Insuring Fi-Craft: cover and premium
sailing boats and sailing yachts · several countries
Fi-Craft (Hydro V 170): essex builder of small sailing boats. NAMMERT insures a Fi-Craft regardless of year built or where you bought it, liability, hull, legal expenses and personal accident cover from one house, taken out online in five minutes.
At a glance
Origin
several countries
Class
sailing boats and sailing yachts
Typical sizes
5,1 to 8,1 m
Premium from
from €39 a year for liability
Worth knowing
Fi-Craft; cover, cost and conditions
Fi-Craft (Hydro V 170) was a boatbuilder in the English county of Essex, working in glassfibre; the firm has since closed. Two boats keep its name alive. One is the Valiant 18, a budget-priced family yacht from the early seventies. The other is the Invicta 26, drawn by E. G. van de Stadt in 1964 as a glassfibre take on the Folkboat. Tylers moulded the early hulls; from 1969 Fi-Craft took over the moulding and fitted the boats out itself or together with Salterns Yacht Agency. An Invicta is easy to pick out by its long fin keel with encapsulated lead ballast under a simple sloop rig.
Our model records list five designs from the yard: three small sailing boats, one sailing yacht and one motorboat. The sailing boats all belong to the Valiant family. The Valiant appears from 1971 to 1979 and the Valiant 18 from 1972 to 1979, both at 5.7 metres, while the Valiant V. 18 measures 5.5 metres and runs from 1974 to 1981. The Invicta, at 8.05 metres the largest boat of the brand, spans 1965 to 1980 in our data, so its first years predate the moulding work at Fi-Craft. The Hydro V 170 motorboat, 5.1 metres long, was built from 1968 to 1981. None of the designs reaches the recent build years, and four of the five stay under six metres.
Any Fi-Craft boat afloat today is at least 45 years old, so a buyer should look at the structure before the trim. On an Invicta the encapsulated keel deserves attention: check the joint between keel and hull for cracks and test the laminate around it for moisture. Chainplates, rudder fittings and the mast step take the loads of every season. Boats the size of a Valiant or a Hydro V 170 often live on a trailer, which means the rollers, the winch and the points where the hull rests should be inspected too. Osmosis blisters are common on glassfibre hulls of this age and are worth a moisture meter reading. Sails and standing rigging of this vintage have often been replaced at least once, and paperwork showing when is useful.
Questions and answers
Frequent questions
Which is the largest Fi-Craft design?
For Fi-Craft: The Invicta at 8.05 metres.
It is the only sailing yacht of the brand in our model records;
the other four boats measure between 5.1 and 5.7 metres.
What is the Invicta?
The Invicta 26 was drawn by E.
G.
van de Stadt in 1964 as a glassfibre development of the Folkboat with a long fin keel.
Fi-Craft in Essex moulded the hulls from 1969.
In our records the Invicta runs from 1965 to 1980.
The cover that fits
sailing boat insurance
Tariffs, cover and FAQ for sailing boat insurance in detail.
Third-party liability
The foundation for a boat from Fi-Craft: damage to third parties, worldwide,
from €39 a year for liability.
Hull cover
Partial or full hull cover for a Fi-Craft, at replacement value with an agreed fixed value.
For the whole class of boat
For Fi-Craft: What matters for sailing boats and sailing yachts is the same across every brand;
engine output, how a claim is settled, cruising range and theft protection.
The class page lists every point and every brand in this class, Fi-Craft included.
Insuring sailing boats and sailing yachts, every brand and every condition
Other builders in this class
Nautical information What counts before you cast off, papers, equipment, waters
Licence
Under sail no licence is needed; with an auxiliary engine from 15 hp one is.
Registration
Official number or boat certificate; a flag document for trips abroad.
Waters
Inland lakes, the Baltic and the North Sea; tide, current and shoals belong in the passage plan.
Equipment
Lifejackets, harness and jackstays, lifebuoy, distress signals, reefing system.
Cruising range
Certificate of insurance for foreign harbours; check that racing is covered.
Weather
Reef in time: first reef from Beaufort 5, second from 6, watch the gust forecast.
General guidance, not a complete account;
what governs are the rules of the waters you are on and the manual of your Fi-Craft.
Current wind force and direction for your waters are shown on the Home.
Series by Fi-Craft, build years and cover
Hydro V 170 is a motorboat from Fi-Craft, built from 1968 to 1981.
Valiant V.
18 is a sailing boat from Fi-Craft, built from 1974 to 1981.
Invicta is a sailing yacht from Fi-Craft, built from 1965 to 1980.
Valiant is a sailing boat from Fi-Craft, built from 1971 to 1979.
Also a sailing boat, built from 1972 to 1979.
For the Hydro V 170, Valiant V.
18, Invicta by Fi-Craft and 2 more series there is no list price left.
That is why we work with an agreed value: you state the figure, we agree it,
and in a total loss exactly that amount is paid, with no deduction for wear.
For the Hydro V 170 by Fi-Craft series: On a motorboat the drive is the single most valuable part.
Damage after grounding is covered, an engine failure from wear is not.
For the Valiant V.
18, Valiant, Valiant 18 by Fi-Craft series:
On boats this size the condition of rig and fittings decides.
A dismasting is covered, worn terminals after years are not.
For the Invicta by Fi-Craft series:
On sailing yachts the rig and the underwater hull are the expensive parts:
a dismasting quickly costs a quarter of the boat,
and osmosis counts as wear and is covered by no hull policy.
The Fi-Craft range in figures
These figures come from the model records we keep for Fi-Craft: boat type, build years and length,
nothing estimated.
- sailing boat
- 3 models, 1971 to 1981, 5.5 m
- motorboat
- 1 model, 1968 to 1981, 5.1 m
- sailing yacht
- 1 model, 1965 to 1980, 8.1 m
Which model was built when?
What does a used Fi-Craft cost?
We hold today’s price ranges by year for 4 models by Fi-Craft.
The table shows what boats in average condition are worth,
from the oldest to the youngest year on record.
Choose your exact model, year and condition in the calculator.
| Model | Years built | Range today |
|---|---|---|
| Hydro V 170 | 1971 to 1978 | €5,400 to €7,500 |
| Invicta | 1968 to 1977 | €6,300 to €8,500 |
| Valiant 18 | 1975 to 1976 | €13,300 to €16,900 |
| Valiant V. 18 | 1977 to 1978 | €4,800 to €6,100 |
Estimate from our boat records, October 2026.
Not a survey.
Fi-Craft insured in five minutes.
Boat type, year built, length and value of your Fi-Craft are all we need.
Work out the premium online or call us: +49 3375 29 12 77.
