Making it Personal

With its innovative approach and willingness to customize to meet an owner’s desires, the FD92 from Horizon Yacht has won the Taiwan Excellence Silver Award for 2022.

By Horizon Yacht & Taiwan Excellence

September 14, 2022

Taiwan has a rich history of yacht building. The country’s boat companies are renowned for their craftsmanship and attention to detail. As the industry has matured, so have its capabilities in technology, design and ability to customize yachts to client’s need. Those attributes are abundantly clear in the products built by Horizon Yacht. The company’s FD92 model has received the 2022 Taiwan Excellence Silver Award.

The annual Taiwan Excellence Awards, established by the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan in 1993, subject eligible candidates to a rigorous and stringent selection system that covers the four aspects of R&D, Design, Quality and Marketing, which identify outstanding products that offer “Innovative Value” to consumers. The Horizon FD92 stood out over more than a thousand products this year with its innovation in all the above four aspects as recognized by 140 jurors from Taiwan and around the world.

Hull number one of the tri-deck Horizon FD92 was delivered to its American owners the U.S. in 2020. Since then, six hulls have been delivered to clients all over the world, with a seventh scheduled for delivery in late 2022.

According to Horizon, the primary appeals of the FD 92 center on her voluminous space and the many ways it can be arranged, and the general level of customization the model affords its owners.

“One of the key points on the 92 is the on-deck master,” a company spokesperson says. “Usually, on this size boat, the master is below deck. We have the master stateroom on the main deck so it can be easily access and have better view. “

This positioning of the on-deck master is possible because the FD92’s beam is wide enough and the bow design more vertical so it can accommodate more space forward. Normally, such spaces would increase resistance underwater and affect performance. To solve that challenge, the builder developed what it calls the HPPB (High Performance Piercing Bow).

The FD92 is also the first Horizon model designed as a tri-deck with an added level above the main and upper decks. This extra level includes guest seating and an additional helm station. While such a design creates more space, it also creates engineering challenges. With this yacht, and its other products, Horizon’s experienced R&D team rose to occasion.

Maximizing all the aspects of the FD Series, such as a voluminous interior and expansive windows, the first FD92 featured a five-stateroom layout with an on-deck master, crew quarters and a beach club. The main deck was laid out in the traditional configuration, with the main salon aft and formal dining and galley amidships. The salon offers U-shaped sofa seating with freestanding chairs, and an ottoman-style coffee table. A formal dining area was forward, followed by a fully equipped galley that could be separated from the salon via privacy doors and a hi/lo glass partition.

On the FD92, the engine room, crew quarters and beach club are positioned abaft the guest accommodations. The first hull has a crew area has been designed with a double captain’s cabin and a second cabin with a fixed bunk and Pullman berth to accommodate up to four crew members when desired.

While the FD92 is technically a production boat—a standardized hull and pre-engineered structural and mechanical systems—extensive customization is available to clients.

“From small parts, equipment upgrades, layout to interior styling—all can be customized,” says Horizon. “Some owners have asked for surprising changes. For example: One of our customers has a one-man submarine, a tender and a helicopter, so we had to find a way to make sure all the toys could be lifted onto the yacht. Horizon and our in-house team had to carefully calculate the stability and structure strength in order to fit in those big toys.”

On the first FD92, the yard worked closely with the experienced owners to execute several functional and artistic elements. Carved leather paneling highlights were incorporated throughout, from the salon mullions and buffet cabinet doors to the upper portion of the galley’s glass partition. The owners also requested several custom Art Deco-inspired pieces, such as a walnut dining room table for 10 with curved, hand-carved legs, a custom side table in the main salon, a custom dining table on the aft deck and leather headboards in the lower-deck VIP staterooms. A subtle sunburst theme is continued throughout the design, adding movement to this sophisticated interior.

The tri-deck design allows for a helm, L-shaped seating, sunpad and a bar equipped with a fridge and icemaker to be positioned on the uppermost deck, which was constructed of carbon fiber and can be shaded with a bimini top.

The owner of the first hull sang the praises of the company’s flexibility with regard to customization. “Production builders may say they will work with you to personalize your boat, but in the end you only have a couple of choices and can give limited input. Horizon is truly a custom builder.”