When a client wanted to replicate the exact look and idea of the Friendship 40, but in a slightly larger version with two staterooms instead of one, designer Ted Fontaine began to draw—and a big sister to the Friendship 40 was born. The exteriors of the two boats are nearly identical, with clean decks and low-profile cabintops providing a full 360-degree line of sight for the helmsman. The 53’s cockpit will have a large seating area with three deep settees, and a wide, sweeping teak coaming will surround the cockpit to complement the teak sheerstrake and caprail.

Retaining the shallow-draft profile of the 40, this yacht will draw just under 5 feet with the centerboard up and 10 feet with the board down. The 100 percent genoa is roller-furling, and the sheets run belowdecks to electric winches mounted on either side of the helm. Two buttons at the helmsman’s feet handle the captive winch for the mainsheet, and an in-boom furling system makes it easy to reef the main.

The owner’s cabin is all the way forward, and Fontaine has plans for two- and three-cabin layouts. Austral Yachts in New Zealand, builder of the Friendship 40, is also doing this one; a launch date for the first 53 is scheduled for early next summer.

Fontaine Design Group, 92 Maritime Drive, Portsmouth, RI 02871; tel. 401-682-9101; www.fontainedesigngroup.com