Frauscher 1212 Ghost Air: get on board and never want to get off – TEST

Frauscher 1212 Ghost Air is among the most beautiful boats of the last season, winner in its category of the Design Innovation Award 2023 .We tested it for you: here’s how it went.

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Frauscher 1212 Ghost Air TEST

The harmonious complexity of this Frauscher’s lines stimulates those willing to take time to understand the design. A boat that, to the utilitarian choice, prefers an ending that is never obvious, more fascinating. We take the transom. It definitely takes less to make one all straight with no bends or gaps. Or even the dashboard, which follows the same idea, as evidenced even simply by the can holders recessed directly into the fiberglass. The big little choices that make the difference between a good boat and a first-rate one.

Why Frauschers retain their value

This is kind of the point as Mauro Feltrinelli, the brand’s exclusive importer in Italy, also points out when he explains to me how Frauschers retain value in the market even after years and years.

“It’s not just the brand value, but also because over time, for example, you get access to all the screws and bolts that secure the various components on board. It’s physiological that a fast hull that sails a lot has parts that come loose after a while. On a Frauscher you tend to be able to intervene without having to break or disassemble practically anything, and this allows you to have, after years, a boat without creaks or strange noises, always as good as new.”

What does the new Frauscher 1212 Ghost Air look like?

At the center of the deck is the wheelhouse, the central pivot of the boat around which two areas gravitate: a full-beam sundeck with a central passage culminating in a settee behind the helm station.

The area in addition to the center console on the inside of the broadside houses a refrigerator, sink, barbecue and glass rack, which are perfectly integrated into the design. Crowning the bow is a large C-shaped sofa with a center table that can be raised or lowered. It is because of this element that a comfortable living room can be made here to have a more convivial spot or a sunroom additional to the aft one. Both of the two sections can be covered with a canopy for each. In the case of the aft one, the bimini starts from the carbon t-top and, via two poles, covers the sundeck and settee. Toward the bow, however, four stowable frame poles allow for shade when needed.

It’s not a cruising boat, that’s for sure, but the interior undoubtedly surprises. As on the
1017 GT Air
one descends below deck via a passageway built into the front of the console and immediately has in front, facing aft, the bathroom that reaches the remarkable height of 1.90 meters.

Turning around, however, leads to the sleeping area, consisting of a large bed that takes advantage of the beam rather than the volumes. In fact, remember that above we have a cockpit that can also be used as a dance floor or for family meals, given the size and area available.

What it’s like to sail on the 1212 Ghost Air

We now come to the navigational skills. As we leave the harbor, the tramontana, which has taken the usual storms away from the Genoa salon, is blowing at 15-18 knots, and so I hint shyly, as a native, that if we want to catch less wind and sea we’d better head east, sheltering in the portion of the gulf to the right of Mount Fasce.

“And why should we get less wind and waves? – Mauro Feltrinelli jokingly scolds me – You’ll see, not a drop will come.”

Also on board with us is Harry Miesbauer, who the hulls of this Frauscher, as of the
1414 Demon
or of the
858 Fantom
, designed them. It takes me a short time to realize that tacking at 35 knots is the bread and butter for this double-step live opus that in the starboard side, propelled by two Volvo Penta D6-440s with stern feet, reaches 44 knots with total stability even when the chop as we move away from the coast becomes more troublesome.

Total bite on the water even when tacking tightly with sports car-like stability and recovery. This is what it reminds me of being at the helm while in front of my eyes analog tachometers and gauges match a large, modern Garmin plotter.

Navigation data Frauscher 1212 Ghost Air TEST

Boat data sheet: