In their 57th year, two years ago, venerable boat builders Fantasi Yachts did a very unusual thing: They introduced two new models on the market, their first new production yachts in 30 years, the result of two years of intense effort. They introduced a brand name which was previously unknown off their home coast – and they did so virtually without any marketing!
This move has turned out to be a huge success for the yard. Three and a half years’ production have been sold, ten boats at the moment, and delivery time is eighteen months.
The Fantasi 44, in the Classic and Pilothouse versions, has appeared at only three different floating boat shows, Oslo, Southampton and the local show in Orust. She has been test sailed, more or less by coincidence, by only three magazines and the praise she has received is overwhelming!
“She is a yacht built, designed and owned with deep pride…100% pure seduction” said David Glenn in Yachting World
in another issue of Yachting World she was ‘Editor’s Choice’ at the Southampton Boat Show. “…it was the unusual, but effective interior of the Fantasi that I liked. – ..the sleeping cabins…on the Fantasi have just that much extra space which would make it more liveable-in for long periods” said the Editor, Andrew Bray.
“..bursting with original ideas and exhibited one of the best uses of the pilothouse concepts we’ve yet seen” said Peter Nielsen, Yachting Monthly
And she performs. From owners, the yard gets reports of passages made at consistent average speeds of between 7 and 8_ knots. Even on the wind she is capable of astonishing speeds, like the 44 #1 which averaged 7,4 knots during twenty-four hours across the North Sea, close hauled!
The Fantasi 44 is comfortable too, because, thanks to her sharp bow, she does not start pitching excessively. Another unique feature these days is that she holds her course and she won’t broach. So far nobody has managed to provoke her to lose control! She is a very manageable boat
THE SAME, ONLY BIGGER?
The new Fantasi 54 draws heavily on the success of her smaller sister. However, she is not a scaled-up version of
the 44 but an entirely new design, and the result of some very fresh thinking.
In fact, the Fantasi 54 has a few firsts, both in deck and interior layout. Still, all the 44’s good virtues are there, in lavish amounts.
COCKPIT
In contrast to its smaller sister, the Fantasi 54 is a centre-cockpit yacht.
Centre cockpits can be criticised for a lot of things: They are usually too far forward and too high up, giving limited visibility at the sails and under the sails. They are too short, typically only 2 - 2,4 metres long. There is no space athwartships for the helmsman’s seat and a big wheel. The steering is often a bit sloppy, requiring cables or complicated linkage systems.
All of this criticism is justified, in our view. But the centre cockpit in the Fantasi 54 is not like any other.
This cockpit is 3,5 metres long. There is a helmsman’s station aft, spanning the full width of the cockpit so it is easy to find a position to windward or leeward to see the sails, or the sides of the boat when docking. The helmsman’s position is raised slightly above the forward part of the cockpit and visibility is excellent from a sitting stance. All the sheets and trim lines are close at hand.
The helmsman’s cockpit aft is separated only by a low bridge deck from the forward lower seating, all within the coamings. There is a hatch through this bridge deck to the aft cabin and the entrance to the pilothouse has a low sill and is flanked by windows so there is excellent contact also between ‘outdoors’ and ‘indoors’.
The forward seating is 2,2 metres long with curved seats and comfortable backrests. No part of the boat handling needs to be managed from here which means this is a layout for leisurely sailing, sleeping, reading or watching the stars… Or, for al fresco dining for seven persons under the bimini, in which case the slightly sunk flat surfaces either side of the entrance are perfect for serving!
This is an entirely new cockpit layout and something of which we are obviously very proud.
DECK STOWAGE
Because of her much larger volume, 70-80 % greater than that of her smaller sister, it has been possible to incorporate a few additional features into the Fantasi 54. She has more locker space on deck; apart from two sizeable lazarette lockers on the aft quarters, there is a stowage in the transom opening.
The boarding platform uses a very simple idea. A deck hatch opens forward, unlocking the transom platform which can then be lowered. From this platform there is a swimming ladder and access to diving gear and a shower fixture.
In the cockpit coaming aft is another big stowage for seat cushions and a dedicated space for the liferaft. Forward on the port side deck is a locker for things like a deflated dinghy and an outboard, and forward of the collision bulkhead is the usual locker for chain and fenders.
Because of the dedicated stowage lockers it will rarely be necessary to carry anything on deck. The rigging and sail control make use of simplistic thinking, too. As a result, the Fantasi 54 has unusually wide, clean decks and it is easy to go for a deck walk all round the boat.
INTERIOR LAYOUT
There are three basic interior layouts in yachts in general: Deck Saloons, like most Oysters. Pilot Houses, like the Fantasi 44s and the Wauquiez range. And the ordinary Downstairs kind which is the majority.
Our passion for the Pilot House concept is deepening for each year. Once you have sailed on a well-conceived one, with the right heights, it is difficult to readjust to other kinds of boats. But the Downstairs kind has its virtues, too. One is the absence of stairs and steps. Building the interior on one level throughout the boat can be quite nice.
The Fantasi 54 is the first yacht ever of this size to feature both a proper pilothouse – which has an inside steering position and a dining area with panoramic view – and a complete lower floor throughout the boat!
This is a lower level which works. The owner can move between his/her bathroom, through the bedroom, through the vast galley and vestibule area, past the raised saloon, to the more private forward lounge or the office opposite, on one level. Or further forward, to the guest cabins. Very private, very cosy. Even in a marina where you could otherwise, at times, feel slightly exposed in a pilothouse yacht.
Many pilothouse boats have a bulkhead forward of the seating area, and further cabins just forward of that. Even in some very big & expensive pilothouse yachts you will feel enclosed.
In contrast, the pilothouse of the Fantasi 54, like the 44, is open to the downstairs interior. This is slightly unusual. But not only forward, like in its smaller sister, but along the starboard side as well!
In fact, the centre part of the boat, the space where you spend most of the wakeful hours of the day, is 5_ metres long on the port side, nearly 7 metres long on the starboard side, and it spans the near-5 metre beam of the yacht. Such a space has never before been created in a family cruising yacht – certainly not in a sailboat under 70 or 80 feet! It will have to be seen to be believed.
MACHINERY
The greater volume below the soles allow an efficient positioning of batteries, tanks and engine in the centre of the boat. This is not very different from the Fantasi 44, though. 
But in addition, the 54 has a dedicated machinery room, sound and vibration insulated, well ventilated, with full headroom, accessible from the navigation station and through a cockpit hatch.
In this compartment all installations except the main engine are gathered, making it easy to get a general view of the installations and the logic behind them. Also, with the short lengths of wire and piping interconnecting them, this solution saves weight.
This room is also the place for tools and spares, and during a passage, a folding bicycle can be stowed here.
STATE ROOMS
Thanks to its greater size, the Fantasi 54 allows more flexibility in its layout. The aft stateroom can be laid out with two wide single bunks or a very generous double. Forward, the two staterooms shown may be a sensible layout for most people. Both forward and aft, the bathrooms are big enough to have separate shower stalls.
However, it is also possible to make a forward cabin which equals the aft state room in size and comfort, adding a further degree of luxury to the yacht.
Nowadays, with the aid of auto pilots and easily managed furling/reefing gear, there is usually only need for one person to run the yacht during passages. But in such case, it is important to have one other crew member close at hand. So apart from the three cabins, there is a dedicated sea berth in the centre of the yacht, intended for the off-watch. This berth can be curtained off from the main cabin.
SHAPE & APPEARANCE
The Fantasi 54 takes the basic ideas of the 44 one step further. In appearance, she is perhaps a little more aggressive, with a more plumb bow, shorter aft overhang and a pure, simple shape of the superstructure.
Her waterline is among the longest of any cruising yacht up to 57 feet. Her waterline entry is among the sharpest ever in a fully fitted cruising yacht of such proportions, at 16 degrees! Her under water lines are exemplary; sweet and slender. Still, she is relatively beamy. See enclosed data for some of the competitors.
To be blunt, we feel that this new yacht will in fact have little competition. We enter a new segment full of confidence.
SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions: L.O.A. 16,50 m 54,1’
L.W.L. 14,69 m 48,2’
Beam, maximum 4,90 m 16,1’
Beam, waterline 4,23 m 13,9’
Draft 2,39 m 7,8’
Displacement (lightly loaded) 22500 kg 49600 lbs
Ballast 8000 kg 17600 lbs
Sail area (100% fore triangle) 143 m_ 1540 sq.ft.
Ratios: D / L 222
SA / D 18
SA / WA 2,45
Entry angle 16°
Fantasi Yachts & Heyman Yacht Design, October 2000
All data subject to change without notice
