New Canados 428 Gladiator prototype in build with production series following

- The Gladiator 428 will be the smallest boat produced by Canados in the last 30 years, but surely one that will grab massive attention. 
- The Gladiator 428 - despite being a true Canados in terms of DNA, quality and construction - is a project apart from the rest, having been internally treated as a “separate      business unit” both in terms of inception as well as production and sales strategies. 
- She was Designed by Marco Casali with very strict guidelines starting from a Canados in-house hull design.
- Canados wanted a solid yacht, thus the entire hull, structure and deck are made of vacuum bagged quadri-axial E-Glass vinyl-ester infused resin with balsa and Airex coring.
- The boat comes standard with GPS Chart plotter, automatic pilot, depth sounder, bow thruster and maneuvering joystick. The standard equipment list also includes a “crystal    cockpit” integrated dashboard. 
- Hull #1 of the series will be kept by the shipyard for technical tests and a 2017 Mediterranean road show that will include clients and media presentations.
- World debut at Cannes Yachting Festival 2017 and official US debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show 2017 in her outboard version.

Explanations from Michel Karsenti, Executive Chairman at Canados - “Canados has been known for decades as a custom builder. When I look at the rest of the Italian yachting industry, and even more in our market segment, I don’t see any other shipyard having a 360-degree integration of the production, including full manufacturing capabilities of any sorts of interiors. It might sound incredible in today’s market, but we are still building our boats, from 76’ and up, just like mega-yachts, except that, where all the builders are cutting cost by subcontracting as much as they can, we carefully craft bespoke yachts entirely made by hand for very specific and demanding clients.

Thus, we intend to keep a very limited production for our larger boats as we feel much better having more demand than we can offer. As a result, every contract is dealt direct and we do not have a dealership network as our clients are willing to discuss every detail directly with the shipyard building their boat. We deal will a number of brokers around the world that drive us clients who can’t find what they are looking for with typical production builders.

Therefore, it was difficult to integrate a project such as the 428 Gladiator in the typical Canados structure as both the industrial and commercial philosophies of this model are different from the rest of the Canados range. The Gladiator line will be distributed by a global limited network of seven to eight dealers. This forced us to organize a whole different business unit fully dedicated to the Gladiator.”
 
A DEDICATED BUSINESS/PRODUCTION UNIT  
The Canados Gladiator 428 production unit is headed by Gianluca Fanelli, a veteran production manager that have been with Canados for twelve years before becoming the Aston Parker production manager.
Fanelli gladly returned to the Canados family last July to head the Gladiator 428 program. Fanelli is an extremely valuable asset as he knows the Canados custom building capacities better than anyone, but he is also extremely experienced in implementing industrial processes in series production.
 
The mission he has been assigned with can be synthesized in different 7 parameters:

Build the best and most luxurious day-cruiser available on the market.

Install in the heart of the Rome based Canados main factory a dedicated production unit for the 428 Gladiator.

Be ready to produce 6 to 8 boats for 2017 and 20+ boats for 2018 onwards.

Deliver hassle free boats by using only the best components and materials available today. The 428 Gladiator program saw no investment limitation in the quality of the the tooling such as molds as well as engineering and processes.

Assure clients and Gladiator dealers of a unique experience by always delivering turnkey boats on time.

Use the Canados exceptional know-how and resources available notably from the technical office and the interior wood-shop.

Deliver the world’s best and most achieved boat in the category.

THE TARGET MARKET
The Canados 428 Gladiator has been developed for discerning clients only looking for the best money can buy, thus remaining price-competitive.

The target client profile has been precisely analyzed to make sure the Gladiator 428 will be in high demand:

Geographically, the bulk of them are using their boats in trendy places such as Sardinia, Cote d’Azur, Corsica, Spanish Islands, South Florida, Caribbean, Greece, Croatia, Italian Ligurian coast, Hamptons, Bahamas, Mexico, Dubai…
Most clients are business people with very limited free time, thus willing to own a day boat they can use on short notice, just for a day or a week-end with very low or no maintenance needs.
Lots of clients are former larger yacht owners who stepped down from ownership being tired of the process and heavy crew management. They want to go boating in style and luxury but on their own.
Superyacht owners willing to have a luxury day boat, chase boat or tow tender to be able to escape with no crew.
The list of dealers for 2018 will be released during the Cannes Yachting Festival 2017 with points of sale and service in Sardinia, South of France, The Balearics and Miami.
Our profiled clients not being first time owners, they are knowledgable and picky both on the production quality and sea going capabilities.
 
Considering the above mentioned profile, the Canados 428 Gladiator has been designed with very strict guidelines by Marco Casali starting from a Canados in-house hull design.

PRODUCT PHILOSOPHY
The hull design has been engineered with safety and comfort in mind. The massive bow flair will guarantee an all-weather dry ride while the 21º deep V at the transom allows running the boat at any speeds even in strong swell.
Safety being one of our top priorities, Canados wanted a solid yacht, thus the entire hull, structure and deck are made of vacuum bagged quadri-axial E-Glass vinyl-ester infused resin with balsa and Airex coring to offer maximum strength and rigidity. The boat comes standard with GPS Chart plotter, automatic pilot, depth sounder, bow thruster and maneuvering joystick making it a true toy to handle.
 
As the vast majority of clients are running this kind of boats themselves, the standard equipment list also includes a “crystal cockpit” integrated dashboard. It is basically a one touch screen integrating controls of all the boat electrical equipment including sound system, bilge pumps, blowers, lights, engines parameters and navigation electronics.
 
The entire cockpit from the swimming platform all the way to the cabin door is step less, allowing to safely and easily move in the boat underway with no risk.
 
The center console configuration, protected by the standard carbon fiber hard-top is positioned in a way that allows installation of two face-to-face sofas. This configuration is a key element to social life as the owner operating his boat will be able to face his guests, friends or family while at the helm. Once anchored, the access to the foredeck is made via a central molded stairwell between the two “Café Racer” styled wind deflectors.
 
The exterior dinette and the large sun pad are protected by a bimini-top with two carbon fiber poles with tensioners. Under the sun-pad, large storage space allows to install two Seabobs.
 
The cabin is offered with a unique layout with unlimited choice of fabrics and wood veneer in the purest Canados spirit.

CANADOS 428 GLADIATOR – CURRENT TIMELINE
Hull #1 is already out of the mold while her deck is currently being completed.
The first model of the Gladiator 428 will be assembled and completed in the weeks to come and immediately undergo intensive sea-trials before hull #2, 3, 4 and 5 are entering assembly line. The first boat of the series will be kept by the shipyard for technical tests and a 2017 Mediterranean road show that will include clients and media presentation in Capri, Porto-Cervo, Monaco, Cannes, Saint Tropez, Palma and Ibiza.

She will then be presented at the Cannes Yachting Festival 2017 while she should also be exhibited together with hull #5 at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show 2017 in her outboard version.

The Gladiator 428 is available with four engine packages:

- Twin Volvo Penta stern drives D6 – 400 hp
- Twin Cummins QSB6.7 – 550 hp with top systems surface drives
- Triple of Quad outboard engines
- Depending on the power package, the Gladiator 428 is capable of speeds from 37 up to 55 + knots
 
SHORT SPECS - CANADOS 428 GLADIATOR
Length Overall:           13,04 m / 42’9”
Hull Length:                11,94 m / 39’2”
Max Beam:                4,19 m / 13’9”
Dead rise at transom:  21º
Draft with drives up:    0,75 m / 2’6”
Light displacement:     8,500 kg / 18,740 lbs
Fuel capacity:            1,050 ltrs / 277 US Gallons
Cruise speed range:   350 NM
Passengers:              16 in C category – 12 in B category
 
Other standard equipment included are:

- Battery charger
- Bow Thruster
- Maxwell electrical windlass with stainless steel Bruce anchor
- Power Inverter
- Pop-Up stainless steel cleats
- Flexiteek decking available in 8 different color patterns
- Unlimited colors Dupont painted hull
- Quick release pin cleats for fenders
- Lopolights navigation LED lights
- VHF
- Microwave, two-burner gas hobs, two fridges
- Carbon fiber swimming ladder
- Deck shower
- Fusion sound system outside and in the cabin with JL Audio speakers
- Tonneau cover