Fleming just announced that it’s building an all-new, 25-knot, flagship 85 ocean-crossing cruiser. The company says the goal is to make “the finest possible ocean-going pilothouse motoryacht in every respect.”
In Fleming’s case, this is no idle talk. Over the years, Flemings have built up an almost cult following of owners and admirers, an adventuresome group who have cruised their Flemings all over the world. Many, if not all, have been inspired by Tony Fleming’s own stories and videos of cruising on his personal boat, a Fleming 65 named Venture. It’s not every boat company founder who cruises on his own boats from the Galapagos to the North Sea.
(A personal disclosure here: I’ve cruised with Tony on Venture, including weathering some 55-plus-knot winds, and the Fleming lived up to just about every description possible of a well-found, totally solid and comfortable blue-water cruising yacht.)
On the new 85, the lines announce that it’s unmistakably a Fleming. It has the same classic looks that made the Fleming 55 so popular many years ago. But the look also is a bit cleaner and updated, with flush and hidden hardware. The interior is elegant, warm, and practical, both in the harbor and at sea.
The 85 offers owners many choices. The first is whether to order an open or fully enclosed flybridge. The second is whether to have three staterooms or four; the four-stateroom version expands a bit into the master stateroom amidships. Then there’s the option of a single or twin crew cabin, accessible, along with the engine room, from a gull-wing door in the aft deck. Either way, the crew will have their own galley there.
The 85’s hull was designed by Norman R Wrights and Sons, and it’s powered by twin V12 1,550-hp MAN diesels, with Aqua Drive. The boat also has Humphree stabilizers and bow and stern thrusters. You can see an introduction to the Fleming 85 in the view below:
Specs.: LOA: 85’2”; Beam: 20’6”; Draft: 5’5”; Disp.: 197,800 lbs.; Fuel: 3,170 gals.; Water: 500 gals.; Power: 2×1,550-hp MAN diesels. Read more:
