• Photos
• Specs

Specifications
LOA	59 ft., 3 in.
Beam	16 ft., 6 in.
Draft	4 ft., 4 in.
Displacement
Fuel	660 gals
Water	190 gals.
Engines	Twin Volvo Penta D13-900 EVC
Base Price	$1,997,000 U.S. intro price; $2,341,941 as tested
Construction
Deep-V design w/hand-laid fiberglass and gelcoat w/unidirectional, biaxial, woven rovings. The full-length hull design incorporates transverse and longitudinal stringers and full-length molded spray deflectors. The deck utilizes polyurethane foam core for strength and insulation.
Standard Equipment
Garmin helm electronics, full engine instrumentation, bow thruster and controls, twin helm seats, three heads w/showers and electric-flush toilets, pneumatically sealed retractable hardtop, iPod docking station, power side windows, reading lights at each bed, electric anchor winch, foredeck lockers, hot-and-cold transom shower, remote-control searchlight, self-stowing anchor, teak swim platform, 32-inch power up-down LCD TV, Bose audio system, sink, chopping board, combination microwave/oven/grill, refrigerator w/freezer compartment, automatic engine room fire-suppression system, electric trim tabs, automatic bilge pumps, 9.5 kw Onan generator and more.
Optional Equipment
Twin Volvo Penta D13-800 EVC diesels; twin Caterpillar C15-865 diesels; twin MAN V8 1200 diesels; an aft cabin w/a full-length berth and an en suite head w/an electric toilet and a shower; and more. See dealer for a full options list.
Builder
Fairline Boats, Oundle, England; fairline.com
West Coast Dealer
Fairline California, San Diego; (619) 684-9266; fairlineca.com

Fairline Targa 58 Gran Turismo

Posted: October 1, 2011  |  Boat Type: Motoryacht

An elegant, roomy sport cruiser that can haul you-know-what

By: Mike Werling

“I pursued them to carry their line,” said Alberto Galante as we cruised past Shelter Island on the way to open water for our Fairline Targa 58 Gran Turismo sea trial. Galante didn’t seek out a Fairline dealership because he had heard good things and assumed the builder made quality boats. He knew about the boats’ quality and seaworthiness, because it’s the brand he trusts to protect his own family. His personal boat is a Fairline, and it has been since before he secured the Fairline California dealership.

With three staterooms and three heads — each equipped with a shower — the Targa 58 GT is bound to be on the check-it-out list for families such as Galante’s and cruising couples who want to invite friends along on overnight jaunts. The only problem the host might have is deciding where to start his tour for the newbies.

Features, Features

Access to the boat is via a swim platform and up port and starboard stairways to the cockpit. But if you’ve made it this far, you’ve already missed a couple of the features that stand out on the 58. First is the passerelle, which emerges out of the swim platform like the plank on a pirate ship — had pirates possessed hydraulic technology — and can then be manipulated up or down with a remote control. Instead of being a ramp at every angle, the passerelle becomes a ladder up or down as its steps become more and more defined as the angle gets sharper. I took my 225 pounds to the top of the passerelle — cautiously — when it was extended upward at about a 45-degree angle, and it held with nary a whimper. It felt solid, and I felt safe. It also serves as a sturdy boarding ladder for swimmers.

The second swim-platform accessory to note is the built-in tender-launch system. It materializes out of the platform like the arms of a transformer, unfolding to extend its padded “beds.” The arms then pull the tender or PWC back aboard where it can be secured to the platform. I saw Galante load a PWC with little more effort than changing the channel on TV.

Two more notable features are found in the cockpit, or, more precisely, above and below the cockpit. At first glance, the cockpit is only half covered by the roof extension, leaving the U-shaped settee out in the elements, but a power awning extends a good 6 feet to provide shade to everyone in the cockpit. And it’s sturdy enough to remain deployed up to 15 knots. Below the cockpit — under the middle section of the settee — is a crew cabin (optional), with a stand-up head/shower, a locker, under-bed storage and a large tinted window. A hatch in the cockpit sole provides another point of access.

Inside as Outside

The salon/helm area is completely enclosed, but the combination of windows, a sunroof and a sliding-glass door can open the space and make it feel something like a flybridge. The largest window on each side can be lowered to create a great cross-breeze. The forward section of the roof rolls open to let in the sun and wind. A double-wide sliding-glass door between the cockpit and salon opens, and a window to starboard of the door opens out and up to connect the galley to the cockpit. With everything down, up or back at once, the 58 feels like an open boat, and the main deck, from the cockpit to the helm, becomes one continuous communal space.

The main cabin space itself consists of four parts. Immediately to starboard is the galley. The sink and counter space can be hidden under a folding shelf and removable inserts. The microwave and the refrigerator are concealed behind a wooden door and a panel that blend seamlessly with the rest of the interior. To port is a C-shaped settee wrapped around a table with storage for the Fairline Edition dishes underneath. Up two steps to starboard is the helm station, equipped with two captain’s chairs, Garmin electronics and controls for pretty much everything on the boat. The captain’s chair at the wheel moves up and down electronically — the high position being good for scanning for deadheads (logs, not hippies) and other floating obstructions. An aft-facing chaise lounge is situated along the port-side bulkhead, in case the co-captain needs a break.

Performance

When we were clear of Coronado Island and out of the channel, I wanted to tell Galante to punch it and get straight to the good stuff in the 4-foot swells, but we needed to make a run up the rpm range and get some numbers first. (A boating editor’s life isn’t all high-speed testing and exotic ports of call.) At 1100 rpm, we were going 11.3 knots and burning 14.2 gph. (All of the gph calculations are converted from liters.) At around 1350 rpm, we hit 14 knots and were just on plane. By the time we hit 17 knots, we were at 1500 rpm and burning 29.5 gph. Punching the Volvo Penta D13 900 hp diesels up to 1900 rpm yielded 24.5 knots and burned 54.1 gph, while 250 more rpm pushed us to 29 knots and 68.7 gph. We maxed out at 33 knots, which burned 82 gph at 2350 rpm.

The engines never felt like they were being taxed, and the Targa 58 responded quickly to every command and never slipped or shuddered going over and through the swells. We pulled a hard-over turn at 29 knots, and the 58-footer performed like a ski boat, leaning into the turn slightly and biting in solidly. Galante pulled the wheel hard to starboard from its hard-to-port position, and the boat made the transition aggressively but smoothly. When we got back around, we exited the figure 8 we’d created at the exact spot we’d entered it.

While the engine options on the Targa 58 are all traditional shaft-drive diesels — MAN, Caterpillar, Volvo Penta — that’s not because Fairline is oblivious to pod options. Galante said the builder tested IPS drives but didn’t want to have to flatten the aft section of the hull to accommodate the pods’ very shallow shaft angle and potentially lose some of the hull’s seaworthiness. And that hull is a deep V with a 17-degree deadrise aft.

Belowdecks

Between the helm station and the chaise is the stairway to all three staterooms and three heads — an arrangement made possible by having the galley up. To port and starboard at mid-hull are two nearly identical guest cabins, each with two twin beds, a wardrobe, overhead lighting, under-bed stowage, an opening porthole and a bedside table. The port-side cabin has an en suite head, and the beds can convert to near queen size. The starboard cabin uses the day head at the foot of the stairs, which has a full shower enclosure.

Forward is the master cabin, complete with an oversized double bed, two wardrobes, storage under the bed and in cabinets above it, and a chaise lounge. The rear wall, which sits to the side of the cross-beam bed, is mirrored to make the room seem even bigger. A flat-screen TV hangs from the ceiling above the chaise lounge opposite the bed. The en suite head features an oversized shower with twin seats, an electric-flush toilet, opening skylights, a vanity unit and plenty of storage.

In the small lobby at the foot of the stairs, I found another refrigerator (optional), a pantry and access to the electrical panel.

Back in the main cabin, where every window, door and roof that could be open was open, I took a final look around. Fairline has created an elegant, roomy sport cruiser that can accommodate a family or a group of friends and can haul you-know-what when circumstances call for it. Three heads are a definite advantage, and the useful, well-thought-out features — passerelle, tender launch system, extended awning, high rails from the bow to the transom, crew quarters — are going to have people considering the Targa 58 GT. Though most of them will stop at owning one and not open an actual dealership.