2018 Focus Motor Yachts 44

description

Boat location: Split / Croatia

VAT not paid, perfect for export or company investment. Norwegian citizens pay 0% VAT

VAT-paid price: € 370.000,-

We can transport the Focus 44 anywhere!

Focus Yachts has had a tremendous success story with its Elan Power line of yachts, but in the later years the Focus yard refused quantity over quality reasons and therefore the production of Elan was discontinued. Customer feedback has led Focus to the conclusion that it needed something similar. Thus, the FP44 (amongst others in their fleet) was born with great success.

Pounding waves as a mission

The Focus FP44 targets the family-oriented customer that is looking to do some real cruising, fully offshore and coastal waters.  It is long ago that I found a yacht of this quality!

This is a yacht I would take out to rough seas and slam it into 4 meters of waves while maintaining full speed. Where others would suffer from serious grp damage and cracks this won’t affect the Focus and you can keep abusing her until you can’t handle it anymore yourself. The real question here is how this has been made possible since its very rare and to find out I took the opportunity and went to the shipyard in Amsterdam.

Standing in front of a brand new 44 I instantly recognized why this boat was turning like a single engine 22ft speedboat and also why it did cut the waves so easily. From the bow of the FP44 you clearly see a sharp deep V with spray rails that ensure grip at all angles and lift at slower speeds. Where other shipbuilders let go of ‘Deep Vee’ at the back Focus did not for a very good reason. The deeper the aft, the smoother the ride and the stiffer the hull.

Luckily I was also able to see the deck separated from the hull in their production line and then all pieces fell together. The first layer is the exact good thickness of gel coat immediately followed by full glass all the way to the well finished layer of top coat in the inner hull. Where other use foamcore or even worse (like some French builders) balsa core this boat is typically built to last forever from solid glass. But that alone doesn’t make it rigid and so they’ve designed a inner mould that is directly laminated to the outer hull. The two shells together make the magic happen and give you the super rigid yacht you are wishing for.

After seeing this building process with my own eyes I would take the challenge going for a bumpy ride with a 46 Pershing (known for spectacular quality) from Amsterdam to Southampton in wind force 6. I honestly believe the Pershing would force me to let go off throttle somewhere along the trip and I would keep pounding this Focus 44 all the way to reach the Southern marina.

Major Features

• Full glass hull and superstructure
• Inner hull fully laminated
• Mid master (2-cabin) or forward master (3-cabin)
• Volvo Penta D6-440 with joystick
• Submersible swim platform, capacity 600 kgs
• Large opening sunroof with tinted glass
• Two or three-cabin layout
• Custom built interior

Performance

With the twin 440-hp engines at max, my speed topped out at 37.8 knots.  Best cruise came in at 3000 RPM and 27.2 knots where fuel consumption is very low and average speed high.  She’ll reach planing speed in 5.4 seconds and hold plane down to 12.9 knots.

Handling

It's a fun boat to operate.  It's well-powered, even over-powered what is good for both fuel consumption and durability. That is to say, she has the sharp turning angles that are characteristic of stern-driven boats.  I came around 180-degrees at 25 knots in 8 seconds with about 2-3 boat lengths, so a super tight turn by any standards. She leaves no room for other builders here to come close.

After what I’ve seen I would expect it to be. When you get her up on plane, and I mean a solid plane, not just a minimum planing speed, start bringing in the trim to get that bow to come down and she'll pick up speed easily. 

The sharp modified V bites the water for comfortable turning without any slide in the turn, just like she was attached on rails.

Engines

The engine room is accessed from a hatch on the starboard side of the aft sun pad. The other way is by the touch of a button,  the deck then lifts on an electrically actuated strut exposing the whole engine compartment and now there’s unlimited access.  Well done Focus! 

The focal point is the twin Volvo engines at 440-HP each. We can go from 380 to the version I had at 440 horsepower.  There’s a 6-kW generator and an option for putting a gyro stabilizer here.

Brokers summary

All in all there’s no real competition on the market today, this 44 will bring you anywhere in safety even under the toughest conditions. It’s an excellent combination of style, form and function. 

The FP44 is a true aesthetic beauty and for those demanding a quality and winning yacht to do some serious hunting on other yachts I can only say; happy hunting!

Aft Deck

The aft deck starts with U-shaped seating wrapping around a solid wood table on a stainless pedestal.  Over to the port side is a full length wet bar with more Corian counter.  Lift it to reveal a sink and an electric grill Storage underneath includes a trash receptacle.

Decking in this area is all solid teak.  The entire area is all under the protection of the extended overhead off the deck.

Opposite of the U-seating is an extra L-seating area. Good non-rounded corners provide the perfect seat.

Swim Platform

From the cockpit deck-level lead to the immense swim platform.  From the transom, it comes out very far which is perfect for any dinghy or jetski and it  is hydraulically actuated up and down.   I like that there's a good and solid ladder for the swimmers in the water. This one also has a capacity of 600 kgs so we can use it to hold a large tender.  Also, when the platform is lowered, there's a good seat against the transom to sit and relax on, plus it makes it easier for reboarding.  

Bow

As we make our way to the bow, the side decks measure a width for double feet walking and the rails top out at a good 70 centimeters.  Two midship cleats facilitate tie-ups and the possibility to do a lock passage single handed.  At the top of the cabin, there's a very large sun pad fully upholstered with the identical fabric as in the cockpit. 

Ground Tackle

The windlass is concealed under a hatch with a lift and lock latch.  There’s an all-chain rode.  A stainless windlass feeds chain through to a recessed anchor roller and then a polished stainless-steel anchor just ahead of that.  There's also a remote control. 

The Focus Touch

Looking around this space, I'm already seeing many examples of the elevated level of fit-and-finish that comes from Focus.  The upholstered wall panels, the overhead, all upholstery… It is truly hard to find another boat with this level of quality.

Helm

The helm is mounted to the starboard side console. There's a compass directly in line with the gorgeous wheel. There’s a raised panel that houses the Volvo Penta gauges.  Electrical switches are across the top to the right-hand side and the left.  There’s a Raymarine chartplotter, radar, TriData instrument and of course an autopilot. All is completed with a Raymarine VHF, Bennet trim-tabs with indictors and a full joystick instrument for bow and stern thruster.

There are two extremely comfortable double stitched bucket seats. The observer is going to be at the port side right next to the opening side, so the operator does not have to get up to let the observer in and out. Sliding and folding footrests are a Focus standard.

Salon

Moving inside, the anodized aluminium doors give us a wide opening and the door is in open position fully concealed. 

Seating starts with a U-shaped settee to starboard side wrapping around a high gloss wooden finished table on an adjustable pedestal for the event that even 6 berths are not enough. Looking across to the galley over on the port side, there's a Corian counter along with stainless sink and a dual zone gas HOB.  Storage is underneath that includes a refrigerator. Above the galley you also find plenty of storage. The entire interior is beautifully finished with the high gloss cherry wood and superior Alcantara finishing.

Now for temperature control, we have tropical air conditioning which is reverse cycle so hot or cold, the choice is yours. Nicely concealed air louvres are mounted on good height and aesthetically spot on with the rest of the interior.

For even more ventilation, there are two manually opening windows to both port and starboard along with a large hatch.  Adjustable shades are manually operating, and that’s a welcome feature as it's just one less thing to break years down the road.   

Below Deck

The companionway leading down below is an open, atrium-style letting plenty of light to the lower deck from the single-piece windshield and the sunroof, if opened.  It’s a very appealing feature, especially with the light reflecting off the high gloss woodwork. 

Again, it’s hard not to notice the elevated level of fit-and-finish that’s indicative of a Focus.  High-gloss wood is all around.  I like that there's Alcantara upholstery in the middle of the gloss-finished doors. There’s upholstery on the overhead as well.  There is gasketing all the way around the doors so there’s no rattling when underway.  To the forward bulkhead, there’s a frameless mirror. 

Master Stateroom

Just forward is the master stateroom and it’s stunning in its detail.   There’s plenty of overhead clearance, and her beam which leaves a wide double berth in typical French style accessed both ways as there are steps to both sides to ease the entry.   Hull side windows are to both sides.  Again, there’s Alcantara upholstery inside the framed woodwork. There's more storage underneath the midships mounted berth. A very nice detail is the rounded led-light above the berth, fully recessed between upholstered liners and a wooden circle frame.

It’s hard not to appreciate the fit-and-finish in this beautiful master stateroom.

Master Head

The master head has a private entrance, so called ‘en-suite’.  It includes a hull side window with an opening portlight.  Storage is behind mirrored doors and under the wash basin. There’s another walk-in shower and a Tecma flush toilet.  Thank you shipyard for choosing Tecma! The shower is closed in with a plexiglass door so you keep wet, wet and dry, dry.

VIP

The VIP stateroom is located fully aft and is laid out in the typical fashion of a double berth, accessible from one side.  Natural light comes from an overhead glass and windows to the side with an opening port.  Blinds add privacy.  Focus utilized the space above the windows for storage, a factor that a lot of builders seem to neglect. 

Twin cabin 

On port fully aft you find the twin berth cabin, two steps down deeper into the FP44’s hull provide enough headroom for a comfortable height. The rest of the cabin is like mirrored with the VIP.

Ensuite

This cabin also has a private entrance to an ensuite, and this is the same head that we saw accessed from the salon. The good about this is the fact that it will be used as a day head leaving the owners simply the owners.

For those who…

The Focus FP44 is for the more demanding owner that chooses quality over a mass product. It is here where the mid 40 footer glares. It has literally everything you could wish for, has outstanding sea keeping and a three cabin, double head interior to fall in love with. Just take her anywhere you like in safety and comfort.

Now all this looks like described a brand new yacht, but here we are talking about a pre-owned Focus 44 that comes approved by the shipyard itself for a fraction of the new price. Rated at only 306k you have a winner at hand

contactperson

• Bram de Groot
• 0031(0)478450015

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