Fairline Targa 43 2018 Price
2018 Fairline Targa 43 Open review
British brand Fairline is back from the brink, revealing an all-new slick-looking targa-topped sports cruiser made for the owner-driver
It's incredible to think that just four years ago the yachting world almost lost Fairline for good. Now, just two years since a brace of Russian billionaires plucked it from bankruptcy, the famous British builder has managed to turn things around.
Despite mass redundancies and a massive restructure, the small Northamptonshire-based boat builder has a new factory in Southampton, which last year launched the stunning (and award-winning) Targa 63 GTO.
Proving its return is no fluke, the renaissance continues in 2018 with the launch of a smaller, but no less jaw-dropping, Fairline Targa 43 Open that the boat maker predicts will become its overnight best-seller. It's one of six new models that Fairline plans to sell in Australia.
It's easy to agree with that claim when you spot the firm's latest sport cruiser, especially since that like the Fairline Targa 63 GTO, the Targa 43 Open is the work of superyacht designer Alberto Mancini. However, while the hull on the award-winning Fairline 63 GTO is the work of famed Dutch naval engineering group Vripack, the Fairline Targa 43 Open's fluid dynamics have evolved from Slovenian studio J&J Design.
The Fairline Targa 43 Open shows Mancini remains the master of proportions, designing a boat that translates the rakish lines of the 63 GTO to a shorter hull.
Perhaps the biggest compliment is that the design cleverly disguises the size of the Targa 43 Open and, if anything, its low-profile, sleek and handsome form gives onlookers the impression of a much larger yacht.
There are some considerable differences between the entry-level Fairline Targa 43 Open and its bigger, considerably pricier Fairline 63 GTO, though. Apart from the size, the other most noticeable omission is that there's no trick sliding glass roof. Instead, for the full open-air experience the Targa 43 Open makes do with an electric folding canvas roof.
Fairline also favours a differing engineering approach in the Traga 43 Open compared with some rivals. Instead of building a timber deck platform within the hull to support the superstructure, the Brits prefer mounting a more rigid in-liner and then building on top of that. The pay-off, Fairline claims, is that the Targa 43 Open is stiffer and more capable at sea, especially in rough conditions.
The downside of the in-liner is limited flexibility when configuring the Fairline Targa 43 Open. There's no Australian-friendly "galley up" option, for example, while below there's just two staterooms with the choice of positioning the master at either the bow or amidships.
Perhaps most curiously, all Targa 43 Open configurations lack a freezer – there are two refrigerators and an icemaker, but a lack of space for anything else.
If any of those limitations are a deal-breaker, Fairline says it will happily sell you a far more flexible (and expensive) 48 or 53, but if you can live with those gripes, the Targa 43 Open's use of space is top drawer.
In part, that clever use of space comes via a pair of Volvo IPS600 pod motors that push out a healthy 435hp each side. Sadly, the Swedish company's more powerful-still 550hp IPS700 engines couldn't be packaged, but that's no bad thing as the standard engines still offer a maximum cruising speed of around 32kt.
The Fairline Targa 43 Open will win you over from the moment you step aboard via its hydraulic passarelle. Boat No.1, reviewed here with the mid-master option, also came equipped with a hydraulic submersible swimming platform and a tender garage spacious enough to store a Williams Minijet 280 tender deployed effortlessly via a davit and rollers.
Under the targa top, and ahead of a salon lounge area is elevated L-shaped seating to port, and elevated starboard twin helm seats mounted in front of a full one-piece glass screen. The helm's seating position offers an uninterrupted view ahead. Fairline believes most of the entry-level Targa 43 Open models it will sell will be owner operated, so it comes fitted with Volvo Penta's joystick docking system and an optional bow thruster.
The bow carries a pair of sun lounges but, unlike the Fairline 68 GTO, they don't convert into an alfresco coffee table and seating.
Below decks, you start to appreciate the revived Brit's flair for building luxury yachts. Similar to other Fairline models, four finishes are on offer – Amalfi, Capri, Hamptons and St Tropez. All feature soft furnishing and astonishing levels of fit, finish and attention to detail that Fairline claims it applies to all its boats irrespective of price. Of note are the carved pieces of walnut timber finished mostly by hand, with craftsman even careful to ensure the grain aligns.
Without any shaft driven engines to worry about, there's plenty of headroom in our boat's mid-ship galley.
In its mid-master configuration, a stateroom with an en-suite is located in the bow. It is light and airy, and offers a double bed that can scissor-fold apart to create two singles, and an enclosed bathroom. The bathroom-equipped twin mid-master stateroom, meanwhile, offers plenty of space, storage and light to fool you into thinking you're staying at a five-star hotel.
The old Fairline offered the choice of two air conditioning units, but the new one now only fits its boats with a high-capacity tropical system, which should be man enough for Aussie summers.
On the water, the Fairline Targa 43 Open is a joy to drive. The level of refinement, and the lack of intrusive engine noise and vibration, is remarkable, as is the punch delivered by the IPS 600s that offer a comfortable cruise hovering around 30kt. We would imagine many owners taking full advantage of the 200nm (322km) range afforded by the large 1300-litre tanks.
Development of the Fairline Targa 43 Open is almost compete, save for some final research and development that includes locking in the final prop size and some engine calibration work – not that it matters for our brief sea trial.
Behind the car-like wheel, the Targa 43 Open's steering is light and responsive, while its handling blends impressive stability with enough agility to entertain (and potentially even terrify) onboard guests. A lack of creaks and groans below deck demonstrates its impressive rigidity.
Fairline admits its presence Down Under has waned in recent years, but reckons the brand's exclusivity, combined with its contemporary styling and Bentley car levels of build quality, should win it fans and all-important sales.
To help it succeed, the British boat maker has already set up base in Perth, with dealerships established in in both NSW and Queensland, although in the wake of the Cannes Yachting Festival, sales are already by far outstripping supply.
Fairline says it hopes its new factory will help improve things. We do too, because it would be a shame if Australians are denied what must be one of the most desirable sport cruisers money can currently buy.
SPECIFICATIONS
Model: Fairline Targa 43 Open
Length overall: 14.2m
Waterline length: 13.9m
Beam: 4.32m
Draft: 1.17m
Displacement: 12,500kg (dry)
Fuel: 1300L
Water: 400L
Accommodation: 4 people
Standard power: 2x Volvo Penta IPS600 D6-435 turbo-diesel
Max speed: 32kt (est)
Cruise speed: tba
Base price: $926,200
Price as tested: $1,260,000 including high-capacity air conditioning, hydraulic passerelle, hydraulic submersible platform, Sleipner bow thruster, Volvo dynamic positioning system, Volvo GPS touchscreen display, Williams Minijet 280.
Supplied by: Fairline
Source: https://www.boatsales.com.au/editorial/details/2018-fairline-targa-43-open-review-114696/
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