New Fairline targa 53 gt

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martin

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Hi all
A friend of mine is considering buying a new Fairline Targa 53 GT.
https://www.fairline.com/en/dealer/north-mallorca/yachts/targa/53-gt/

It’s his first venture into larger boapts and he asked me my opinion. Having mainly owned Princess, I don’t know much about Fairline...other than it went under but it’s now back again. I thought I would consult the forum to see if any one has any info or thoughts?
 
martin said:
Hi all
A friend of mine is considering buying a new Fairline Targa 53 GT.
https://www.fairline.com/en/dealer/north-mallorca/yachts/targa/53-gt/

It’s his first venture into larger boapts and he asked me my opinion. Having mainly owned Princess, I don’t know much about Fairline...other than it went under but it’s now back again. I thought I would consult the forum to see if any one has any info or thoughts?
Click to expand...

Pros
Great looking boat
Olesinski hull
On shafts
Great Fairline build quality
Multiple layout options
Favorable review in YBW

Cons
Sleek design meant limited headroom at the sides berths in the master cabin (it's Sunseeker contemporary had the same affliction)
 
LOL, for some reason it I would have been easy to guess who the author of this summary is! :D :p
If what was debated here in the asylum is anything to go by, you should have written it as follows... :cool:

Pros
Great looking boat
Olesinski hull
On shafts
Great Fairline build quality
Multiple layout options
Favorable review in YBW

Cons
Sleek design meant
limited headroom at the sides berths in the master cabin
(it's Sunseeker contemporary had the same affliction)
 
All the 50s that I know had water infiltration problems.
What this has to do with a 53?
53 is an evolution of the 50 with a rethought interior and an owners midships cabin from forward, and extended bathing platform with hi-lo system.
Be sure they solved these problems. I heard they did but I have not seen any 53.

Sleek with limited headroom? Is this a joke?
I was berthed with a Cayman 58 WA HT next to a 50 and the 50 had a foot more of free board.
 
MapisM said:
LOL, for some reason it I would have been easy to guess who the author of this summary is! :D :p
If what was debated here in the asylum is anything to go by, you should have written it as follows... :cool:

Pros
Great looking boat
Olesinski hull
On shafts
Great Fairline build quality
Multiple layout options
Favorable review in YBW

Cons
Sleek design meant
limited headroom at the sides berths in the master cabin
(it's Sunseeker contemporary had the same affliction)
Click to expand...

Well I'm sure that the op's friend is capable of ascertaining whether the limited height the at sides of the berth is an issue for him or not. Would this bother me? No. Has it bothered the other Targa 53 customers? Obviously not. Has it bothered the customers of Sunseeker and other manufacturers who make boats of the same size and same compromise? No.

To prove my point, here's a pic of the new Princess v50. Does that look like full standing headroom to the sides of the berth?

v50-open-interior-owners-stateroom-walnut-satin-820x540.jpg
 
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rubberduck said:
I am reading the OP as a question on build quality etc. Any one bought one since the re launch ?
Failing that I would go see them being put together, but apparently I am missing something ?
Click to expand...

Not sure what a factory tour will tell anyone about the build quality unless they are an expert on boat building but what it will tell you is that the new team at Fairline are extremely committed to rebuilding the company after they nearly went under and the new owners seem to have the resources to ensure that that happens. Having said that, I'd much rather have one of the new Mancini designed models of which the 53GT isnt one
 
While being an Italian boat fan, the Fairline is a very nice boat. I think currently the build quality and finish are better than Sunseeker and Princess. As others have said, the new Fairline company is very committed to creating great boats. They’ve not done much wrong in the past 2 years.
 
In a couple of weeks time the Southampton boat show will be on so a great chance to compare possible contenders back to back. Photos are all well and good but spend a couple of days prodding and poking.

Make sure your friend makes contact with the companies before the show to let them know he is serious thus avoiding the usual, "I can't believe they ignored me as I stood there with a zillion in cash burning a hole in my bum bag."

If you need help with either Princess or Sunseeker send me a private message and I can give you a couple of names who have been really accommodating without being pushy. Pete M has a hotline to Fairline.

Henry :)
 
petem said:
Well I'm sure that the op's friend is capable of ascertaining whether the limited height the at sides of the berth is an issue for him or not. Would this bother me? No. Has it bothered the other Targa 53 customers? Obviously not. Has it bothered the customers of Sunseeker and other manufacturers who make boats of the same size and same compromise? No.
Click to expand...
Cheer up P, my comment was pretty much tongue in cheek, and strictly based on what I could read about this boat here in the forum - which clearly highlighted that the poor headroom might not bother you, but it did bother most if not all other forumites.

If I should argue about your pros & cons list in a more serious manner, there's just a couple of things I would mention:
Firstly, a boat which deserves to be summarized with 6 pros and 1 con (finding at the same time an excuse for the only con) simply doesn't exist - and that makes your list biased "by definition", so to speak.
Secondly, I never really got my head round the reasons why anyone should buy the sweeping generalization that "Olesinski hulls=good".
With this particular boat, her performances are shabby to say the least, in spite of the "GT" claim.
And it's not even necessary to make comparisons with other yards to understand that.
The larger, heavier and much older Sq58 was faster with the same power, go figure... :ambivalence:
 
Deleted User said:
Not sure what a factory tour will tell anyone about the build quality unless they are an expert on boat building but what it will tell you is that the new team at Fairline are extremely committed to rebuilding the company after they nearly went under and the new owners seem to have the resources to ensure that that happens. Having said that, I'd much rather have one of the new Mancini designed models of which the 53GT isnt one
Click to expand...

I have a history in manufacture, inc furniture & fibreglass, but not boats, many many moons ago. IMO if you know how things go together you can usually apply to different industries. One of the reasons I am a fan of Italian boats.
 
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petem said:
Indeed, I'm always happy to help if I can. Would be good to know where your friend intends to keep the boat.
Click to expand...

Pete, to keep me up to speed with Fairline:

Does the Targa 53 still have essentially the same limitations as the launch boat I was so rude about at Southampton ?

I know the Flybridge 53 is a totally different ball game in the master cabin which Whitelighter? of this parish so admirably demonstrated with some of his lady friends at one one of the shows :)

I can't remember if the Targa 53 was re-worked to the same extent as the flybridge.

Henry :)
 
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