Safety and convenience were given top priority in the design of all deck areas. All hardware was selected for durability and functionality and much of it, such as the stainless steel cleats and roller-chocks, was designed and made specifically for the vessel.

The foredeck platform has been set up for twin, matched Maxwell Model 3500 hydraulic anchor windlasses. These have plug-in remote controls for reliability and safety. Solid stainless steel fairleads are bolted through the bulwarks to allow the capstans to be used for warping. Storage lockers, either side of the anchor platform, house twin shore inlets as well as salt and fresh water hose bibs.

The teak oval-section handrail has been brought inboard for security. It is available in oval-section stainless steel as an option. Additional stainless steel handrails are provided on the top of the non-skid cabin trunk for the convenience of children as well as providing tie-down points for optional cushions.

The forepeak is accessed through a deck hatch immediately aft of the windlasses and is separated from the rest of the boat by a watertight, collision bulkhead. It is divided into two chain lockers each with its own bitter end fitting. There is ample room for stowage of lines, and the forepeak drains directly overboard.

The Portuguese bridge deck provides protection for the pilothouse in the unlikely event that green water should come aboard. Solid doors, assisted by gas springs, give access to the forward deck to port and starboard. Lockers within the Portuguese bridge provide storage for fenders and lines. A handrail runs around the front and sides of the pilothouse with sliding doors on either side. Forward-facing windows have 9mm thick tempered glass. Wipers are heavy duty from Italy with an integral wash system. Teak laid decks are standard aft of the Portuguese Bridge.

Wide, well-protected side decks run down both sides of the boat with sturdy stainless steel handrails. Fuel fills with unique covers and anti-burp design are concealed within the steps leading down from the bridge deck. Bulwarks have inward-opening doors with stainless steel tread plates engraved with the Fleming name. Spring line cleats are recessed either side of roller chocks for spring lines.

The spacious aft deck is surrounded by a wide caprail and fiberglass skirt concealing engine room air intakes and mood lighting. Warping winches to port and starboard eliminate the labor of adjusting mooring lines. The inward-opening transom door, pivoting smoothly on a stainless steel tube-hinge of proprietary Fleming design, gives access to a 36" deep swim step with nonskid surface. (Teak decking is optional). Sturdy stainless steel handrails extend across the width of the transom. Cablemaster and TV/phone inlets are recessed behind the transom door. Shower fittings are located inside the aft end of the cockpit and are usable from the swim step.

The manual pull for the engine-room fire system and optional plug for Twin Disc remote controls are concealed behind the door on the aft face of the California deck. Two lockable hatches provide access into the lazarette. A teak-dressed step across the aft face of the California deck provides seating and a place to put equipment for activities such as scuba diving. Offered as an option is a retractable control station which folds away into the aft face of California deck structure.

The California Deck features a fixed settee around a teak-topped table. To port is a serving area with a stainless rail. There is overhead lighting as well as courtesy lights and custom lights on the aft face of the deckhouse. Access to the boat deck is provided by a curved ladder with radiused teak treads and oval section stainless tubes.

The flying bridge area is divided into two levels and has three distinct functional areas. The upper level is effectively an open-air pilothouse which features a helm station with full engine and thruster controls, instrumentation and a unique electronics console which retracts into the flybridge structure when not in use. There is a Stidd helmseat behind the stainless steel destroyer-type wheel and bench seats on either side of it, which tip forward for access to storage beneath. An aft-facing L-settee area includes a table and space to starboard for a bench-type freezer. A watertight AC outlet is provided for this purpose. A venturi shield with an integral stainless steel handrail curves around the front and side of the upper bridge to the radar arch. Teak name boards on easily removable star-design brackets with light bars above each board are standard.

The forward portion of the lower level is primarily for entertainment and is equipped with seating for a dozen people around a large table. Forward is a combo fridge/icemaker plus double barbecues and sink beneath a folding lid. There is concealed lighting in the toe-space beneath the settees. A large stainless steel and glass sloping door provides direct access into the pilot house. A larger gas grill and top-opening freezer are offered as options in lieu of a port settee on the lower level.

Aft of the seating area is the boat deck equipped with a 14-foot, 1500 lb. capacity stainless steel davit, which has its own hydraulic power unit enabling power slewing, luffing and a linear hoisting winch (using a linear winch in which the cable is not wrapped around a drum). The boat deck will accept tenders up to 17-feet mounted fore and aft. Also on the boat deck is a lift-up hatch providing access to the California deck and cockpit. An AC outlet is provided for plugging in a battery charger for the tender.

Available as options are hardtops for the upper bridge and for covering the seating area on the lower level. Also available as options are a second control station at the aft end of the boat deck and, separately, an airfoil-section yacht mast for mounting on top of the arch.

With a combined area of 350 sq ft. these three spaces flow together to form a luxurious yet functional area made even larger by the extension of the saloon onto the California Deck through the aft doors. Teak and holly soles are standard throughout as are wood mini-blinds recessed into the window frames. The attractive headliner is Ultra-Suede©.

The saloon is left empty in the standard boat and is built to suit owners' requirements. Suggestions are: a wet bar with engraved glass doors and combo fridge/freezer; entertainment center with pop-up plasma TV, cabinets and bookshelves; L-settee with coffee table.

The dinette area comes standard with a curved banquette, oval dining table, storage cabinets with sculptured glass doors at the forward bulkhead with a granite top. Designer lighting is installed over the table with a dual circuit dimmer control.

The galley features an 18-foot linear length of granite counter with a composite double sink, overhead lockers, ample drawers and storage, pull-out pot locker forward of the cooktop and the following appliances: a Sub Zero fridge and freezer drawers; Miele oven; Miele Slimline dishwasher; Sharp microwave; Braun trash compactor; Insinkerator garbage disposer; Kenyon Touch-Control cooktop with custom stainless steel potholders; Instahot fixture for dispensing filtered hot and cold water; Grohe swivel faucet with pull-out nozzle.

The wide beam of the Fleming 78 provides exceptionally spacious accommodations featuring teak and holly soles throughout and bulkheads faced with teak and Ultra Suede© paneling and headliners. The accommodations are reached from the pilothouse via stairs, which widen and flatten out as they descend into the forward lobby. Each tread is illuminated with concealed rope lights for discreet evening illumination. An oval section stainless steel handrail follows the curve of the stairwell, which also features a mirrored alcove with a granite shelf for owner's art work.

Each of the staterooms open off the forward lobby, which has a custom overhead light and a vertical stainless handgrip. A gas-spring assisted hatch leads to the machinery space below the sole. The washer and drier are concealed behind a teak-faced door.

The owner's stateroom features a kingsize bed with mattress, which lifts hydraulically for easy access to a large storage area under it. A curved bureau with mirrors are on either side of the bed. Teak cove moldings along both sides of the stateroom and a curved soffit over the bed contain concealed lighting. There is a walk-in closet with louvered double doors and portlight, a desk with ample drawers and a space designated for flat panel TV. Stainless steel, CE-approved portlights are featured in the stateroom and head.

The owner's head features a shower stall or optional whirlpool tub with a thermostatically controlled mixer valve in a fiberglass-lined enclosure. It is divided from the head by stainless steel and glass doors. A ceramic basin is set in a granite-topped counter with designer faucets. The toilet is a Headhunter pressure jet, and there is an exhaust blower for ventilation.

The port guest cabin is available with either twins or a double berth with an optional upper slide-out berth. The fiberglass-lined shower is divided from the head by a stainless steel and glass door, and the shower faucet is thermostatically controlled. A ceramic basin is set in a granite-topped counter with designer faucets. The toilet is a Headhunter pressure jet. CE-approved portlights are used in the stateroom and head.

A VIP guest cabin forward features a tapered Queen berth with mattress, which has a gas-spring assist for easy access to storage underneath. A CE-approved skylight and escape hatch includes a roller-type insect and blackout screen. There are hanging lockers to port and starboard with louvered doors and drawers underneath. A fiberglass-lined shower stall is divided from the head by a curved stainless steel and glass door. The shower faucet is thermostatically controlled. A ceramic basin is set in a granite-topped counter with designer faucets. The toilet is a Headhunter pressure jet. CE-approved portlights are used in the stateroom and head.

The 22-foot long, full height engine room in the Fleming 78 is spacious, brightly lit and laid out with easy access to all equipment. There are even lights illuminating the drip pans under the engines. Stainless steel overhead handrails run the full length of the engine room. The overhead is up to 8" thick, filled with sound insulation, and has sufficient stiffness to eliminate the need for support posts, which would transmit vibration to the overhead. A workbench with drawers, stainless work surface and Swiss-made stainless and alloy vice are standard. Floorboards are dressed with checkerplate-patterned Lonseal for appearance and sound attenuation. The engine room is lined with a reflective alloy pegboard for easy maintenance. The access door is an internally insulated, submarine type with gasket, double latch and inspection window.

The two main fuel tanks divide the engine room from the accommodations and total 2,500 US gallons. Two auxiliary wing tanks bring the total fuel capacity up to 3,000 gallons. The fuel tanks are located on the longitudinal center of gravity so the trim of the Fleming does not change as fuel is consumed. Sight gauges show the height of the fuel in every tank and capacitance probes display the contents, in gallons and percentage, on a readout in the pilothouse. Twin Racor filters with vacuum gauges, change-over valves and stainless steel drip trays are standard as is a fuel transfer pump, with filter and counter, which can be used to transfer fuel between tanks. Fuel selector panels provide easy selection for supply and return to and from main engines and generators. Storage bins for spares are provided above the side tanks.

Intake air is drawn in from around the cockpit rather than outside the hull where it is laden with salt. Automatic baffles close off the ventilation ducts at the aft end of the engine room. The fire system is equipped with a siren and warning light and has a manual pull operated from the aft deck.

Naturally the main engines are the most prominent items of equipment in the engine room. Standard engines are MAN 1550 800 hp, with optional MAN 1000 & MAN 1200 hp. There is good access around both sizes of engines and both are fitted with additional 140 amp alternators and a remote mounted regulator. Oversize raw water intake ball valves and sea strainers are conveniently placed.

Standard generators are two 32 KW Onan units in sound shields. Generator exhausts pass through waterdrop mufflers to reduce exhaust noise to a whisper. Special attention has also been paid to the main engine exhaust system, which uses all U.S components and has been designed to keep the boat as quiet and free from vibration as possible.

Variable displacement pumps on both engines power the American Bow Thruster centralized hydraulic system, thus maintaining stabilizing and bow thruster operations even when running on one engine. Stabilizer actuators are readily accessible forward of the wing tanks, and the hydraulic reservoir is easy to reach on the aft bulkhead. A hydraulically driven Pacer emergency bilge pump with a 2" suction is optional.

95 US gallon oil tanks to port and starboard provide storage of clean and dirty lube oil. Tanks are connected to two oil change systems. A 16,000 BTU engine room air-conditioning system is standard equipment.

Foldaway ladders through two lockable cockpit hatches provide convenient access into the lazarette, which contains the water tanks, Cablemasters with cable bins port and starboard, freshwater pumps, steering gear and water heater for crew's quarters. All equipment is located for easy access, leaving ample space for storage.

The spacious Fleming 78 pilothouse has the feel of a bridge of a much larger vessel and is the nerve and social center of the boat. Gently curving stairs lead down to the accommodations and short companionways lead up to the flybridge and down to the saloon. Sliding doors on either side give access to port and starboard bridge decks. Throughout there are ample handrails for security.

An L-shaped settee, raised up for enhanced visibility, is set around a teak table with storage built into the leg. Wood window blinds slot into retainers. An optional, hydraulically operated pilot-berth can be recessed into the aft bulkhead. To port is a chart table with red lens chart light. Of course the main function of the pilothouse is to provide a dedicated area for piloting free from distractions. The Fleming 78 has achieved this with style and luxury. There is space for a full range of electronics in full-width upper and lower consoles. Engine instrumentation and controls as well as the bow thruster joystick are grouped at the helm station. One Stidd helmseat is standard but there is space for two additional chairs. There are separate swing-out, back-lit switch panels for AC, DC and Advisory panels.

Adjacent to the pilothouse is a day head with toilet and ceramic basin set in granite countertop with mirror and lockers. There is an opening port and blower for ventilation.

Unique to the Fleming 78 is an extensive machinery space located under the forward accommodations, which has both AC and DC lighting systems. The cabin sole is double thickness and filled with lead/foam sound insulation to isolate the accommodations from the area, which is 29-feet long and is accessed through a hatch in the forward lobby. Installed in the machinery space are the pumps, water heater, black and grey water tanks and air-conditioning units. This functional area frees up space in the engine room and keeps wiring and piping runs to a minimum. It also allows easy access to key components and makes it possible to access plumbing from toilets and showers from underneath.

The machinery space is also home to the deep cycle service batteries, which are housed in a sealed compartment with a spark proof fan venting on deck. Also in this area are the two Trace 4,000 watt inverters, the two Isoboost transformers, Charles A/B auto-selectors and all the contactors (installed in protective housing) associated with the AC electrical system. The machinery space has its own ventilation blower ducted to an outlet on deck. It is protected by fire sensor alarms and an automatic Seafire fire suppression system. The bow thruster motor and associated hydraulic valves are also readily accessible. Despite all this equipment there remains ample storage space for supplies for long range cruising.

Access to the crew's quarters and the engine room are from the port side deck, immediately aft of the aft side-roof support, via an access door and stairs, which lead down to the aft lobby. This location allows the crew to come and go from their quarters and the engine room without disturbing the guests enjoying the amenities of the California deck.

The aft lobby opens into the crew head, the crew cabin and the engine-room. This allows the crew head to be accessed by outside technicians - and even by guests enjoying deck activities - without them having to enter the crew cabin. The crew cabin has two hanging lockers, a wet locker, one 45" wide berth and a second 36" wide berth, ample drawer space and additional overhead storage. There is also a mirror, desk with escape hatch over and two CE-approved portlights. The crew head has a washbasin, shower and Tecma toilet. The aft electrical distribution panel, with repeaters for audible and visual alarms, is located at the top of the stairs and battery cut-off switches are accessed from the lobby to avoid having to enter the engine-room to disconnect the batteries. The internally insulated submarine-type door to the engine-room has a glass inspection port.