Fairline Targa 34

Perceptions are changing in motorboating. As with houses and cars, bigger isn't always better. Manageability, low maintenance and lifestyle are the keys. A compact boat which delivers these things, even if it costs as much as something bigger, is often more user-friendly.

That is the rationale behind the up-market Fairline Targa 34 arriving in Australia. Though it sells for around $500,000, the compact sportscruiser offers a lot for your money. Neither too big to manage on your own, nor too small for coastal cruising, the English cafe-racer grabs your imagination.

No surprise, Urs Wolfensberger from Squadron Boat Sales has already sold one Targa 34 off the demo model and will probably shift others in coming months. Rounding the downsized waterfront apartment or tight marina berth, the Targa 34 is an easy drive.

With first-time motorboat owners in mind, Wolfensberger scoured the options' list and fitted the Targa 34 with a 4hp bowthruster. This way, you can slot the boat into its pen as easily as a hatchback in a loading zone. And the bowthruster also compensates for the twin sterndrive legs, which don't provide quite the responsiveness of twin shaftdrives.

CRUISING FOR VIEWS
With its hood down, the Targa 34 is a pretty boat. It'll take you about five minutes to remove the full camper cover, but the effort is rewarding. Stylish lines and automotive-like curves run along the cabin top and sides, yet access to the foredeck for casting the lines or sunbaking is improved.

Top down, I cast the lines as the bowthruster ground into life. We cleared our terribly tight marina berth as a strong crosswind tried to shunt us into a nearby marina lined with yachts. At the same time, a large flybridge cruiser pulled out of its berth in front of us.

While we held station against the wind and waited for the cruiser to saunter down the corridor to the open ocean, I noticed it started getting a little offline. The boat drifted sideways and smacked a yacht as it passed through. The blunder underscored the user-friendliness of the Targa 34.

With covers off, this boat has very little windage. Add the bowthruster and you can pull off death-defying moves. Meanwhile, guests will remain oblivious to your fine driving skills thanks to a surfeit of space in the cockpit, while down below is a luxury bubble built on a not inconsiderable amount of deep-vee hull.

DRESSED TO THE NINES
Quality, a Fairline hallmark, is evident above and below decks. The foredeck has a stainless fairlead, anchor and chain, through-hull cleats, solid bowrail, remote control searchlight, and optional sunpad. The cockpit includes integral boarding ladder, teak boarding platform and wet locker (great for dive gear), hot and cold shower, fender locker or life raft hold.

The cockpit is surprisingly generous for a 34-footer, with two levels of outdoor living space. The aft section has a U-shaped lounge big enough to seat four for lunch. Using the lunch table, the lounge converts to a 2.02m x 1.2m double sunbed.

Opposite is a bar seat alongside a fridge and sink. Up a step is the bridgedeck with another L-shaped lounge to starboard, plus a helm benchseat with retractable base, and an impressive dash with burl inlay.

The side windows with VW Beetle curves and white-alloy frames are way cool.

From a skipper's perspective the Targa 34 is loaded. You get power steering, rudder indicator, single-lever throttles/gear shifts, sterndrive trim buttons, trim tabs and searchlight controls, full engine instrumentation, high-speed compass, depth sounder and speedo, VHF radio, remote control anchor winch, chart table and light, chart stowage, fuel and water gauges, windscreen wipers and (phew!) more.

With the covers supplied, you can enclose various sections of the cockpit to create anything from a bimini top to a bimini with side curtains or a full camper cover. When not in use the two-part hood slips into a sock secured to the targa arch. This way, the boat takes on sporty looks.

BIG HEARTED
The hull, designed by Bernard Oelinksi, is made from hand-laid fibreglass with uni-directional woven rovings and transverse and longitudinal stringers. The boat feels stiff when it chomps through the waves, due to the fact that the hull and deck are joint bolted and bonded as well.

With this construction method, Fairline doesn't need to rely on bulkheads for integrity the way many boats do. So, while the bulkheads are glassed in top and bottom, they're a lot more curvaceous and lead to better privacy than open-plan layouts.

The curved bulkheads and the sheer depth of the hull are noticeable when you step below. So, too, the standard of finish. There's high-gloss American cherrywood panelling, sand berber carpet, honey-coloured curtains, ocean-blue benchtops, and a smart check fabric on the lounges.

The saloon has 1.95m of headroom, a curvaceous lounge and dinette that converts to an impromptu double berth, overhead lockers, designer portholes, a mirrored bulkhead, a dedicated locker for the bootleg, even a standard issue first aid kit.

Starboard and aft of the saloon, the galley will serve at least weekends away. There's a two-burner gas stove/oven, 65lt fridge, twin stainless sinks, just enough Avonite bench top, and a stereo/cassette player. Surprisingly, a CD player is an option. And I'm not sure where to put the television.

Serving the twin cabins is a full-sized bathroom. Though there isn't a separate shower stall, the finish is first-class and amenities are generous. You get a hot/cold hand-held shower with auto sump pump, shaving point, halogen lighting, towel and toothbrush and glass holders, a cabinet and robe hook.

TWO-CABIN AFFAIR
A lot of the sportscruisers I clamber over have aft cabins which are verging on impractical. Too often access is compromised, sitting room is non-existent, and the sense of confinement makes you feel like a battery hen. Not so the Targa 34.

Guests get twin 1.9m long single berths, a wardrobe, shelves, optional dressing table, ceiling and reading lights, opening portholes and window, and an upholstered seat where you can dress. There's also an optional sink unit so you can scrub the pearly whites before bed.

At the pointy end, the stateroom boasts an offset, obtuse double bed.

There's a wardrobe, cupboards, bedside tables, escape hatch through to the foredeck, full-length mirror, and china-blue Novasuede bed surrounds. I lay down and thought there was enough room for a couple to kip over. A fitted quilt would be a nice addition.

BIG-CITY CRUISING
After clearing the marina with confidence, I found reversing up to a wharf reassuring. Employing just the twin Volvos, I set down and picked up our photographer for the photo shoot without so much as kissing a pylon. Spinning Duoprops, the Targa 34 gets out of the holes cleanly and turns snappily. Being deeply veed - around 19° aft, but finer up front - the hull leans over in turns. But it's not too twitchy. With a touch of leg trim, you can maintain an even keel in crosswinds.

Unfortunately, marine growth on the props and shafts prevented the test Targa 34 from reaching its potential. We were a long way short of Fairline's performance estimates of 37-39kt with the twin Volvo 260hp engines. (What we got was mid-20kt at 3500rpm.)

Both motors should have been pulling 3900rpm and one motor was down a further 200rpm according to the tacho. I also had a hunch the trim tabs were locked down. This proved true, because a hydraulic pump was out of action.

With full trim tabs and less than top-end revs, we cruised down Sydney Harbour. The boat felt good on the calm water, while imparting a sense of solidity as we loped along the lazy swells outside the heads.

However, with the tabs locked down it was a much wetter ride than it should have been.

If you're in the growing market for a no-fuss 30-something sportscruiser, the Targa 34 shouldn't disappoint. Like Rolls Royce and Jaguar, Fairline is renown for its performance, engineering and quality of finish... And did I mention manoeuvrability?

Before you could say "Jack Flash" we were back in our pen, the lines were dangling from the cleats, and we had pulled the covers back down. I left just as the throngs of office workers began the run home. Many of them would be better off driving a boat like this.

HIGHS

LOWS