124 Power & Motoryacht January 2006

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"You okay? You're not gonna get sick, are you?" yell ed Jim A skylight and opening ports from Trend Marine ventilate the dlneHe.

Renfrow to the young fellow seated all alone in the U-shape

lounge at the rear of the cockpit of our Fairline Targa 40 ex­

press. Renfrow is the sales h oncho for Fairline of North

America, stateside distributor for the cruisers and motoryachts

buil t by Fairline in the U.K. The young fe llow was a tech­

nowizard mechanic who'djoined us to record fuel-bum data

with a PDA-like gizmo he'd attached with a long cord to one

of our 303-bhp Volvo Penta D6-310/ DP

stem-drive diesel powerplants. We were

just clearing Fort Lauderdale's jetties,

and the trai l ahead looked stark. Seas, I

guessed, were running four to six. Winds

were gusting to 24 mph or more. Squalls

were squalling. And I was as intent on the

technowizard's response as Renfrow p.-e­

sumably was.

"Doin ' fine so far.. just fine ," he yelled

back with cheery, thumbs-up enthusiasm.

I gave Renfrow a vaguely collusive grin ,

a im ed the bow of the Targa in to a big

headsea , eased the Volvo Penta elec­

tronic engin e controls farther ahead,

Thanks to a big hatch and two nonslip steps,

Initial access to the engine room is excellent.

126 Power & Motoryacht January 2006

and thanked my lucky stars I'd downed a half-tab of Dr a­

mamine an hour earlier. I've been seafaring for 30 years now,

but I sti ll get queasy in stuff like this, at least at first.

Whoeee! What a ride. The deep-V hull forms naval archi tect

Bernard Olesinski draws for Fairline arejustifiably renowned

for their wave-chomping feistiness, and ours was a wave

chomperofthe first order. With the

Targa's Duoprop drives trimmed up a

tad, the mains turning 3000 rpm, and

the Bennett Oaps adjusted to compen­

sate for wind-generated list, I quickly dis­covered I cou ld bop around the Gulf

Stream dodging rain squa lls, doing

around 35 mph, going up-sea, down­

sea, and side-sea, witll hellbent aplomb.

Visib ility from the helm was excel­

lent. The power-assisted hydraulic

steering was smooth. Hardly any spray

came aboard, except upon one occa­

sion when I inappropriately slacked off

on the th rottles, a move that doused us

al l with Froth. The bolste.-stabilizing my

stance was comfortable, if a little low for

my 5' 11 " frame. [n fact, everyth ing was

percolating along quite nicely until I headed south to

actually begin reco rding test numbers in the fl atter,

more top-hop-friendlywaters prevailing in the lee of

the jetties.

Certain ly, the 43-mph average WOT speed I was

getting out of the Targa was both [1.111 and impressive,

and so were the tight, stern-Dlive-en livened hard-over

turns. But repetitively ach ieving these rousing para­

meters was a tad problemati c for me, given the diffi­

culties I was having tweaking the drive trim. Pushing

the trim switches e ngcndered no response from the

digital readoulS at timcs and delayed or exaggerated

responscs at others. Either tJ1C Volvo Penta Electronic

Vessel Con u"o l (EVC) trim switch on the dashboard

was malfunctio ning, o r the EVC digital trim gauge

was goofin g up-cxacdywhich I'm not sure, but the

upshot was I had to d ial in eli"ive trim intuitively.

Fortunatc ly, th c rcst o fth c trial was uneve ntful. And my

docks ide examin a ti o n wcnt me llifluously. I m ca n , we'rc

talkin ' a n ifty layout that includcs two ample statcrooms Wi tJl

stan dup headroo m, a h cad with a separate sta ll showc r, a

gall ey chockablock with a men ities, and a garagc com pletc

wilh an outboa rd-powcrcd, standard nine-foot Fairlinc RI 13, a

sc t of casy-go ing ro ll crs, an d a remote-controll ed e lcc tri c

VClllS winch to hlci li Late launches and reu"ievals.

If a ll that a nd th c 40's pe rformance don't imprcss yo u,

chcck o ut the pricc . With Volvo Pe nta D6-310/ DPs, our tcst

boat cost $9!),425 Less dlan the basic Targa 40, despite thc fact

that she had numerous extras like a fres hwater-fl ush MSD,

Raymarinc e leclro nics, and a DeDietrich cockpil BBQ aLO p

lhe wct bar. Why such a whopping more-boat-for-Illuch-Icss-

Standing headroom in the forward stateroom Is well over six feet.

mo ncy sccnario? Renfrow says Fairlinc is ex porti ng optionccl­

ou t, com pctitively priced 20th Anniversary Ed itio n vcrsio ns o f

th c Targa 40 in hopes of getting Americans to buy sma ll er

Fairlincs now and larger ones down the road .

And despilc the bargain-bascmcn t pricc, our test boa t's fit

and fini sh was excell ent. He r inlerior offcrcd thc samc CO I1\­

bin a tion of" cx pe rtly join ed American cherry, hi g h-c nd

cq uipagc , a nd savvy featurcs yo u ' ll sec o n her la rgc r sisler­

ships. I espcc ia ll y liked thc pull-o ut , cxtc nda ble shel vin g

under the counle rtop in the Ir shape, sw rboa rcl-side gall ey­

th e best undcr-counter, co rn er stowage I' ve scen in a mid­

rangc ga ll ey. And Ilikcd Fairline 's lav ish use of o pe nin g

ports. Whethe r in th c fo".v<lrcl sta teroom , the after one, or

th e sa loo n/ ga llcy/ dincLlc area ,

there arc side-ope ners , skylights,

a nd deck ha tc h es ga lore pro­

vidin g TOSS ve ntil at io n a nd

brigh tness.

Things arcn ' t quitc so cxpansive

in th e Targa 's machincry spaces.

Tra ll som access is exce ll e nt (sec

photo O il page 12(i) , but the en­

g in e room itse lf" is (Towded and

o fTers o nl y crouching headroom.

Indeed , getti ng a t the <Lf"tcr half o f

the ER r 'q uircs removi ng the RIB

from the ga rage a nd extraCling a

boiled-dow n mo ldcd cove rin g

plate. And wh ile one of our electro­

hydrau lic u"im pumps was installcd

a good ways above th e botto m of

the boat, the other was on cen ter-

The galley is modem and functional. The

sinks and cooktop have solid covers.

January 2006 Power & Motoryacht 127

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line and in the bilge (see photo above) , where saltwater can get

at it. A higher, bracket-type mount would be better.

Still and all , I was favorably impressed with Fairline's 20th

Anniversary Edition Targa 40. Notwithstanding her ma­

ch inery spaces-a necessary tradeoff if you want a garage in a

40-footer- she's finely finished, artfu lly la id out, turnkey­

equipped, and best of all , sweetly priced. Add Olesinski's

proven seaworthy deep-V hull, and you've gOL a fast, afford-

able, go-anywhere sort of family cruiser'.

Or, in the gleeful words of our young technowizard, who

enjoyed his sea-tIial ride immensely-and unproblemaLically,

by the way-she's a real jewel. •

FairlineBoatsNorthAmerica ~ (954)525-7430. www.fair

line. com.

For additional photos, mit our Web site at powerandmotoryaclrt.com/ webfeafllrfls. Q

pmv tested: Fairline Targa 40

RPM MPH GPH MPG 1M NM OECIBELS TR IM (KNOTS) (NMPG) RANGE RANGE (OEGREES)

1000 8.1 (7.0) 2.0 4.05 (3.52) 598 520 0 1.0 1500 11.9 (10.3) 6.0 1.98 (1.72) 293 255 73 3.0 2000 16.5 (14.3) 12.0 1.38 (1.20) 203 176 76 5.0 2500 26.8 (23.3) 16.0 1.68 (1.46) 247 215 76 5.0 3000 35.7 (31.0) 24.0 1.49 (1.29) 220 191 79 3.0 3470 43.0 (37.4) 34.0 1.26 (1.1 0) 187 162 83 2.0

Condinons: temperature: 832; humidity: 72%; wind: 15-22 mph; seas: 4'-6'; load: 120 gal. fuel, 70 gal. water, 4 persons, BO Ibs. gear. Speeds ore two-way overages measured w/ Stolker rador gun. GPH token via Volvo Pento fue~monitoring system. Range: 90% of odvertised fuel capacity. Decibels measured on A scale. 65 dB is the level of normal canversonon.

:::2 =-.5 -0

Q) Q) =-VI

128 Power & Motoryacht January 2006

Time (seconds) 50

45 40

35 30 25 20 15 10

5

~".

L , , I

I I ~

o 10 20 30 40 50

The acceleration curve's almost linear ascent, versus the more para­bolic shape developed by other cruisers, Indicates a faster lime 10 plane.

* Acceleration based on average of 4 reciprocal runs.

Base price: $544,425 with 2/ 303-bhp Volvo Penta D6-310/DP diesel stem drives Optional power: 2/ 343-hp Volvo Pento D6-350/ DP diesel stem drives Standard equipment: Lewmor anchor windlass; Vetus garage winch; Ritchie camposs; Roymorine CBO GPS planer w/ rador, ST6001 autopilot, Roy 240 VHf, and ST60 Tridoto; Whirlpool microwave oven; Plosnmo Schon (eran cooktop; Grohe faucets; Isotherm under-counter refrigerator; Coolmonc under-counter cockpit refrigerator; Sharp LCD TV; JVC KD 6301 marine stereo; interior decor package; 23,00D-Btu Morine Air A/ C; 7.2-kW Onon diesel genset; Cleghorn Waring water heoter; 7D-omp MosteNolt bonery charger; DeDietrich cockpit BBO; 9' foirline RIB w/ outboard; gorage w/ winch and railers; Seo·fire auto. fir&-exnnguishing system

SPECIFICATIONS Length overall: 41 '1 0' Beam: 12'1" Draft: 3'0' Weight (dry): 17,BOO Ibs. Fuel (opacity: 164 gal. Water (opacity: 79 gal. Test engines: 2/ 303-bhp Volvo Penta 06-31 O/ DP diesel stern drives Transmissions/ratio: Volvo Pento/ l.76: 1 Props: G6 DuoProps Steering: Volvo Penta powerilssisted hydraulic Controls: Volvo Pento EVC electronic Optional equipment on test boat: SidePower electric bow thruster Price as tested: $449,000