Cranchi has been building boats for years, and enduring designs like the Cranchi Zaffiro 34 prove true beauty is found in lasting quality and practicality
Cranchi is not shy when it comes to expressing the romantic side of things. “Builders of Yachts, Creators of Beauty” purrs its website, as if dripping honey. Scroll down a bit further and you’re invited to “Treat Yourself to Endless Emotions”.
Well such may be the way with Italian boat builders but, as any boat owner will testify, boats really are things of beauty – and Cranchi ought to know that better than most, because it’s been building boats for nearly 160 years.
The Cranchi story goes all the way back to 1866, when Giovanni Cranchi began a modest boat-building enterprise on the shores of Lake Como. As later generations of the family moved in, production was ramped up to the point where, in 1932, the mass production of wooden boats began in new premises in the town of Brienno on the southwestern arm of the lake. Today, Cranchi builds its fleet in even larger, albeit less romantic, premises near a busy motorway intersection in nearby Piantedo – and its range of boats really is astonishingly broad.
It offers no fewer than ten model lines, ranging from 26 to 78ft in length. The Cranchi Zaffiro 34 you see here no longer forms a part of that, as production ceased in 2011 after a 14-year run. The nearest modern equivalent is probably the swish and sporty Z35.
But back in the day, the Zaffiro 34 (which translates as Sapphire, by the way) was regarded as equally dynamic. In fact, in our 1998 review of what was then a recently-launched model, we called it “a sporty Italian thoroughbred, offering a good balance between interior and cockpit space.”
So how has it weathered over the years? To find out, we tracked down a Zaffiro 34 of 2002 vintage, on offer for £86,950 with Bray Marine Sales. Aware that, in 2003, Cranchi gave the Zaffiro a facelift, we weren’t expecting to find the most modern of boats. But notwithstanding a few uncommonly large expanses of plastic, the Zaffiro 34 actually has a great deal to offer…
Remarkably, the Cranchi uses a step-through screen, as well as dedicated side decks
Common sense layout
The main deck layout is strikingly similar to that of the Fairline Targa 34. That means there’s a generous bathing platform with a concealed swim ladder and access to the cockpit from the starboard side of the platform’s leading edge. Inside the cockpit, there’s horseshoe-shaped seating around a table to port and a large wet bar unit with fridge to starboard. Hop up the single step to the forward cockpit area and the similarities continue with curved seating to port and a starboard single-seat helm.
The big difference is that the Zaffiro 34 has a step-through windscreen. This had us scurrying back to confirm that there is no access to any side decks at the rear – but oddly enough, there is, complete with grab handles on either side of the radar arch.
Why Cranchi felt the need for a step-through windscreen as well as side decks is a bit of a mystery. After all, it inevitably puts pressure on space, making the cockpit-to-foredeck footway narrow, increasing the chance that you’ll accidentally step on the companionway hatch alongside it.
Maybe that’s why the hatch itself uses such a beefy moulding. It’s certainly not the boat’s finest visual feature and it does, of course, restrict the light entering the lower saloon when shut but, given the deck layout, you would have to say it’s a necessary evil.
The owner’s cabin is not bright by modern standards but the proportions are very good
Two proper cabins
From the companionway, three steps lead down to the saloon, galley, heads and two cabins. These areas are the beneficiaries of the 2003 facelift because, although they’re the same in terms of layout, later boats have wooden facings on their cabinet doors rather than the white plastic of our 2002 boat.
As for the arrangement, there’s a long port settee fronted by a fixed-height table, which means there’s no option of dropping it down to form an occasional third berth. The galley opposite is perfectly adequate and comes with a hob, sink, microwave and fridge, as well as storage units both above and below the counter.
Once you hurdle the carpeted crossbeam, there’s a perfectly decent guest cabin here too
The heads are fully fitted too, with toilet and wash basin plus a tap that doubles as a pull-out shower head. Cabin two has twin beds, which can be joined with an infill to create a double, and the master cabin has a full-size central double berth.
There’s storage space in both cabins, but there’s not massive amounts of room for getting changed and that’s pretty much par for a 34ft boat. But one point we did note was that in the second cabin, there is a structural crossmember just beyond the entrance. Our review model has a dark blue carpet, which makes that beam easy to miss, so you do need to take a bit of care when heading in and out.
Quicker than you think
While later Zaffiro 34s were equipped with twin 260hp Volvo Penta D4s, earlier models featured 220hp KAD 42s or KAD 43s rated at 230hp. The example we tested back in 1998 had the 220hp units and even that achieved a very respectable 35 knots on our sea trial.
For a 34ft cruiser with a lower galley, this is a really good size of wet bar
That backed up the manufacturer’s 36-knot claim, so a little more could certainly be expected from the more powerful units. We also reported that the helm position made for an easy drive and that the boat was generally well mannered at sea.
For owner Eric Cheeseman, though, seakeeping was never an issue, as he purchased his Zaffiro 34 to use on the River Thames: “My wife Lynn and I mostly used the boat for day sailing, often with five or six of us aboard, and it was perfect for that,” says Eric. “We’d typically go up to Windsor, or a bit further to the Staines area. Then sometimes, it would be the other way, past Bray. But to be honest, you can’t get too far in a day at four knots!
“When it comes to manoeuvrability, it’s a six-tonne boat, so it’s quite stable but I did have it moored up at Windsor Racecourse marina for a while and that’s quite open. I remember I did have a bit of an issue with the wind once but for the most part, it really wasn’t too bad.”
While the table is fixed, it wouldn’t be difficult to custom-fit a third berth here if needed
Sports cruiser appeal
So given that a total of 520hp isn’t going to matter to owners like Eric, whose boating ambitions lie solely on the Thames, what led him to choosing an out-and-out sportscruiser? “What attracted me was its appearance,” says Eric.
“I just love the look of it. And compared to all the other boats we saw, it does everything we wanted. In particular, it’s spacious. I’d say it seats up to 12, so if someone wanted the whole family on there, there’d be plenty of room. I think what we were also looking for was the two separate cabins. A lot of boats we looked at just had a curtain, but Cranchi factored in a set of doors to shut the cabins off and they did a really good job of it.”
The aft saloon positions a big low-level dinette directly opposite the wet bar
As for the potential negatives, Eric is pretty clear on that too. “To anyone looking at buying a Cranchi Zaffiro, I’d say have a good look at the engines. Make sure they’ve got their history, as they can be a bit suspect if you don’t look after them. Apart from that, though, it’s a great boat with plenty of room all-round. Even that nice compact galley feels spacious enough to me.”
Following its launch, the Zaffiro 34 became a best-selling model for Cranchi and that means there’s plenty of choice on the used market. Most of them are based abroad though, so if you’re looking at one of these, especially if it’s been living under sunny Mediterranean skies, pay attention to the condition of the cockpit seats and canvas covers, because boats can suffer from sunburn, just like us!
A zipped door gives access to the aft platform and side decks, even with the canvases up
Cranchi Zaffiro 34 specifications
MODEL: Cranchi Zaffiro 34
DESIGNER: Aldo Cranchi
RCD: C8
LOA: 34ft 0in (10.36m)
BEAM: 11ft 5in (3.50m)
DRAFT: 3ft 3in (1.00m)
AIR DRAFT: 11ft 2in (3.40m)
DISPLACEMENT: 6,250kg
FUEL CAPACITY: 570L
WATER CAPACITY: 190L
TOP SPEED: 36kn (with 220hp KAD42 engines)
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 2L/nm @ 25.5 knots (based on MBY original test with KAD42s)
RANGE: 223nm at 25.5 knots with 20% reserve (based on MBY original test with KAD42s)
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