No matter where you approach her from, whether from aft, amidships or diagonally forward, no matter where you encounter her, be it in the harbour or at sea - she makes you pause. On the pier, she sometimes only draws attention to herself at second glance because her lines and proportions are so unobtrusively radical. Outside, however, in the Strait of Bonifacio, between La Maddalena and the southern tip of Corsica, she sheds all formal restraint. Anyone who encounters her there, in the wild, white hull on azure blue water, gazes at this apparition of a boat as if mesmerised.
FC 56 is the model name of this performance cruiser - an acronym that is as ambiguous as its character. Officially, the acronym stands for Finot-Conq, the Breton design office from whose computer the white flash originates. The engineers from Vannes, whose plans are currently being used to create two new Imocas for Thomas Ruyant and Yoann Richomme, have developed an impressive number of racing and production yachts, including bestsellers for Beneteau and Pogo Structures.
Between cruising and racing boat
Their latest crossover lies precisely at the intersection of these spheres, between cruising and racing boats. Which is why the term "FC" can also be used in a different way than Finot-Conq: with the generic term "fast cruiser".
That is exactly what this yacht is: an exhilaratingly fast cruiser. A number of boats claim to be, but only a few embody it with such impressive consistency - basically none, if you look at it closely.
In late summer, we had the opportunity to spend a day and a half testing the carbon construction in all its finesse under the vacuum laminate, testing it in light winds and flat water as well as in 5 to 6 Beaufort and waves. And even at the risk of anticipating something, it should be said here: it was not only a pleasure to experience this boat. It was a feast! So much so that we would love to wrap the 3D experience in paper and give it to all our readers as a gift for the New Year.
The FC 56 really is nothing less than a revelation - with the small drawback that anyone who has sailed her once will find everything else very pale.
Eight hours on it, and the coordinate system is permanently shifted.
But first things first! Let's start with some basics. And why not start with the price, so we can get that out of the way. So the price is, no beating about the bush - enormous!
The number one built at Knierim on the Kiel Canal, says Arno Kronenberg, who acts as a kind of godfather and project manager for this creation, "cost a good three million euros" including the development. For build number two, which is to be built at Baltic Yachts in Finland, the even more upmarket high-end of the top shipyards, the inflation-adjusted calculation already shows four million euros, excluding VAT, mind you. That is roughly twice the price of a Swan 55.
Artfully crafted carbon fibre parts wherever you look and reach
However, the FC-56 owner gets considerably less in return. And this is not a logical break in the chain of reasoning, but the key to this boat and its phenomenal potential: at 11.9 tonnes without payload, it displaces just over half the weight of the conventionally built luxury yacht from Nautor, which is practically the same size. In other words, this performance cruiser operates in a different stratosphere, its own.
Finot-Conq boss David de Premorel, who accompanies us on the test run, says: "In principle, we have designed the ship according to the same premises and with the same technology as a modern Imoca, it's just much easier to operate." You might think this is a clever marketing slogan, but de Premorel, the aeronaut among yacht architects, is simply not one for that sort of thing.
Basically a modern Imoca, only easier to use
In fact, the FC 56 is made entirely of carbon fibre sandwich with a high-strength Corecell foam core, even where nobody can see it: Rudder, forecastle boxes, dinghy garage, bulkheads. Components subject to particularly high loads, such as the mast support, which has to withstand several tonnes of compression, have even been laminated and tempered from high-modulus carbon. And of course the mast, boom, bowsprit, but also the pushpit struts, steering wheels, bimini brackets, plotter holder, cockpit and saloon table supports, and even handrails, washbasins and toilets are made of black gold. Even the selftailers of the large, fully electrified Harken winches: visible carbon fibre.
Borrowing from the Vendée Globe
In terms of shape and proportions, the hull is also similar to the boats for the Vendée Globe, except that it has no foils and its keel can be swivelled lengthways, but not to the sides. The bow section is full and round for plenty of lift when diving into the wave. The flanks taper towards the deck, which saves weight and provides more rigidity. The underwater hull has only a small amount of rocker and is as flat as an ironing board, especially aft, to enable early planing. The twin rudders are positioned far outboard and not only have sharp trailing edges, but also an enormous aspect ratio.
Shrouds and forestay made of PBO, of course
For all its ocean racing DNA, the FC 56 also shows its other, more practical side. For example, David de Premorel left out the backstay without further ado, because it would have been in the way of the wide-spreading main in the top. The boat doesn't even need backstays, although removable trim stays are attached for longer upwind legs. Instead, the carbon mast is fixed via two very wide and strongly swept-back pairs of spreaders - using shrouds and forestay made of PBO, of course. The sail plan is also designed to be crew-friendly. The genoa and working jib are permanently furled so that headsail changes are effortless.
Downshifting is only necessary above 16 to 18 knots of true wind. This is because when the swing keel is lowered hydraulically, the yacht goes a full four metres deep; the 2.8 tonnes of ballast are therefore highly effective. And the maximum hull width of 5.20 metres adds plenty of dimensional stability when the yacht is in position.
Sailing like a dream
But the FC 56 doesn't just sail stiffly. She is also well-mannered in a stunning way. On all courses and in the most diverse conditions, she always shows such a dreamlike balance that you can blindly keep her on course. This balance, and this is the really amazing thing, does not come at the price of a lack of liveliness. On the contrary: just as she keeps her course for a long time without a hand on the wheel, so light-footedly can she be steered by pressure and wave at the same time. "Like a Melges," enthuses Jan-Ole Puls, who played a key role in building the boat at Knierim, later supervised it and sailed it with the owner's family.
You will have to pull the helmsman off the wheel on this boat
The FC 56 shows off her strengths impressively under the 250 square metre asymmetric spinnaker. Although she starts with almost full tanks, a full crew and fully loaded in holiday trim, which means a good two tonnes more displacement, she panthers through the water with a raised bow and a smooth stern sea at a constant 12 to 14 knots, with peaks of up to 16 knots. Even when pointed at 110 degrees to the true wind, she shows no tendency to sunshine. In a trade wind, with three metre waves, you will have to pull the helmsman off the wheel on this boat, that's how intoxicating this type of sailing is.
However, there is an improvement, not in speed, but in enjoyment - two-sail reaching. This begins at 4 Beaufort from around 55 to 60 degrees to the true wind, only under main and genoa. Then the FC 56 effortlessly detaches itself from its own wave system and jumps from 8.5 to 9 knots to 10 to 12 knots.
Where heavy displacement yachts react with yawing and rudder pressure, sluggish and agonised, this yacht is nimble and swift over the waves, making the spray next to the hull sparkle. The slightest impulse on the wheel is enough to play with the course and speed. It would be a sin to use the autopilot here.
No compromises in living comfort despite lightweight construction
The pleasure that results from the very favourable ratio of fun, speed and control can also be experienced on a Pogo or JPK, on the new First 36 or a Dragonfly 40, to name but a few. All boats that are suitable for converting people from cosy to committed cruising sailors.
Here, however, the sheer experience is topped by a level of comfort and space that really leaves absolutely nothing to be desired. That is the true art of this design: marrying performance with luxury, without the result being a compromise that somehow seems out of place.
A few things fell into place to square this circle.
David de Premorel's desire and dedication not to settle for half measures. His experience gained from the predecessor, the FC 53, which was also built at Knierim and served as the basis for its bigger sister, so to speak. And last but not least, the owner, himself a perfectionist and innovative co-developer, almost always prepared to stretch the original budget limits for a better solution. All this made the FC 56 possible.
And then there was the coronavirus crisis, which imposed travel restrictions on those involved, but also gave them time to make the most productive use of it in their quest for the best fast cruising boat.
As a plant engineer for precision machines and as such at home in the micro and nanometre range of physics, the owner was on board from the very first design stage. He was involved in the choice of components as well as in the programming of the sophisticated C-Zone bus system.
The tilting carbon fibre pods for the B&G plotters on the steering column were his idea, as was the design of the air conditioning system, which produces hardly any draughts in whisper mode and requires so little power that the cabins can be cooled at night by inverter via the impressive 24-volt LiFePO battery bank without the generator having to kick in.
Designer and client in a double pass
It is fitting that David de Premorel speaks fluent German and has a soft spot for the inventive spirit of medium-sized companies in this country. For months, designer and client practised their intellectual double act, here the engineer and aesthete, there the physicist and Daniel Gyro Gearloose, for whom the design and construction phase repeatedly brought highly welcome breaks from his own job.
Anyone who walks through the boat with him experiences an intimate connection with what has been created. An enthusiasm that is much more comprehensive than simply being limited to the performance under sail. It resonates with the feeling of having created something that never existed before, something that makes up for all the efforts that are almost inevitable in the triangle between owner, designer and shipyard in such a dedicated project.
A four million euro sculpture that can serve as inspiration for boatbuilding
Anyone familiar with individual constructions and small series of a similar design can only appreciate the high level of maturity that has been achieved here. A cruising boat of 17 metres in length, with bow and stern thruster, dinghy garage, four cabins and a highly functional interior, which also looks really chic, even if it may seem a little cool, which offers virtually everything that a large series boat of this size has to offer, even a headroom of two metres, and is simply capable of running circles around the supposed competition. This makes the FC 56 a sailing synonym for the wow factor.
Pierre Forgia has played no small part in this. He is the stylist in the Finot-Conq team and has given the design an interior that is as aesthetic as it is seaworthy. Despite the high proportion of white and comparatively little veneer wood, you can really feel at home below deck. The berths are all of a comfortable size, the slightly raised seating area accommodates the entire crew well, as does the cockpit. And the amount of easily accessible stowage space would even do credit to a charter boat. With the crucial difference that the lockers and drawers, as well as the entire substructure, are made of lightweight foam panels so as not to exceed the weight limit.
The furniture foundations are part of the stiffening structure of the hull. And even the washing machine on board, which is hidden in a cupboard, is part of the lightweight construction concept: it only holds half as much cargo as conventional models for domestic use, but weighs less than half as much. The name of the FC 56 plays on this obsession that made it what it is: it is reminiscent of the "dragonfly", the feather-light insect with the filigree body that prefers to live near water and is surprisingly fast for its size.
But of course, construction number one is actually called "Ribelle". And this name also fits. It is the Italian word for "rebel". An insurgent who fights against the existing order. A yacht that breaks with existing conventions. A four million euro sculpture that can, and should, serve as inspiration for boatbuilding. How nice that it exists! Even if only to give us pause for a moment.
- CE design categoriese A
- Hull length 17,10 m
- Total length 18,90 m
- Width 5,24 m
- Draught 4,00/1,65 m
- Weight 11,9 t
- Sail area on the wind 197,0 m²
- Sail carrying capacity 6,2
- Machine (Yanmar) 59 kW/80 hp
- www.fc56.de
