WINTER 2011
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Boat Tests > Fjord > 40 Open
Open minded
WORDS: BARRY TRANTER
PHOTOS: NICK WOOD
This unique boat asks why hide inside when you can enjoy the outdoors?
You may or may not have heard of Wally yachts. Despite their silly name, they are the most talked-about boats in the world. I don't know how many have been built?maybe 20?but their radical, austere lines have had an influence on boat styling out of all proportion to their numbers. Wallys are superyachts built in several yards but the design themes are constant. There are no pulpits, lifelines, on-deck anchors or even protruding hatches. If winches can be excluded?replaced perhaps by an underdeck hydraulic system?they will be. Coachroofs are frowned upon, and forests of teak are felled to clad the uninterrupted decks.
What have Wally superyachts got to do with this Fjord 40? The Wallys introduced, or perhaps refined, a style that has affected both yachts and powerboats. I am not too sure what postmodern design is, but I suspect this Fjord comes close.
The Norwegian brand has been around since the 1960s, and the Fjords, which were imported here, were the first sports cruisers we had seen. The company is now owned by Hanse Yachts of Germany whose principal, Michael Schmidt, has encouraged superyacht styling and detailing in his yachts. The larger ones have the high topsides and clean decks featured on the Wally-built boats.
read on below advertisement
Hanse bought Fjord, and now the powerboats have these characteristics. Then Hanse bought Moody, and the new 45-deck saloon yacht?introduced at Sydney Boat Show?is more of the same. The 45's hull looks like the Fjord. The Fjord 40 is available as an open boat, like this one, or in a cruiser style, which we have yet to see here.
Not many years ago Aussies were cautious about radical styling and steered clear of dayboats. Everyone wanted to believe they would live aboard for weeks at a time. But we never do, so the fact that five of these Fjord 40s have been sold here already represents a major shift in popular opinion. Of the 30 Fjord 40s built so far, Aussie agents Windcraft have sold more than any other Hanse dealer.
THE CONCEPT
The epoxy hull has a simple deep-vee bottom but the entry is quite fine so the extended bow produces that menacing, coming-at-you look, with the knuckle clear of the water, as on so many modern yachts.
The high freeboard means you can have mid-thigh-height gunwales to keep you on board.
Down below is a double bed plus a single, and a bathroom. The galley is on deck, immediately aft of the helm seats.
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PHOTOS: NICK WOOD
This unique boat asks why hide inside when you can enjoy the outdoors?
You may or may not have heard of Wally yachts. Despite their silly name, they are the most talked-about boats in the world. I don't know how many have been built?maybe 20?but their radical, austere lines have had an influence on boat styling out of all proportion to their numbers. Wallys are superyachts built in several yards but the design themes are constant. There are no pulpits, lifelines, on-deck anchors or even protruding hatches. If winches can be excluded?replaced perhaps by an underdeck hydraulic system?they will be. Coachroofs are frowned upon, and forests of teak are felled to clad the uninterrupted decks.
What have Wally superyachts got to do with this Fjord 40? The Wallys introduced, or perhaps refined, a style that has affected both yachts and powerboats. I am not too sure what postmodern design is, but I suspect this Fjord comes close.
The Norwegian brand has been around since the 1960s, and the Fjords, which were imported here, were the first sports cruisers we had seen. The company is now owned by Hanse Yachts of Germany whose principal, Michael Schmidt, has encouraged superyacht styling and detailing in his yachts. The larger ones have the high topsides and clean decks featured on the Wally-built boats.
read on below advertisement
Hanse bought Fjord, and now the powerboats have these characteristics. Then Hanse bought Moody, and the new 45-deck saloon yacht?introduced at Sydney Boat Show?is more of the same. The 45's hull looks like the Fjord. The Fjord 40 is available as an open boat, like this one, or in a cruiser style, which we have yet to see here.
Not many years ago Aussies were cautious about radical styling and steered clear of dayboats. Everyone wanted to believe they would live aboard for weeks at a time. But we never do, so the fact that five of these Fjord 40s have been sold here already represents a major shift in popular opinion. Of the 30 Fjord 40s built so far, Aussie agents Windcraft have sold more than any other Hanse dealer.
THE CONCEPT
The epoxy hull has a simple deep-vee bottom but the entry is quite fine so the extended bow produces that menacing, coming-at-you look, with the knuckle clear of the water, as on so many modern yachts.
The high freeboard means you can have mid-thigh-height gunwales to keep you on board.
Down below is a double bed plus a single, and a bathroom. The galley is on deck, immediately aft of the helm seats.
next page »
« go back