Here is a shot of the team detailing the FX6 to perfection. By the time they're done, the boat looks like is should be under glass in a museum. Please oh please let the owner of this boat be well versed in the use of fenders when docking.

If Looks Could Kill...

As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first immersion, and as first impressions go, the FX6 has little to worry about. Formula pulled out all the stops on this line and it shows at every turn. They couldn't just "do" anything, but they had to do it to the Nth degree throughout. Simple upholstery is out in favor of thicker vinyl protected from stains, and it surrounds flow-through padding that won't hold water. All seat frames are composite material that allows the water to drain and resist rotting. And then to top it off, the upholstery is custom embroidered with the FX logo, just to add frosting on the cake. Even the carpeting is custom embroidered. And there's so much more. It’s an interesting mix of retro-class and contemporary flair, all in one boat.





Highlights of Features

Suffice it to say that there’s too much on this boat to write about, but let’s go over some of the notables. First, is the construction. Formula uses a chemical bond to join the hull and deck together and it joins the two as one.

The hull is finished to perfection in Imron paint. This is something very few builders in class even attempt. The reason is that it is costly, time-consuming, it must be done is environmentally-correct paint booths, and the people applying the polyurethane paint must be specially trained. Where gel coat is good enough for most builders, Formula wants a high-gloss finish that only polyurethane can produce. It also needs far less maintenance than gel coat and its luster will last longer than gel coat.

Buff and Fluff

After the painstaking Imron process is applied, the boat is sent for detailing. Here a team goes over the hull with compound to remove any indication of orange peeling that may be present. Then it's on to the waxing and buffing and waxing and buffing... over and over again. My last visit to the Formula plant showed a team of four spending 8 hrs each on this buffing process alone. Lights are shined at all angles to show the slightest defects, of which I found none, but that didn't stop the crew from smearing even more wax on and buffing it all over again. I doubt that any premium coach maker such as Bentley or Maybach does anything remotely close to Formula.

The cockpit is a continuous molded liner with more of the high gloss Imron paint that we saw on the exterior being used to cover detail items all over the interior. Imron painted interior? Look for that on other boats and tell me what you find. You'd be hard pressd to find any paint at all.



Notice the various texture lines of the FX6 that divert the eye from what would otherwise be just plain topsides. The stainless rub rail follows a nice contour curve to the swim platform. And notice the stainless cover over the engine vents.



Before the boat gets detailed, it's tank tested and all the critical components are run up for the first time. Notice the extended swim platform that runs well past the outdrives. And we love the look of the thru-hull exhausts. With the engine hatch in the elevated position (electrically actuated of course) you can see the aft sun pad / rumble seat with the custom embroidery work.



What would have prevented Formula from just cutting a hole and adding drink holders? Nothing except the fact that it wouldn't have fit the theme of elegance that the FX portrays. So it's stainless drink holders mounted to an Imron finished piece of trim -- this is more like art than anything else..



Dual Livorsi Monster and Redline engine instruments are the size and type that professional racers use so they can read at a glace what is going on. A moving map display is to one side, and the Vessel View display is to the other. Notice the sterndrive joystick in the upper right. I love the carbon fiber hub in the color-matched wheel. The circuit breakers are below on the starboard bulkhead, out of the way, but still easy to reach.

Rest assured as the Formula FX6 nears completion and launch, we'll be bringing you a full report with specs and prices. But for now, you can only be in the same boat as us -- looking at this FX6 from across the water and dreaming about being in that one instead.