The somewhat martial look is entirely intentional. The inventors of the speed lounger, the designers at FCY Yachtdesign, who also created the Lelieclass 560, call it "industrial". The unfinished weld seams and the robust aluminium look also fit into the picture. A striking feature of the boat, whose name already refers to comfortable lounging, is the cockpit designed for this purpose. This separates the sailing and lounge areas. All lines are guided aft onto two platforms, partly by handrails. There, the helmsman has the best possible access and does not disturb the relaxing "loungers" with his sailing.
The centrepiece of the cockpit is the large table. It houses the engine, which is supplied with power as standard and delivers a maximum output of 5 kilowatts. For an extra charge, a single-cylinder Yanmar engine with 10 hp can be installed. The other drive, the sails, is suspended from a mast positioned very far aft. The positioning at the very front of the cockpit provides safety when reefing, for example, as it is not necessary to leave the cockpit, and also enables large headsails with corresponding power for courses with a larger angle to the wind.
"Of course it can glide," says Arjen Keer, one of FCY's designers. That's how it was calculated and it hasn't become too heavy either. A sail load factor of 5.25 on the wind suggests some potential. However, it was not possible to test this on the only test run so far due to a lack of sufficiently strong wind. A look at the transom and the wide, cantilevered shape also gives hope that the sail will quickly leave its own wave system, i.e. planing. The single steering wheel can be swivelled from one side to the other for a perfect view of the sails.
Below deck you can sleep, go to the toilet, cook and make coffee - great. The bulkheads are open and serve reasonably well as storage space thanks to the lines running through them. The interior is painted. The colour also serves as insulation, which helps to prevent condensation. The Speedlounger 8500 is an interesting boat - there is hardly anything like it on the market at the moment: a daysailer with a huge cockpit, designed for fast sailing and almost completely maintenance-free thanks to its aluminium construction. The fun starts at 152,000 euros including NL VAT.
The Speedlounger 8500 can be seen in Hall 15, Stand E 41.
