Fleming 58 Boat Test
Bucket List Beauty, The Fleming 58
I have always thought of Fleming as one of the boat brands that is on my bucket list if were somehow able to purchase one. When I recently had the opportunity to get aboard a new Fleming 58 that the Seattle dealer Chuck Hovey Yachts had in stock it got me thinking. What gets a boat on my bucket list?
Aesthetics are important to me. I like boats that look like boats. Angled bows, stout bulwarks forward, and hulls that don’t have vast areas of hull windows. That leads to another quality I like, practicality. While the practicality of a multi-million-dollar cruiser with 1600HP of diesel power can be debated, to me it makes more sense than say a similar sized dayboat packed with 4 or more Gasoline outboards that can go 60MPH+. Sure, fast boats are fun, but the top of my bucket list is more about cruising than a thrill ride, so my list tends to reflect that, but further down the list there is definitely room for a fast boat.
For cruising powerboats on my bucket list, I prefer twin engines, the ability to achieve reasonable cruising speeds, and enough fuel and range to get to a lot of places, even exotic ones. Since I plan to do some serious cruising there are other essential elements. The design and construction of the boat must be robust enough to safely and comfortably ride out bad weather. Having the right systems on board and redundancy to provide a high degree of self-sufficiency is important. Like the exteriors, I want the interior to have boat-like aesthetics, so high quality finishes with a nautical touch.
Finally, my bucket list boats must have accommodations that are comfortable and spacious enough to live aboard for long journeys. Storage is also important so that enough stores can be carried to eat well, even when in remote areas, and there should be ample room for wardrobe, water toys, and other equipment. So how will the Fleming 58 stack up? Let’s see.
The Build and First Impression of the Fleming 58
Fleming typically builds boats to order which can take a year or more depending on the model and how busy things are at their production facility, the highly respected Tung Hwa yard in Southern Taiwan, but the Fleming 58 we went aboard is a stock boat with all tariffs/duties paid. The boat is available for purchase due to a change in circumstances for the original buyer who had ordered the boat but could not take delivery. Because of this situation all a buyer for this Fleming 58 has to do is pick out an electronics package, some canvas options (although it has a factory hard top), a tender, and perhaps a few optional pieces of equipment like a watermaker (for which it is pre-plumbed) and they can be on their way cruising for the summer. This is an exceptional opportunity for someone looking to purchase a new Fleming without having to wait and I suspect this boat will sell pretty quickly.
The Fleming 58 seemed to beckon to me as I approached her from the dock assuring me that she was in fact a top contender for my bucket list. Her “Fleming White” gelcoat which is sort of a cream color glistened under the light rain that was beginning to fall. The gradual clipper bow is capped by a sprit above her forward bulwarks with a shearline that drops gradually paralleling the Portuguese bridge around the pilothouse before angling down to the covered side decks aft. The use of decorative strakes that are reminiscent of wooden planks on the hull sides and portholes (not hull windows) create a look that is steeped in tradition but not old fashioned. I really like the look of this boat.
The teak decked cockpit is stable and inviting as you board from the swim step. The flybridge overhang protects this area from the elements above and creates a nice outdoor area to congregate and perhaps sit on folding chairs as there is no fixed furniture here. A raised pedestal in the aft starboard corner hosts an electrically actuated vertical docking winch adjacent to both the transom and side chocks. This is a nice feature that you don’t see too often but can help both in docking situations or when towing a tender.
The uniformity of the cap rails clad in what appears to be matte varnished teak is uncanny. Brian Hovey, of Chuck Hovey Yachts, Fleming’s Western US dealer explains that this is because the “teak” is really a clever vinyl wrap over composite rails. Under close inspection you can tell it is not real wood, but it looks pretty close, and will eliminate many hours of brightwork refinishing. Real teak cap rails or straight glass ones without the faux wood are available to suit individual preferences.
Engine Room
Two large hatches adjacent to the salon entrance open on electric actuators that lead to the engine room and lazarette. I climbed down to take a look before we crank up the twin MAN 800s. The engine room is bright and well laid out with access to both sides of the mains, fuel filters, generator, chillers for the reverse cycle heat/AC, and large battery banks. Headroom is reasonable here ranging from 5’10” to 5’4” aft so at 5’11” I can stand up but have to crouch a little in places. Twin fiberglass fuel tanks make up the forward engine room bulkhead which not only provides a sound buffer between the machinery spaces and the cabin but adds more stability and better access than saddle tanks would.
This vessel has one larger Onan 21.5Kw 60Hz genset instead of two generators and a Mastervolt Li-ion Phosphate System with a1380 A/H house bank (six batteries), three chargers, and two 4,000-watt inverters. This allows the boat to function without a generator for many hours depending on the loading. According to Kevin Hood, Electronics and Installation supervisor at Delta Marine in Sydney, British Columbia, Canada, who has extensive knowledge of the Fleming’s systems if you are very careful with loads and keep the amp draw average to 20-25 amps or less you can run the system for close to two days without cranking a generator. With more normal loads of 35 amps that drops to 31 hours as things like TVs, lighting, navigation equipment, and Starlink add up quickly.
Hood says, “Realistically users can expect to get at least 24 hours from a single charge with little thought put towards power management.”
That does not include high-draw items, some of which can be run off the system without running the generator. The cooktop in the galley is connected to the inverter system, as is the Reverse cycle Heat/AC in the pilothouse, engine room, and master stateroom. There is even a switch in the salon that allows you to turn off the climate control in the pilothouse and engine room but allow it to run in the master cabin for comfortable overnights without the generator. Even though these systems draw down power faster it is nice to be able to run them off the batteries. The crane davit can also run off the batteries so you don’t have to run the generator to launch or retrieve the tender.
The batteries can even run the 24v DC 8.6 sq.ft (0.8 sq.m) Humphree fin stabilizers which can be used both underway and at rest. This means that you can stabilize the boat while at anchor without having to run the generator. The power usage of the stabilizers varies wildly depending on wind and sea conditions and whether they are set to low, medium, or high dampening. In rough seas the fins will be working quite hard using a lot of power when set to high, but at rest stabilization in relatively calm conditions is quite efficient. According to Hood, in moderate conditions the system can work all night on battery power if the batteries are fully charged up before bedtime. This is a great feature that will allow for more comfortable nights of sleep without the noise of the generator.
These large battery banks can be charged in multiple ways using the main engines, the genset or an 830-watt solar charging system. Shore power options include a 50’ 50-amp 220V chord on a Glendinning cable master system or an extra 110V 30A inlet with step-up transformer.
Other engine room notables are the Seatorque M4 Bolt on shaft system. Instead of using stuffing boxes or shaft seals the Seatorque system isolates the prop shafts from the gear and engine. From behind the gear, the shafts are housed in a sealed tube and bathed in oil. This protects the shafts, helps reduce friction, and prevents shaft leakage. The force created by the props is also directed to the hull itself and not transferred through the gear, engine, and mounts. This reduces vibration and delivers clean quiet power.
The engines are mounted on longitudinal stringers that run the length of the hull. The glassed-in stringers are core filled in an interlocking matrix that runs the full length and beam of the boat stiffening the hull and reducing flexing even in severe conditions. The hull itself is solid fiberglass below the waterline and covered with high quality water resistant vinylester resin that prevents blistering. Below the waterline five coats of epoxy barrier coat are applied before antifouling paint. The superstructure decks and bulkheads are filled with Core-Cell foam which is impervious to moisture and reduces weight aloft to keep the center of gravity low. The Fleming 58 is powered by straight shafts and both the propellers and rudders are protected to some degree by the presence of a long keel complete with an embedded stainless steel grounding shoe. The quality of construction and types and layout of equipment speak to Fleming’s dedication to cruising which comes directly from Tony Fleming, the company’s founder.
I have known Tony for many years and once had a long conversation with him in the engine room of his Fleming 65 Venture in which he has cruised over 60,000 miles. While as pleasant and jovial a Brit as you could meet, he is also a very serious offshore cruiser who uses his knowledge and experience to refine elements of each Fleming in an effort to make them better. He is also an excellent photographer and videographer. There are some great videos on the Fleming You Tube channel that will likely add destinations to your bucket list.
Accommodations
After extracting myself from the Fleming 58 engine room, which I really enjoyed, I entered the salon, quickly noting the overhead handrail, comfortable seating, and abundant teak. While there may be controversy about teak harvesting practices, few people will dispute the benefits of this tropical hardwood on boats. Not only does teak provide warm golden, nautical-looking interiors but it is near impervious to water and simply lasts better than other timbers do in the rugged saltwater environment. Good teak that lacks black streaking and other imperfections is hard to find these days and is very expensive. The interior of the Fleming is clad in a plethora of lovely satin varnished teak panels and fixtures contrasted by Silestone quartz countertops. It looks fantastic and both the quality of the teak and the joinery is impeccable.
This particular Fleming 58 has a midship master which means it lacks the central hallway that leads from the salon into the cabins and instead has a curved stairwell that leads down from the pilothouse. While the safety of the central hallway when at sea and the large chart drawer/table in the pilothouse would be nice, there are several benefits of the alternative layout on this boat. The extra room in the galley without the central steps allows for more storage and equipment. The galley has a dishwasher, a combination microwave/ convention oven, three burner electric stovetop with fiddles, a deep double sink, large home sized Fisher and Paykel refrigerator/freezer, and a pull-out vertical pantry. The position of the galley centrally located to the main salon also provide the “country kitchen” layout found in most modern homes where it is open to the seating in the salon.
I like the cabin arrangement the midship master provides. Not only do you get a queen island bed, large ensuite head, and walk-in cedar closet in the owner’s suite, but you still get a comfortable double bed cabin forward for another couple. There is also a twin bed cabin, a full-sized washer, a separate dryer, and a second head on the cabin deck. A day-head off the pilothouse is a really nice feature as it is centrally located and keeps guests from having to enter the cabin deck while entertaining or when popping in from swimming or sunbathing. It is also steps away from the helm which is nice when underway.
Underway
Since it was already raining with the wind expected to pipe up with a storm rolling in, we drove from the enclosed pilothouse. With the large battery system, we were able to run all the systems on the boat including heat in the pilothouse and the stabilizers without using the generator.
In nicer weather the flybridge above would be ideal and is accessed by stairs from the pilothouse or a ladder from the cockpit. It includes a complete second station, a lounge dining area under the hardtop, an electric BBQ/Grill, wetbar with fridge and a 1,000-lbs. Steelhead crane davit for dropping a 13’ RIB which can be stored on the aft deck.
The pilothouse has twin watertight doors on either side that lead to a Portuguese bridge forward and aft down a few steps to the 2’ wide covered side decks each with a side-gunnel door for boarding and an aft glass door that can separate the cockpit. Engine air intakes feed from the cabin side of the side decks to keep water out even in rough conditions. Forward there are twin anchors, each with their own Maxwell windlass, one is electrically powered and the other hydraulic, providing extra redundancy when one of the two systems might be compromised. Both can be raised and lowered from the helm with a convenient electronic chain counter.
After going through the Mountlake Cut, we were finally in the open waters of Lake Washington where we could run our performance numbers. The Fleming 58’s semi-displacement hull came up to speed remarkably quickly for a boat of this size and stature. Maneuvering at around 1600 RPM our speed was around 12 knots and the boat felt stable and comfortable. I made some tight turns keeping an eye out for a wet suited Lift Foil rider that was zooming around in the storm. The boat turned tightly and nimbly in a boat length or so and lost little speed. She stayed pretty level and didn’t lean into the turns but didn’t lean out either which some boats with a keel will do.
Back on the straightaway we peaked out at a top speed of 21.4 knots which is quick for a sizeable cruiser like this. At a fast cruise around 2,000 RPM she hit a sweet spot where we were going 16 knots and we recorded fuel burn of 47 gph yielding a rather remarkable calculated range of 444.19 nautical miles at 90% of our total fuel capacity. We may have been getting pushed a little by the wind and waves that were picking up at this point as we recorded better range at this speed than some of the slightly slower speeds. We were unable to conduct reciprocal runs, but I suspect the range might come down a bit. Nevertheless, the Fleming 58 performed well and handled exceptionally.
Visibility from the pilothouse is excellent through three wipered windshields and two large side windows. The mullions are thin allowing for good sightlines, especially forward and starboard in the danger zone. Aft visibility is a little bit tough from inside although you can look through the salon or poke your head out onto the side deck. There are also cameras both fore and aft and a convenient docking station in the cockpit.
Since the wind was gusting now above 15 knots and some wind waves were forming with a rainstorm driving in we decided to check out the Humphree electric fin stabilization system. We turned the boat first into the wind stopped and kicked the system on to zero speed stabilization. Out on the side deck in the misty rain I could see the fin occasionally sweep out past the hull side and definitely feel the difference when we turned the system off. We then spun around with the stern to the wind and you could see the fins flip around on the panel and then instantly the motion calmed. Now we turned the boat sideways to the wind and small waves and with the stabilizers off you could definitely feel the rolling. As soon as we turned them back on the rolling settled and stopped. This was an impressive display of this technology.
With conditions deteriorating we slowly headed back into Lake Union where the Chuck Hovey offices are. Sitting in the single comfortable Stidd Helm seat (twin seats are an option) I drove back noting that the wiper controls and throttles were in easy reach. This boat did not have electronics yet, but you could see how the panels would be easy to see and control.
The boat is equipped with a Twin Disc EJS/EPS System with thruster jog levers and joysticks in the pilothouse, on the flybridge, and in the cockpit. The Twin Disc joystick system gives you precise control as the boat has variable speed transmissions on both engines, and hydraulic bow and stern thrusters all connected. This creates smooth even movements under the joystick unlike some outboard and pod drive systems that occasionally will jerk the boat around. Both our editor Norris and I maneuvered the boat around with this joystick and it really was easy and smooth. When connected to the GPS you can also enable a system hold where dynamic positioning will keep the boat in one place. This would be ideal when short-handed as you can lock the boat’s position and then move about getting fenders and dock lines ready. The joystick control also makes docking easy.
Since we were backing into the slip Hovey ran the boat from the cockpit station. There was a decent crosswind as we backed toward the dock. The boat eased in smoothly and easily under joystick and I simply stepped off the swim step with a dock line, no jumping or fussing necessary.
Final Verdict – Bucket List Report Card
So how did the Fleming 58 stand up to my bucket list criteria? I have to admit she passed with flying colors.
Arnie’s cruising powerboat bucket list essentials:
- Exterior aesthetics. Salty lines, not necessarily traditional but not uber-modern.
- Practicality. The ability to cruise for long periods of time and the speed and range to reach a lot of destinations.
- Durability. The construction of the boat and its systems are designed to withstand adverse conditions, while keeping occupants as safe and comfortable as possible.
- Interior Aesthetics: The interior of the boat is both elegant and nautical.
- Accommodations. The vessel has the room, comfort, and storage to allow multiple people to live aboard for considerable periods of time.
I hope I get a chance to get aboard some other bucket list worthy boats but for now the Fleming 58 is at the top of my list. Now all I need is $5 million, how hard can that be?
If a Fleming is on your bucket list and you have the assets to make it a reality you should seriously check out this Fleming 58 that is ready to go. If you need some crew to deliver her somewhere just let me know—I’d be happy to help.
Chuck Hovey Yachts Fleming Yachts
Factory Performance Snapshot
Duncan Cowie of Fleming Yachts also noted that most of their customers are cruising at 8 to 10 knots, and at those speeds even half a knot can make a big difference in fuel consumption and therefore range. They provided us with this nifty performance curves graph that visually demonstrates fuel consumption and range at various speeds.
They also seemed to be able to dial in the vessel they were testing to achieve optimal performance. No data was provided regarding vessel loading or conditions during these tests but knowing the people at Fleming I am sure they were conducted as accurately as possible.
During factory sea trials of Fleming 58-041 conducted in saltwater they achieved the following performance. At 900 RPM, they reported that the boat went 8 knots with a total fuel burn of 4.75gph (18 LPH). 1,100 RPM delivered 9 knots and total fuel burn of 7.92gph (30 LPH), and 1,300 RPM, yielded 10.2 knots with a total fuel burn of 13.47gph (51 LPH).
Factory testing shows the following ranges based on 1,305 usable gallons (90% of 1,450 gallon total tank capacity)
- 8.0 kt @ 4.75 gph → 2,197.9 nm
- 9.0 kt @ 7.92 gph → 1,482.9 nm
- 10.2 kt @ 13.47 gph → 988.2 nm
Best4Boats Performance Snapshot
Fleming 58 Performance Data 2X MAN i6-800 (800 HP @ 2300 RPM)
Range is based on 1305 gallons usable fuel 90% of capacity (1450 gallons total)
Loading for test 473 gallons fuel (Diesel-33% of 1450 gallon capacity), 215 gallons fresh water (67% of 320 gallon capacity), 0 gallons blackwater(100 gallon capacity) and 4 POB, No gear, No tender, Humphree 24v DC electric fin stabilizers with 8.6 sq.ft (0.8 sq.m) fins, including at-rest function. Conditions: Wind SW 10-15, gust to 20MPH, seas 1-2′, 60F, North Lake Washington, WA 4-10-25 2:00pm. 1600RPM data is interpolated from recorded results.
Performance Data Analysis
Fleming 58 Performance Data w 2X MAN i6-800 (800 HP @ 2300 RPM)
Test based on single run one direction South to North in non tidal lake (freshwater)
Note: Our performance data test was conducted on Lake Washington, WA, North of the 520 bridge in freshwater. While there is some debate on this subject experts agree that most vessels particularly displacement type vessels like the Fleming 58 will achieve moderately higher top speeds in saltwater due to the increased buoyancy that saltwater provides. Saltwater has slightly higher viscosity than freshwater which may slightly counteract this lifting effect at slow speeds. The difference is thought to be around 1-2% increase in top speed in saltwater versus freshwater given otherwise identical conditions. That would mean our top recorded speed at WOT 2400 RPM could be 21.8 knots not the 21.4 knots recorded, which is negligible especially given the tolerances of the GPS and fuel burn equipment used to record the test data. Note: Normally we run counteracting reciprocal runs but due to conditions during testing and the fact that we were running in a non-tidal lake we only recorded data in one direction from South to North.
Fleming 58 Specifications
LOA (w/ swim and anchor platforms): 65’ 9” (19.94 m)
LOA Hull 62’ 9” (19.1m)
LWL: 65’ 9” (17.3 m)
Beam: 17’ 6” (5.33m)
Draft: 5’ (1.52 m)
Air Draft (to top of arch): 17’ (5.18m)
Fuel: 1,450 gal. (5,488 l)
Water: 320 gal. (1,211 l)
Black Water: 165 gal. (625 l)
Displacement (light): 88,000 lbs. (40,000 kg.)
Displacement (loaded): 105,600 lbs. (48,000 kg.)
Standard Power (as tested): Twin MAN i6-800 (800 HP @ 2300 RPM)
Optional Generator (as tested): Onan 21.5Kw 60Hz genset
Standard Generator: 17Kw, 60Hz Onan eQD
European Standard Generator: 13.5Kw, 50Hz Onan
Gear: Twin Disc MGX-5126A or ZF 360A with electric shift and troll valves Ratio: 2.50:1
Engine Controls: Glendinning EEC3 (with back-up system)
2024 Fleming 58 – $4,804,205
