Words & Photography by James Dumergue – Originally published in Trade A Boat May 2022 Horizon FD 103 Review
The real alluring character of the FD103 is how it blurs the line between modern living and your ideal location
Horizon FD 103 Review
Horizon has created a blueprint for urban style living in your resort-like environment that is exclusively independent and functions just how you order it because they’ll work with you to create what you want. Designed to wander, discover, and experience in a way that feels way more like living on a waterfront property without real estate limitations.
Horizon FD 103 Boat Review
There’s no doubting these boats are leading lifestyle platforms. Bringing the full-beam as far forward as they do allows for great canvases to paint your lifestyle into the fabric of the design. The process of building with Horizon has become so much more than choosing from the fabric and colour books. It has become a collaboration between the yard and the customers to create the ideal boat. This FD 103 is the perfect example of how what they offer isn’t the limit on what’s possible.
Askari, the latest FD to be handed over to owners in Australia, came about almost by chance. As experienced owners, they knew what they wanted out of their dream boat but couldn’t achieve it with the brand they currently owned. A chance phone call to the office of Horizon Yacht Australia took them on a new path with a series they had seen at the Ft Lauderdale Boat Show the previous year. The FD87 as it was known then (now FD90) impressed them but what they wanted was the beam and layout of the FD110. Having set objectives and a budget, they discovered that the FD110 was not achievable in their budget. Knowing what they wanted and setting a budget created an opportunity to create a solution. Horizon’s John Lu found a way to accommodate all the layout and customisation requests by extending the hull of the FD90 and configuring it like the 110. Except for the beam, they got everything they wanted, and it was under their budget.
Horizon FD 103 Boat Review
As the FD series lengthens out, the designs get sleeker. Horizon FD’s get the longer waterline length with the HPP bow to accommodate the larger volume hull. The 103 adds the third deck and stylistically achieves a nice balance between the height and the length. It doesn’t provide much additional buoyancy with its piercing design but provides a fine entry at slow speeds and offers a little bit of lift at higher speeds enabling better economy.
The foredeck is an excellent example of design flexibility. Different interpretations of the foredeck have seen Horizon install jacuzzis, lounging and sunbathing options, but this one is different. As an entertaining centric version, it’s anchoring and tender business at the front and a party at the back. Rather than wait for the clearing of the boat deck to free up the guest areas, they decided they’d probably never use the foredeck and opted for a luxurious Costoldi Jet Tender to be stored away from the guest areas.
Horizon FD 103 Boat Review
As the FD series lengthens out, the designs get sleeker. Horizon FD’s get the longer waterline length with the HPP bow to accommodate the larger volume hull. The 103 adds the third deck and stylistically achieves a nice balance between the height and the length. It doesn’t provide much additional buoyancy with its piercing design but provides a fine entry at slow speeds and offers a little bit of lift at higher speeds enabling better economy.
The foredeck is an excellent example of design flexibility. Different interpretations of the foredeck have seen Horizon install jacuzzis, lounging and sunbathing options, but this one is different. As an entertaining centric version, it’s anchoring and tender business at the front and a party at the back. Rather than wait for the clearing of the boat deck to free up the guest areas, they decided they’d probably never use the foredeck and opted for a luxurious Costoldi Jet Tender to be stored away from the guest areas.
Made for seamless days onboard that roll without interruption or intervention by the crew, push a button to lift the transom door, and it doesn’t reveal the regular beach club option with bar and lounge. Instead, it reveals a utilitarian watersports toy shed. Everything you need for recreational fun on the water is right there, right by the water, and again doesn’t require the crew to unload it all and get it ready. The generous swim platform is a button push for jetski launching, and the latest electric foiling Flite Boards and Electric Sea Scooters line the water sports trunk, ready to explore above and below the water. It’s clean, practical and fast to access when you drop the hook and easy to pack away when you’re ready to leave.
Horizon FD 103 Boat Review
Made for seamless days onboard that roll without interruption or intervention by the crew, push a button to lift the transom door, and it doesn’t reveal the regular beach club option with bar and lounge. Instead, it reveals a utilitarian watersports toy shed. Everything you need for recreational fun on the water is right there, right by the water, and again doesn’t require the crew to unload it all and get it ready. The generous swim platform is a button push for jetski launching, and the latest electric foiling Flite Boards and Electric Sea Scooters line the water sports trunk, ready to explore above and below the water. It’s clean, practical and fast to access when you drop the hook and easy to pack away when you’re ready to leave.
Horizon FD 103 Boat Review
Going places, the bridge deck has an all-weather alfresco bar and lounge just behind the fully enclosed wheelhouse, making it the perfect spot to while away the hours underway. Fully protected under a hardtop, you can slide open the side windows threefold to bring the fresh air into the cruising lounge. The well-equipped bar to starboard will help the storytelling embellishments while keeping an eye out where you are going through the wheelhouse windows. Fitted with a finely finished bathroom like the rest of the boat, this is the level where everything flows. Shade sails extending from the hardtop offer ventilated respite from the sun for up to ten guests who can dine formally or casually eat your favourites from the nearby electric outdoor BBQ grill.
Horizon FD 103 Boat Review
The sunset double bubbles spot looks inviting at the aft end of the bridge deck. The surrounding bar and barstools have made the jacuzzi a dual purpose destination, a Spa-Bar. Not everyone wants to jump in the jacuzzi, but Horizon thinks that shouldn’t limit the zone’s sociability, and it’s been a massive hit with Horizon owners since they first introduced it back in 2016 on an E75.
The curious will find a mellow incline of steps that invite you to this third deck irresistible. Nothing in front and nothing behind you, the luxurious crow’s nest is perfect for sun lounging and casual entertaining with bar facilities and a driving station for slow cruising and anchoring. Subtly integrated as a tri-deck, the top layer is an elevated rooftop zone. It fits nicely with the overall lines of the vessel. It is the best vantage point for coming into new locations, catching the sun dipping into the water, or relaxing in the best-ventilated area onboard with shade.
Horizon FD 103 Boat Review
Zoned for moods and modes, the main deck is the home on the water with one-level living. It feels like modern waterfront living where the water is viewable from anywhere. The tones are rich, the fabrics textured with an inviting softness, and the flow seamless across an integrated and exquisitely decorated interior. The natural tones cross a variety of colours, subtle patterns in textured panels, seating that you want to sit in and a lounge surrounded by cinematic windows. Light is subtly absorbed and not reflected on the main deck. Low cut bulwarks allow the magnificent glass panels that make up the saloon to immerse you in the surroundings. The impressive windows frame nature like an artwork of an ever-changing world outside. These windows will frame spectacular scenery over time, and it’s easy to imagine how good they’d look framing Wineglass Bay in Tasmania or Zoe Bay on Hinchinbrook Island.
Horizon FD 103 Boat Review
Soft fabrics and plush cushioning of the Australian made furniture give this deck an inviting feel. Lounging flows openly on the starboard side towards the dual-zone full-sized wine refrigerator that supports the dining table for ten. Crowned by subtly lit overhead feature lighting, the unique hand-blown glass is created on the Gold Coast.
Horizon FD 103 Boat Review
The homely open connection with the Galley can also be closed off by a hidden partition that raises like a limousine privacy screen for formal dining privacy. The Galley has more owner’s designer touches that are unique to this FD. The Galley is the engine room of entertaining, hinted at with small touches like the island bench faucet ending with a nut and bolt outlet, controlled by a spanner as the valve gate lever, to barbell like grip to the refrigerator handles. The grips are fitting; I think this Galley will get a workout. It looks catering capable, benches on three sides plus an island bench, big upright fridges and freezers and a wide cooktop. The benchtops and the splashbacks are Onyx, so they’ve got all the look and feel of natural stone with more stain resistance, and the best part is being able to backlight it.
Horizon FD 103 Boat Review
For day to day living, the accessibility of the owner’s cabin on the main deck makes a lot of sense. Steps forward of the Galley and spanning the voluminous floor plan, it feels more like terrestrial living. The convenience of grabbing something from your cabin without the inhibiting task of going below is appreciated when you spend extended time onboard. The main deck master of the FD series often seals the deal for boat buyers looking at more traditional layouts. The Master cabin is a treat of retreat, and anything you might need is close at hand.
Horizon FD 103 Boat Review
The ability to monitor and control the boat is bought together by a company on the Gold Coast who have created the state of the art Audio-Video system for the vessel and sent it to the factory for installation. The local company commissioned the system before delivery when the boat arrived in Australia.
Located around the boat are tablets that allow the Maretron Optiplex control and monitoring to be displayed and another whole layer of control over the boat’s audio, video and lighting systems. The wireless tablets can monitor and control the vessel from anywhere onboard. It can also be updated remotely, including all the digital switching. When you need help with adjusting parameters or updating the firmware of the Optiplex system, Michael Chang from Carling in Taiwan can log in remotely and provide the solutions and updates remotely. You don’t even need to get a technician to the boat.
Horizon FD 103 Boat Review
Below decks, at the bottom of the staircase, the foyer leading to the four guest cabins has a convenient night fridge for refreshments or medicine storage. The two VIP cabins aft are spacious with expansive bathrooms. Forward the port cabin is a queen berth with ensuite, and the starboard cabin (closet to the stairs) is a twin cabin with a full-sized Pullman berth to flexibly accommodate three.
In this part of the world, where the crew are a big part of the experience on the water, they become part of the boat’s fabric and during the times aboard, they often become part of the family. The treatment of the crew area and crew quarters on this boat reflects that family ethos, with the same high-quality fittings and finishes that the guest cabins get the crew cabins to get. It’s a boat with owners capable of running the whole boat themselves, so fitting the boat to the same high standards in the crew area makes sense for those big get-togethers.
Horizon FD 103 Boat Review
This chameleon FD103 can transform from a luxurious nomadic home on the water to an exclusive adventurous and industrial entertaining ready platform. It’s well thought out and sophisticatedly completed by owners that have spent some time learning what makes up their boating style.
With most of the boat business in the front, it also allows the flowing back decks always to be available and ready, whether underway or swinging around the anchor. Inside, multiple colour tones, a plethora of textures and exquisite features combined with a modern flow and functionality make this a very comfortable home on the water.
This FD 103 is a superb example of collaboration between a semi-custom boat builder and buyers that know their boating style.
