Fairline Targa 33, the Original Targa Explained

A boat built for the owner's own mooring in Port Grimaud

The Fairline Targa 33 exists because Fairline's chairman wanted one. Sam Newington and his wife Briony kept a holiday home in Port Grimaud on the French Riviera, and the biggest sports cruiser Fairline built at the time was the 26-foot Sunfury and its lower, sportier Sportfury sister. They wanted something larger to keep outside the house, so Bernard Olesinski, who drew every Fairline from the late 1970s onward, was asked to design it.

MBY dates the launch to 1984; Fairline's own history page says the first Targa arrived in 1985 and set the benchmark for the modern express cruiser. Either way, it combined the Sportfury's rakish forward-sloping arch with the Sunfury's practicality in a 33-foot hull, and it worked. Fairline sold 357 of them before production ended in 1991, which made it one of the yard's most successful models.

Every later Targa, from the 1990s Targa 34 to today's Targa 40 and Targa 58 GTO, descends from this boat. When MBY ran an original 33 alongside a 2010 Targa 38, the testers concluded that 25 years of development had not changed the basic recipe much.

Open-plan or Touring: the two Targa 33 layouts

The first boats had an open-plan interior. A U-shaped dinette sat in the saloon and you scrambled over it to reach a double berth in the bow, with a separate mid cabin tucked under the cockpit. It suited the sunny day-boat use the Newingtons had in mind, but it offered little privacy.

About three years after launch Fairline introduced the Touring layout. The dinette moved to one side, which freed room for a proper separate forward cabin, giving two dedicated sleeping cabins. Buyers voted with their checkbooks: the original arrangement was quietly dropped. Most boats you will see for sale today are Touring boats with four berths, a galley and one heads compartment.

If a listing shows a big U-shaped settee running into the bow with no forward bulkhead door, you are looking at an early open-plan boat. It is not worse, simply different, and it can be a good choice for a couple who rarely sleep aboard with guests.

Diesel sweet spot or gasoline muscle

Fairline offered twin gasoline V8s, and the biggest 7.4-liter big-block engines gave the Targa 33 genuine 40-knot performance. That was headline stuff in the 1980s, but the fuel bills were heavy and gasoline sterndrive boats of this age need careful ventilation and fuel-system checks.

The installation MBY singles out is twin Volvo Penta AQAD41 diesels of 200 hp each. They hit the sweet spot, with a top speed in the low 30s and far better fuel economy. Many surviving boats use AD41 engines, often rebuilt; some late boats are advertised with 230 hp Volvo diesels instead.

Whichever you choose, remember that the engines are now 35 to 40 years old unless they have been replaced or reconditioned. A boat with fresh engine invoices is worth far more than one with original units of unknown history.

• Twin Volvo Penta AQAD41 200 hp diesels: 30-plus knots, best economy
• Twin gasoline V8s up to 7.4 liters: about 40 knots, heavy fuel burn
• Sterndrive propulsion throughout, so bellows and drives are routine maintenance

Why the 33's dimensions are hard to pin down

Brochures of the 1980s measured length to the flat transom because the bathing platform was a bolt-on rather than part of the hull molding. That is why listings quote anything from about 9.9 to 10.4 meters for the same model. When MBY rafted a 33 next to a 2006-design Targa 38 with the transoms aligned, the two bows were almost side by side, despite the five-foot difference in model numbers.

Beam is consistently given as about 3.48 meters, roughly 11 feet 5 inches, and MBY noted the later 38 gained only about six inches over it. Fuel capacities in adverts vary widely, so measure or confirm the tank on the boat you are buying rather than trusting a listing.

We have left draft, weight and tankage blank in the specification table because we could not find a factory figure, and listings contradict each other.

The styling that made it a period icon

MBY includes the original Targa 33 in its World's Coolest Boats series, and you can see why. The low profile, forward-raked arch and clean foredeck looked fast standing still at a time when many cruisers were boxy. The helm station is simple and purposeful, and many owners have retrofitted a modern chartplotter without spoiling it.

The open cockpit is the boat's living room. Listings for well-kept boats usually include a full cockpit canopy with standing headroom, which turns the 33 into a usable cruiser in northern climates. In the US, where most buyers will be using the boat in warmer water, a bimini and good ventilation below are more important.

Buying a 1980s Targa 33 in 2026

Any Targa 33 is now between about 35 and 42 years old. The hand-laid GRP hulls of the period are generally robust, but survey them as you would any vintage boat: moisture readings around the transom and drive cutouts, stringer and engine-bed integrity, and the condition of the deck core around fittings.

Most value sits in recent work. The 1988 boat advertised in Essex in 2026 had reconditioned AD41 diesels, electric trim tabs, an electric windlass, diesel heating and a modern Raymarine plotter, and its asking price reflected roughly 70,000 pounds spent over a few years. A tired boat with original engines may cost a third of that and need the same money spent.

The listing year can mislead. Some boats are advertised as 1992 or later models, but MBY records that Targa 33 production ceased in 1991, so a later date usually reflects first registration or commissioning.

What it costs to keep one running

Plan on roughly $7,000 to $16,000 a year in the US for a diesel Targa 33, covering a 34-foot slip or storage, insurance from a specialist classic-boat underwriter, annual engine and drive servicing, bellows every few years, antifouling and canvas. Gasoline boats cost less to service but more to run.

Use it as a day boat and weekender for two to four people. With twin diesels and a deep-V hull it will cross open water in decent conditions, but parts availability for old Volvo drives and the age of wiring mean conservative passage planning is wise.