The name Three60 may not ring a bell, but many readers will be familiar with racing yachts past, present and even future that sail with keels, bulbs and foils produced by this Italian company.
A few examples? The keel and bulb of +39 Challenge’s ITA 85 in the 2007 America’s Cup in Valencia; the foils of Luna Rossa in Auckland in 2021; those of American Magic in Barcelona in 2024. Also keels for TP52s and Class40s, plus metal components for Gitana 18 and for a few foiling superyachts that are currently under construction.
In the high-performance sailing industry, where tolerances measured in hundredths of a millimetre can separate a fast boat from a winning one, Angelo Glisoni has a reputation for technical competence, reliability and genuine passion. The founder of Three60, Glisoni operates at the centre of a network of innovative, highly specialised companies that can translate complex new concepts into physical components: keels, bulbs, foils and bespoke metal structures for some of the most advanced yachts afloat.
‘I define myself first and foremost as a production manager,’ Glisoni explains. ‘Three60 is a hub for anyone who has a project and needs to turn it into reality.’
Glisoni’s career is rooted in water. ‘I’m a son of Lake Iseo where I’ve lived all my life,’ he says. Iseo is a relatively small lake in north Italy, between the betterknown lakes Como and Garda, in an area historically devoted to metallurgy. As early as the Bronze Age, iron, copper and silver were extracted and processed here. During the Roman Empire and again in the Middle Ages, the area became one of the most technologically advanced metalworking centres of its time. The region continues to set global standards today, with a multitude of metalworking companies using state-of-the-art technology.
Glisoni’s introduction to watersports came through swimming, then he befriended Giorgio Zuccoli at school. Sailing soon followed, leading to years of top-level competition, particularly in the Tornado class. Together they won the World Championship in 1991 and competed at the Barcelona Olympics the following year. ‘The result unfortunately was well below our expectations,’ Glisoni recalls.
A keen windsurfer since the early 1980s, Angelo developed the intuition that would shape his career while fabricating skegs for his boards. ‘I needed one so I made it,’ he says. ‘Then one for a friend, then for a friend of a friend. Before long, surf shops started placing serious orders. One of those shops was owned by Giorgio Benussi, now a leading figure in professional yacht racing, with whom I still enjoy a strong friendship.’
Most recently foils, and before that keel bulbs, are among the components that Angelo Glisoni’s Three60 production hub has supplied to America’s Cup teams over the years. TP52 and Ultim trimaran teams are also repeat customers.
In 1986, Glisoni was the first to produce GRP windsurfer skegs in series using CAD-CAM technology. His expertise soon extended to other industrial sectors but his passion for boats and racing, reinforced by his own sailing with Zuccoli, ultimately led him to focus on the marine industry, and on projects of far greater scale and complexity. Three60 is not a manufacturing company in the conventional sense. It’s a technical and production coordination centre that selects, trains and directs a network of highly skilled suppliers and craftsmen.
‘We live in Steel Valley, to borrow a comparison with California’s Silicon Valley,’ he says. ‘We have metalworking heritage, expertise and production capability. I put the pieces together. Many of the companies we work with are from outside the marine sector. Some specialise in precision milling for other industries. The added value I bring is knowing exactly what the marine world requires and, above all, what the end client expects.’
Glisoni acts as an interface between designer and fabricator, translating design intent into viable manufacturing processes and supervising every stage through to the finished component. Keel fins and bulbs, bespoke components in special steels and titanium, foils and structural pins: every item is a one-off, engineered for a specific platform and performance target.
Glisoni’s industrial career runs in parallel with elite-level sailing. After years of racing with Zuccoli, he later worked as a coach for the Italian Sailing Federation in the Tornado class, then as sports director for the Austrian Sailing Federation in the Nacra 17 class from the Sydney 2000 Olympics through to Tokyo 2021, though not at London 2012 where there wasn’t a multihull class.
‘Coaching was my primary occupation, everything else I did with commitment but as a secondary activity,’ he says. His Austrian crew Thomas Zajac and Tanja Frank won bronze, level on points with the silver medal winners and just one point behind the gold medallists. ‘It was the only medal Austria won at the entire Games,’ he says with pride.
Involvement in Olympic sailing led to the America’s Cup. ‘I joined +39 Challenge at the beginning of 2005 thanks to a relationship of mutual respect and friendship with team principal Luca Devoti, Olympic silver medallist in the Finn at Sydney, and designer Giovanni Ceccarelli,’ he explains. ‘I joined the campaign to contribute my expertise on keels and on the carbon mast, which was built by Marstrom in Sweden. ‘At the time I was also working with carbon components but today I focus exclusively on metal: everything that shines, especially underwater.
‘My full-time role was still as a sailing federation coach, I hadn’t envisaged a total commitment. But one thing led to another and in Valencia I met Davide Tagliapietra, an aerospace engineer who worked with Ceccarelli Yacht Design on the yacht’s structures and mast engineering. Our mast was brought down in a crossing incident with the German team and subsequently repaired in record time.’
‘A professional relationship and friendship developed with Tagliapietra, which underpins the network of companies around Three60. He designed the 40ft Kuka 3 for Franco Niggeler – a carbon missile capable of outperforming a Volvo Ocean 60 on a reach – for which I was production manager.
‘He then machined the foils for Luna Rossa at the 36th America’s Cup in Auckland, and those for American Magic at the 37th edition, which were notable for their mirror-finish surface quality and tolerances on the order of hundredths of a millimetre.
Current and recent projects
Three60 is involved in a wide range of projects, all characterised by a high degree of customisation. These include:
- Keels for the whole Neo Yachts range, from 35ft to 57ft
- Keels for 10 Y-Yachts, maxi cruisers from 70ft to 90ft
- Keels for the TP52s Bronenosec and Alpha+ in the 52 Super Series
- TP52 keels optimised for other circuits, developed in collaboration with Garda Carbon Lab, designers of the foiling one-design Switch
- Keels for all the Musa Class40s built by Sangiorgio Marine
- Metal components for the Ultim trimaran Gitana 18
‘Three60 turns Tagliapietra’s mad engineering ideas into reality,’ he says with a smile. ‘We also have an excellent relationship with the American Magic team. It’s a real shame that they are skipping the next Cup cycle, but I believe our company will be involved should their new High Performance Center in Pensacola require support.
'Their COO Tyson Lamond has acknowledged our work, and we have received recognition from sailors of the highest calibre. The compliments from Glenn Ashby mean a great deal to me – a long-time Tornado rival and someone with immense America’s Cup foiling experience, gained with Emirates Team New Zealand.’
Three60 is also looking ahead from a generational perspective. Alongside Glisoni, now 68, is his nephew Alessandro Bezzi who is completing a degree in engineering management. His thesis is focused on Three60 and its theme is enterprise networks and innovation – a concept that encapsulates the company’s ethos.
‘It is satisfying to think that I’m leaving something behind,’ Glisoni concludes. ‘Not just pieces of metal, but a way of working. Bezzi echoes him: ‘I joined the company to grow, working alongside my uncle Angelo, who is passing on his extensive experience. Building on the skills developed through my studies, I intend to continue along the course he has set, maintaining high standards of quality and service, and cultivating professional relationships to ensure continuity for Three60.’
