The Fareast 31R kicked off the R series from Fareast Boats in 2014 (test in YACHT 10/14). The thoroughbred racer from Simonis/Voogd is built entirely from carbon fibre and, with a base price of 130,000 euros (without sails), is correspondingly expensive. Although it has an exciting and extremely powerful concept, it has had a rather difficult time in the international class set-up to date.
In contrast, the smaller Fareast 28R got off to a much more successful start (test to follow soon in YACHT, issue 4/16). Built using the GRP sandwich method, the simpler and less cost-intensive sports boat with a standard aluminium rig is significantly cheaper with a base price of around 41,000 euros and has already become rapidly popular internationally with over 120 units built in just under a year - including in Europe and the USA. The Fareast 28R has already been recognised as an international standard class by World Sailing (formerly Isaf) and has also been nominated for the 2016 European Yacht of the Year award.
But that's not all: spurred on by the success of the 28R, the Chinese have reduced the size of the same concept by one size and are now launching a Fareast 23R, also designed by the Simons/Voogd designers. The smaller sports boat is intended to shake up the established sports boat classes such as the J 70 or the Melges 24, which could succeed with an attractive price announcement. At the current exchange rate to the US dollar, the 23R will be available on the European market for around 27,180 euros (net), including a complete set of sails (main, jib, gennaker). For German customers, this means 32,300 euros including 19 per cent VAT.
The 23R comes as a GRP sandwich construction, the hull is built using the vacuum infusion process and the deck is laminated by hand. The simple aluminium rig from Seldén is retained. Unlike the 28R, however, the smaller boat will not be fitted with a backstay. This makes it possible to have a more strongly flared mainsail in the top and thus an even more powerful mainsail. The T-shaped lifting keel can be raised using a lifting mechanism and the rudder blade is attached at the rear. With a ready-to-sail weight of just 800 kilograms, road transport is no problem even with a "normal" car as a towing vehicle, and the boat can also be easily launched and retrieved via the ramp.
The Fareast 23R will be presented in Europe for the first time at the Boat show presented in Düsseldorf. The boat is on display at the German dealer together with its larger sister 28R Kröslin Yachting in Hall 15, Stand D28.
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Michael Good
Editor Test & Technology
