Horizon's FD85 Wows the Crowd

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utch designer Cor D.  Rover is  known for his work with globally known brands such as Azimut, Zeelander and Sirena, as well as for his superyacht design on larger hulls including Benetti’s 220-foot Seasense. For each builder, he creates a different sense of style. On the Horizon FD85 Open Bridge, that style is both bold and practical. Angles carry from the squared-off transom to the hullside windows and gunwale cutaways, creating an eye-catching look in the harbor. Inside, those cutaways and sole-to-ceiling windows allow ambient light into the salon, creating great views and giving a full-beam feel to a yacht with walkaround side decks. The combination of style and practicality continues throughout the yacht. On the aft deck is a dining table with room for seating on all four sides. The flybridge overhang keeps the table dry, and the space is fitted with a 32-inch SkyVue TV, teak decking, and a bar with a sink, fridge and ice maker.

Through a stone-sole foyer is the salon with leather seating, anigre cabinetry and a walnut sole. There’s an eight-seat wooden dining table, a glassware cabinet, and a 55-inch Samsung TV for family movie night. The 7-foot headroom enhances the open feeling, and a day-head is in an after corner, accessible from the cockpit or salon.

Forward of the salon and to port is a U-shaped galley with home-size appliances. A door separates the galley from the dining area, as does one to the main-deck master stateroom, which has a king-size berth. Hullside windows (with electric blinds) add to the open feeling and allow views from the bed. A cedar-lined walk-in closet is next to the forward head, which has dual sinks flanked by a toilet compartment and a shower stall. The head can be concealed behind pocket doors. Because the exterior side decks go up and over the master, the interior living space is wide.

Three of the four belowdecks staterooms have queen-size berths, 40-inch TVs and en suite heads. A fourth guest stateroom has twin berths, a 32-inch TV and an en suite head. Crew quarters are aft with a mess and access from the transom and stairwell.

Powering the FD85 is a pair of 1,600 hp Caterpillar C32 diesels. The engine room’s layout allows access not just to the maintenance items (including Racor fuel filters and strainers, a Reverso fuel-polishing system and a Sea Recovery watermaker), but also to the dual 29 kW Onan generators and 100-amp shore-power system.

Command central is the raised pilothouse. A reverse-raked windshield makes the FD85 look ready to tackle any sea state, and three 17-inch Garmin GPSMap displays and an Octoplex display fill the dash. Bow- and stern-thruster joysticks, Caterpillar engine displays, speed/depth/temperature logs, an ABT-Trac stabilizer controller and throttles are in the console.

The flybridge deck has a centerline helm with a two-person bench. To port is an L-shaped bar with four stools, a sink, a fridge, an ice maker, stowage and a Corian countertop, making the bar an ideal place to relax with sundowners in the Bahamas. Across from the bar is an L-shaped dinette with a Corian-topped table. Abaft that is a centerline sun pad.

Want a hot tub? The yacht is pre-plumbed to add it. There’s also space for a propane barbecue, freezer, 32-inch TV and water toys far aft.

Horizon took a bold step with the FD85 Open Bridge’s styling. The result is added interior volume, improved visibility, multiple socializing areas and a solid ride in any weather.

During our sea trial en route to Miami, my test vessel sliced through the 3- to 5-foot slop at a pretty steady 14.5 knots. I looked over the captain’s shoulder every few minutes, noting that he didn’t have to jockey the throttles. The FD85 took each quartering and beam wave gently, digging in a little and rising under control. There was no slam from the occasional 6-footers we encountered, and the yacht’s performance numbers were close to the factory data. Based on its 3,480-gallon fuel capacity, the FD85 Open Bridge has a range of 2,758 nautical miles at a leisurely 8.4 knots, a 960 nm range at 12.2 knots, and a 407 nm range at 20.2 knots. That’s a good cut of speed for a 206,570-pound yacht with a 5-foot-11-inch draft running in less-than-ideal sea conditions.

Horizon’s in-house team, with designer Cor D. Rover, created the High Performance Piercing Bow (HPPB). It has a sharp entry for easier transit through underwater currents, reducing the angle of the bow wave and creating a smoother ride in head seas. The HPPB’s shape, which is like a V-hull form on the bottom with an inverted hull on top, eases jarring when the yacht enters or exits large waves.

The big sister to the FD85 is the FD87 Skyline. She’s the blue-hulled yacht on page 75. But the yacht wasn’t always called the Skyline. Hull No. 1’s owner painted his FD87 with a blue hull and a white superstructure to create the same look and feel as, well, a skyline. And he christened his yacht as such. Horizon liked the name so much, it got his permission to rename the model the FD87 Skyline.