Love and Hate
An exercise in crafting a classic fantail as a functional, economical cruiser.
I’m an advocate of reimagining classic yachts in a modern context, and there are more than enough designs to keep me busy for many years. Nearly all of them inspire me, but to tell you the truth, I have mixed feelings about some of them. One of those is the fantail.
The aesthetics of a spooned transom are timeless. This feature is an elegant, graceful way to complete a design. I appreciate how a fantail makes the mass of the ship seemingly disappear in a narrow, rounded transom, and I’m pleased with the way the boat floats—with the countenance of a royal.
So why don’t I like it? Because of the way my family and I use a boat.
A fantail doesn’t provide our preferred leisure experience, which involves a lot of swimming and easy access to the water. The hull shape won’t get over this hump anytime soon, and deck space is sacrificed for aesthetics. Fantails are generally slower boats as well.
Thus, when I started this design, I tried to ignore the devil on my shoulder. I went hard full rudder and tried to look at it from the other side. Silence and serenity are the key drivers for this concept, with minimalist styling and an adjusted underwater shape to let her cruise at 20 knots. I kept the plumb bow and purposeful pilothouse, giving her the classic fantail profile.
Although I like the drama of all the bells and whistles on a classic launch, I took everything out, including copious wood trim, to get to the basic elements of the superstructure and hull. This hull by itself is completely unadorned, with a sheerline that flows around the boat without obstructions.
Her transom has a drop-down platform that allows for easy egress to the water. The cockpit is made for lounging, with C-shape seating that converts for sunbathing. The seating covers her tender garage, with a davit on the pilothouse roof (this area can also be designed as guest accommodations).
Forward, deck lockers for fenders and lines flank the wheelhouse, with 19-inch-wide side decks leading to the foredeck.
We set the salon two steps down from here to lower the profile of the pilothouse and preserve her sleek lines. The after end of the pilothouse is dedicated to a portside galley opposite a dinette and lounge. Her helm is to port. Sliding doors on both sides ease line handling and allow for fresh air to breeze through. A companionway to starboard takes guests belowdecks to a forward en suite master stateroom and an amidships VIP, which shares its head for day duties.
Under the salon is an engine room with a hybrid propulsion system for use in marinas and at slow speeds without the need to turn on her main engine. Sound attenuation is built into the sole to keep engine noise at bay. We would also insulate bulkheads and headliners throughout the salon, with the goal of providing a whisper-quiet interior.
In keeping with her economically minded systems, the wheelhouse roof is packed with solar panels. There also are isolation transformers and a LiFePO4 battery bank.
Fantail Specifications:
LOA: 50ft.
Beam: 14ft. 7in.
Draft: 4ft.
Displacement: 40,000 lbs.
Fuel: 422 gal.
Water: 132 gal.
Power: 1x 145-hp diesel-electric hybrid
