FJORD 440 Open: twenty years of projects shape the evolution of the walkaround

World premiere at the Cannes Yachting Festival 2026, the new FJORD 440 Open builds on the experience gained by the shipyard with the walkaround and focuses the evolution on cockpit, protection, maneuvering technology, and interiors.

Starting from what has been built over twenty years of projects to choose what to keep and where, instead, to push technical evolution. This is the path chosen by FJORD for the new 440 Open, presented at the Cannes Yachting Festival 2026, in the same exhibition where the FJORD 40 debuted in 2006.

Because designing something new does not necessarily mean starting from scratch, and in the 440 Open, the walkaround remains the cornerstone. What changes are the needs that the project must interpret. 

In recent years, life on board has evolved almost faster than the available technologies: today, the freedom of movement must coexist with spaces capable of transforming, greater protection, simpler handling, and the possibility of extending the time spent on board.

“We have worked a lot on this boat. The rear bench can change orientation, the T-top is completely new, and we have also redesigned the dashboard from scratch,” explained Andrea Zambonini, FJORD product manager, during the presentation. “We have created a very protected driving area, which can be more enclosed at night, but during the day can open up to let in fresh air.”

Continuity, therefore, does not become a limit to innovation, but the basis from which to start it.

Innovating through what works

The FJORD 440 Open is born from the experience of the FJORD 41 with an evolutionary logic: preserving the identity built by the model and intervening especially where the usage modes of the boat have changed.

The cockpit is perhaps the place where this approach emerges most clearly. Not so much for the dimensions, but because the space is designed to change function depending on the time of day.

The most evident solution, highlighted by Zambonini during the presentation in Cannes, is the electrically reversible rear bench: facing the cockpit, it completes the social area; oriented towards the stern, it transforms the same area into a lounge overlooking the sea. The hydraulic bathing platform extends this continuity with the water and can also be used for tenders and water toys.

It is here that the project makes an interesting transition. Modularity is no longer exhausted in the choice of a layout at the time of purchase: the boat itself changes during use. The same space can accommodate navigation, mooring, socializing, and interaction with the sea without requiring separate environments.

The same logic returns in the protection of the cockpit. The new T-top does not function as a static cover: upper and side electric screens allow for modulation of opening and protection based on the time of day and navigation conditions.

Performance and comfort of the FJORD 440, elements in the sign of continuity

The evolution of the 440 Open also passes through the driving position. The dashboard has been completely redesigned and integrates joystick, cameras, and maneuvering assistance systems. A significant choice on a boat measuring 13.79 meters that, with the optional 960 HP engine, reaches about 40 knots.

The same attention is found below deck, Design Unlimited signs a layout with two cabins and organized spaces to accommodate longer stays on board, without altering the open configuration of the model.

Twenty years after the FJORD 40, the 440 Open continues to use the walkaround as an element of continuity, but shifts innovation to how the boat is experienced, protected, and managed.