Why I Like The Savinelli 404 Yacht

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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,592
Some like yacht shape pipes and others don't at all. I bought my first Sav Yacht out of a basket, unfinished and unstamped, and I still have it, darkened, colored, and now absolutely polished like a fine piece of furniture. I only later learned that it was a Savinelli, bought when my city was a distribution hub for the pipes. Years later, I bought a Rossi 8404, which is the same pipe in a different finish, called a Palermo (city in Sicily). In a sense, I've never owned a stamped Sav 404, but there is much to recommend them. They are light weight, about 1.20 ounces, perfect clenchers, with a chamber diameter of .81 inches and 1.47 deep, more or less. Neither of mine take a filter. If you happen to like the shape,this is a good version for reasons stated.
 

magicpiper

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 9, 2018
580
1,537
MCO
I have always been partial to a Zulu/yacht shaped pipe. I have several Sav 404/8404’s as well as Peterson 268’s. Peterson does the shape a little better in my opinion. Wouldn’t toss out the Savinelli though.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,592
I'll check out the Pete 268; I don't remember the Peterson yacht. I also have a Chacom yacht, a little blast, but it is pretty small, for small pipe purposes.
 
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magicpiper

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 9, 2018
580
1,537
MCO
I completely understand. The author shape is mine. I think they are beautiful pipes but I don’t enjoy smoking them. They feel awkward when clenching or holding in my hand. I suppose I could smoke the yachtsman and marvel at the authors. ?
 
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Selly501

Lurker
Apr 28, 2023
2
7
Selly501

A Yachtsman, a Zulu, a Woodstock...the varied nomenclature attached to this plucky but elegant sporting pipe is part of its charm. My first Savinelli was a 404. All the performance of a billiard and the graceful curve of a bent. If I had to recommend a nice utilitarian shape for a first briar, a Savinelli 404 would be on my short list. 002-033-61610.2747.jpg
 
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,592
Sorry guys. I have posted photos of a pipe or two, and of my two cats, but my long history with tech is a story of aversion therapy, so it's time consuming to make it work for me. I know, I know, that's sounds improbable, but it's true. Thank you for finding a good 404 photo or two. I have borrowed from retail sites for these in the past.
 
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,592
Interesting how people have favorite pipe makes and shapes and aversions to others that are pretty popular on the pipe market. One of my favorite Petersons that is distinctly not popular on the market at large is the B11 bent Brandy. Though not pushed much by the online retailers, it is still available in a number of series, if only intermittently.

What I especially like about it is it's ample chamber, its moderate weight and size, and the fact that it is a sitter. I have two, a Shannon smooth that has improved in its grain over time, and a Killarney ebony smooth with two thin silver-colored bands.

It is a luxury to be able to sit it down on any flat surface, and being bent it feels like it weighs less than it does for clenching.002-029-71841.3647.jpg
 

SBC

Lifer
Oct 6, 2021
1,578
7,467
NE Wisconsin
I don't think that I'm dapper enough to sport the elegrant yacht, but I do see its charms and think that it's aptly named. If I ever own a boat (I don't mean a bass boat, now), and wear loafers and tie a sweater around my waist, why, I'll smoke a yacht. For that matter, if I ever wear a tux to a symphony (far more likely, although it still hasn't happened), I think that I could hardly do better than a dark and glossy finished yacht. It can be a very dressy pipe.

To my personal tastes, the Savinelli is classier than the Peterson is -- something in the shank/bowl transition.
 

Puff nstuff

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 2, 2021
226
1,137
Inland Southern California
Also a big fan of this shape, so much so that the first two pipes I purchased were zulus - a Barling and a Savanelli 404. The Sav is one of my very favorites. I should get a couple more. And one of the Pete's too.