Hans Webbink is the boss of Steeler and in 2001, at the age of 40, he threw away his tie, hung up his old job and bought the Antaris shipyard as a career changer. It all started with sloops, or sloepen in Dutch. However, Antaris' sloop customers wanted larger boats, so the company began building steel boats under the name Steeler-Antaris, later just Steeler. As they wanted to distinguish themselves from the rest of the steel boat builders, they called the boats NG, "Next Generation", of which there are now seven models from 38 to 65 feet in length made of steel or aluminium. The difference between Next Generation and the others: Hans always builds the boats the way the customer wants them. He builds them from the inside out, so to speak, and wraps them in a handsome steel or aluminium shell. The big advantage of the Steeler shipyard is that they build boats around ideas - in the truest sense of the word. This means that no two Steeler boats are the same.
After the boat show in London in 2012, Hans spoke to a customer who raved to him about what his new boat should look like: a 20-knot penthouse with a sun deck. Hans Webbink already had ideas about this and quickly drew a sketch on a napkin that came very close to the customer's ideas. He liked what he saw and the Steeler Panorama FF 46 was born.
Steeler is the programme: the first boat is made of steel. Panorama is the effect when you are in the boat and have an unobstructed view in almost all directions. FF stands for "Flat Floor" and means a continuous flat floor from the cockpit to the bow cabin and 46 stands for the length in feet.
Anyone seeing the boat from the outside for the first time will be sceptical - everything is different to what you are used to. There are no side decks, but there are side walls. These end around two metres above the waterline and are completely covered by window fronts. Above this is a straight roof, the actual deck, which is framed by a stainless steel railing. A small hump with windows peeks out from this deck, resembling a low, cut-off deckhouse. The only familiar features are the stern, whose large bench seat can be seen from the cockpit, and the deck overhang, which partially covers the cockpit.
The design of the Panorama FF 46 is polarising and represents something that has never been seen before on the boat market. We talk about design that either supports or disrupts function - but here we are delighted with how design and function harmonise. Sceptics will lose all reservations as soon as they set foot on the Panorama.
You enter the boat either via the bathing platform through the door in the stern bulwark or through the large side doors, which are integrated almost invisibly. Regardless of where you enter, you can see almost all the way through the boat and onto a steering position that seems to float between the saloon floor and the galley. A staircase leads up and another to the deck.
The special thing is that the driver is not sitting somewhere at the front, as is usually the case, and cannot see anything behind him. Here, he sits in the centre of the boat, in the middle of the action on board, and has everything in view. Communication is also favoured by the bench seat, which extends around the driving position in an L-shape and becomes a cocktail lounge with a table. Anyone sitting here has an uninterrupted view on all sides from top to bottom - and that is addictive. You are literally mesmerised by the charm of the FF 46's spatial and visual openness. Steeler has reinvented the boat!
The Panorama FF 46 is designed for coastal waters, but can also be used where low bridges reach over the water, such as in France. The extendable lifting roof above the driving position can be retracted a little further and the boat can be submerged more using the ballast tank. This gains 12 cm, which ultimately results in a total height of 3.24 m above the waterline.
The Panorama FF 46 is equipped with two 160 hp Yanmar diesel engines (extra), which are sufficient for a maximum speed of 10 knots. As is typical for displacement boats, the range decreases as the speed increases. At the slowest speed (3 knots), the distance is 1161 nm and at full throttle 167 nm, plus 15 % reserves.
On canals, the maximum speed is usually limited to 6 knots. At this speed, one tank of fuel is enough for just under 700 nm plus reserve. Two drives and a standard bow thruster take the hassle out of manoeuvres in confined spaces, such as mooring or casting off. And anyone travelling on the boat hears almost nothing of the technology. A maximum of 67 dB/A was measured in the saloon and 62 dB/A at the helm. These are absolute peak values.
The technical and electrical installations also deserve praise. Under a large cover in the saloon is the technical engine compartment with everything you could wish for, such as alarm sensors on the fuel pre-filters, fire extinguishing system or electric and manual bilge pumps.
As far as the overall finish is concerned, the Panorama FF 46 is of a high standard and, apart from a few minor details that are already on the shipyard's to-do list, gives no cause for criticism. The owner of this boat has opted for two cabins, each with a bathroom and toilet. However, a third cabin is also feasible and almost full equipment means that the list of accessories for the FF 46 is rather small.
CONCLUSION
The Steeler Panorama FF 46 is a successful project in every respect. An absolute speciality is the lavish panoramic view and the room layout. The next boats with the same concept are already on the launch ramps: Panorama FF 48 and FF 53, which are both made of aluminium and are set to cause a sensation in the near future as fast semi-gliders.
Data sheet: Steeler Panorama FF 46
Shipyard: Steeler Yachts
Type designation: Steeler Panorama FF 46
CE category: B - Outside coastal waters
Material of hull and deck: Steel
Length: 14,82 m
Width: 4,58 m
Displacement: 24,00 t
Price: 683.500,00 €
