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Rosehearty, 56 metres where innovation meets sailing

Rosehearty marks an important chapter in Perini Navi’s history, combining 56 metres of sailing, technical innovation and interiors by Christian Liaigre

Launched in 2006, Rosehearty brings the philosophy of the Perini Navi 56 m series together with technical solutions that helped shape the yard’s evolution

Rosehearty was launched in 2006 as the third yacht in Perini Navi’s 56-metre series and the 36th sailing yacht delivered by the shipyard. Originally named Audace, her significance goes beyond her position in the fleet’s chronology. The ketch represents one of those moments when an already established platform became the basis for introducing new solutions without changing the balance between size, sailing and comfort that had helped define the Perini Navi identity.

Evolution without losing character

The Perini Navi 56-metre series did not begin with Rosehearty, and that is precisely what makes the project interesting. The objective was not to start again from a blank sheet, but to develop an already proven formula. Naval architecture by Perini Navi in collaboration with Ron Holland therefore focused on structure, weight distribution and sailing efficiency while retaining the recognisable proportions and overall philosophy of the series.

The hull is built in aluminium, using a lightweight structure that results in a displacement of approximately 486 tonnes. On a 56-metre yacht, reducing and carefully distributing weight is not simply a question of performance. It also affects the yacht’s behaviour under sail and the ability to combine generous living volumes with a genuine sailing experience.

1,560 square metres above the deck

Rosehearty is configured as a ketch, with two aluminium masts supporting a total sail area of approximately 1,560 square metres. The figure illustrates the scale of the yacht, but also the complexity involved in handling sails on a vessel of this size.

This is where one of the central themes of the Perini Navi philosophy becomes particularly clear: automation is not intended to remove the pleasure of sailing, but to make a sail plan of this scale manageable when conventional systems would require considerably more complex operations and a larger number of people involved in manoeuvres.

Two carbon booms marking a technological step forward

Rosehearty introduced one of the most significant technical developments in her history through her sailing equipment. She was the first Perini Navi yacht fitted with two carbon fibre furling booms designed and manufactured entirely in-house.

The booms were laminated using SPRINT technology and vacuum processes and fitted with custom electric motors featuring encoders and drives. Behind what may appear to be a highly specialised technical solution was a very practical objective: improving precision and reliability when handling the sails.

It is a detail that illustrates how innovation on large sailing yachts does not always need to be visible. Much of it is hidden within systems that allow a yacht of this scale to retain an authentic relationship with sailing.

Christian Liaigre and a different interpretation of elegance

While the technical side is closely linked to the experience of Perini Navi and Ron Holland, the interiors were created by French designer Christian Liaigre.

His design language avoids excess, concentrating instead on proportion, materials and balance. Perini Navi describes Rosehearty’s interiors as a synthesis of modern design and maritime tradition, conceived for extended periods on board rather than simply to create a dramatic visual impression.

That distinction matters. On a sailing yacht designed for long passages, interiors are not merely spaces to be displayed but environments that may be lived in for days or weeks at a time. Elegance also means creating surroundings that remain comfortable and visually balanced over time.

Technology and tradition are not opposites

Nearly two decades after her launch, Rosehearty provides an interesting perspective on a particular stage in the evolution of large sailing yachts. She was created at a time when automation, composite materials and control systems were rapidly expanding what was technically possible aboard large yachts, without necessarily distancing them from sailing culture.

That balance remains one of the project’s most interesting aspects. The lightweight aluminium hull, carbon booms, advanced sail handling and careful weight distribution are not isolated features. They are parts of the same objective: allowing a 56-metre yacht to preserve the character of a sailing yacht.

Rosehearty and the pleasure of large-scale sailing

With Rosehearty, the Mediterranean can be seen as more than a setting. It is one of the environments in which a ketch of this scale can naturally find its rhythm, alternating longer passages with time at anchor, while technology remains largely in the background and sailing, space and the relationship with the sea stay at the centre of the experience.

Rosehearty is therefore defined by more than her dimensions. Her identity comes from the way Perini Navi sought to combine sailing power, sophisticated control systems, generous volumes and deliberately restrained elegance.

Launched in 2006, she can now also be viewed as part of a particular chapter in Italian superyacht history, when innovation increasingly meant making something highly complex feel remarkably natural to use.

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Perini Navi, Rosehearty

19 August 2026
© MED Yachting Editorial Team
Rosehearty, 56 metres where innovation meets sailing
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