Used Hylas 46 - thoughts, comments?

[paul77]

Anyone with experience or insight on one of these?

Would be for cruising pacific northwest year round in the puget sound and san juan islands, some eventual trips down the coast. I still think I want a center cockpit because it's cold here most of the time.

I saw an old old post by Jeff H on cruisersforum putting it on a short list. So I expect that means it performs well I've found one base PHRF rating of 84 for a tall mast version.

The hull design seems pretty modern, so could I expect it to surf downwind?

The few currently on the market are the shoal draft versions, as they're east coast boats. Two in FL, and one in CT. The "deep draft" version isn't very deep (6'6) but since I can take advantage of it I would prefer it. For used this seems like something I would need to compromise on, or just wait longer.

Based on this old cruising world review http://old.cruisingworld.com/ssbk/hylas46.htm, it seems like the older shoal draft models may have been shallower than the new ones. (4'10" vs. 5'5").

These seem small enough to truck overland to Seattle, though not narrow enough to avoid all the extra permits. Would it be worth it?

[camaraderie]

Chartered one twice in the BVI's and LOVED the boat. It DOES surf!!
The only caveat I would give you is that MOST of these boats have seen charter duty and keel / rudder and engine should be thorougly checked for any hidden defects. You could probably put one on Dockwise or similar if the road trip doesn't work out.

[paul77]

Ah, so the charter business may explain the higher hours on the engines for these boats. (2900-4200 hours), and with a genset no less.

Did it have the full bimini deal? How'd that compare to your T52?

Who did you charter with? If we can charter one first that would be pretty cool.

[camaraderie]

Paul...they are much lighter boats than my T52 but very well put together. Motion at sea is a litle choppier but they do fly!! They used to be exclusively at CYC charters out of St. Thomas but they went out of business a few years back. I don't know anyone that charters them any more. As I recall...the same guy that imports Hylas here also ran the charter business and it just got too much for him.
Have you seen the old Cruising World review?
http://old.cruisingworld.com/ssbk/hylas46.htm

There may still be some individual boats in charter in the islands so that is probably worth a "google".

Also note that a few years back before we got the T52 we also looked carefully at a new 46 and found to our surprise that the older design 49 built new was almost the same price. I would imagine the same is true on the used market and that is also a true cruising boat so you might look around the west coast for those as well.

[paul77]

yeah I have the CW article in my OP

I did search and I found a hylas 46 for charter. That would definitely be an improvement over a sea trial.

The 49 looks like it has practically a full keel, which is something I'd want to avoid. I like the looks of the older 51, though can't find any great info on that either..

Since it's really just us and maybe another couple, we don't really need the space of something larger, it is just for the extra performance and to be at the point where the CC concept works.

[jordanship]

The draft difference in older specifications that paul77 mentions is due to innaccurate specifications. The draft was and always has been more like the 5'5"/6'6" and never 4'11"/5'5". You will find that manufacturers often underestimate drafts in their enthusiasm. Almost always, heavier builds and the extra weight of a cruising load increases the realistic draft of boats.

The 46 was never exclusively a charter yacht. It was always open to private purchase. Around 2000, CYC sold to VIP Charters. The charter business was still good, but the owner decided to focus on importation. I am not sure if camaraderie is completely accurate on these points.

The 51 that paul77 mentions is a rare Frers design. The Hylas 54 superceded the 51 and may be an easier find. The 51 was a great boat but just did not catch on.