Fairline Squadron 55, the Pre-Recession Flybridge Reviewed for Buyers

The Fairline Squadron 55 had a hard act to follow

The Fairline Squadron 55 most buyers mean today is the second boat to wear the badge, launched in the autumn of 2008. It replaced an original Squadron 55 that MBY says first appeared in September 1995 and became one of the most successful models Fairline ever built. When the builder decided a new boat would carry that name, MBY wrote, it was always going to have to be something special.

It was also a turning point. Fairline's designer Adam Greenwood later said the 2008 Squadron 55 challenged every element of design and styling, with each component questioned for validity and efficiency, and that the following Squadrons were developed on the same demanding schedule. In 2010 the 12,000th Fairline ever built was a Squadron 55 for an Italian owner.

What changed from the 1995 original

MBY's comparison is concise: the new 55 is much bigger than its ancestor, with more headroom, a midships master that gives the effect of a full-beam suite, and a galley that is no longer tucked into a dark well but celebrated on the main deck. Performance stayed much the same, about 30 to 32 knots flat out on similar horsepower, which MBY saw as an achievement given the bigger, heavier boat. The hull's upwind handling, the reviewers felt, had a definite edge over the earlier design.

If you see an older Squadron 55 for sale with a 1990s or very early 2000s build year, it is the first-generation boat. It is a different, smaller hull with its galley set below the main deck, and it should be valued and surveyed on its own merits rather than against the 2008 boat's figures.

Inside: full-beam master, raised galley and a turning staircase

The lower deck has three cabins plus crew accommodation aft. The owner's cabin is amidships and full beam, and its en-suite uses electro-opaque glass that switches from clear to frosted at the touch of a button. A VIP cabin in the bow gets daylight through a skylight cut into the foredeck sunpad, and the third cabin has unusually good headroom. MBY's first report described two en-suite guest cabins as well as the owner's suite.

A feature turning staircase leads back up to the main deck, where the open-plan galley sits slightly raised and screened from the saloon, opposite the more elevated of two seating areas. The saloon has an electric lift television and a table that rises from cocktail to dining height. Fairline also fitted its Pilot management center, a touch-screen system that brought electrical, power and safety monitoring to the helm, which was cutting-edge in 2008.

Deck details that show off pre-recession Fairline

MBY's 2019 used boat report dwelt on the details. The transom door has a gas strut to stop it slamming and a separate molded fillet wrapped around it, the cockpit is laid in thick teak, and chunky stainless handrails line the teak flybridge steps, with twin teak handrails built into the flybridge overhang. Side decks have sculpted grab rails and fender stowage molded into the coachroof.

The flybridge is one big social space with the helm on the centerline and a convertible dinette aft served by a wet bar. Teak-lined radar arch struts and a long flybridge overhang that shelters the aft deck were new touches at launch. MBY's one deck criticism was the lower flybridge coaming, which leaves the entrance feeling exposed.

Twin D12s and 32 knots

Standard power was a pair of 775 hp Volvo Penta D12 diesels on shafts, and MBY lists a 32 knot top speed. Fairline's pre-launch release also mentioned D12-800 EVC engines with the same 32 knot target. Motor Boats Monthly first sea-trialed the boat for its November 2008 issue.

Tankage is generous: MBY quotes 541 imperial gallons of fuel, about 2,460 liters or 650 US gallons, and 213 imperial gallons of water, about 256 US gallons. With 1,550 hp of shaft-drive diesels, expect fuel burn similar to other 55 foot planing flybridges of the period; no independent fuel curve was published, so ask sellers for logged consumption.

• LOA 54 ft 8 in (16.6 m) per MBY; YachtBuyer lists 16.89 m
• Beam 15 ft 9 in (4.8 m), draft 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m)
• Fuel about 650 US gal; water about 256 US gal
• Twin Volvo Penta D12 775 hp, 32 knots top

Built just before the storm

MBY points out that the Squadron 55 came at a delicate moment. Fairline, then owned by investment bank 3i, was hit hard by the 2009 recession, sold to Better Capital and the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2011, went into administration in December 2015 and re-emerged as Fairline Yachts in 2016. The 55 belongs to the last years of lavish pre-recession building, which is why the magazine called it a proper old-school Fairline.

For owners that history has one practical effect: parts unique to the boat, such as trim, glazing and the Pilot system's components, can be harder to source than engine parts. Volvo Penta support for the D12 is widespread.

Squadron 55 prices and ownership costs

MBY's 2010 test boat was priced at 937,650 pounds. Today YachtBuyer tracks only a handful for sale: a 2011-registered boat in Fort Lauderdale at $549,000, a 2009 boat in the UK at 494,950 pounds and a 2009 boat in Greece at 460,000 euros, an average of around 16 years old. Expect good boats to trade between about $480,000 and $680,000.

A 55 foot twin-D12 flybridge is a serious running commitment. Budget $45,000 to $85,000 a year for a slip, insurance, haul-out, engine and generator service, teak care and electronics updates, more if you employ a part-time captain. A US-located boat avoids the cost and paperwork of importing from Europe.