The people at Hylas have brought us a series of cruising yachts drawn by German Frers and built at the Queen Long yard in Taiwan. I always liked the clean and modern styling of this yard's detailing. They've never built one of my designs, but I always wished they would.

The Hylas 46.

The Hylas 46.



Frers has one of the best eyes in the business, and his track record — from Maxis to Grand Prix racers — speaks for itself. This new Hylas is an effort to update the line and build on the center-cockpit concept.

At first glance at the profile you can see the effect of today's emphasis on sailing length. Overhangs forward and aft have been eroded away to a DWL of 39 feet and a D/L of 196. This 46-footer has an L/B ratio of 3.36 compared with the 3.03 of the Sabre. It's a very attractive hull shape with a pronounced forefoot knuckle at the cutwater and an even distribution of rocker fore and aft.

The rudder is a partially balanced spade with a small fractional skeg, which allows for a lower bearing for strength. The shoal fin and bulb keel version requires a different rudder than the deeper fin with bulb. Both the Hylas 46 and the 40-foot Sabre have staterooms for two couples, with additional sleeping space available on the main cabin settees. I prefer the galley in the Sabre. The Hylas does have two heads and each has an adjoining shower stall. There is no doubt that both staterooms are far roomier in the bigger boat.

When you shove the companionway forward in a center-cockpit boat, you create the effect of a smaller boat below. You drop down the companionway right into the main cabin with about 6 feet between you and the main bulkhead. In the Sabre, with its aft companionway, that distance is closer to 13 feet, which creates the feeling of room and spaciousness. This is just one of the prices you pay for a center-cockpit layout; and in most cases, due to the separation of sleeping accommodations, it seems justified.

Note also that the Hylas has moved the head forward of the berth in what we usually call a Pullman-style double forward. The shape of the bow severely limits how far forward you can push the head, with the result being that, in this model, you get a big forepeak. There is no lazarette, but there are very deep lockers port and starboard of the centerline double berth aft.

On deck there are unusually wide side decks: a feature that I like. Excessively wide cabintrunks can and do create the feeling of airiness and space below; but they inhibit side deck width and put undue pressure on sheet leads and deck arrangements in general.

Center cockpits can eat up valuable volume and, as a consequence, are often proportionately too small in these models. This cockpit has a 6-foot-long well and is 7 feet 6 inches long at the seat top. I'd like a bigger cockpit, but I can't see where to sacrifice room below to make that possible.

The rig is a masthead sloop with two sets of spreaders, in-line shrouds and a babystay forward. I'd like to see the babystay gone, as it's not fun dragging your new jib around a babystay. I would guess that, in many lighter conditions, the babystay could be brought back to the mast and kept out of the way. I would rather induce some prebend into the mast and use runners when it breezes up rather than use a babystay. I like the spring of the sheerline: it is pure Frers.

You can trust that German Frers would not give you a slug. This boat has the numbers and the pedigree to give it good performance. Aesthetically, center-cockpit boats under 50 feet are a challenge, but this one is okay. It still looks a little too stacked-up around the cockpit for my eye. However, I do like the sexy hull shape; and it is for this reason alone I think the new Hylas 46 will make some of its competition look dated.

An updated cruising design that, with its pedigree and numbers, should be a good performer.

Boat Specifications
LOA46'1";
DWL39';
Beam13'8";
Draft shoal4'11" deep fin 6';
Displacement27,777 lbs.;
Ballast12,346 lbs.;
Sail Area1,014 sq. ft.;
SA/D18.4;
D/L196;
L/B3.36;
Auxiliary60-horsepower Yanmar;
Fuel100 gals.;
Water200 gals.

 

SAILINGlogo-115This story originally appeared in Sailing Magazine, and is republished here by permission. Subscribe to Sailing.