Seventeen years after inventing the sector Fjord is back with a fresh take on the 40ft walkaround dayboat, the all-new Fjord 39 XL
When the Hanse Group acquired Norwegian builder, Fjord Yachts, back in 2007, it immediately set about reinventing the brand’s fleet – and it did so not with tweaks or accents or opaque puffs of marketing optimism, but with a new form of boat that proved so successful, it would go on to carve out a whole new sector. Now Fjord is returning to that sector with the Fjord 39 XL.
That original, game-changing boat was the Fjord 40 Open – a pared-back, plumb-bowed, Mediterranean-style walkaround dayboat. It won the title of European Powerboat of the Year in 2008 and has since been creatively reinterpreted by all manner of boating brands.
But move on 17 years and it’s interesting to see that Fjord is replacing the entry point to its fleet, the Fjord 38 XL, with a new model, the Fjord 39 XL, that subtly reinterprets what the modern dayboater wants from a 40ft plaything.
A posh ladder for watersports and stern-to berths is a handy option on this inboard-powered XL
Sun versus sleep
Launched at the 2024 Palma Boat Show, this smallest Fjord gets increased length and beam, as well as a helm console that’s been pushed forward a bit, creating extra space aft of the wheel for three helmseats, a transverse wet bar, a large central dinette and a raised aft sunbed.
That’s a big step up over the outgoing 38, firstly because it cleans up the confusing mess that previously saw the helmseats and the wet bar squabbling for the same space and overlapping one another in a way that seemed distinctly odd. And secondly, because it means you no longer have to steal the backrest of the aft bench in order to build yourself a sunbed at the transom.
The eradication of the tiny step on the side decks as you make your way forward to the bow space is also a very welcome upgrade. But in terms of the compromise incurred by the expansion of the Fjord 39 XL’s aft deck, that of course revolves around the newly shortened bow.
In the interests of dynamic balance, there are no options for a hydraulic platform or drop-down bulwarks
On the old 38, the scale and depth of the bow lounge was superb. You could easily seat seven people up there and such was its security that you would happily allow your kids to enjoy the space, even without supervision.
But that did of course drop the deckhead in the bow cabin to quite a critical degree, meaning that if you wanted to spend the weekend, your sleeping space was not a million miles from the letter-slot ‘post-yourself-into-bed’ double berth of a sporting old-school cuddy.
Here though, the change is very significant. Up top on the Fjord 39 XL, you swap the 38’s outstanding bow lounge for a simple raised island sunbed with room for two; and down below, you swap the 38’s occasional berth for a much brighter, loftier and altogether more practical weekending space.
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And that, of course, is the point of this boat. Not a purist dayboat in the classical Fjord style but a dayboat with uprated weekending potential for party people who enjoy the odd cruise. Whether you deem that compromise useful or not depends squarely on the kind of boating you like to do.
But if, as Fjord suspects, the modern dayboater wants at least the chance to spend the night in genuine comfort, then this seems like a very sensible way to achieve it.
The 39 XL subtly reinterprets what the modern dayboater wants from a 40ft plaything
Options aplenty
As a high-end Med-style party platform, the new Fjord 39 XL is every bit as easy to customise as you would expect. There’s a variety of main deck layouts, based broadly around the inclusion, or otherwise, of the benches, the galley and the T-top.
There are also a couple of lower deck arrangements that subtly tweak the base layout’s bow cabin and starboard heads. And the engines are also up for discussion. In this Fjord 39 XL (inboard) guise, you can stick with the standard D4-320s or you can (as is far more likely) upgrade to the twin D6-440s of our test boat.
Whichever you choose, these inboard engines don’t just upgrade your cruising efficiency. They also drop the weight beneath the deck where it belongs; and they enable you to factor in a full-beam aft platform with an electric ladder for easy watersports and a posh way to jump on board from a stern-to berth.
The cabin is transformed from a letter-slot cuddy to a realistic weekend space
In line with modern tastes, some buyers will continue to favour the outboard (XP) variant – and if that’s you, a top end of 45 knots from twin V10 Verado 400s should be enough to put a smile on your face.
That’s all to come but before we get to the drive, it’s worth noting that, in spite of the Fjord 39 XL’s evolved design brief, the dayboating features are still well up to scratch. In addition to lots of speakers, multiple stereo remotes and as many fridges as you could want (again, all optional), the dinette is a very neat piece of design.
It comes with a simple mechanised table to create an extended central sunbed, as well as four independently operable backrests, so you can organise anything from zero to eight people facing forward or aft. The raised aft sunbed also comes with a neatly integrated steel rail – and while that makes it uncomfortable to perch your bum on the edge, it does enable you to brace your feet when lounging on the sunbed and facing aft.
The lower pantry will be as much a back-up service point for the main deck guests as a coffee station for overnighters
It’s also good to see that the T-top encompasses the full width of the boat before its struts descend to meet the bulwarks because it means that every inch of that 12ft 8in beam is made available to the guests in the cockpit.
The furniture is all still central of course but ease of movement around this boat is first class – and it’s made all the more so by neat little design initiatives like Fjord’s trademark rectangular fenders, which slot into purpose-built recesses in the bulwarks to keep them out of the way. That in turn keeps the various storage spaces free for all the gear you might want to take on a day out or a weekend away – and there are certainly plenty of storage compartments in evidence, not least in the space beneath the sunbed and in the big transverse section beneath the centre of the deck.
Of course, the Fjord 39 XL’s extraordinary palette of options does have the potential to inflate the price to a very significant degree – in fact, in this case from €459,000 to €765,850 ex VAT. But far from being unusual, that custom-friendly flexibility is likely to get a warm welcome in this style-conscious region of the market.
There’s a colour for every occasion
The Fjord 39 XL is a proper driver’s boat
As intimated, inboard engines tend to do good things for your handling by dropping a tonne or two of weight into the bottom of the hull and pushing it forward toward the centre of the boat. But Fjord has gone further here because, in stark contrast to the broader Med-style dayboating sector, there’s no option either for a hydraulic high-low swim platform or for drop-down bulwarks on either side of the cockpit. That’s a very conscious attempt by Fjord to minimise unnecessary weight aft and if you’re a keen driver, that approach doesn’t take long to make itself felt.
For a start, this boat comes onto the plane very flat, with virtually no bow lift at all; and it will happily remain there at speeds as low as 13 or 14 knots. Push harder and there’s some really satisfying urgency at the throttle too, as well as plenty of heel in the turn – and not just playful heel but the kind of settled heel that enables you either to dig in the bow and carve extra hard or else lift the legs, release the hull and dial in some extra slip.
The heel is game and glorious with as much grip or slip as you like
Of course, like all plumb-bowed walkaround dayboats with fine entries, steep hull sides and minimal flare, you’re tempted to imagine that it might get a bit wet if you don’t keep the nose elevated and the speed in check in a following sea. But with balance, ride softness and throttle response, plus excellent control over lateral and longitudinal trim, this boat drives with a degree of poise and purpose way out of proportion to your expectations for a pretty Med-style runabout of this kind.
That said, the Fjord 39 XL is not just a boat for fun short-distance blasts. On the contrary, while the outgoing 38 used a single 600-litre fuel tank, the new Fjord 39 XL uses a pair of 570-litre tanks, totalling 1,140 litres – and that robustly reinforces the fact that it is designed to be a dayboat you can take for a proper cruise.
It proves to be true on our test day too, because even with 20% in reserve, we’re still seeing a range of 300 miles at cruising speeds in the mid 20s. And even at the 40-knot top end, we remain firmly on the good side of 200 miles.
Convertible tables and backrests add versatility to the dinette
Fjord 39XL specifications
LOA: 39ft 3in (11.97m)
BEAM: 12ft 8in (3.87m)
DRAFT: 3ft 8in (1.11m)
DISPLACEMENT: 8,790kg (light)
FUEL CAPACITY: 1,140 litres
WATER CAPACITY: 200 litres
ENGINES: Twin D4-320s / D6-440s / Verado 400s
RCD: B12
CONTACT: fjordboats.com
Fjord 39XL costs & options
From: €459,000 ex VAT
Test boat includes the following options…
Twin Volvo Penta D6-440s: €59,800
Volvo Interceptor system: €11,900
Two Simrad 16in Evo3s MFDs + transducer: €15,550
Three-zone audio package: €7,400
Bow thruster: €4,150
Third helm seat and port galley module: €10,900
Sunbed and dinette furniture: €23,650
Convertible dinette table and infill: €9,400
GRP T-Top, painted: €33,450
Electric Bimini: €14,650
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Verdict
There’s no doubt that the greatest (and most surprising) dayboating asset on the old Fjord 38 XL was the safe, spacious bow lounge. In engineering some extra cabin space into the mix, the designers of the new 39 XL have had to do away with that, replacing it instead with a more conventional (and less practical) walkaround island sunbed. The uprated day space aft of the console certainly helps make this compromise feel far less critical but it still means that, in spite of Fjord’s glittering dayboating CV, the new 39 is a dayboat with an eye trained very firmly on weekending practicality. If that’s the kind of balance you want, and you’re happy to ditch the idea of a hi-lo platform and drop-down terraces for some of the best driving dynamics in the class, the new 39 XL is a really fine way to go about it. But while we consider the merits of this new entry-level Fjord, it’s worth lobbing in a brief postscript here. Because while the new 39’s bow deck evolution is designed to better service the appetites of the next generation of dayboaters, it’s actually a return to the same forward arrangement we saw back in 2008 on the first ever Hanse-owned Fjord. That raises some interesting questions about whether ‘progress’ – especially in the dayboating world – is more cyclical than linear, and whether the most effective ‘new’ ideas tend to steal a little wisdom from the past. Either way, given how roundly copied Fjord’s dayboat formula has been over the last 17 years, we can probably forgive them for stealing a few ideas from themselves!
