And an interesting one by several counts: by its excellent crafted interior and because unlike almost all cruisers is a very narrow boat (not many on the market). Faurby had already on his line for many years, the 363, also a relatively narrow sailboat for a 37ft, with 3.30m of beam and recently they launched the 360e, not as a replacement boat but as another boat on the line. Contrary to what almost all builders are doing, the new boat, having the same length is not beamier, quite the contrary, it is remarkably narrower, 30cm narrower and that is a lot on a 37ft boat.
The designer, Niels Peter Faurby has been designing and making his own boats for more than 30 years and that means something: Nobody survives on the aggressive yacht market for more than 30 years without a quality product and the Faurby are high quality boats. When they appear in Dusseldorf I always went for a tour, to enjoy the feelings you can only experience on a boat crafted as an art object. You can see that everything is built to perfection and that there is a huge experience and a lot of thought in all details on that boat.
So, why such a narrow boat? well, I would have to ask Niels Faurby but I bet I know the answer: He likes to go upwind, in fact he says that 70% of the sailing is upwind (not for many eh!eh!) so it makes sense to design a boat that goes upwind fast and without pounding and that's why all Faurby are narrow boats. I also bet that among all his boats the new 360 has a special place on Faurby's heart. 
The boat is narrow but has a very nice interior, with a good galley a spacious head and has all the space a couple needs for cruising. Have a virtual visit: you are going to be impressed:http://www.faurby.dk/?q=en/node/62#tour
I bet it will be a very agreeable boat at the tiller, yes, no wheel but a tiller. I like it a lot even if for the kind of extensive cruising I make that considerable heeling would not be very comfortable, but what a pleasure should be to drive hard this boat upwind on a seaway!!!
Recently on Yacht de magazine they have made a comparative test between the 363 and the 360. I did not read the test but we can see on the movie below that both boats go at the same speed downwind and that's where the 362 should have an advantage. The conditions were not favorable to show the 360 upwind potential: I bet that against waves the 360e will be considerably faster than the 363 and even more comfortable.
Movie: http://tv.yacht.de/video/Faurby-Doppeltest%253A-360-E-gegen-363-E/67a81ff377737732df40feb8ea0d1d9e
If you like narrow boats and are on the market for one, certainly this one deserves a test sail: the boat is beautiful, in a classical way, has a modern underbody that can include a considerable draft and a torpedo keel and has one of the best quality interiors I have ever seen. It is fast too, specially upwind. If you like the feel and look of a classical wooden interior, you are going to love the Faurby even if narrow boats are not your cup of tea;-)
No comments:
Post a Comment