“Only the large wheel and shortish boom suggest her underwater profile”
Previous spread: Fairlie 55 in light airs. Above: The long overhangs belie a modern performance hull below the waterline
T 46 CLASSIC BOAT MARCH 2012
he day of the Cannes to St Tropez feeder race dawns bright and sunny with a fair outlook; the weather for this 25nM race has been decidedly changeable in some recent years. It’s also the day the CB team
will join Fairlie’s all-new class boat – the Fairlie 55, launched down here just a few days earlier. She’s down here with her designer, Paul Spooner and she has been racing with other modern classics in the mixed fleets at the annual Régates Royales. We’d seen her the day before and with her elegant sheer and Pullman-style coachroof she carries a timeless appeal – only the large wheel and shortish boom of her bermudan rig suggest her modern underwater profile.
Fairlie Restorations is best known for its prestigious restoration work. The Hamble-based firm was set up in 1990 to restore the glamorous 15-M T
uiga after the
success of the relaunch of the Fife schooner Altair in 1997 by a team of Southampton-based specialists. Fairlie has set the standard with many stunning yachts which now dominate the classic yachting circuit, such as The Lady Anne, Mariquita, Moonbeam of Fife and Hispania. Back in 2005 Fairlie built a hybrid classic, Niebla, a 60ft (18m) long-keel yacht, but the new 55 is a radical departure, as marked by being built and sold under a new company brand: Fairlie Yachts. With fin and bulb keel she has a modern dishy racing hull, though she carries some 17ft (5m) of overhangs with elegant tapering ends.
ON DECK
The layout of the 55’s deck is conventional, with wide uncluttered side decks giving good access to the foredeck. The swept 12mm plain teak covering boards are joggled into the unvarnished king plank in a homage to tradition; teak also feels great underfoot and is naturally non-slip. The cockpit sole is also is teak covered and uncluttered by a mainsheet car; the sheet turns around a block on the sole itself. A bench seat aft and side benches provide plenty of space for owners and guests; the side benches are long enough to lie on, and with 9in (23cm) cockpit coamings they are going to be comfy without being challenging to climb out of onto the side decks. I thought this was a good friendly space and the low coachroof gives excellent visibility over the foredeck – great for racing and short-handed cruising. The foredeck, it must be said, is a triumph of design minimalism. The cabin trunk ends a few feet forward of the mast, creating a big open space for work on the foredeck. The forecabin hatch opens onto this but Fairlie craftsmanship ensures it is flush with the deck; there’ll be no howling from stubbed toes as the crew hands the spinnaker in the night. A second hatch contains the (20kg delta) anchor gear; the capstan-style anchor windlass, for chain and warp, is sited forward of this.
The 55 also has bulwarks, rather than toerails, with a substantial capping rail. Some 14 removable stainless steel stanchions are mounted in sockets inboard of these.
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