New Boat: Horizon E56
Horizon E56
The smallest vessel from the Taiwanese builder takes the highly customizable approach from its larger siblings.
You don’t see the phrase “user-friendly” in yacht descriptions, but that was my first thought on the E56’s flybridge. The skipper gets a place of honor with a pair of Stidd pedestal seats behind the Venturi windscreen, with a thoughtful “eyebrow” to reduce glare on the MFDs. The rest of the bridge is pure decadence, starting with an outdoor galley to port with a Kenyon grill for cooking steaks, plus a sink and fridge. The aft half of the bridge is devoted to a L-shaped settee around a gorgeous wenge and sapele table. Horizon offers a cantilevered hardtop, but the open bridge is delightful.
The luxe theme continues in her salon. There’s a number of places to sprawl, starting with two couches aft with a coffee table, while the space’s large windows start at couch level for near-unobstructed water views. A dinette abaft the helm with its large island looks to be another fine gathering space. Belowdecks is a three-stateroom layout, with her full-beam master amidships and VIP forward; a guest cabin and its single berth lies between them. Throughout her interior spaces, I appreciated the gorgeous joinery: carefully matched and flitch-cut sapele (a ribbon-grained sister to mahogany) in a satin finish.
Our test boat had a pair of Cat C12s punching 1,700 horses (standard power are twin Volvo Penta IPS drives rated at 725 hp apeice), giving the E56 a top speed of 28.6 knots and a comfy (and economical) 20-knot cruise at 1800 rpm. As for access to the mains, the space was designed and executed by people who have actually worked on engines: Drop a socket between the engines and it’s not gone forever. Horizon gets high points for the tidy electrical panels, the carefully plumbed and secure hoses and the thick layers of insulation behind easily-cleaned white panels. A boon for the owner/operator is two, fold-out helm stations on each side of the cockpit with throttle and bow/stern thruster controls to make short-handed operations a cinch—particularly with boarding gates on each side.
One thing to remember: No two Horizons are alike. The builder takes pleasure in meeting the exact requirements of each owner, whether it is moving the master head, adding a hardtop or rearranging the galley. If you can dream it, Horizon will build it. The E56 is a blank canvas.
Horizon E56
Horizon E56 Specifications:
LOA: 55'6"
Beam: 15'9"
Draft: 4'8"
Displ: 60,847 lbs.
Fuel: 720 gal.
Water: 160 gal.
Standard power: 2/725-hp Volvo Penta IPS950s
Cruise Speed: 20 knots
Top Speed: 28.6 knots
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