Fairline

[Guest]

Hello Folks. First time poster boy here...Have owned a 21' Sea Ray for 4 seasons & have toured British Columbia in a 52' dual screw. Really love the boating scene & am preparing to move up CONSIDERABLY in boat, but I want the opinion of those of you who have owned, loved & cussed many a vessell.
I am entriged by the Fairline 55 / 58 & Carver designs. Looking for a reliable, functional, attractive cruiser that can sleep 6 or more comfortably. I know that some of you are going to have a field day, but beyond charting some vessells to discover our own preferences, what would you suggest? Do you like the Fairline, Carver or other ?? Thanks again & I look forward to your responses.

 

[petem]

Be prepared for a biassed view based on the fact that each marina in the uk probably has more Fairlines in it than the total of Carvers in all Uk marinas. Having said that I loved that Carver 530 that was at the boat show a couple of years back, particularly the central helm position.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Like Pete says, you'll get comments about Carvers being floating condos or lake boats only and it seems to be true that Carvers major on accomodation rather than performance. Their new pilot house designs offer a lot of space and functionality and at least they're different from the Euro boat norm. The problem with buying a Carver in the UK will be re-selling it
Length for length, a Fairline will offer less accomodation space largely because the hull will be a deeper, narrower V but the trade off will be a better ride at sea
A Fairline is the no-brainer choice because you know its going to be a good sea boat, its usually of good quality and you'll be able to re-sell it fairly easily in the UK .

 

[Guest]

I can't comment on the model but as the owner of a 1982 Fairline, I can confirm that they are of a high build quality, they last well & hold their value.

I have no experience of the Carver so cannot comment other than to say that I am a satisfied Fairline owner.

 

[jfm]

Where in the world are you based? In the US and Canada people buy Carvers. Here in Europe they are regarded as slightly odd, floating condos as someone said, not suited to Euro taste. I would think very hard to resell.

The Fairlines are OK-built, not well built. Things go wrong with them in the first couple of years, eg they fit the wrong bits or wire them up wrongly. But the basic structure is good. Delivery dates can be missed. They will not do much customisation, the only choice is engines, colour of furnishings. But they look goodish and resell well in Europe. If you want a 58 there are about 2 delivery slots this year (numbers 8-12 or so are now in build so they've had a bit of practice) and I'm not aware of any for charter, but there may be one or two. The 55 has been around a while and Vitesse have a 2001 for charter in Palma Mallorca (I have it mid August). Good luck

JFM

 

[jfm]

Re: Euro/US

Ah right, I see you are in Arizona. Where are you going to keep the boat? As you can see this BB is mainly frequented by UK people, so apologies that our comments are a bit UK/Euro centric! But now that we got 4 July out of the way for another year welcome to the board.

What about Vikings (=Princess over here) or Sunseeker if you want a mainstream Euro style boat, or Mangusta, Leopard, San Lorenzo, Riva, Ferretti, (and maybe Azimut, Astondoa too) if you want swish Italian style (cept Astondoa, they're spanish) and semi custom build?

JFM

 

[ArthurWood]

As others have already said, to the Euro taste, the Carver, Hatteras etc styling is ugly, but they do provide huge accommodation. The Carver 450, 530 and their latest 570(?) are the exceptions as far as style goes. Fairline, to my knowledge has not made as much penetration in the US market as Princess (marketed here under the Viking name) has. I would suggest that you stick to US products in the US for the same reason you would not buy a US boat in Europe. ie, resale. I would aslo suggest you look at the Sea Ray range. They do not have the fine finish of Euro boats, but you get a lot more for your money in terms of space and home comforts. They are also the US's biggest boat manufacturer and have a large sales/support network. For your needs, look at the 460 and 480 Sedan Bridge models. See www.searayboats.com. Good luck.
AW/FL

 

[sonarbell]

If your interested, Newarke Marina has just repaired a big Squaddie 56 with an even bigger hole in it.!! I am sure its the one that was advertised for £75K in the boats mags. But as always cant be sure.

 

[lanason]

What sort of Fairline do you have?? As I am looking to buy a Holiday and after some advice. Do you tow it? and if so what with.