Featuring polished lines, a top speed of 40 knots, and a multitude of original features, the Uniesse 56 Super Sport is an impressive machine.

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This yacht was designed and built for yachtsmen by yachtsmen.

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"This is not a cookie-cutter yacht," says David Schwedel, executive director of Uniesse Marine Group. Each stitch of the leather helm seats is checked by the builder, and marble is selected from the quarry rather than a sample. From soundproofing to creature comforts, Uniesse added smart touches to the 56 Super Sport.

The 56SS is Uniesse's smallest model in its Super Sport line, which includes a 65 and 70, and the builder customizes her just like the larger models. As I boarded the 56SS, it was slate gray and black on the outside, looking like something out of James Bond central casting. There's a stylish but ever-so-comfy sofa in the salon, a full-beam master bedroom (more on that later), a VIP stateroom that rivals the master, and a third twin-bedded stateroom.

When comparing this midrange cruiser with others, it's the details that make the difference.

There's a glass-and-stainless-steel divider between the en suite head of the master bedroom that is functional art. There is a divider between the head proper and the hullside window, so you can also look out of that window. With a rain shower recessed into the ceiling and a frosted skylight, the shower is lined with marble selected by the owner. A drain slot surrounds the marble sole, making it elegantly stylish.

From the transom to the windshield, there's one level of alfresco living aboard the 56SS thanks to sliding salon doors that disappear. Throughout, light oaks and dark oaks are complemented by a pale-gray oak sole with leather trim.

As is Euro tradition, the galley is down, but it is set in a high atrium that is open to the salon, giving the chef overhead lighting.

Among the appliances are an A&G fridge with a built-in wine cooler, as well as a Miele induction cooktop.

On the Garmin Glass Cockpit, twin 22-inch displays show information on the skipper's electric Besenzoni helm seats. There is also FLIR night vision and a proprietary Uniesse system monitor, as well as GPS, chart plotter, and radar.

Audiovisual components from Panasonic, Waterfall, JL Audio, Canton and Revel are integrated into the yacht's audiovisual system, which has iPad controls and multiple zones. A docking station for iPad minis is installed in each stateroom and salon in order to control the system.

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How will she respond? There's something James Bond-like about the 56SS, and she walks the walk as well. Volvo Penta IPS1350 engines matched with pod drives powered our test vessel. For rooster-tail fans and even water jets, owners can choose from conventional straight drives to Arneson drives.

Despite the yacht's 30 tons of leather, marble and other materials, this 56SS blazed across Miami's Biscayne Bay flat-out at just a fraction under 41 knots. With 14 people on board, Volvo Penta's team reached 40.6 knots in Europe.

I could only think of the word “hushed” once the hammer was down thanks to soundproofing, a monocoque hull and house structure made from resin-infused materials, a solid 112 inch hull underwater, Airex coring in the topsides, and resin-encased closed-cell rigid foam stringers transversely and longitudinally. According to Uniesse, the engine beds are 4 inches wider than the Volvo Penta minimum.

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The windshield wiper on the Uniesse 56SS is 6 feet long and made of carbon fiber.

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Despite steep chops or hard turns, there were no creaks or groans at speed. Until Uniesse president Rafael Barca removed the water bottle from the galley sink, the only distraction was a water bottle in the sink. (Attention to detail, as I said.)

Seakeeper gyrostabilizers are available in addition to the standard 21-kW Kohler genset. With stainless-steel plumbing and woven wiring, the fit-out is seamanlike.

At the dock, I noticed that the fairleads of the 56SS spun in my hand. It wasn't enough for Uniesse to produce a beautiful stainless-steel fairlead for dock lines. Instead, the builder chose custom-made ones with twin rollers to prevent fraying of dock lines. With a splash of innovation, the Uniesse 56SS nailed the obvious as well as the less obvious.

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