Origins
Ceccarelli Yacht Design & Engineering traces its roots back to the late 1950s, when Engineer Epaminonda Ceccarelli founded in Ravenna a studio that would go on to leave a significant mark on Italian yacht design. From the very beginning, his work stood out for a rare synthesis of design vision, technical culture and direct knowledge of construction, at a time when yacht design was entering a new era of modernity.
Based on the Adriatic coast, the studio gradually developed a design language capable of interpreting and promoting Italian design internationally, working with both Italian and foreign shipyards and clients. This vocation, at once technical and cultural, remains one of the defining characteristics of Ceccarelli Yacht Design & Engineering.
Epaminonda Ceccarelli
Epaminonda Ceccarelli is remembered for the projects identified by the EC signature — the acronym for Epaminonda Ceccarelli — which marks more than one thousand boats still sailing around the world today. An industrial engineer of remarkable versatility, he moved naturally between yacht design, architecture, objects and graphic design, always maintaining a strong coherence of style and thought.
He designed both sailing and motor boats, developed series production models and created the Classis 26, recognised as the first fibreglass boat built in Italy. His contribution went far beyond the design of boats alone, shaping a true design culture founded on balance, functionality and build quality. He also designed the Ceccarelli Yacht Design logo, which remains a symbol of continuity and identity to this day.
Continuity and Evolution
In the 1990s, leadership of the studio passed to his son, Engineer Giovanni Ceccarelli, who carried this legacy into a new phase of development. Under his direction, Ceccarelli Yacht Design & Engineering broadened its scope, consolidating its experience in sailing, custom yacht design and racing yachts developed for the IOR classes, from Mini Ton and Quarter Ton to Three Quarter Ton, while maintaining a continuous relationship with the world of series production.
Over time, the studio also expanded decisively into the motor yacht sector, developing an increasingly comprehensive approach in which design, naval architecture, engineering and construction culture are treated as parts of a single process. It is precisely this continuity between past and present, between design heritage and the ability to evolve, that defines one of the studio’s strongest characteristics.
Today
Today Ceccarelli Yacht Design and Engineering also provides consulting and design services for sailing and motor boats, besides consulting services and surveys for insurance purposes.
The broad spectrum of design areas allows ideas to be transferred from one specialisation to another; however, the operating method is the same. We focus on two challenges, namely on boats for America’s Cup and on small mass-produced power boats.
Giovanni Ceccarelli is both Principal Designer and Technical Director of these projects.
The crossflow of information and ideas from one sector to another centres on two factors, namely water and environment, the open sea and our passion for sailing. At CYD we love our work and we love the sea, which we deeply respect.
Research, Performance and Design Culture
A passion for sailing has always been at the heart of Giovanni Ceccarelli’s work. His experience as a sailor, developed from a young age and strengthened through victories in Italian championships and participation in high-level competitive sailing, helped shape a design sensitivity grounded in the real behaviour of the boat, in the balance between form and function, and in a deep relationship with the sea.
Even today, every new project in the studio begins with a vision sketched by hand, often starting from a blank sheet of paper and a direct dialogue with the client, before being developed through the most advanced tools of 3D parametric modelling, CFD and FEM. This method, which combines design intuition with technical rigour, has been confirmed by the many awards received over the years. The studio has been recognised several times for design excellence and received the Boat of the Year award at the Genoa International Boat Show in 2010 with the Azuree 33, built by Sirena Marine. In the racing sector, the studio’s projects have won eight world titles under the IOR and ILC rules, several Italian championships and the 2010 Sportboat European Championship in St. Petersburg.
America’s Cup and Contemporary Vision
One of the highest points of this journey was Giovanni Ceccarelli’s role as lead designer in two America’s Cup campaigns: in 2003 with Mascalzone Latino, led by Vincenzo Onorato, and in 2007 in Valencia with +39 Challenge, in addition to his involvement in the Lake Garda challenge with Luca Devoti. These programmes represented an environment of the highest technical and design intensity, helping to consolidate advanced expertise in performance research, hull and appendage optimisation, and the use of sophisticated simulation and development tools.
Today, Ceccarelli Yacht Design & Engineering operates across a broad and integrated field that includes yacht design, naval architecture, engineering, CFD, FEM, interior design, exterior styling and technical consultancy. The studio develops both sailing and motor yachts, custom and series-built, offering clients a complete approach that accompanies the project from the initial idea through to construction and sea trials. Alongside this activity, the studio also provides consultancy for yacht acquisition, technical assignments in insurance and legal matters, and maintains an ongoing commitment to promoting yacht design culture through professional associations and teaching.
The history of Ceccarelli Yacht Design & Engineering is not simply a sequence of projects, but the expression of a design culture built over time through direct engagement with the sea, shipyards, research and real construction. It is this continuity between vision, experience and technical rigour that defines the character of the studio.
