FD80

• 24.56 m LOA, 21.58 m waterline length, 6.87 m beam
• 1.72 m draft, 92 t displacement
• Twin MTU 10V2000 M96L diesels, 1,600 hp each
• 10,220 L fuel and 1,500 L fresh water capacity
• On-deck master plus three guest cabins, one crew cabin
• Skyline or Split Use Skylounge, 16 ft tender on the bridge deck
• Side wingstations for short-handed docking
• In production since 2019

Megayacht ideas at 80 feet

The FD80's trick is refusing to scale down the features that matter. The master stateroom stays on the main deck, a location most 80 footers reserve for the salon, and floor-to-ceiling glass sections run through the salon and dining areas so the interior lives like a shoreside apartment with a changing view. Horizon's brief for the boat promises megayacht amenities for owner-operators, and the layout decisions read like a checklist written by someone who has actually run a boat shorthanded.

Aft, a beach club with natural light brings the waterline lifestyle of the big FDs to a boat that fits ordinary marina berths, and the bridge deck aft carries a 16 foot tender. The High Performance Piercing Bow pushes usable volume forward, which is how a 24.56 meter hull absorbs all of this without feeling dense.

The numbers

Length overall is 24.56 meters on a 21.58 meter waterline, with a 6.87 meter beam, a 1.72 meter draft and 92 tons of displacement. Like the FD90, the FD80 runs twin MTU 10V2000 M96L diesels of 1,600 horsepower each with Kohler generators of 35 or 40 kW, a generous machinery package for the length.

Fuel capacity is 10,220 liters, about 2,700 US gallons, with 1,500 liters of fresh water. The fast displacement hull holds its efficiency at unhurried passage speeds while keeping real pace available, and the shallow draft opens the same skinny Bahamian water the rest of the series trades on. At 92 tons the FD80 sits heavy for its length, a deliberate choice that pays off in motion comfort and in how the boat carries its glass and stone without feeling delicate.

An on-deck master, a beach club and floor-to-ceiling glass on a boat a couple with one deckhand can run.

Built to be run by its owner

Horizon designed the FD80 explicitly for owner-operators, and the practical evidence is everywhere: side wingstations that give clear sightlines for short-handed docking, systems consolidated for simple daily checks, and circulation that lets one person move from helm to side decks to cleats without gymnastics. Docking is the moment that decides whether an owner-operator boat actually gets used, and the wingstations put the person on the throttles exactly where the fenders meet the dock.

The helm choice follows suit. Owners specify a Skyline enclosed bridge for all-weather passagemaking or Horizon's Split Use Skylounge, which divides the upper level between covered helm and open lounging. Either way the boat can be handled by a couple with a single deckhand, and a lone crew cabin is all the accommodation plan sets aside.

Four staterooms where it counts

Below decks the FD80 carries three guest cabins to go with the main-deck master, giving four staterooms on a hull where three is the norm. Guests get proper beds and en-suite bathrooms, and the owner keeps the deck-level suite with its glass and horizon views to themselves.

The single crew cabin suits the boat's real-world use: many FD80s run owner-operated with occasional professional help, others with one full-time hand who doubles as engineer and mate. Families that outgrow the format have a ready ladder waiting in the FD90 and FD97 above it, and the step to the FD90 keeps the same MTU engine family, so nothing learned aboard the FD80 is wasted.

Proof in the deliveries

The model has been in production since 2019 and the yard's news feed marks the cadence, including the delivery of the customized FD80 Amphib, one of a string of hulls specified to individual owners' briefs. Amphib's owners shaped their boat around a personal cruising program and the yard delivered it as routine series business, which is the entire semi-custom promise in a single anecdote. Each delivery adds to the sistership fleet that gives the FD80 its brokerage credibility.

For a buyer stepping up from a 60 or 70 foot flybridge boat, the FD80 is the point where the yacht acquires superyacht architecture, the on-deck master, the beach club, the glass, while the running of it stays within family scale. That is a narrow target, and this hull hits it more squarely than almost anything else at the length.

Pour qui: An owner-operator couple stepping up from a large flybridge cruiser who want superyacht architecture, a main-deck master and a beach club, without committing to a professional crew.