2002 Fantasi 44 PH – Now available for immediate UK delivery

Grabau International is delighted to announce that the 2002 Fantasi 44 PH ‘ROSE SALTER’ is now available for immediate UK delivery from her location on the Beaulieu River, Solent, UK.

The ‘unicorn’ of high-quality cruising yachts. Exceedingly rare to the market and with a true cult following. Swedish build, aft-cockpit, pilot saloon with impossibly sweet lines both above and below the water. More than just a bit special!

FURTHER BROKER’S COMMENTS:

A very highly specified example of the Gabriel Heyman designed Fantasi 44 from Jaccobsson’s in Sweden launched in 2002.

The aft cockpit design features a sleek pilot saloon profile that allows excellent all-round visibility from the lower chart table. An electronic throttle control and autopilot repeater control allows watches to be kept from below decks when passage-making. ROSE SALTER has been configured for effortless short-handed sailing and benefits from a inmast furling, tandem furling foresails, electric sheet & control winches in the cockpit and a powerful bowthruster for close-quarters manoeuvring.

Below decks, her comfortable and beautifully appointed teak-finished two cabin, two heads layout offers plentiful living space for a short-handed crew with a large upper saloon, lower dinette and fantastic lower galley. Servicing these areas are a plethora of ‘blue water’ essentials including generator, watermaker, heating, washing machine and enough refrigeration to open an ice-cream parlour.

The Fantasi 44 really is a very very special yacht and one which would simply not be financially viable to build today. Most are still in original ownership as there are few yachts out there that offer an improvement. The only reason for ROSE SALTER’s sale is that having owned her for the past seven seasons, they no longer have the time to fully enjoy her use.

CRUISING HISTORY:

2002 launch – Sweden to Holland
2002 – 2011 – Based in Holland with one cruise to the Mediterranean and back
2012 – 2013 – Arrival in the UK (late summer 2012)
2013 – 2019 – Shipped to Malta and then sailed to Greece. Used for family cruising in and around the Aegean Sea from her berth in Porto Heli.

DESIGNER’S COMMENTS:

A true pilothouse yacht, the Fantasi 44 offers an unobstructed view from the upstairs seating. This is a lovely place to hide from the sun or enjoy a book while listening to the rain, or for the watch-keeper.

But first of all, Fantasi 44 is a proper sailboat. The freeboard is lower than usual. The keel has a longish fin with the lead positioned very low, in a pronounced bulb. Therefore, in spite of the yacht being of moderate displacement, she has turned out just as stiff and powerful as you would expect from a ‘blue water cruiser’.
The result is a modern yacht with a slender, easily-driven hull shape. This has paid off: Fantasi 44 slices softly through waves, without pitching. Her long waterline gives good speed potential.

(This talk about performance is not just words. The Pilothouse version of Fantasi 44 is in itself 1000 kgs heavier than the Classic and Dawdle, F 44 Pilothouse #1, in particular does carry some extra weight. She has a 600 kg Selden rig with a roller-furling mainsail. She was crewed by three people in their sixties on her first September trip across the North Sea. Still, they averaged 7,4 knots in 24 hours – close-hauled! This is probably a knot more than you would normally expect for a 14-ton, 44’ Pilothouse cruising yacht in such conditions! We attribute her performance to the efficient hull shape and weight distribution.)

On Deck:

Most Fantasi 44:s have twin-headstay rigs, the inner forestay carrying a near-masthead self-tacking jib. Together with the swept spreaders, this gives good fore-and-aft support of the rig, without need for runners.

The 44’s rig and decks are kept as clean and simple as possible. The mainsail and the control lines can be run concealed to the electric main winches on the cockpit coamings. The only lines on deck which we have not managed to get rid of are the genoa sheets!

The cockpit seating is unusually comfortable. The helmsman’s seat, aft deck and central part of transom fold out in one piece, opening the cockpit aft and forming a boarding platform.

Below Decks:

Maybe downstairs is a misleading term. With this boat, it is more a matter of going ‘in’ or going ‘out’. Being inside does definitely not give the impression of being downstairs.

When designing the Fantasi 44, I had no problems trying to imagine what she would be like inside the pilothouse, at anchor or in port. I could also imagine myself in the navigator’s seat during a watch, motoring along the coast on a cold November day.

What I failed to realise was the beauty of this layout at sea, under sail. With her toughened, double-glazed windows, and through her stiff GRP sandwich construction, she has turned out whisper silent down below also under sail. So what you have is an airy, secure, warm, dry & silent place to stay – in a cruising yacht with an unusually easy motion!

This also turns out to be a perfect layout for the watch-keeper, allowing not just the off-watch but in fact everybody to move about freely in the boat, making coffee, reading, working or listening to music. All you need to do is remind yourself to look out every five minutes or so.

The downstairs port-side galley is laid out with ample work surfaces surrounding the cook. This also means that everything is at hand and there is good support for offshore use. Being open towards the upstairs seating and the pilothouse front windows above, there is a tremendous sense of space.

Opposite the galley is a choice of two armchairs or a sofa with a table which folds out of the backrest. There is room for a TV/VCR, books and a hi-fi system. This is a more private place to relax but still light and airy.

The aft stateroom spans the beam of the yacht, has more than 1.96m standing headroom, a bureau, lockers and shelves. It has an asymmetric cabintop. The main entrance from the cockpit is thus offset to starboard and pushed a little forward.

Gabriel Hayman

MANUFACTURER HISTORY:

Fantasi Yachts are based in Uddevalla, Sweden, in the centre of an area famous for yacht construction, with the likes of Hallberg Rassy, Najad, Sweden Yachts, and Regina as close neighbours.

Founded in 1942, Fantasi Yachts have built over 350 boats in varying sizes from dinghies all the way up to 80ft one-off yachts. From the very beginning, the yard has also placed particular attention to ongoing boat maintenance, service and repairs, which has now become the core of the current business.

Beginning with the Fantasi 30, first launched in the 1960’s, and then followed by the legendary Fantasi 37, launched in 1974 and with over 80 built up until 1997, the ultimate incarnation of the Fantasi Yachts line was the Fantasi 44, launched in the mid 1990’s and with 21 boats delivered by the time the yard moved away from new yacht construction in 2007.

Fantasi Yachts has now passed into the second-generation family operation with the focus now on yacht service and repair as well as operation of a 250 berth marina in Kallviken. The same passion for genuine craftsmanship however remains firmly intact.

Fantasi 44 PH – ROSE SALTER – Asking £249,500 VAT paid – Lying Beaulieu River, Solent and available for immediate UK delivery – full details here

Do you have a yacht like this to sell? Grabau International are always looking for new high quality cruising yacht listings both in the UK and internationally. For further information about our tailored brokerage services, please look here or feel free to contact us.