Fairline Squadron 62

After several years of shopping for a house, blowing Saturdays thumbing through the real estate section of the local rag instead of boating, I am relieved to report my search is over. Late last year I bought a Californian bungalow because, well, I like their style. Since the purchase I have read up on bungalows and the so-called Arts and Craft movement.

What has period architecture got to do with motoryachting?

Well, the UK-made Squadron 62 is, to my mind, like an Arts and Craft house. It's private and cosy, reflecting a very different philosophy to the ubiquitous open-plan boat. A private motoryacht for private people with five-star tastes, it lets you go boating to escape the crowds rather than accommodate them.

While Fairline still manages to incorporate some utterly contemporary design features - nowhere more so than the stunning internal helm console - the English builder pays homage to traditional tastes. On the Squadron 62 you descend corridors to private cabins, find lobbies and full-length dress mirrors, not to mention crystal glasses, silverware and established British engineering.

Described by Fairline as the closest thing yet to the perfect cruising yacht, the Squadron 62 can entertain 10 or more people in comfort. But the unique layout makes this an exceptional family boat. With just three cabins and separate crew quarters, the 62-footer sleeps no more people than the company's 46 Phantom. But it does it in style.

TOUR OF DUTY
My tour of duty began with a gentle step from a private jetty onto the huge teak-topped boarding platform, which at 1.5m long is big enough to take a folding director's chair. A central wet locker provides a handy hold for togs, dive stuff and fishing lines. A two-stage recessed ladder unfurls overboard.

Instead of mounting the tender on the platform and sabotaging access to the boat, the importer has elected to mount a jet-powered Avon 320 RIB on the bridge overhang. A Besenzoni 350kg crane dispatches the tender when you need to run to shore for the morning papers. There are no columns supporting the bridge overhang; instead internal aluminium girders provide strength without clutter.

Transom gates flank the walkways around both sides of a four-person moulded rear lounge. Under this lounge hides the optional private crew quarters. There are two single berths and a separate Vacuflush toilet and sink, plus storage space, but no shower.

Back up top, the designer deck gear is a highlight. In fact, the conveniences make this very much an owner/driver boat. There are Lewmar stern winches with foot controls for mooring, a Microcommander remote docking device, which the importer ably demonstrated, and lots of big deck cleats.

Using the bowthruster joystick and gear shift buttons on the remote, the importer can dock the boat on his own. In the transom corners are stylish fairleads leading to concealed aft cleats and rope lockers.

Other lockers contain the shore power connection, fuel shut-offs and a Grohe deck shower, while the lazarette is big enough to hold outdoor furniture, the upgraded 17.5kVa Onan genset (for the boat's many air-con units) and things such as spare lifejackets and boat cleaning products.

Nearby is a lockable hatch leading down to the engineroom, where twin 1050hp MAN diesel engines seemed well-insulated to this trained ear. The Squadron 62 was fitted with an 80lt/h desalinator for complete cruising self-sufficiency.

Moulded steps lead forward from the cockpit to the bulwarks, which give the Squadron 62 a ship-like feel. The sidedecks, cockpit and bridge have been topped with teak. Eight lights surround the bulwarks and, with high stainless rails, the passage forward is safe for kiddies and crew.

A big sunpad and flat foredeck let you lounge about or stand and spot dolphins from the bow. The anchoring setup is impressive, with a stainless steel plough and 33 fathoms of stainless steel chain. All external cushions are, in the finest of nautical traditions, topped with blue and white canvas-type material.

BRIDGE FEATURES
A moulded stairwell leads from the cockpit to the bridge, which is also accessible from an internal ladder. There's a lot of clever design here. Best of all, the forward sunlounge lets you drive while talking to the kiddies or couples lolling in front of you.

"The forward sun lounge is one of the best features of this boat," says importer Urs Wolfensberger. "It is akin to a kids' playpen and, as the skipper watching them and talking to them as you cruise, you don't feel like you are just a bus driver."

The bridge console is backed by three stylish bolster-style cruising seats with a grabrail along the top at a perfect height for guests to grip. Other well-positioned grabrails make moving about the bridge safe in a seaway. A moulded outdoor service bar hides an electric barbecue, a sink and a special-order 240V fridge.

You can't ignore the giant circular lounge set around the lunch table, where six people can dine in shade under the bimini top. An intercom to the lower helmstation and foredeck lets you converse with working crew. The trick B&O sound system, valued at more than $15,000, is also wired to the bridge and cockpit.

The 'superyacht-esque' moulded radar arch adds something to the Squadron 62, as do the styling details on the superstructure and the contemporary sliding circular door to the saloon, which is almost space-age. Inside, there is the best of olde worlde charm and contemporary motoryacht design.

Wolfensberger says: "The 62 is designed to accommodate less people in more comfort, hence just three cabins. But a lot of accommodation isn't the determining factor for Fairline buyers. It is the level of luxury.

"This boat would be totally unsuited as a charterboat. It is best with six to eight people on the bridge and sleeping four to six people. The guest's cabin forward is huge, all the shower spaces are dedicated to cabins, and the showers are true stalls with bi-fold doors."

LIVING AREAS
The lower saloon is surrounded by leather lounges, cherrywood joinery and, get this, Eucalyptus-topped tables. Designer lamps, timber shutters and lots of curves make it inviting. Headroom isn't a highpoint, but luxury most certainly is. Dimmers help set the mood lights at night.

There is seating for eight people in the lower lounge area, where the atmosphere is warm with natural berber carpet, off-white liners, the sheen of high-gloss cherrywood, the texture of gum-topped tables, and blue-green leather lounges.

Leave the big stainless-framed sliding saloon door open and you can see the ocean back aft. At night or on a marina you can lock yourself away and thumb through the library to starboard.

Immediately to port is a retractable mirrored-glass cover, which with the press of a button reveals the TV/VCR. Alongside is the B&O sound system, which supplied dulcet tones when I spun a jazz CD, and a DVD player. The master cabin has a separate VCR and, along with the main guest's cabin, an independent TV, too.

Up one step is a second lounge area that ordinarily includes a curved bar unit with fridge, icemaker, sink and a set of crystal glasses. The importer customised this area as a bar and micro office with connections for a notebook PC and fax, and a pull-up loose seat.

Opposite is a four-person lounge set around a dinette, just a flick pass from the galley. The boat's crockery is kept in dedicated felt-lined drawers beneath the lower-helm seats. Opening electric windows provide ventilation, as does the ship's door opening onto the sidedeck.

DRIVING INSIDE
You can't miss the internal helm, located right on the centreline and visible from all parts of the saloon. It's an amazing bit of work, a design feature, with all the bells and whistles and then some. This is the best lower helm I've been in so far, almost aerospace rather than automotive, with wonderful ergonomics.

Vision through the big wraparound windscreen is perfect due to the electric seats, which are leather, five-way adjustable and push-button. The electric MMC controls with engine sync, bowthruster and a switch panel reside in a console between the seats, reminiscent of a T-bar on a car, while a medley of switches fan out in front and trace the curves of the steering wheel.

Naturally, the Squadron 62 comes with a full spread of electronics including a Raymarine plotter/sounder/radar, responsive hydraulic steering and autopilot, plus a chart table, intercom/loud hailer to the foredeck and windscreen demisters. And it comes with switches and alarms for everything from bilge pumps to wipers.

"Compared with the previous Fairline 55 demo boat, I drive this boat a lot more from inside. The internal helm is right in the middle of the boat, comfortable at sea, with perfect vision and it is rather well appointed," says Wolfensberger as I take a seat and play with the helmseat lumber support system.

The internal helm creates a centre console effect with passageways either side. To port is the galley, set down in a nook, with a full spread of home-style appliances including a domestic fridge/freezer, pull-out pantry, dishwasher, convection grill/microwave, four-burner electric hob with range hood and sand-patterned Avonite benchtops.

To starboard is the entrance to another world again, that of the boat's accommodation. A dayhead is located down five steps, and leading off the foyer is a laundry room that has a Miele washer/dryer and coat hooks.

To access two out of the three cabins, you need to walk down long corridors or lobbies akin to those in a boutique hotel or perhaps a Cunard ship.

PRIVATE SUITES
The most conventional cabin is to port, with twin single berths with inner spring mattresses, quilted blue bedspreads, straw-coloured Novasuede surrounds and adequate hanging space and lockers for personals. Guests in this cabin share the dayhead, whereas the other two cabins have dedicated ensuites.

Pull the right straw and you will end up in the master guests' suite up for'ard. You can close a door to not just the cabin but the mirror-lined corridor leading to it and the bathroom. Soft-touch wall liners have a subtle leaf-motif pattern like wallpaper and the lighting is subdued. There are even large built-in drawers in the lobby.

The master guests' cabin has a king-sized island bed, Novasuede bedhead, separate dressing areas, more drawers under the bed, opening portholes with privacy screens, and his and hers hanging lockers. The ensuite has a timber floor, dimmer light, Avonite-topped vanity, Vacuflush loo and extractor fan.

Meanwhile, the owners get the red-carpet treatment in a full-width cabin. Follow a companionway back aft and down more steps and you enter a private retreat with an offset king-sized bed, bedside tables, separate entertainment system, dressing table and full-length mirror. The ensuite, with twin opening French doors, has his and hers sinks and a shower stall big enough for two.

RIDE TIME
If you are hoping for anonymity with this boat, think again. Underway, the Squadron 62 is conspicuous. With the twin MAN 1050hp motors, it cruises at 27kt and produces a tsunami wake. With just 1.5 turns lock to lock on the wheel, you can drive the big pleasure boat on the wheel and have some fun.

Loaded with full fuel, we topped 34kt at 2180rpm. Wolfensberger says he has hit 35kt in a light ship. Acceleration comes with a whoosh and the sight of the 62-footer steaming across the harbour on a perfect, windless, autumn day was - according to the photographer on shore - truly awesome.

I found nothing to challenge the boat outside Sydney Heads. Anyway, its long-range cruising capabilities have been proven by the importer, who took the Squadron 62 to Sanctuary Cove doing a cool 26.5-27kt in big following seas.

The hull is narrower than some 62-footers, he says, so it loves headseas. It surfs without broaching and only on big beam-on seas does it rock and roll a bit more than wide-bodied boats. As with all Fairlines, the boat is dry thanks to aggressive chines and strakes.

Boats have influenced house design - think the P&O era - just as houses now influence boats. Fairline's Squadron 62 succeeds as a floating home, with private rooms like an Arts and Craft or Federation house, courageous but classical styling and luxury appointments. On top of this comes $275,000 worth of options from the dealer, which certainly makes for a very special boat.

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