For many years, we’ve been fascinated by the elegance and beauty of classic boats – the kind you know from Italian films of the 1960s and ’70s. Names like Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot, and James Bond come to mind: beaches, holidays, dolce far niente.
Now the time was right. With Rio – a passionate guitarist, collector of high-end archtops, and, notably, owner of a sailing yacht – we had a client who was open to our idea: building him a guitar that unites his passions in a single instrument.
As is common in traditional boatbuilding, we primarily used Mahogany – from our stock of 300-year-old Carcavelos wood – for the body and neck. Since this is a semi-electric model, we added a lightweight Korina frame between top and back to reduce weight. The fingerboard is made of Ebony.
All metal fittings – bindings, cylinders, bridge/tailpiece, etc. – were crafted from aluminum. The combined bridge/tailpiece is designed to evoke a powerful engine block, while the three body-mounted cylinders stylize yacht exhaust pipes – and also serve as sound holes. To keep the design clean and focused, the string ends are hidden under a magnetically attached cover, engraved with the client’s name – a nod to a classic wellknown logo.
Also discreetly integrated into the edge of the bridge are the volume and tone controls. The pickup was custom-made by our trusted partner Harry Häussel. Both the pickup and bridge are inlaid with stingray leather – visually resembling hundreds of tiny pearls, and almost as hard.
We placed our usual PAGELLI logo on the back, at the neck joint. On the headstock, we wanted something new: our name engraved in a bold, racing-boat style, set into an aluminum bar that also functions as a truss rod cover.
To carry the streamlined elegance of vintage boats through to the headstock, we recessed the tuning machines and hid them under magnetically held mahogany covers. Rather than traditional buttons, we used cylindrical tuner knobs – referencing both boat hardware and the theme of the sound hole cylinders.
And of course, no boat is complete without water. We represented it with a sculpted wave of quilted maple, stained in a gradient from deep ocean blue to warm sand tones. The wave was shaped in three dimensions to enhance the sense of movement.
For a beautiful tactile experience, the guitar is finished in oil – except for the «water» element, which is high-gloss lacquered and polished. The sides are covered in off-white cowhide, reminiscent of yacht upholstery.
But beyond all its visual refinement, it is, above all else: A guitar. And as such, it is simply extraordinary. It sounds – and plays – like a dream.
