standard wheel and throttle plus one of the two joystick controls (the other is located on the starboard side of the after end of the saloon extension on the open afterdeck).

The open design of the yacht’s interior has unobstructed sightlines from the galley/dining area on the lower deck to the helm station and saloon, eliminating the isolation that is often a part of large boats. The feeling of openness will be very much appreciated on this, likely to be owner operated, yacht. As expected of a yacht in this category, the fit and finish of the interior and all furnishings (all built in-house) are exceptional. Every detail I examined was executed flawlessly.

Overall, the LSX 75 is a different kind of Sport Express boat. It combines first-class cruising performance, astonishing low-speed maneuverability, an extremely spacious and welcoming interior and sleek exterior styling. The yacht looks as a Sport Express should look, as if it is under way at high speed even when it’s standing still.

Lazzara Yachts, (813) 835-5300, www.lazzarayachts.com

LOA: 76’9”
LWL: 62’1”,
Beam: 18’2”
Draft: 4’2”
Displ: (half load) 78,000 lb.
Fuel: 830 gal.
Water: 200 gal.
Holding tank: 100 gal.
Air draft: 16’
Power: 4x Volvo Penta
diesels @ 435 hp each
Drives: 4x Volvo Penta
ISP600
Price: $3.6 million