STARS OF THE SHOW FAIRLINE F//LINE 33
TESTED We grab a quick blast in this sensational new British-built sportsboat
One of the unique aspects of the Cannes Boat Show is that after the show, as the sun sinks and the pontoons empty, a snake of boats depart their berths and head out into the Bay of Cannes for sea trials. This isn’t exactly what you would call ideal test conditions. The boats are usually full with a combination of dealers, clients and desperate journalists attempting to note down trim angles and fuel efficiency figures, and the amount of marine traffic around the mouth of the port can make for interesting sea conditions.
Usually we would wait to test a boat as important as the F33 away from the chaos of the show, and we do indeed have plans to run an in-depth test in the next edition of the magazine. But given the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the fastest Fairline ever built during the show we simply had to go for it, didn’t we?
Fairline didn’t mess about with this, the first F33 off the line, fitting it with a pair of 430hp petrol V8s. The twin 220hp diesel option, good for a top speed of 33 knots, doesn’t quite light the fire like 860hp of petrol-powered ferocity, but that’s no concern of mine as I take the wheel and gaze down over a frameless windscreen and elegant foredeck flanked by LED strip lighting. The steering wheel has been changed since the boat’s private launch in London, replaced by a multi-function Isotta like the one fitted to the Sunseeker Hawk and Brabus Shadow. It’s reassuringly chunky and feels good beneath the hands. The dash is clean if not as exciting as the rakish exterior and all engine information is displayed via the Garmin MFD without the ease of reference of a separate
engine information screen or some analogue dials. The sterndrive joystick stands proud of the dash adjacent to the MFD, and on the opposite side an adjustable wireless charging pad provides the perfect spot to clamp your smartphone tightly in position.
EFFORTLESSLY AGILE
Good job too because the acceleration is ferocious; my grip on the wheel tightening significantly as my right hand sends the throttles towards the end of their travel. Before I know it we are romping along at 35 knots, leaving the confused seas of the port entrance behind and settling into a relaxed gait across a gentle underlying swell. The J&J hull feels terrific in its agility and poise over the waves, landing softly when we do catch a bit of air off the back of the larger lumps.
A 35 knot cruise seems effortless with the engines burning 142lph for a range of 132nm from the 680-litre fuel tank. But the boat has so much more to give and when the swell flattens briefly, I open the taps and hunker down as the V8 bellow ascends an octave and we howl
towards the 6,120rpm rev limit. The wind begins to pummel me as we tear past 40 knots, teasing tears from my eyes on the way to a top speed of 47.9 knots with six people on board, half fuel and full water and holding tanks. This performance is made all the more impressive if you consider that the engines were achieving only 90% load due to the wrong size props being fitted. With the H6 props in place this will be a 50-knot boat, if not slightly faster.
FEATHERLIGHT HANDLING
There’s no apparent negative effect on the handling, the steering is weighted perfectly and the boat ludicrously agile. There is grip in abundance and a fair amount of heel when you really dial in some lock. With an open cockpit and such a sleek profile you feel extremely close to the water in hard turns and it’s worth alerting passengers if you’re about to chuck it about because it has fly-like reactions to the wheel. In light of this, the helm station needs some work because as it stands there isn’t enough support for the helmsman given the G forces that this thing can generate. The seat is too low to comfortably sit and drive so you find yourself standing with the bolster behind your knees rather than your hips and nothing to brace against. Nor is there a way to rest your right wrist so high speed throttle control is difficult and because you have to stand there is little protection from the windscreen. No doubt Fairline’s design chief Wayne Huntley and his team will find a way to rectify this but it is an area that needs addressing to make the most of the boat’s high speed capabilities.
An issue that may prove harder to surmount is safety on deck and no doubt there were hours spent around the design table debating whether some railings should be allowed to sprout up along the deck. In the end form won out and the Alberto Mancini lines do indeed look sensational in the early evening illumination of a Cote d’azur sunset, but I wouldn’t fancy handling the lines forward in rough conditions. At least access to the deck is good via the clever pantograph doors that effectively disappear into the profile when closed but provide an ideal place to embark and disembark amidships.
We are going to know more after our in-depth test when the boat will have the correct propellers if not any of the other modifications suggested above. What we know already is that the performance is there as is the handling – the hull is an absolute peach. It may not have been all that rough but splashing about in the wake of our 52ft chase boat would mount a challenge to the best of 35ft hulls. Final judgment will have to wait for next month but the signs are very promising.