We love the visually textured finish of bare aluminum. The way light plays on the surface presents an ever changing canvas, never boring, always something a little different, elegant in an understated way. But if you are new to the look it can take a while to fall in love with the appearance (it is much easier to become enamored with the wonderful benefits). Almost everyone likes the shiny new finish. The issue, if there is one, comes as the aluminum goes through a natural aging process, and the shine dulls. The profile view of the FPB 115, above, has its surface finish picked up from a photograph of Wind Horse when she was just launched. We have other versions following with a paint job for comparison.

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Here is a quick look at the last FPB 115 pilot house layout. We think this one is our favorite for short handed cruising.

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We’ve got a new batch of drawings for the FPB 115 to share.  The commentary will be short (for now), but we will come back in detail next week. At the end of this blog is a link where you can download larger size versions of all the drawings.

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We’ve been hard at work wrapping up a myriad of details on the FPB 115. This is a brief look at the mid-deck as it might be designed for survey or scientific study employment.

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Here is a totally different approach to a pilot house layout, the concept for which was suggested by one of the folks we have worked with to develop the the FPB 115 into what it is today.

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We have been hard at work and a little behind schedule on our web posts, and it is time to catch up. Previously you saw the commercial version of the FPB 115 pilot house. This is what we would term a conventional layout, albeit with quite a large volume.

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The FPB 115 is the latest in the iconic FPB range of globe trotting motor yachts. Following in the footsteps of the FPB 64 and 83, the 115 offers efficient long distant cruising with the ability to endure adverse weather in comfort and safety.  She has a 5000+ nautical mile range at her cruising speed of 12 knots. Given the proven heavy weather performance of the smaller FPBs, the 115 could arguably be called the finest extreme weather yacht ever conceived.

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We  have had interest in the FPB 115 from many markets, one of which is its use for survey and scientific work. The safety, comfort, and low cost  of operation, make it ideal for these applications. So we will start with the pilot house and lower deck layouts for this model.

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The commercial version accommodations deck was developed around keeping the full time crew, visiting scientists, and survey team, content when off watch. By commercial standards the cabins with heads en-suite are very comfortable.

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Here is a look at the deck plan, with the profile view above for context. Only part of the middle and aft end of the bottom decks show as they are covered by structure above.

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One thing we have learned over the years is to allow more space than you think is required for the engine room as the equipment list often grows. The FPB 115 engine room follows this rule, and has space for future growth.

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Between a few Wind Horse projects, playing with our progeny, and ogling the Florida seascape and fauna, work on the FPB 115 has had competition, but going on none-the-less. We have been chatting with professional crews, visiting with vendors, even the recent derating of our engines relates.

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What we fear most  in the design cycle is getting so locked into a single concept that we miss a much better approach. That is why we drag out the preliminary end of the process, to try and make sure we look at all avenues. Although the previous riff on the FPB 115 was good, this is much better. And it is not just the aesthetics ( with which we are still fussing). Thanks are due to the previously mentioned prodder (can you imagine coming up with this after having started construction!) for asking the right questions in a timely manner.

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Ed Firth, one of Circa’s engineers, has been with us in Arizona the past week, refining the preliminary FPB 112 design. We thought a few comments on the process might be of interest.

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We have been stunned by the reaction t the FPB 112 (or Big Sister as we call her) and want to thank everyone for their kind words.

The first profile drawing shows a 19 foot /5.7m dinghy on the aft deck. As this rather detracts from the appearance, and would not be there if you were admiring your vessel at anchor (since you would be in the dinghy), we thought we should start the day with a cleaner view.

Over the next week we’ll upload a series of drawings showing different aspects of this design, along with comments on how we see the boat being used, its performance, and some of the unique features that are possible in this size of FPB. Right now, let’s give you the basic data.

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