Fleming 55

The first Fleming to arrive in the U.S. was offloaded from a freighter in Long Beach, California, during November 1986. It was a 50-footer, built in the same hull mold as the Fleming 55. A dam had been inserted in the mold to shorten her because at the time it was believed a couple could not operate a boat over 50 feet.

Manufactured in the Tung Hwa shipyard in Taiwan, the Fleming 55 was the brainchild of Tony Fleming, a trained aeronautical engineer and a former technical director for American Marine, the maker of Grand Banks trawlers. With nearly 25 years of boatbuilding experience in the Far East, Fleming wanted to build the ultimate open-water cruising yacht for a couple with occasional guests. The design was a semi-displacement hull with a high, flared bow to cope with tall waves, a long keel that would protect the running gear from grounding, and a low center of gravity to optimize comfort underway.

The dam in the mold was soon ditched and subsequent Fleming 55s became 60 feet, 9 inches LOA (including bow pulpit and swim platform). Her fine entry at the stem progressed to rounded bilge sections and then to hard chines and a modified deep-V deadrise angle at the transom. With a beam of 16 feet, a draft of 5 feet and a fully loaded displacement of 80,178 pounds, the 55 had enough volume to provide comfortable living spaces, carry 1,000 gallons of fuel for long-range cruising, and mount twin diesel engines for efficiency and reliability.

Other noteworthy features were a Portuguese bridge, a raised and enclosed pilothouse helm, a flybridge helm, a boat deck to keep the dinghy off the transom, and wide side decks with deep bulwarks for safety.

Over the years, Fleming continuously refined the 55’s materials and equipment while never changing the classic look and purpose-designed features. Since 1986, thousands of large and small tweaks have been made to the 55, an approach that has burnished the company’s reputation among serious distance-cruising owners.

Fleming eventually moved onto one of his boats to travel the world. He turned operations over to two of his trusted underlings while continually sending them ideas to refine the company’s boats. He never wavered from making the best boat money could buy, even in the face of competition that would build to a lower price. It’s hard to argue with the company’s success. The next Fleming 55 hull, number 275, is a testament to one of the most successful production yachts in history, and to the man and the concept that started it all on paper in 1985. —John Wooldridge

This article was originally published in the July 2023 issue.