Sanlorenzo SL86 Asymmetric Review (2025 Edition) by Aquaholic

On Deck

The Sanlorenzo SL86A is a 26.6m (87.3ft) planing yacht and at the stern the tender garage sits under the aft deck, reached from the bathing platform. From outside you can see the moulded shape of the garage under the cockpit. The tender loads from the platform and then slides inside under that aft deck section.

You board into the cockpit, which acts as the main outdoor social zone on this level. From here you step straight into the saloon, or you move along the starboard side deck. The port side does not have a full deck run, which is the whole point of the “A” in SL86A. The “A” means asymmetric layout. One side carries the side deck, the other side carries the extra beam and interior volume. When you look aft along the port side from outside you see superstructure where a side deck would sit on a conventional layout. 

From the raised bridge level a side door opens directly onto that starboard side deck, so you can step out from the helm and walk forward or aft. You can walk forward from here to the bow or back down to the cockpit, so deck access stays get at able in use. A second door from the galley opens onto this same side deck, which gives crew a discreet route between interior and foredeck without crossing the guest saloon.

The foredeck feels superyacht rather than simple sportscruiser. A deep overhang ahead of the wheelhouse creates that classic “eyebrow” that you see on bigger boats. Under it you find a relaxed forward seating and sunpad area. It works well at low speed, where you sit facing straight ahead with an unbroken view over the bow. All the anchor handling kit sits on the forepeak, so the ground tackle remains out of the lounging area but still close to hand for the crew.

From the foredeck you move up again to a raised sunbathing pad on top of the coachroof, just in front of the flybridge. This pad links visually with the flybridge deck behind it. You look back and see the open upper deck with radar, antennas and navigation lights above on the mast.

The flybridge itself counts as a full outdoor deck rather than a token sun pad. The aft end gives open deck space where you can stand in the corner and see the whole upper layout in one sweep. Forward on the flybridge a second helm station sits on the starboard side. It has a wooden wheel, engine controls, and autopilot, and ties into the surround camera system that covers the yacht. From here you see down both sides of the boat, which makes this the natural steering position for tight marinas.

A fixed hard top covers the central section of the flybridge, with slatted sections that tilt. You set them for full shade or tilt them to let shafts of light through. Under that roof you find a dining area, a lounging area and a bar unit. The bar holds storage, a fridge, an ice maker and a sink under a lid. One locker almost certainly hides a rise and fall television for open air movie nights. A small deck shower hides in the top of another fitting. Swivel the head and a proper shower comes out, so you can cool down after time on the sunpads.

You step in from the cockpit to the main saloon, and this feels very much current Sanlorenzo United States spec as the owner has asked for a beach house mood in the interior. The joinery uses very pale finishes, fabrics sit in light tones, and the whole thing feels casual and relaxed rather than clubby. In the American market, more and more SL86A builds follow this style. If you want darker woods and a more formal feel, the shipyard will oblige, but this example shows the lighter option.

Large side windows run the length of the saloon. When you look back from the bridge stair you see right across the open plan main deck. The view out through those big glass panes reinforces the sense of volume that the asymmetric layout buys you. Storage sits low along the sides. A television hides behind a mirrored panel so you see a clean wall of glass and mirror when the screen is off. A wine cooler sits in one unit and drawers nearby take cutlery and tableware.  

Ahead of that the layout changes character. Instead of a closed galley tucked away behind bulkheads, this SL86A has a “country kitchen” arrangement that suits the American style of use. The dining table sits alongside the galley, which creates one big social space where owners and friends gather while crew prepare food. It suits informal family cruising and party days at anchor.

The galley itself has all the expected heavy gear for a yacht of this length. Refrigeration, freezers, a dishwasher and generous shelving sit behind the joinery.  From the saloon a set of steps leads up to the bridge. Here Sanlorenzo keeps the same open feel. From the bridge you can look back and down into the saloon which keeps the boat from feeling chopped into small compartments. The helm has a neat trick. A drop section in the sole gives extra headroom so you can stand at the wheel, or you raise it and sit with a sight line over the bow.

Bridge

Across the bridge console a bank of Garmin displays stretches from side to side. These link into the yacht’s camera feeds, the central ship systems, and navigation. One tab on the screen shows cameras. One calls up the yacht operating system. Another covers full navigation. A further page handles engine data, but that did not read out during the show because the engines sat shut down. An autopilot control sits lower down on the console. Storage lockers take charts and papers around the helm so the captain does not need to leave the seat in normal service.

Owner's Cabin

The full beam owner cabin is on the lower deck and in comparison to the more compact guest cabins forward, the extra width is very noti

Storage goes beyond a token wardrobe. Along one side you open a proper walk in closet. It wraps round inside the bulkhead, with hanging space on more than one side. The cabin safe sits in here as well, so valuables stay hidden yet close.

The styling in the owner cabin follows the same light White Company flavour that runs through the VIP. Pale fabrics, soft textiles and simple lines keep the mood relaxed rather than blingy. A television hides again behind a mirror, so the wall remains clean when the screen stays off.

The en suite lies on the opposite side. It picks up the same rainfall shower theme as the guest heads but on a larger footprint.

Guest Accommodation

The Sanlorenzo SL86A in this layout has four cabins on the lower deck. The owner suite sits aft, with three further guest cabins forward. The layout works for a family or for two adult couples with children because every cabin links to its own heads and the two mid cabins have twin berths.

Right forward sits the VIP guest cabin in the bow. The size suits the VIP tag with light fabrics, cotton and linen rich textures, and pale panels set a calm, beachy tone. The hull shape gives a good sense of width at the bed head. The cabin has a large wardrobe, drawers under the bed and extra storage lockers down by the hull sides. A small dressing table gives a place to sit, use a laptop or do make up. Behind one of the mirrored doors you find the AV kit, and again the television hides behind a mirror so it does not dominate the room.

The VIP en suite sits off to one side. Inside you find the same mirror trick, then a loo tucked behind a panel, and on the other side a proper rainfall shower. The presenter opens the door and comments on the generous size. It is not a token wet cell. It works for real use on longer trips, which matters if you use the bow cabin for regular guests rather than occasional visitors.

Moving aft along the passage, you reach the first of the two further guest cabins. On one side a twin cabin holds two single beds. Storage sits in a wardrobe behind the door. This cabin has its own en suite heads, fitted out on the same pattern as the VIP but scaled to suit the lower deck footprint.

On the other side sits the second guest twin. Again you see two single berths, but this cabin gains an extra Pullman berth. The Pullman sits folded into the bulkhead above the beds and hinges down when you need a third berth. 

Crew Accommodation

Crew accommodation sits forward and links closely with the galley and service flow. From the country kitchen area on the main deck you step through to a short corridor. To one side you have that deck door from the galley straight out to the starboard side deck. This gives crew a direct path to the foredeck and anchor station without touching the saloon or guest lobby.

From the same zone a stair drops down into the crew area. At the top of the stairs a small mess area gives the crew a place to sit, eat and relax off watch. On a 26.6 metre yacht that extra common space counts as a real bonus. Many boats of this length do not spare the room for it.

Forward of the mess sit the crew cabins. Each of the two cabins carries two berths, so the boat sleeps at least four crew in this setup. During the tour the cabins hold a lot of boat show clutter. Boxes and spare kit hide in the bunks, which is typical at a show where visitors rarely ask to see the crew area. Under the clutter you can trace the basic layout. Two proper beds per cabin, some hanging storage and enough headroom to function.

A shared heads lies at the forward end of the crew corridor. It has a separate shower compartment rather than a simple wet cell over the toilet, and all the laundry equipment sits in this zone as well.

Access to the machinery space sits aft, near a docking station on the starboard quarter. A hatch opens and a ladder leads down into the area under the cockpit. As you step down you pass under the tender garage. From inside the engine space you can see the moulded ceiling that forms the garage above, with the shape that receives the tender from the bathing platform.

The Sanlorenzo SL86A uses V drive gearboxes rather than conventional straight shafts. From the props the shafts run forward into gearboxes that then send the drive back to the engines. On a standard shaft boat you would see shafts running straight ahead to gearboxes and then to engines that sit well forward under the saloon. That lifts the engine mass into the interior. In this V drive arrangement the driveline folds back on itself. This moves the heavy engines aft and frees more central hull volume for cabins and tanks. You can see the shaft line come up into the gearboxes in front of the engines when you stand far enough forward in the space.

The engines themselves are a pair of MAN V12 diesels. Each unit produces about 2,000 horsepower, so the total installed power sits at roughly 4,000 horsepower. This drives the SL86A’s planing hull to about 29 knots at full throttle. For a near 87 foot yacht that counts as fast rather than extreme, but it gives a solid turn of speed for quick hops between anchorages. The comfortable fast cruise sits around 25 knots.

If you ease the speed right back to 10 knots, range climbs to around 900 nautical miles. At that speed the hull comes off the plane into a semi displacement style of run, which makes sense when you want distance rather than arrival drama. So owners can run the boat hard at 25 to 29 knots for short legs, or slow it down and stretch fuel and range when the passage needs more endurance.

Sanlorenzo places this SL86A within a bigger family. The SP92 covers the high performance bracket for owners who want more outright speed. The SX100 carries a strong beach club focus, with a huge open aft deck. The SD range covers slower semi displacement cruisers. The SL line, including this 86A, fills the fast planing sector. 

Sanlorenzo backs a new SL86A with a 2-year structural warranty on the hull and deck and a 1-year warranty for onboard systems. Engines, generators, stabilisers and electronics then fall under their own maker cover, so the MAN V12s usually carry a 2-year manufacturer warranty on top. Once that early window closes, the yard’s service network and refit programme pick up the slack. They handle paint, soft goods, mechanical overhauls and the sort of electrical and AV upgrades that creep in once the boat has a few seasons under its belt, which keeps the machinery and finish at factory level rather than drifting into patch-repair territory.

Running a 26.6 metre planing yacht turns into a steady cost profile. Four crew is a sensible baseline for an SL86A, so wages, insurance and training stack up alongside berthing fees that scale with the near-87 foot length. Fuel burn at 25 knots and annual servicing on two 2,000 hp MAN V12s, twin generators, water-makers, stabilisers and chilled-water air-con place you firmly inside that 10-15% of purchase price per year rule. Insurance adds another fixed chunk, shaped by cruising grounds and engine power. Nothing exotic here, just the weight class of the boat.

Life gets easier when you treat it like a small ship. Keep a written log so you catch gearbox wear, shaft-seal weep or steering play before it becomes work-stopper stuff. Hold a refit reserve for periodic hull paint, upholstery replacement and electronics shifts rather than waiting for failure. The SL86A helps you here with clean service routes, a powered shore-cable drum and logical machinery layout. Sanlorenzo’s global network fills in the rest, so you are never far from someone who knows the boat and can keep it running quietly and safely into its later years.

Two rivals worth considering in this size bracket are the Sunseeker 88 Yacht and the Ferretti 860.

The Sanlorenzo SL86A is a fast, capable 26.6 metre yacht with a clear bias toward liveable space and simple day to day use, whether you cruise with family or run a small professional crew.