Absolute 39 V's Fairline 38

Re: Absolute 39 V\'s Fairline 38

Hi , It was in the Solent or rather Southampton water, wind must have been a F3 ish and slight sea state but she took any wash we came across very well.
if you sea trail both you will have a better feel for them.
I know the guy who imports them and helm for him on demos sometimes. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: Absolute 39 V\'s Fairline 38

Yeah I know what you mean about the red lacquer, I think they do it without now for the very reasons you stated. I do like the Absolute though a complete stunner..
 
Re: Absolute 39 V\'s Fairline 38

As nautorious has said, on some boats with a tender garage, the only access to the engine bay is from a hatch under the garage and to have to haul out the tender and other stuff from your garage in order to do everyday engine checks is a big pain
I'm not saying the Absolute is like this, just that you should check how easy access to the engine bay is
 
Re: Absolute 39 V\'s Fairline 38

As it happens this is a comparison we are hoping to do in MBY before too long. The Absolute 39 is one of the few boats which David Marsh has not yet tested and which, judging from his experience of the Absolute 45, could well provide some stiff competition for the Fairline. I certainly wouldn't rule it out on the basis of it being an "older" boat.
That said, the Fairline is a very fine example of the breed. The relative advertising spend of Fairline or anyone else has no bearing at all on our boat test reports. We write exactly as we find. If the Fairline was a crap boat we wouldn't hesitate to say as much (although we might use a more technical term). We sang the praises of the Absolute 45 last year for the same reason, it is good boat at a great price. However, there is some truth in the brand not being as well established in the UK and therefore its long term durability and residual values are less predictable.
In the end you should choose the boat which best suits your own boating needs and while we can point out each boat's good and bad points only you can decide what really matters to you. In the meantime I will get on with trying to organise a proper comparison test.

Hugo
 
Re: Absolute 39 V\'s Fairline 38

Hi Martyn I dont seem to have a problem knowing where the quay is when coming in stern too, firstly I can see through the hole in the fly where the ladder goes, and secondly I know from the side/stern view when compared to the boats either side how far I have to go. Can you not see the stern down your stairs

Oh and if in doubt stick a ball fender over the platform that would soften any blow
 
Re: Absolute 39 V\'s Fairline 38

[ QUOTE ]
why not look at the Princess V42??

[/ QUOTE ]

Indeed, it's my favourite in class, there's nothing "wrong" with it at all, and the overall standard of finish (on the ones I've looked at) has been consistently high.

The Fairline looks a reasonable all-round package, apart from the cramped feel to the lower saloon, where the bathroom juts out.

The Absolute: Interior layout is fab, but I'm not keen on the tender garage, and the poor engine access would write it off for me.

dv.
 
Re: Absolute 39 V\'s Fairline 38

Cor blimey alistairr you've got a good memory. did you make yourself a "in 18 months time" diary note to pull up this thread? :-)
 
Re: Absolute 39 V\'s Fairline 38

I read this thread through with mounting excitement as to what the OP had bought. Imagine my bitter disappointment. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Re: Absolute 39 V\'s Fairline 38

Imagine my dissappointment, I thought we might have had the very first forum member who owns an Absolute. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

But sadly we may never know! Looks like OP has gone.

Cheers

Al.
 
Absolute 39 V Fairline 38

Thanks for this useful thread.

I picked up on it because my wife and I are thinking of buying what would be our first boat and these two boats are options we were looking at.

By way of background, my wife and I have a 4 and a 2 year old and have bought a holiday apartment in Palmanova Mallorca.

We both did our day skipper course last November and have been considering buying a boat ever since. Up to now we have chartered 6 sports cruisers out of Portals of between 43 and 75 ft.

As we will only at least at the moment go over to Mallorca 6/8 weeks a year, to get good use out of a boat I think we need to moor her in Palmanova's small boat club marina as it is only two minutes walk up the beach from our apartment rather than Portals or Port Adriano which are at least a 10 min taxi ride away.

The problem is Palmanova marina has a maximum birth of 12m so we are restricted.

Ideally we want two beds, two bathrooms, and a tender garage with jet rib or rib with decent sized outboard as getting the rib out and having fun in it has been one of the best parts of the boat charters. Also we feel having a tender would allow us to anchor up in the beautiful coves of Mallorca and Ibiza without needing to pull in to a marina. I want a tender garage because I think sticking a tender on the bathing platform just looks wrong although I could be persuded otherwise.

We think £140k might be a good amount to spend all things considered as a new boat at £350k just seems over the top for our needs.

It seems we have the following options:

Absolute 39 2007/2008 - 2 beds, 2 toilets, tender garage although only 4hp outboard on tender possible;

Fairline Targa 40 2002/3 - 2 beds, tender garage but only one toilet and only 4hp outboard for tender;

Fairline Targa 38 - 2 beds, but no tender garage and only one toilet;

Cranchi 39 2003/4 - tender garage, but only 1 ready made bed, 1 toilet and only 4 hp outboard for tender;

Sunseeker Portefino 2002 - 2 beds, but no tender garage and I think only one toilet.

I doubt whether I'm going to get anything that can carry a jet rib or a rib that can take a 30 hp outboard. The Fairline Targa 43 I think is the smallest boat that will and they won't take that in the marina - its just too big.

Therefore the Absolute 39 seems to be the nearest to ticking all the boxes although there don't seem to be many around. Theres is a 2008 with 120 hours on the clock in Port Banus with an asking price of £150k which seems good value but maybe it won't hold its value as well as a Targa 40 or Portefino?

Any advice would be most welcome.

Oliver
 
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