Fairway 37 Sedan

Such is the brand faithful that, at the time of writing, an informal Fairway ‘club’ existed in Queensland. It’s also in that home state that you will find most of the 28 second-hand Fairways listed for sale on our BoatPoint and boatsales sites. The boats ranged from 1989 to 2005 models with asking prices from $99K in fair-to-good condition in the Whitsundays to $295K for a 2005-model in excellent nick further north.

It’s upon this foundation, and the more than 100 Fairway 36s that precede it, that United Motor Yachts at Hope Island, SE Queensland, decided to build a new and improved version of the popular single-engine cruiser. In China.

The new boat aims to improve on the original in many ways: via an extended hull with 30cm extra waterline length; walkaround side decks for better foredeck access and useability; a hardtop extension over the cockpit; opening rear bulkhead windows for a seamless indoor-outdoor transition; modernised saloon and helm station; vastly improved (satin cherrywood) joinery and finish in the two cabins and bathroom below decks; and an island berth in the bow. Then there is all the standard kit bundled with the boat as we tested it.

Yet a sense of provenance remains within the new Fairway 37 -- the hull form and heritage stand very much behind the marque. After all, it would be impossible to ignore the fact that the boats have been gadding about our waterways for 31 years.

Popular Moreton Bay boats, Fairways are now found right around the country and some have made quite remarkable journeys. We hear of single-engine Fairway 36s circumnavigating Tasmania, venturing to the wilds of PNG, making it to New Caledonia on their own bottom, not to mention all the voyages along the Eastern Seaboard and upon inshore waterways.

Ergo, this new iteration dubbed the Fairway 37 has big shoes to fill. That said, hull #1 still needed a fair bit of fine tuning and pre-delivery quality-control work following our test. So this is more of a review to get a feel for the Fairway 37 and see if the new boat still offered that classic Queensland motorcruising experience.

To this end, we provisioned with a hot chicken, tapas, bread and drinks, cast the lines and headed down the Coomera River to the Broadwater for a lunch cruise a la Fairway style. And it’s in this context that we discovered a keenly priced boat worth pursuing.

The package price ticks a lot of boxes, from 4kW Mase generator and 18,000 BTUs of air-con, to bow and stern thrusters, AV package, galley to go, and more. The recognisable big-brand gear includes 40amp Victron charger, Waeco fridge and freezer, Siemens convection microwave oven, 18kg stainless-steel UltraAnchor, Muir Windlass, European Siemens combi oven, Raymarine nav. touchscreen, Lenco trim tabs, and so on.

The bottom line? Good buying value for a twin-cabin boat that can sleep a family of four in comfort at holiday time, with an enlarged bathroom that fits within the context of a cruising boat.

The quality of the mouldings impressed and the joinery hasn’t far to go, especially for a first-up attempt, while the layout enhances the available space -- and will be improved upon some more -- compared with the old 36 that it supersedes.

As with the original, there’s a central (bifold) transom door. The rationale for this, we’re told, is to create a symmetrical cockpit seating area to retain the balance of the round-bilge hull when guests pile aboard. Two L-shaped lounges and lunch tables are provided and there’s an infill to create one big U-shaped transom lunch setting running the width of the boat.

The in-transom storage hatches and holds will be appreciated for stashing mooring and fishing kit -- they and the cockpit underseat storage need to be fitted with drains -- while an 80-litre Waeco cockpit fridge is supplied with a solid servery counter above for pouring the sundowners. The carpet-topped non-skid cockpit decking is practical in place of teak.

Supported by stainless-steel struts, the overhead hardtop extends well aft so you can add (Breezeway) covers for shade/insect/weather protection. You also get the obligatory hot/cold transom shower, LED lights and, we noted, nice wide gunwales for rod-holder mounting. Kick back under the hardtop and escape the midday sun while soaking a bait or call on the LED spotties when wetting a line a night.

The addition of the walkaround decks is a coup d'état that, along with a high and far-reaching bow rail, creates safe access for crew, kids and the dog to the foredeck. En route, you pass the breast cleats for swinging fenders and tying springers and, we noted, inboard engine vents well clear of ambient water.

Meanwhile, the big hardtop needs only padeyes to tie the kayaks, crab pots and suchlike. We’d like a drain system so you don’t get wet when you venture forward after a rain shower. As I stepped along, the boat heeled and rainwater splashed down my shirt. The folding mast with spotlight, aerial and horn adds to the Fairway 37’s purposeful passage-maker looks, while a clip-in ladder will be supplied in future to enhance access over the windscreen to the hardtop.

Traced by moulded toe rails and the bow rail, the foredeck is a destination in its own right. The raised coachhouse -- with plenty of hatches alluding to good ventilation below -- is big and flat. Plonk a couple of folding chairs, bean bags or towels or stow the water toys and kayaks between anchorages. The anchoring setup with windlass, SW deck wash and deadeye wasn’t lacking, either. But we’d add more chain than what was supplied.

Back in the cockpit, bifold stainless-steel framed saloon doors and a hinged awning window bring the outdoors in and vice versa. Immediately to port is a decent dinette that will be tweaked on future boats to create more seated room and, with a high-low pedestal, impromptu sleeping.

The full-length galley (opposite) echoes the layout of the forerunner only the joinery and appliances have been upgraded and there’s a flip-down television in the headliner. Classy Hunter Douglass blinds add to the look and privacy, while insect screens are included over the boat’s opening portlights and hatches elsewhere.

Cooks will welcome the solid counters with fiddles that create one huge servery, the abundant cupboards and drawers including pot and appliance storage, the two-burner Ceran hotplate (pot holders needed on this round-bilge boat), deep recessed sink and mixer, combi oven, 110-litre Waeco fridge, and side-opening windows and twin roof hatches for ventilation. There’s a 240V GPO either side of the saloon, but we’d like a double in the galley at least. Think toaster and kettle.

Unsurprisingly, some would-be owners have expressed their interest in a boat without generator and gas stove and barbecue. This isn’t so silly for a base model with the smaller 240hp Yanmar and may well bring the price back down below $350,000, we’d imagine. Gas was always standard on the old Fairway 36 and it’s not such a silly option with a solar panel or two on the roof.

A two-person helm seat (in need of a footrest) fronts the portside dash and safety-glass windscreen with wipers to ensure clear views ahead. The boat had a Raymarine Hybrid touch nav screen, Yanmar engine gauges and electronic shift, sports wheel, thruster controls, Ritchie compass, Fusion head unit for the AV, Mase generator start panel, 12/240V BEP switch panel, combo fuel/water/waste gauge and sub-seat bottle storage for the grog.

There is the option of a shorter galley and a portside co-pilot seat. Rightly or wrongly, your scribe sat atop the galley counter behind the windscreen, window cracked at my back, and enjoyed the cruise of the Broadwater. There was a sense of laissez faire from a boat that flaunts a good, practical living layout.

But do note that this round-bilge hull sans chines in the bow doesn’t suffer from that lap-lap of water on the bow that annoys so many boaters at anchor. So the island-double stateroom (foam mattress) is the destined to offer great sleeping.

The owners’ cabin is enhanced by his and her hanging lockers, underbunk drawers, side shelves and a bedside locker for personal effects, opening portlights and escape hatch, steps to assist access and bed making, and high headroom. The cherrywood joinery and curves of the veneer along the cabin walls are a highlight compared with the old Fairways.

The best attribute of the second-cabin, which has a sliding door and hanging locker with drawers below, is a three-quarter-width lower double bunk. Opening portlights and a hatch offer fresh air to what is a decent cabin for a couple of kids or mum and a hungry bub.

Opposite, the step-up bathroom retains Aussie sizing, with a separate shower stall, electric head, portlight and hatch for ventilation. The 550 litres of potable water (in twin stainless-steel tanks) is a decent supply that should last a week without being absolute misers.

The layup is all solid GRP with vinylester resin to ward against osmosis and foam-cored stringers for strength and weigh reduction. The deck is cored, too, and it’s all backed by a five-year hull warranty. Hulls #2 and #3 were laid up for speedy delivery, if you’re wondering. The electrical systems meet Australian standards, with two house and separate engine-start and genset batteries.

Engine access is via an electric-lift saloon floor. The twin 350 litre alloy fuel tanks have sight gauges and shutoffs and, being narrower and taller in future boats, will improve access outboard of the engine in future. But with a single six-cylinder donk just sitting there it’s hardly cramped. The coolant bottle and dipstick sit atop the block, you can easily access the Racor fuel filter, and the bronze strainers with clear lids for the engine, generator and air-con pump.

A second aft hatch lifts grants tighter access to the Mase generator with gas/water splitter, while a common Aqualift exhaust helps quell the main engine running noise. Steering is hydraulic and nice and accessible in the lazarette, whose hatch lid was a tad tight. The boat has a common plumbing manifold for all the hatch and drain systems.

Speed restrictions on the Coomera River saw us idling downstream and 1650rpm and 6.2-6.3 knots. We entered North Arm opposite Sanctuary Cove for a change, whereupon the cruise took on more purpose -- mud crab lairs abound -- before spilling into the Broadwater and swinging the bow north. The round-bilge boat leans a tad in turns but it’s nothing if not slippery.

Up-tide, in displacement mode, we noted 8.6 knots at 2200rpm and 9.4 knots at 2400rpm. At 2600-2800rpm we were cruising at 10.5-11 knots and making good time. The hull transitions at 3000rpm and about 12.5 knots before breaking into a canter of 14.3 knots at 3200rpm. At which point, there’s a good clean wake astern and some water licking up but rolling down off the fine bow.

We clocked a fast cruise of 15.1 knots at 3400rpm and 16.8 knots at maximum continuous of 3600rpm on the high-revving 315hp Yanmar 6LPA six-cylinder engine (Tier-2-emmisions rating) coupled to a KMH gearbox. At WOT of 3800rpm, top speed was 18.1 knots or 18.5 knots claimed by United Motor Yachts. The last Fairway 36 Flybridge launched pulled 17 knots with the base four-cylinder 240hp Yanmar, we’re told, so there’s not a lot in it.

According to the Yanmar figures, maximum torque is reached at 2200rpm, which is good for displacement cruising through tides and/or a seaway, while fuel consumption at 3200rpm cruise is about 38 litres per hour, jumping to 45 litres per hour at 3400rpm for the 15 knot cruise. This gives a safe 210 nautical mile range.

At 2200rpm and 9.4 knots using 17 litres per hour your range is more like 350 nautical miles. This is where many owners use their Fairways.

While there’s still some fine tuning needed by the United Motor Yachts team, the new 37-footer has validated its presence and ably justified the resurrection of a golden oldie. As fuel prices head north, the single-engine cruiser makes more dollars and sense and, for the bills, you get a comfortable holiday and/or retirement home built on the foundations of a time-proven Aussie cruiser.