Faurby sailboats for sale

Buying a used Faurby: scarce boats from a yard built around longevity

The used Faurby market is defined by scarcity of a deliberate kind: itBoat reports the yard consistently produces no more than 10 to 15 yachts a year, so any given model exists in small numbers, and finding the right example matters more than holding out for a specific year. The upside of that scale is that a used Faurby carries an unusually high floor of build intent - owner Thomas Dan Hougaard has said the company aims for boats that remain good-looking and good-sailing two decades on - which shifts a buyer's attention away from whether the brand cut corners and toward how a particular boat was equipped, kept, and used. Because bulkheads and furniture are laminated into the hull as working structure, interior condition on these boats is structural information, not just cosmetics.

Which era to target

Three boundaries organize the used fleet. Boats from the founding through 2010 come from the Niels Peter Faurby era - his design credits include the late-1980s 393 and the 1998-introduced 396 - and represent the yard's original character as a builder of quick, narrow Scandinavian cruisers. The 2010 takeover by Thomas Dan Hougaard opens the second era, which produced the Jesper Bank Edition of the 396, a lightened collaboration with the champion Danish sailor, along with later Performance Cruiser introductions. The third boundary is the Nordship combination: the two yards have been under common ownership since 2018, and in 2025 the merger completed, with the former Nordship deck saloons - the 360 DS through 570 DS - continuing under the Faurby name. A buyer looking at any DS-badged boat should know it descends from Nordship and carries Buchwald & Borghegn design DNA rather than Faurby's own lineage; earlier sisterships of the same designs wore the Nordship badge.

What to inspect across the range

One documented caution applies to the older boats: yachtdatabase.com notes the Faurby 393 was also sold for home completion, meaning finish quality varies from boat to boat. On any early Faurby, establish whether the boat was yard-finished or owner-finished before weighing its price against others, and survey an owner-completed example on its own merits rather than on the brand's reputation.

Navigating the lineup

The range runs from roughly 33 to 48 feet, split between two temperaments: the Performance Cruisers for sailors who prioritize speed and slim, elegant lines, and the Deck Saloon boats for those who want Nordship-style protected comfort with Faurby's build methods behind it. Decide which of those two bloodlines fits your sailing first, then use the full model directory on this page to compare sizes and years within it.