Aquafibre Talisman 49 for Sale
MotoryachtThe Aquafibre Talisman 49 is available on Hulls.io with 1 listing currently for sale. This model is categorised as a Motoryacht.
Updated 9 October 2026 · By Hulls.io Editorial
The Talisman 49: A Complete Guide
The Talisman 49 is a 15-metre, round-bilge, semi-displacement motor launch designed by Murray Cormack Associates, the naval architecture and survey partnership that Maitland Murray and Douglas Cormack formed in 1972. According to the partnership, its first significant design commission came in 1973 and produced the tooling and prototype of what became the Talisman 49. The hull form was developed in 1974 and the first commercial boat was launched in 1975, as a 20-knot twin-screw pilot launch.
It was conceived as a fast pilot boat for UK ports serving the growing North Sea oil industry. By 2014 the designer counted more than sixty Talisman hulls, built mainly for the commercial market as pilot, patrol and survey launches, with the class in service with the Royal Navy, the Army and Italy’s Guardia di Finanza. Several were also completed as motor yachts.
The builder’s name on a Talisman 49 listing needs care. Boats were fitted out by different yards, and adverts badge the boat as an Aquafibre, a Halmatic or a Seaward Talisman 49, depending on who the seller names as builder. The design is the same Murray Cormack hull, but the fit-out, engines and equipment of each boat can differ considerably.
Hulls.io currently tracks 1 active listing for the Talisman 49. Among them is a 1983 Aquafibre Talisman 49 listed in Oban, United Kingdom.
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Talisman 49 Specifications
The design facts below are from Murray Cormack Associates’ own description of the Talisman 49. Because each boat was fitted out to its own specification, there is no single set of production figures for length overall, weight or tankage.
| Hull designer | Murray Cormack Associates (Maitland Murray and Douglas Cormack) |
|---|---|
| Hull form | Round-bilge, semi-displacement |
| Hull length | About 15 m (49 ft) |
| Construction | FRP (glass-reinforced plastic) |
| Design developed | 1974 |
| First commercial boat | 1975, a 20-knot twin-screw pilot launch |
| Usual machinery layout | Main engines aft with gearboxes forward, in a U-drive arrangement |
| Hulls built | More than sixty (designer, 2014) |
One published example: the 2004 Seaward Talisman 49
The fullest published figures we have found are from Motor Boats Monthly’s August 2004 report on a new Talisman 49 fitted out as a motor yacht by Seaward Marine of Cowes. They describe that boat, not every Talisman 49. MBM prints the beam as 15 ft 0 in and 4.64 m, which do not quite agree (15 ft is 4.57 m). Figures for older boats vary: Berthon International’s brokerage listing for the 1983 boat now advertised in Oban, for example, quotes a displacement of 14,000 kg, against MBM’s 22 tonnes for the Seaward boat.
| Length overall | 16.06 m (52 ft 8 in) |
|---|---|
| Hull length | 14.88 m (48 ft 10 in) |
| Beam | 4.64 m, printed as 15 ft 0 in |
| Draught | 1.37 m (4 ft 6 in) |
| Displacement | 22 tonnes |
| Fuel capacity | 3,632 litres (800 imperial gallons) |
| Water capacity | 1,132 litres (250 imperial gallons) |
| Engines (test boat) | 2 × Caterpillar C12, 710 hp each |
| RCD design category | A |
The Hull and Machinery Layout
According to the designer, the hull’s forward sections and its spray-deflecting rail were refined in tests at the Wolfson ship model test tank. What became the standard Talisman arrangement puts the main engines aft, with remote-mounted gearboxes forward of them in a U-drive configuration. The aim was to allow the machinery to be lifted out easily through the clear aft deck, and to keep the noise source well away from the wheelhouse and the forward accommodation.
Motor Boats Monthly noted in 2004 that the hull was already cherished for pilot boats, and that Brixham Pilots’ next vessel would be another Talisman. Its tester also remarked how flat the hull runs compared with other semi-displacement designs, with little bow-up trim.
Who Built the Talisman 49?
Murray Cormack Associates is a design and survey partnership, not a production boatbuilder. In 2008 the partnership said the design was still in production with the Halmatic Division of Vosper Thornycroft. Motor Boats Monthly’s 2004 report likewise says that the hull and deck mouldings for the Seaward boat were made by Halmatic, while Seaward Marine, which had earlier built Nelson motor yachts and commercial craft at its original yard in Jersey, did the fit-out on the Isle of Wight.
The 1983 boat listed on Hulls.io is badged as an Aquafibre. Its listing, like Berthon International’s brokerage listing for the same boat, says she was built by Aquafibre in Norfolk and fitted out internally by Moodys of Swanwick. We have not found an independent record of Aquafibre moulding Talisman hulls: the histories of Aquafibre that we have read do not mention the Talisman. If the builder matters to you, ask for the boat’s build and registration papers.
Engines and Performance
There is no standard engine for the Talisman 49: boats were powered to suit their buyers and their work. The first commercial boat, in 1975, was a 20-knot pilot launch. The only independent test figures we have found are Motor Boats Monthly’s for the 2004 Seaward boat, which had twin 710 hp Caterpillar C12 diesels. MBM recorded just under 25 knots at full throttle (24.4 knots at 2,300 rpm in its table) and an average of around 0.7 mpg between 1,600 and 2,000 rpm, or roughly 14 to 21 knots. An older boat with different or less powerful engines will not match those figures.
Buying a Used Talisman 49
Many Talisman 49s began life as working boats, and even the yachts were fitted out one at a time, so each boat has to be judged on its own history.
What to check
- Who moulded the hull and who fitted the boat out, backed by build and registration papers.
- Whether the boat was built as a yacht or converted from a pilot, patrol or survey launch.
- Which engines and gearboxes are fitted, their hours and their service history.
- Displacement, beam and draught for that particular boat, rather than figures from another Talisman.
- Any commercial coding the boat has held, and what equipment remains from it.
- A full out-of-water survey, with an engine survey, by a surveyor who knows boats of this age.
Asking prices depend heavily on age, history, engines, condition and equipment. The listings on this page show what sellers are asking today. Browse every Aquafibre boat for sale.