British yacht brand Fairline has had its ups and downs since its founding in the 1960s. At its peak, Fairline employed around 1,300 people, had sales around $240 million and built nearly 300 boats a year. Today, the yard employs just shy of 250 craftspeople and is restructuring with a clean balance sheet. The plan for this year is to build three boats a month, led by an in-house design team under creative lead Christian Gott.
The first model from the new management is the Targa 47, an update to a bestseller. The 47 is available in Open and GT versions, both evolutions of Targa 45 models, which in turn evolved from the Targa 43. Yes, there is still a solid pedigree here.
A decade ago, the Targa 43 was the second of several all-new Fairlines drawn by then-rising star Alberto Mancini, who today is known for his work with Azimut. This new Targa 47 is essentially still the Italian master’s work, albeit with a few in-house twists to modernize it alongside the more recent Targa 40 and Squadron 58.
I got aboard Hull No. 1 of the Targa 47 Open in Spain’s Balearic Isles, in fine weather with warm sunny skies. Beginning aft, I found a bigger hydraulic swim platform that led to a cockpit with recognizable hardtop protection, an electric canvas sunroof and a familiar layout, save for a more ergonomic helm console. A sunpad aft conceals a garage that can hold a Williams TurboJet 285. Forward of there is booth seating to port that conceals an adjustable table. To starboard is a wet bar.
Up front beneath the windshield, there’s a two-seat helm to starboard, with the wheel and an electrically adjustable driver’s seat inboard. The bridge console can have the standard single Garmin multifunction display or two of them. On the opposite side of the centerline companionway stairs, there’s a sociable lounge.
Belowdecks, a lounge and galley are between two en suite staterooms. L-shaped booth seating has a height-adjustable table with leaves. Owners will likely choose to occupy the full-beam stateroom aft, as it has the biggest hull windows. It also has a transverse double berth, and either a sofa or vanity to port. The forward guest stateroom has a standard fixed double berth, or can be ordered with a convertible scissor-twin.
What’s noticeably different in the Targa 47’s layout, compared to the T45, is the way the bulkhead in the aft stateroom is angled to increase floor space around the berth and make closet access easier. Similarly, the forward stateroom’s en suite is also a different shape. All the joinery includes grain-matched veneers. The hull that I got aboard had a dark high-gloss walnut scheme with a light-oak sole, which Fairline says is the most popular. The alternative is to have oak throughout.
There are several Seakeeper gyrostabilizer options for this model, although the boat I was aboard didn’t have one and it didn’t feel unstable without it. With the Volvo Penta D6-480 diesels paired to IPS650 pods, the Targa 47 Open’s sweet spot was 25 knots, with a range around 220 nautical miles.
Flat-out, according to the builder, the nominal top speed is 32 knots. Our best speed was just shy of that, but we didn’t try too hard to coax more. We kept Trim Assist on and were at around half load on an easy sea. I fully expect this model, like the many Fairlines I’ve driven over the years, to handle well with good seakeeping in more challenging conditions.
The Targa 47 is a statement that Fairline is back with purpose. If my experience is any indication of what’s to come, the future is bright for this builder.
Pinpoint Handling
The Fairline Targa 47 has Volvo Penta’s Assisted Docking and Dynamic Positioning. Docking is vastly simplified. There’s also Joystick Driving mode, which removes the speed restrictions of Assisted Docking mode. It gives virtually instant access to the full lock, which on this boat meant 18 degrees or so of pod arc. Twisting the joystick quickly saw our boat heel in and out of turns super-fast. It’s great fun.
Coming Soon
The first Targa 47 GT, which has aft-deck doors but otherwise much the same specification as the 47 Open, made its debut at the Palm Beach International Boat Show this year. Next up, at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September, we should see the world premiere of the Targa 58 GTO, which is based on the latest Squadron 58 platform. The following fall should bring the world premiere of an all-new Squadron 52 and, subsequently, Targa 52 Open and GT versions.
Take the next step: fairline.com
