FIRST TEST FAURBY 460E
As yachts go, few cruising yachts sail as well as the narrow Faurbys, in particular this new 460E; a boat that will sail at 24° to the apparent wind at around 7 knots in 16 knots over the deck is little short of witchcraft. But her shining performance on the water is only part of the story. Imagine being given a blank piece of paper and told you could design your ideal interior. What would you do? How many cabins would you want? How many heads compartments? What kind of galley, and would you sacrifice saloon space for a chart table, or go without? Most boat owners never get the chance to make such decisions; then again most sailors don’t buy a Faurby.
For some, being given carte blanche might send them into a mild panic, but Faurby’s joint owner Thomas Dan Hougaard is on hand to walk new owners through the process, and given that 60% of new Faurbys go to existing Faurby owners it’s obviously a process that many are more than happy to repeat.
It does, however, make the job of a boat tester particularly difficult as each Faurby is built to her owner’s requirements, everything is a movable feast; you can do what you like within the confines of the hull with the caveat that it has was able to test not just one but the first two yachts in Faurby’s new range and, while on the outside they are similar, inside they are worlds apart.
