Due for delivery to her new American owners in early 2018, the first FD87 Skyline from Horizon Yachts makes quite an impact with her contemporary exterior design and the striking colour choice for her hull.

Now undergoing the thorough quality assurance testing which is part of the Horizon build process, the vessel is expected to be launched in January for the final stage including sea trials and fine tuning.

Waterproofing Deluge Testing

The latest model to be included in the Horizon fast displacement (FD) range, the inspiration for the FD87 design came from the popular FD85 model. Many aspects of the FD87 have resulted from the personal preferences of these owners as they customised the basic FD85 to suit their cruising needs. Horizon Yachts collaborated with the creator of the FD85, Cor D. Rover Design, to answer the owners requirements and in the process have produced a vessel that will become part of the Horizon FD range and available to other clients.

At a length of 27.45m (slightly over 90 feet), the FD87 Skyline is distinctly different in a number of aspects in addition to the greater size. The experienced owners of the FD87 Skyline are upgrading from a smaller vessel and their desire to cruise all year round meant that an enclosed flybridge is important to them. In fact, so was a stern beach club, again incorporated by the design team.

The accommodation aboard caters for ten guests in five staterooms. The layout offers three double suites, a twin cabin and a stunning owner’s stateroom on the main deck. A crew of three is also accommodated below.

An inspired foredeck seating area provides a relaxing option to the spacious main deck outdoor space, flybridge boat deck and beach club complete with bar area accessed through the opening transom. It’s even possible that her new owners may not wish to leave her sublime flybridge space, the combination of a large aft sun deck (boat deck) with the luxurious enclosed skylounge with the facilities it offers, may cause separation anxiety if they ever went below!

On the main deck, the saloon offers guests a spacious feeling, one of the benefits of a flexible open plan layout. She features a formal dining area for ten guests and a breakfast bar adjacent to the galley.

The first FD87 Skyline is powered by twin 1,136 Caterpillar C18 ACERT diesels and combined with the efficiency of the Horizon High Performance Piercing Bow, it is expected to achieve a range of around 2,000 nautical miles a her cruising speed of 9 or 10 knots and a top speed of around 16 knots.

Follow our news for further updates on the launch of the Horizon FD87 Skyline in 2018. Read more about the Horizon FD87 Skyline here.