Fleming Owner Testimonial: F85 FREJA
We are now seven months from the day we departed Kaohsiung, Taiwan for the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, as the first part of our journey around the world. In that time we have covered 5,000 nautical miles and been on anchor for 5 of the 7 months, unplugged from the convenience of shore power. We have used our Fleming 85 as we had intended when we embarked on this journey.
Freja has performed beyond our expectations in all respects. Absolutely she is a beautiful yacht to look at, however the important qualities for our life on our permanent home are far more intricate. Yes these include performance on passages but just as importantly performance for everyday living and the ability to pursue our recreations of diving, exploring, remaining active and entertaining.
The fuel consumption figures on Freja are excellent and as reported or better. The engine room space has been very functional and as owner operators the thought in layout has made our lives considerably easier.
The twin MAN engines (1,550hp models) are practical to service and the other engine room equipment such as generators, pumps and air conditioning compressors are again very accessible and serviceable. The extraction of air from the engine room under way sees our engine room typically at 42oC in the tropics where the ambient day time temperature is 31oC and more and similar in the evenings.
The separate air conditioned Machinery Space that houses the game changing lithium batteries, chargers, inverters, watermaker and so on is a space where salt air and water are absent leading to longevity of equipment and better power performance and management. We can absolutely run air conditioning overnight in multiple cabins with guests aboard, provide plenty of water for all, carry food and supplies for weeks at a time and anchor safely in remote and poorly charted areas.
Our customized layout has been more than we had hoped for, and the workmanship is exceptionally high. Our set up is tailored to our intended use of the boat with guests and Fleming Yachts were very good at interpreting all our design ideas and requests. The Fleming boats continue to evolve and improve over time where the input of owners is shared and available for future higher outcomes. The point of difference is that the same beautiful yacht design will be there, unchanged by temporary trends that come and go, in the decades to come.
As our time in Asia draws to a close and we are soon faced with shipping the yacht to Europe due to political issues rather than yacht capabilities we reflect on the ‘break in’ period and note there have been no major issues nor urgent faults. Fundamentally they got the build right at the beginning before delivery to us.
We have concluded that the team, led by Duncan and Adi have used their respective expertise in product design, systems and power design, craftmanship and finish to truly create an exceptionally high quality yacht. Any visitor who knows a thing or two about yachts, sail or power, recognizes it as soon as they step aboard.
This is an unsolicited testimonial, from us, Nick & Johanna Baxter enjoying life aboard our beautiful FREJA. You can follow FREJA's adventures on Instagram HERE.
Below is the most recent video interview with FREJA's owners: