F&S Boatworks’ latest creation, the 82-foot Special Situation, represents the culmination of its decades of experience creating custom builds to chase big fish.
The F&S Boatworks story charts a distinct course in the world of custom boatbuilding, literally beginning from the hull up. Back in the 1970s, Jim Floyd, a master carpenter with an angler’s passion, found inspiration in the ride of his family’s 23-foot SeaCraft—a vessel renowned for its ability to brave seas that sent others scurrying back to port. His journey took him to Wanchese, North Carolina, the cradle of the East Coast’s finest custom boatbuilders. There, Floyd not only honed his fishing skills, but also immersed himself in the craft of building classic cold-molded sport-fishermen.
By 1996, Floyd launched the first F&S: the 59-foot Fin-Ally. This vessel quickly gained acclaim, not just for its speed and elegant lines, but for its seakeeping abilities, thanks to a longitudinally stepped variable-deadrise hull inspired by the original SeaCraft design. F&S’ reputation stands tall among custom builders, a testament to Jim Floyd’s legacy, which is now steered by his nephew, John Floyd.
Built to replace their previous F&S of the same name, the new Special Situation showcases the builder’s first-rate finish carpentry throughout the salon, companionway and staterooms. The salon has a U-shaped couch to port and a smaller loveseat directly opposite, with plenty of hidden stowage beneath each for bulky items such as tackle bins and large spools of monofilament line. Moving forward, a trio of barstools line the bar top to port, with the galley set against the forward bulkhead. An electrically activated liquor elevator hidden in the corner rises and falls flush into the countertop. It’s a cool touch. The salon windows are made using dimmable glass, which turns from clear to opaque with the touch of a button, eliminating the need for blinds or valances.
Moving forward, down the gracefully curving teak-trimmed companionway, the master stateroom is to port with a king berth and en suite head.There is a forepeak VIP stateroom, also with an en suite head,, while two additional guest bunkrooms are to starboard with an additional shared head. Aft is a generous crew room with a private head that includes three bunks and a tackle stowage center, which is hidden behind a false wall.
Special Situation’s cockpit has F&S’ signature curved steps that make it easy and safe to transition from the teak deck to the mezzanine, even in rough seas. There’s a tackle center to hold everything required for chasing pelagics such as marlin, tuna and wahoo offshore, while the mezzanine also has both refrigerated and freezer stowage beneath the comfortable (and air-conditioned) seating. There’s also a hidden purified-water dispenser for the anglers and crew to reduce reliance on single-use plastic bottles.
A trio of Release Marine teak helm chairs on the flybridge are oriented behind the centerline teak helm pod. Three Garmin multifunction displays are flush-mounted within a non-glare matte panel, while the controls for the omnidirectional sonar are located to the starboard of the helm. A drop-down in the overhead houses the dual MTU engine displays while an additional Garmin drop-down display is also mounted overhead for viewing while facing the trolling spread aft. There are wraparound bench seats forward of the helm with cavernous freezer stowage located within the helm itself, complete with customized dividers.
One of the hallmarks of any F&S is the performance. Powered by a pair of 2,600 hp MTU 16V 2000 M96L engines, cruising speed is reportedly 36 knots at 2,000 rpm and 80 percent engine load. The builder says fuel burn is just south of 200 gallons per hour at cruise. Backing off to 1,650 rpm, speed is 28 knots while fuel burn drops to 122 gph. At the other end of the spectrum, top-end speed is 42-plus knots at 2,450 rpm. Performance is enhanced by the use of CJR props and wake-adapted running gear, which provides cleaner water flow to the wheels than a conventional setup. Despite a displacement of more than 110,000 pounds, Special Situation is one of the fastest vessels in this size range on the water today.
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