Friendship 40

The Friendship 40 yachts are impeccably designed, fast, beyond gorgeous, and built to an absolutely unmatched quality of perfection. In the world of luxury toys, there are boats and there are yachts; the Friendship is made for those who know the difference.

In 2001, when Ted Fontaine started the Friendship Yacht Company, he presented to the market a unique yacht, one whose concept has been copied, but by no means equaled. The expert craftsmanship and careful attention to detail display the superyacht quality to which the boat has been built.  Time honored methods of handcraftsmanship and a fine eye for classic boat building are apparent at first sight of this boat -a large, powerful rig for performance coupled with the ease of a single-handed set-up, the Friendship 40 sails with a near effortless hand (or finger) at the helm.  An in-boom furling main is controlled by two buttons at the helmsman’s feet.  The roller furling genoa with electric winches at either side of the wheel make it possible to sit back and soak in the pure and simple joys of sailing.

 Flawlessly clean fore and aft decks and low profile cabin top provide a full 360 degree line of sight from the helmstation.  The spacious cockpit with three gracious, deep settees provides a seating area unparalleled in other sailing yachts of this size.  A wide sweeping teak coaming surrounds the cockpit, complementing the teak of the sheerstrake and caprail – a look that sends you back to a time when the main purpose of a yacht was pure beauty and grace.

 The Friendship 40 continues to be as impressive as you step from the elegance of the cockpit into the classically beautiful interior.  Surprisingly spacious, Fontaine has achieved the perfect balance of comfort and functionality.  Varnished, raised-panel teak joinery, custom wide settees including plenty of storage space in teak lockers, a full head with shower, functional galley and large double centerline berth make this the ultimate weekend getaway.

 The design philosophy behind the Friendship is what has won a litany of awards and races by many of the Ted Hood / Ted Fontaine designed yachts. The heavy displacement, beamy hulls give the boat a stable, comfortable ride. The shallow draft not only allows the boat to go into remote cruising grounds and anchorages, it provides very little wetted surface, or drag, through the water.  This coupled with the large sail plan, or horsepower, makes the boat sail extremely fast. All this, together with the single handed sailing capabilities, proves the argument that the Friendship 40 wins the yacht design compromise in all areas – it is easy to sail, comfortable, has lots of volume AND sails fast.