NordHaven

[Greg2]

For me I've seen both the Fleming and Nordhaven in the 'flesh' (or GRP) and I don't doubt the Nordhaven's abilities but it's a jarring thing to look at.
I'm a touch biased about Fleming because I had a walk around of one in Southampton and the salesman was happy to sit down and chat about Flemings and even my Trader so ok I'm about 3.5million quid short of a new Fleming at the moment but I don't forget good sales treatment. (That was a couple of years ago)
And the little features on the Fleming like the leather hangers to protect the boat from the fender ropes plus the top grade interior really endears me to them..

Once again I guess it depends what your actual cruising area is going to be. I've seen a Fleming 65 that's done 60,000 miles!! But I'll guess if you really want to be out in the roughest stuff (instead of winding up the twin engines on the Fleming and heading for a sheltered haven) then I guess the Nordhaven will be your friend..

I still struggle to understand the asymmetric deck layout though. Asking a silly question but what happens when you want to moor up port side too if there is no side deck that side.?

I quite like the rugged / practical look of the Nordhavn but no question that I much prefer the lovely lines of a Fleming and should my numbers come up it would be the Fleming over the Nordhavn no question.

We looked at a Fleming at a Boatshow many moons ago, think it might have been London, and my recollection is that they were most accommodating. Loved the boat but have always thought that the aft deck / cockpit is quite a size.
.

 

[Farmer Piles]

They sound like great boats . One of our club members family have one. Sailed it back from Victoria BC to Europe via The Panama Canal. Oh well we can but dream. BC Ferries gets me around out there and allows me to see The Salish Sea and beyond.

Are they an elderly couple that now own a Sargo 31?

 

[Fire99]

I know this thread started about Nordhavens but as a matter of interest I watched a couple of videos today of Tony Fleming taking his Venture 2 (Fleming 65) from the South Coast up to Iceland and back. Tony isn't the most 'bouncy' of narraters but what a great trip..

I have a sneaky feeling it may be his boat I had a look around on at Southampton. I think...

 

[Lodestone]

I know this thread started about Nordhavens but as a matter of interest I watched a couple of videos today of Tony Fleming taking his Venture 2 (Fleming 65) from the South Coast up to Iceland and back. Tony isn't the most 'bouncy' of narraters but what a great trip..

I have a sneaky feeling it may be his boat I had a look around on at Southampton. I think...

The Venture series is great, one of the youtube series that kept us sane through lockdown.
As you say Tony F might not come across as natural in narrating but there is a charm to it and I imaging he'd be an interesting guy to fall into conversation with.

There is a video where he describes his early days in Taiwan and the origins of the yard - great stuff!

 

[Whopper]

Apologies for continued thread drift but I have to say I really like his narrating style. This video/slideshow is fascinating and worth a look.

 

[Fire99]

The Venture series is great, one of the youtube series that kept us sane through lockdown.
As you say Tony F might not come across as natural in narrating but there is a charm to it and I imaging he'd be an interesting guy to fall into conversation with.

There is a video where he describes his early days in Taiwan and the origins of the yard - great stuff!

I'm gonna check out the rest of the series. They're well put together. In fairness to Tony F he's not bad just very calm and measured compared to these days of of Youtube where everything is "It's a disaster!!! You'll never believe what happened next.. We made a HUUUUGE mistake"

 

[billskip]

I'm gonna check out the rest of the series.

Well worth it, some very interesting places and scenery....

 

[Lodestone]

I'm gonna check out the rest of the series. They're well put together. In fairness to Tony F he's not bad just very calm and measured compared to these days of of Youtube where everything is "It's a disaster!!! You'll never believe what happened next.. We made a HUUUUGE mistake"

These days it's all drama drama. "SHE'S LEAVING ME!!" ...yes to go to the heads

 

[Fire99]

I have a little confession. I've got rather hooked on Tony Fleming's videos. He knows how to take some amazing scenery shots and I have a great deal of respect for him taking his Fleming 65 (and on one video from Norway I'm watching a 55 comes along for the ride) on a whole plethora of excursions in some pretty challenging waters. Now that's proving the value of the brand 1st hand...

 

[Farmer Piles]

I have always hankered after a Fleming but it is a case of champagne tastes and beer pockets for me. After watching the Tony F videos, I really,really want one.

 

[NewForester]

I have a little confession. I've got rather hooked on Tony Fleming's videos. He knows how to take some amazing scenery shots and I have a great deal of respect for him taking his Fleming 65 (and on one video from Norway I'm watching a 55 comes along for the ride) on a whole plethora of excursions in some pretty challenging waters. Now that's proving the value of the brand 1st hand...

Me too.

However, I would like Tony Fleming to give a bit more on the "How To".

What sort of weather windows was he looking for? What kind of sea state was he aiming for? What are some of the the things that would need to be checked while making a passage? What speed did he travel at and at what kind of fuel economy? Is it practical to travel at 7 or 8 knots for a longer passage, and if so would this cause any problems for the engines? What are the procedures for travelling through the locks in Holland, Germany etc? Does he have the Boning Systems Management system on board, and if so how does he have it set up and what sort of things is it telling him that would be useful for an everyday boater?

Another great selling point for the Fleming is that at the end of the day a boat is a bag of bits that a team has screwed together. I think that Fleming has been using the same yard for eons, so that yard should know how to put it together and will have ironed out any issues. They are not one offs for the yard.

(Even my wife likes the Flemings. But, there is only one negative in her eyes. She would want the owners stateroom in the middle of the boat, not in the bow. So, that means that it would have to be one of the newer and more expensive Fleming 58's rather than an older, cheaper 55. And that means that I will have to keep working for a bit longer!!)

 

[Fire99]

Me too.

However, I would like Tony Fleming to give a bit more on the "How To".

What sort of weather windows was he looking for? What kind of sea state was he aiming for? What are some of the the things that would need to be checked while making a passage? What speed did he travel at and at what kind of fuel economy? Is it practical to travel at 7 or 8 knots for a longer passage, and if so would this cause any problems for the engines? What are the procedures for travelling through the locks in Holland, Germany etc? Does he have the Boning Systems Management system on board, and if so how does he have it set up and what sort of things is it telling him that would be useful for an everyday boater?

Another great selling point for the Fleming is that at the end of the day a boat is a bag of bits that a team has screwed together. I think that Fleming has been using the same yard for eons, so that yard should know how to put it together and will have ironed out any issues. They are not one offs for the yard.

(Even my wife likes the Flemings. But, there is only one negative in her eyes. She would want the owners stateroom in the middle of the boat, not in the bow. So, that means that it would have to be one of the newer and more expensive Fleming 58's rather than an older, cheaper 55. And that means that I will have to keep working for a bit longer!!)

Yeah good points. He certainly seems to focus more on the scenery and 'places of interest' rather than the technicalities of the boat but I really have enjoyed all the places he's gone to. The fact he's done 60,000 miles on one of his own boats is really something.
I don't think the Fleming is perfect.
I just watched a video from Aquaholic (who I must confess I don't really gel with most of the time) interviewing a couple with a Fleming 55. For a 2008 boat the quality is top class, though this one has apparently had a bit of a refit a couple of times. I agree that it's pretty much owners stateroom up front and guest accomodation as you work backwards. One thing I like about my Trader is that the owners cabin is huge and at the stern (and separate from everyone else) and there's a double up front and a couple of singles to port. Obviously the downside for me is that you can't just step off the boat like you can with the Fleming, and my lower helm doesn't have it's own little 'apartment' up front!!

Well I have to hand it to you. If you're looking at a '58 it appears to be about £2m upwards. Errr slightly above my budget, by about most of it. haha

 

[Farmer Piles]

Yeah good points. He certainly seems to focus more on the scenery and 'places of interest' rather than the technicalities of the boat but I really have enjoyed all the places he's gone to. The fact he's done 60,000 miles on one of his own boats is really something.
I don't think the Fleming is perfect.
I just watched a video from Aquaholic (who I must confess I don't really gel with most of the time) interviewing a couple with a Fleming 55. For a 2008 boat the quality is top class, though this one has apparently had a bit of a refit a couple of times. I agree that it's pretty much owners stateroom up front and guest accomodation as you work backwards. One thing I like about my Trader is that the owners cabin is huge and at the stern (and separate from everyone else) and there's a double up front and a couple of singles to port. Obviously the downside for me is that you can't just step off the boat like you can with the Fleming, and my lower helm doesn't have it's own little 'apartment' up front!!

Well I have to hand it to you. If you're looking at a '58 it appears to be about £2m upwards. Errr slightly above my budget, by about most of it. haha

Even if you sell your left kidney and your right eye?

 

[Fire99]

Even if you sell your left kidney and your right eye?

Left Kidney has already been allocated to finance Caterpillar's share prices with my existing engines..

 

[burgundyben]

Apologies for continued thread drift but I have to say I really like his narrating style. This video/slideshow is fascinating and worth a look.

In 1992 I spent a summer on a Fleming 55 looking after the boat for the owner, we went from Hamble to Oslo and back, on part of the trip we had Tony onboard, I recall him being a lovely chap.

I'm sure I recall him telling me he had ridden a motorcycle across the USA and flown a light aircraft back.

Tony told me, that for every engineering challenge there is a simple solution, if the solution you find isnt simple you havent found it, wise words I've carried through 30 years in engineering.

I'd love to chat to him now.

 

[Fire99]

In 1992 I spent a summer on a Fleming 55 looking after the boat for the owner, we went from Hamble to Oslo and back, on part of the trip we had Tony onboard, I recall him being a lovely chap.

I'm sure I recall him telling me he had ridden a motorcycle across the USA and flown a light aircraft back.

Tony told me, that for every engineering challenge there is a simple solution, if the solution you find isnt simple you havent found it, wise words I've carried through 30 years in engineering.

I'd love to chat to him now.

I find these days, with recreational boats, simple is rarely a term heard in conversation. Fleming's Flemings seem to have their fair share of tech but the fundamental concept of his boats seems to have a lot of emphasis on function. I notice on the 65 between Venture and Venture II features he was highlighting were things like a system that eliminated the stuffing box and cutless bearings rather than ditching the ol shafts and going for things like IPS's etc and finding LED lighting throughout that has the right colour temperature!!
I know they are flippin' expensive (or should I say a 'very premium product') but his boats still seem to focus on ability and passagemaking rather than too much glitz and glamour. Even looking at say the '78 it still looks like a very big (and very posh) country cottage. As I saw in an interview with an owner, with Fleming it's certainly 'evolution' over 'revolution'.
Now I don't know if this is true but another big factor is he comes across as someone you could trust. I've nothing to back this up but I don't get the impression I'd have boat issues that the company tried to run away from.. (Strewth, I think I've become an unpaid salesman for Fleming here )