The BGX83 reaches about 30 knots powered by three 900hp IPS pod drives under the aft deck

On the BGX83, the step up in size feels a lot more than a 10ft leap in length. After all, I was familiar with that size difference in Bluegame’s BGX series. I’d seen the three-cabin BGX73 debut at the 2019 Cannes Yachting Festival, where it wowed the industry with an enormous aft deck flowing into a lower-deck saloon.

The BGX63 premiered at the Genoa International Boat Show in October 2020, during the Covid wilderness, before both models started to arrive in Asia, allowing direct comparisons. Despite being about 9ft shorter than its big sister, the BGX63 compared favourably, offering a similar overall layout and feel, with the option of two or three cabins.

However, on my tour of the BGX83 – a world premiere at the 2026 Boot Dusseldorf indoor show and an in-water star at the 49th Cannes Yachting Festival in September – I’m continually overwhelmed by the step up in size. Boasting an overall length of 84ft, it’s just over 9½ ft longer than the BGX73, but truly feels a world apart.

The BGX83 weighs about 70 tonnes, about 30 tonnes more than the BGX73

Sure, there’s ample room to fit a fourth guest cabin on the lower deck, but it’s the overwhelming increase in space on the main deck and the addition of a full flybridge with helm that makes me continually pester Luca Santella for an explanation. I feel like stretching my arms out and spinning in circles to prove my point.

“It’s the beam,” repeats Santella, who founded Bluegame in 2004 and has been its Head of Product Strategy since 2018, when the company was revived as part of the Sanlorenzo Group. “The difference is that with three engines, it became almost 2½ ft wider [than the BGX73]. And you feel it. It’s almost 10ft longer, but the feeling you get by widening the boat is really noticeable.”

ZUCCON LINES, CODEGA HULL

Stats show that the 20ft 8in beam makes it 2ft 5in or 70cm wider than the BGX73, while the BGX63 is only 10in slimmer than the middle model. The BGX83 is a seriously significant step up – or across.

The BGX83 is the series’ first model with a forward-facing sofa in the bow

Volvo Penta’s IPS is key to the series’ naval architecture, as the pod drives are small enough to fit under the aft platform, where there’s easy access through deck hatches. The stern engine room frees up the rest of the lower deck for accommodation and, most notably, the aft saloon that distinguishes the enclosed BGX yachts and newer BG open models from their competitors.

Three years before the ‘relaunch’ of Bluegame, Santella had already overseen the success of this aft-deck architecture by conceiving Sanlorenzo’s SX series, which launched to huge acclaim with the releases of the SX88 and SX76 in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Zuccon International Project was used to design the SX exteriors and works with Bluegame on all BGX models. The Rome-based studio also designed the interiors of the BGX83, although hull one – shown in the photos – showcases a special Lissoni & Partners option available to clients.

The BGX83 is Bluegame’s first model to feature a fold-down bulwark

For the hulls, Santella – a former Olympic and professional sailor with a PhD in Architecture – continues his long-standing relationship with Lou Codega. The American has handled naval architecture for all Bluegame monohulls for over two decades, since the brand’s original 47-footer that debuted at the 2005 Cannes Yachting Festival.

Yet the BGX83 is a little different, as it’s the first Bluegame to incorporate fins, a feature that adds an extra layer of stability and smoothness to its performance. And despite weighing about 70 tonnes, this is a yacht that moves well, clocking around 30 knots with its three 900hp IPS engines.

There are many other Bluegame firsts on the BGX83. The oversize aft deck is familiar, but for the first time Bluegame has added a dropdown balcony, to starboard, which widens the beam to 24½ ft. Santella’s reasons for not having a matching balcony on the other side include the davit integrated into the port bulwark.

The aft deck includes a hydraulic platform and integrated davit to port

This crane enables large tenders to be stored lengthways, a likely proposition considering the size of the BGX83 and the increased capacity for guests and crew. Otherwise, smaller RIBs can fit on the hydraulic platform, which spans about 13ft on the port side.

GET DOWN WITH IT

Forward is the signature lower saloon, where two aft glass doors can slide behind the fixed one to port, and access is down three wide steps. The entire forward bulkheads and door to the master suite are mirrored floor to ceiling, which adds to the feeling of space and ensures water can be seen on all four sides of the room.

“It’s a revolution we introduced with the BGX73, having the beach area and then three steps and you’re in the interior,” Santella says. “You go inside, but we say you are still outside. There are windows so you see the water on both sides as well as aft, so you feel connected. This is the real difference of our layout.”

From the huge aft deck, it’s three steps down to the lower saloon, shown here on hull one with the Lissoni interior option

For many BGX owners, the lower saloon can be used as their private lounge, as it’s directly connected to the full-beam master suite. On hull one, the owner’s bed lies athwart from below the port window, although there’s an option for a longitudinal bed, chosen by least one of the first few clients.

The forward end of the bedroom can include a daybed, vanity and wardrobe, while a sliding door to starboard leads to the bathroom, which is illuminated by a large hull window.

MOVING ON UP

To reach the main deck, there are two starboard stairways – outside from the aft deck and inside from the lower saloon. In the BGX83’s equivalent of an aft cockpit, the main deck starts with alfresco dining, where an aft sofa, rounded table and foldable chairs provide a roomy upgrade from the L-shaped dinette on the smaller sister models.

On the main deck, the cockpit offers alfresco dining

The outdoor offerings continue along symmetrical side decks to a spacious foredeck that includes – for the first time on the BGX series – a forward-facing sofa in front of the wheelhouse. Creating a 360 degree social area, the wide, deep lounger faces two tables and symmetrical sunpads that double as aft-facing L-shaped sofas.

However, arguably the biggest BGX first is a full flybridge, a huge addition compared to the square sunpad lining the roof of the smaller models.

On the BGX83, the open fly is fronted by an elegant, central helm station, but otherwise the area is clear for loose furniture and modular, low-set sofas with moveable backrests. As shown on hull one, these can be arranged around an adjustable longitudinal table, which can be lowered and covered to create a giant sunbathing area.

The BGX83 is Bluegame’s first monohull with a full flybridge

In fact, almost everything on the flybridge is low, including the windshield and side railings, helping preserve the sleek, coupe styling of the BGX series.

“When you go bigger, you have to give something more and a liveable flybridge was one of the features we had to have,” Santella says. “Here you have a driving station and a full lounging area. Other shipyards may choose a more traditional fly with a hardtop, but we think our clients like this style and our design philosophy – very flexible, neat, low. The BGX profile is there.”

MAIN CHOICES

Flanked by two side decks, the interior is where the yacht’s beam, length and repositioning of the private stairway to the master suite allow for a far more spacious layout than on the smaller models. Long facing sofas along both sides frame a spacious lounge that includes a dropdown TV in the ceiling.

Aft view of the main saloon with facing sofas and starboard stairs to the lower saloon

The BGX83 is offered in two layouts: either galley up with four cabins or galley down with three cabins.

Galley-up is shown on hull one with the Lissoni interior, where the symmetrical saloon leads to bar stools aft of two elegant cabinets, the forward one fitted with a cooktop and a clear splashback to protect the helm station. Galley-down allows for the inclusion of a dining table forward in the saloon, complemented by a bar counter along the starboard side.

Left of the helm are stairs down to the lower-deck hall, which leads aft to facing en-suite VIP cabins, both with inward-facing beds. Galley-up includes a fourth cabin with bunks to port, opposite a starboard bathroom that doubles as the day head. The crew quarters are forward, with three berths in two en-suite cabins.

Lissoni-designed galley in the four-cabin layout; galley-down has three cabins

In the galley-down, three-cabin version, there’s a day head for guests to starboard. The rest of the area forward of the stairs is dedicated to an impressive crew quarters featuring a three-sided galley to port across from an L-shaped dinette, plus the two en-suite cabins in the bow.

Both layouts are strong and the choice depends on whether the owner wants food prep and cooking as part of the onboard experience or out of sight.

WORTH THE WAIT

Compared to the back-to-back launches of the first two BGX models, the flagship’s arrival may seem long overdue, but it had to wait its turn after a whirlwind few years for Bluegame.

Accessed from the lower saloon, the master suite can feature the bed athwart or lengthways; the bathroom (below) is to starboard

As well as launching the BG74 and BG54 open models in 2021 and 2022 respectively, the company dived deep into catamaran design with the evolving BGM75, the two 33ft, 50-knot hydrogen-powered BGH-HSV chase boats for the 2024 America’s Cup, then the foil-assisted BGF45 that debuted at the 2025 Cannes Yachting Festival.

This year, the BGX83 has put Bluegame’s monohulls back in the spotlight. Almost 50 per cent heavier than the BGX73 and priced accordingly, the brand’s first 80ft-plus model has quickly found its target market, with the first few hulls quickly signed up. One early buyer was a Dutch client ordering his third BGX, upgrading each time.

For Santella, the response to the boat has been as satisfying as seeing his vision for the BGX series come to fruition.

Santella has described Bluegame’s new flagship monohull as the “finale” of the BGX series

“We started BGX with the 73, knew we were going smaller with the 63, but I knew the 83 would be the right finale for this architecture. I think the BGX83 is a super-nice development because the size enables many new features like the opening side, the flybridge, the fourth cabin, nice crew quarters and so on.

“This is important because you need to offer clients more, not just a bigger boat. And the BGX83 gives one more reason for clients to stay with Bluegame on their boating journey and remain in the Sanlorenzo Group.”

So, is the BGX83 Santella’s dream come true? “That’s the right word,” he says softly. “Thinking back, it was a long journey, with ups and downs, so finally unveiling this boat was special. It’s another scale, another class.”

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