Sanlorenzo SD118 Review (2024 Edition) by Aquaholic

On Deck

The SD118 carries a lot of presence as soon as you board. The passerelle lands you aft where the cockpit sits under deep shade. Steps run up toward the upper deck, and you see the Pasarela angled out across the stern. A barbecue stands to starboard with refrigeration built into the cabinetry. The whole area has a calm, open feel.

A short climb takes you to the upper deck. The dining table stretches across the beam, set under the overhang. Wide glass doors slide back into the structure. The balcony section folds flat over the side once the yacht settles at anchor, and the slotted tracks in the deck show how the panels move. 

From here, steps rise again to the sun deck. This top deck works as a loose furniture zone, so owners set gym gear, loungers or daybeds as they choose. A counter holds refrigeration, an ice maker and a sink under hinged lids. The height gives a clear view across the harbour and even clearer views out at sea.

You walk along the side deck and step into a pair of long daybeds built into the forepeak. Glass screens shelter you from the wind. The look forward down the stem is dramatic. Satellite domes, radars, horns and searchlights sit on the mast above, with two spars running down behind it.

Drop down to the beach club at water level and the transom rises as a single door. The aft deck balconies drop flat on each side to widen the whole area. The Williams DieselJet 505 tender is in the centre of the garage with personal watercraft beside it. Seabobs are racked to one side and inflatable toys fill another corner. A fold-out inflatable pool with a netted bottom sits ready to deploy for safe swimming, and a ladder fits over the edge for water access. The launch system sits beneath your feet, where the aft plate lowers to drop the tender and toys into the sea.

A dayhead sits off the lobby, and the stair down to the guest deck drops from this point while the stair up to the upper deck rises opposite. Both stay wide with enough landing space so the route never feels cramped. The joinery runs in soft curves, the lighting stays low and warm, and the room holds that sense of easy elegance the brand aims for without overstatement.

Forward of the saloon, a door leads to the galley. It sits on the guest side of the bulkhead but links straight into the crew route. The space stays busy during charter turnover, so the tour slips through quickly. Full equipment lines the counters and the setup keeps everything close enough for fast service. A dumbwaiter stands near the forward counter and rises to the dining deck, which saves the crew from carrying dishes through guest areas. The arrangement shows clear thought about how the yacht works when guests are on board for a week rather than just passing through during a show.

Up on the upper deck, the second saloon sits aft of the bridge. The whole aft partition opens through wide sliding glass that runs almost the full beam, and the drop balcony sits just beyond it. With the balcony lowered and the doors open, the room takes on the feel of a terrace rather than an enclosed lounge. You stand inside yet gain a full view out across the water, which gives this deck a relaxed, informal mood. It suits an afternoon with the sea drifting past or an evening meal without leaving the comfort of the upper deck.

Owner's Cabin

A threshold door forward of the lobby leads into the owner’s suite, and the light softens, the colours drop to muted shades, and the whole space feels restful. A desk stands to port and folds into the cabinetry when you want the room clear, which keeps the area tidy without losing the option of a small office. The wardrobes line the approach to the bed, more like a dressing zone than a simple run of storage, and the layout reinforces the idea that this part of the yacht belongs to the owner alone.

The mirror ahead hides the AV system so the space stays clean when the screen goes dark. It blends into the wall rather than drawing attention to itself, which helps maintain the quiet feel of the cabin. Soft lighting tucks under the trims and runs along the edges, so you never get harsh shadows or bright spots.

A standout feature lies to starboard. A private stair rises through its own companionway to the foredeck, and once you follow it up you find yourself on a small terrace above the bow. It gives the owner a direct route outside without crossing any guest deck, and the sense of privacy is unusual on a yacht of this size. At anchor it becomes the best early-morning place on board, with nothing ahead of you but open water.

The ensuite spans the full beam across the front of the cabin. The basins and toilet are to port with a generous counter and storage beneath, and the large rainfall shower takes up the starboard side behind a glass door. You have room to move without crowding, and because the layout runs right across the width of the yacht, the ensuite feels more like a dedicated suite than a compartment tagged onto the bedroom.

Guest Accommodation

The lower deck works a bit differently from what you expect on a yacht of this size. Instead of the usual long corridor running fore and aft, the passage on the SD118 runs across the beam. You come down the stair and step into a small central lobby with cabins branching off each side. It feels more open and less like a hotel corridor tucked into the hull.

Forward on the port side, the first cabin shows how adaptable this deck can be. The bed looks like a double at first glance, but once you look below you spot the split. The two bases slide apart for a twin layout, and the Pullman berth above drops down when you want a third bed. It suits children well or an odd-numbered group without any fuss. A wardrobe stands by the entry with shelves below for smaller bits, and the AV kit hides neatly behind the mirror so you keep a clean line across the wall. The ensuite sits behind a pocket door. You can slide the frosted inner door across for privacy and leave the main slider open if you fancy a bit more room. The shower sits on its own side of the compartment, so nothing feels squeezed.

Step back into the lobby and head aft and you find the two VIP cabins. Both share the same footprint and the same easy feel. Each has a fixed double berth with wardrobes on each side of the entry. The windows run low enough in the hull that, out at anchor, you get the full sweep of the waterline. At the show the backdrop is a row of other yachts, but you know what these big panes do once the yacht turns its bow out to sea. The ensuites match the forward cabin’s setup, with a pocket door, a separate shower, and that same soft Italian finish that keeps the rooms inviting.

A clever detail hides in one of these VIPs. A small panel opens into an emergency escape that drops a ladder straight up to the main deck. If the central stair were ever blocked, guests could move through the linking internal routes between the cabins and climb out safely. It is the sort of feature you hope never to use but you appreciate once you know it is there.

The final guest cabin mirrors the forward convertible cabin in scale and layout, with its own toilet, basin and shower and the same wardrobe, storage and AV arrangement. All four cabins keep the same style and atmosphere, and the cross-boat layout gives the deck a more natural flow than you expect.

Crew Accommodation

You reach the crew spaces in a slightly unexpected way, and that is half the charm of this layout. One of the guest cabins hides a discreet door in the bulkhead. Open it and you step straight into the crew corridor. It feels like a quiet back route through the yacht, and it makes perfect sense once you picture a busy charter turnaround. Crew can move from cabin to cabin for bed changes without passing through the main guest hall, and the same path gives another emergency exit route if anyone ever needed it.

The crew area holds all the working parts you expect: laundry gear along one wall, storage tucked around the corner, and a tight, purposeful feel that suits a team that stays on top of long trip routines. Two twin cabins lie forward, each with two bunks. The ensuites are compact but full, with separate showers so the crew keep their own spaces civil even on a heavy week. Another cabin sits off the passage, again ensuite, which takes the crew count to six before you reach the captain.

The captain’s cabin is up by the bridge behind a locked door during the tour, though you see the doorway as you pass the helm. Up here the atmosphere changes again. The bridge has that neat, businesslike look you get on a properly sorted yacht. Multifunction displays stretch across the console. The camera system shows its feeds, the ship’s computer runs the monitoring, and the engine and comms controls fall to hand in a way that feels natural to anyone used to long passages. Side doors on each side let the crew step straight out onto the deck for docking work, and the forward view over the bow stays clear enough to judge distance long before you reach a berth.

Engine access sits aft on the lower deck, and once you open the door you step into a machinery space that feels larger than you expect for this length of yacht. The layout is clear and easy to read. The two Caterpillar C32 engines take up the centreline. Each engine produces 1,600 horsepower, which gives the SD118 about 19 knots flat out and a comfortable cruise around 12 knots. At that steady pace she covers roughly 3,000 nautical miles, so the yacht suits long-distance work rather than high-speed bursts. It is the sort of range that opens up proper passage planning rather than day-hop runs.

A workbench sits to port with a vise fixed down, so small repairs or checks happen without carrying bits through the yacht. A generator stands nearby, and another sits on the opposite side so you always have redundancy. Pumps line the bulkheads. The watermaker occupies its own space aft, which keeps the system clear and easy to monitor. A dedicated pump room sits just beyond, packed with plumbing and valves yet still accessible without a struggle.

One feature stands out even among all this hardware: the fuel polishing system. The yacht carries a large bunker tank that feeds a smaller day tank, and the diesel runs through a centrifuge before it reaches that day tank. The system pulls out grit and any trace of water, so the engines run on clean fuel at all times. It is the sort of kit that shows the yacht’s long-range intent and gives peace of mind when you picture weeks away from shore facilities.

A separate control room lies forward of the engines. It holds the electrical panels, the yacht’s monitoring gear and the breakers for each system. The room has a quieter feel than the machinery space, almost like a nerve centre tucked behind the engines. A door from here leads into the garage, though the tour takes the beach club route instead, which suits the flow of the walkthrough.

A yacht of this scale asks for proper planning, and the SD118 rewards anyone who approaches ownership with that in mind. Seven crew keep the boat running day to day, which sets your baseline for annual cost, and everything from the tender garage to the balcony mechanisms adds a bit of technical weight you need to budget for. Fuel burn stays steady at long-range speeds because the hull holds itself in a calm groove at 12 knots, which suits long passages far more than sprint work.

Sanlorenzo supports owners through its global service network, which covers the Mediterranean, the Americas and Asia. Warranty terms vary by model year, but the yard backs up its builds with after-sales support and a more extensive “Timeless” refit programme for anyone who holds onto their yacht and wants work done by the yard itself. The network makes a difference once you consider the systems list: the dumbwaiter, stabilisation, balcony drives, beach-club platform, and the fuel-polishing centrifuge all need routine checks and parts. That fuel-polishing system deserves more than a passing mention because it keeps the day tank clean on long crossings and protects the engines by stripping out grit and water before the fuel ever reaches a C32.

With around 3,000 miles of range, the SD118 can stretch out well beyond the usual Med triangle. You can plan Atlantic hops or long periods on the move without thinking twice, though that opens up the legal and operational side of owning a yacht above 24 metres. Because of its length and gross tonnage, the SD118 falls outside the Recreational Craft Directive and into the category of yachts governed by flag-state codes and classification rules. If you run it privately, you follow class surveys and safety checks set by your chosen society. If you run it commercially for charter, you weigh up codes such as the Red Ensign Group’s yacht rules for vessels above 24 metres, which cover fire systems, life-saving appliances, stability, emergency routes and more. 

Berthing, insurance and crew wages make up the core of the running cost. Charter income helps soften the load if you choose to open the yacht to guests for part of the season. With the tender, the personal watercraft, the Seabobs and the inflatable pool all living in the garage, the yacht brings strong appeal for family groups and water-toy-heavy charters.

Owners looking at comparisons often take a glance at rivals such as the Benetti Motopanfilo 37M or the Westport W117, which sit close on size and philosophy and offer useful context for anyone weighing up the SD118 against other long-range family yachts.

The SD118 is a very capable long-range yacht with a layout that works for family use and charter alike. The owner’s private bow terrace, the open guest lobby, the upper deck balcony and the broad beach club give it range and character, while the CAT machinery and fuel-polishing setup keep it honest on long passages. It feels easy to live with and ready for extensive travel in comfort.