With a 10,000nm range and a hull built for global swells, Wind Horse is the ultimate 83ft aluminum explorer designed to never stop moving
We’ve debated on these pages before what makes a boat cool. History, filmography and style can all make a boat cool, but so can a single-minded (and successful) pursuit of a specific performance – it might be speed, it might be range or it might, as in this case, simply be the ability to go out and keep going, right around the globe.
To put some numbers on that, Wind Horse clocked up 37,000 nautical miles in the first four years of her life in the hands of owners Steve and Linda Dashew. In fact, Wind Horse was conceived and designed by the couple specifically for long-range all-weather cruising. Made from aluminium, she is 83ft long and weighs 41 tonnes.
But she’s far from the couple’s first rodeo. In the 1980s, the couple took their children out of school with the intention of home schooling them whilst spending a year circumnavigating the world (Linda is a trained teacher). In fact they ended up staying on the water for six years, cruising aboard a number of different sail boats that they had developed.
Article continues below…
Built by Circa Marine in New Zealand, Wind Horse was their first motor boat project. Steve had only ever spent an hour on a motor boat before designing this one, but those years of circumnavigation paid off.
Efficiency was the watchword, allowing the boat to be powered by a pair of 150hp John Deere engines. With a top speed of 14 knots, she cruises at 12 knots, or at the peak economical speed of 10 knots, the 13,900 litres of diesel give almost 10,000nm of range.
She has efficiency and offshore capability – there’s no point having the range if you don’t have the sea-keeping to match. Which is why the hull is 6mm thick and the wheelhouse glass is built to withstand a direct hit from a breaking wave.
It may be built to survive ocean storms but Wind Horse is also a comfortable home from home
But the journey didn’t end there. So popular did the concept prove that Dashew Marine was formed and a 64ft version developed.
Called the FPB 64 (for Functional Power Boat), 11 hulls were built, plus a larger FPB 97.
But Wind Horse was the original, and is currently for sale with Berthon International, now with 60,000nm beneath her keel.
FPB 83 Wind Horse specifications
Year: 2005
LOA: 83ft 0in (25.29m)
Beam: 18ft 0in (5.48m)
Power: Twin John Deere 150hp diesel engines
Speed: 14 knots Price: $3 Million
If you enjoyed this….
If you enjoyed this….Motor Boat & Yachting is the world’s leading magazine for Motoryacht enthusiasts. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams, as well as tests and news of all the latest motorboats.
Plus you’ll get our quarterly Custom Yachting supplement where we share the last on offer in the superyacht world and at the luxury end of the market.
Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.
Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
