Built in a purpose-made Austrian hangar, airlifted by cargo helicopter and splashed into the Danube — this custom multihull's origin story is as unusual as her lines.
Some boats are sold on specification. S/V La Gioia is sold on story — and broker Zee Kalinic makes no secret of the fact. Her video tour opens mid-passage, gliding along at four to five knots on what she calls an “almost completely windless day,” a quiet demonstration of what a John Shuttleworth-designed multihull does with barely any breeze at all.
An Austrian hangar, a Swiss helicopter, and the Danube
The 2001 Shuttleworth 58 was commissioned by an owner who wanted two things that rarely arrive together: a boat that sails extremely well, and one that reads as a piece of artwork. That brief led him to John Shuttleworth, a designer known worldwide for high-performance racing multihulls, and to a build in Austria — in a hangar constructed solely for her creation, and later demolished simply to get her out.
Getting her to water was no less improbable. She was flown from a village some 40–50 kilometres from Vienna by cargo helicopter — the only aircraft available capable of lifting a multihull of her size, sourced from Switzerland — then splashed into the Danube, sailed down to the Black Sea, and on into the Mediterranean.
Spacious yet intimate below
The video lingers on an interior that Kalinic describes as spacious yet intimate — designed for genuine comfort in the middle of the sea rather than for dockside impressions. The joinery and detailing carry the same considered hand as the exterior; this is a custom boat, and it shows in the fit-out as much as in the hull shape.
Recently refitted
Importantly for a buyer, she is not a project. The video reports a recent quality refit that includes new copper-based antifouling, renewed rigging, new trampoline nets, a brand-new mainsail and a fully refitted engine — the sort of list that removes the biggest line items from a new owner’s first season.
Rarity in context
Shuttleworth yachts change hands infrequently, and the numbers reflect it. Across the last 24 months our records show just three Shuttleworth sales, with a median time to sell of around 315 days — these are boats that find a specific buyer rather than a broad one.
| Shuttleworth market snapshot | Figure |
|---|---|
| Sold, last 24 months | 3 |
| Median sold price | $111,450 |
| Median time to sell | ~315 days |
| Active listings now | 1 |
| Asking range (active) | $235,000 |
As Kalinic puts it in closing, this isn’t just another listing — it’s a rare blend of performance, comfort and style, and she believes there’s nothing quite like her on the market today. La Gioia is ready, in her words, for her next chapter and her next captain.