Used boat test: Hylas 46
Chris Beeson steps aboard a well-tested round-the-world boat to find out what makes her so good
Who doesn’t dream of selling up and sailing away? A round-theworld trip is the apex of our sailing ambition. You could do it in any boat but the trick is to do it in comfort and safety.
This is Adina, owned by Tom Partridge and Susie Plume who have been sharing their world girdling experiences with YM readers. They’re back now and Adina’s up for sale, so this was our last chance to test her.
Performance
Her 75hp Yanmar powers a shaftmounted four-blade Brunton folding prop, and she made 6.0 knots (2,000rpm) and 6.8 knots flat out (2,800rpm). Out in the Solent we had a decent breeze, 18 knots from WSW, so we rolled out 65% of the main, about two reefs, with the same in the genoa. In no time the sidedecks were wet as she leant powerfully into the chop and surged ahead, parting the waters with her forefoot. As tacking
involved furling the genoa to let it pass forward of the inner forestay (Tom and Susie don’t like flogging their North laminate sails) we tried the staysail for better manoeuvrability but were underpowered. Apparently the staysail earns its corn upwind in the light, as well as in heavy weather, when it works with the genoa to add a knot of boatspeed. I was slightly surprised that she needed two reefs in a Forde 5 but it’s prudent to change gears early when blue water cruising, and she wasn't underpowered. For the broad reach and run we rolled out full genoa but the main stayed reefed.
The feel at the helm suggested that a bit more mainsail would have given her a useful touch of weather helm but for ocean cruising, a balanced sail plan and a neutral helm is a good thing as the autopilot draws less power. Her skeg-hung semi-balanced rudder kept her on track and there was no play in the Whitlock chain-and-cable steering system even after all her time at sea.
At the helm
The helm is a fairly lofty perch. Views forward through the sprayhood and to windward are uninterrupted, though one needs to duck down to leeward to see under the genoa, even with two reefs. To hand are the electric main and genoa furlers, Sleipner bow thruster controls, horn, autopilot control, wind, speed and depth data, throttle and windlass control. Engine controls are in the starboard coaming and
there’s a switch panel in the port coaming to manage nav lights, bilge pumps and alarms. Wind, depth and boatspeed instruments are above the companionway and the 10in plotter to port slaves to the 15in one below, which has a Simrad remote in the cockpit. The controls for the electric Antal W60 primary winches are in the coamings either side, the mainsheet’s electric W40 is aft of the helm, and there are manual controls for the traveller on the aft coachroof. Twin Antal W48 winches handle the staysail sheets, though the sprayhood prevents you getting a full turn on the handle, and the manual W44 halyard winch, starboard of the main hatch, manages vang, boom brake and main outhaul.
Cut-outs in the aft sections of the 2.23m (7ft 4in) cockpit seating allow you to slide between the wheel and the seating. Distance between the seats makes for comfortable bracing across the cockpit when sitting to windward and a 33cm (1ft 1in) coaming provides a decent backrest. There’s no backrest when facing aft but a cushion serves as a headrest. The cockpit table unfolds from forward of the binnacle.
Design & construction
She has comparatively low freeboard, which gives the hull a beautiful sheer, but does emphasise her superstructure. Her forefoot is immersed but fairly shallow and the rocker rolls generously aft past a longish bulbed fin keel, which gives her a stiff ballast ratio without banishing her from lagoons. The hull is solid laminate, Twaron-reinforced in impact zones, with vinylester resins and isophthalic gelcoats, and epoxied below the waterline to protect against osmosis. She has watertight bulkheads fore and aft and a stainless steelcapped strake. Her deck is cored but has solid GRP under all load-bearing fittings. The hull-deck joint is fixed and fastened, and capped with teak.
This is the first Hylas I’ve tested and the workmanship and attention to detail are as good as anything I’ve ever seen. Teak deck aside, which is starting to wear a touch, you’d never guess this is a nine-year-old boat that has sailed around the world.
Sailplan
Her keel-stepped, in-mast furling Formula spar has two in-line spreaders, discontinuous wire cap shrouds with fore and aft lowers, a bifurcated fixed backstay and running backstays for use with the staysail. She
has two spinnaker halyards, which run outside the mast to prevent chafe and make replacement easier. The mast has a track for the pole and two W44 halyard winches.
Deck layout
The stemhead fitting is a stainless steel work of industrial art, with her 33kg Rocna in the port roller, in line with windlass, leaving the starboard roller for a secondary anchor, snubber or mooring. A stainless steel chafe plate protects the bow area. The reassuringly chunky stanchions serve well as grabrails when you're moving between the cockpit and the handrails on the foredeck coachroof, and the toerail is worthy of the name. The sidedecks are wide but there’s a fair amount of toestubbing hardware. The coachroof’s moulded non-skid and granny bars around the forward dorade vents will keep you safe while you're up forward, and the granny bars have stainless steel loops for easy halyard stowage.
Deck stowage is in a deep anchor locker that drains into the bilge sump, and a hatch beneath it opens onto the bow thruster. There are also two large lazarettes that drain into the transom locker, which has an auto bilge pump, and a two-bottle gas locker in the starboard sidedeck. All locker lids are rubber-sealed, with gas struts and locks. Cockpit stowage is minimal with four coaming cubbies for winch handles and the like, two snack lockers in the aft coaming and a surface to port of the companionway.
Living below
Handholds inside and outside the companionway see you safely below and there are handholds and deep fiddles wherever you grasp. Headroom is 1.95m (6ft 5in) and the teak joinery and walnut-topped fixed table is lit beautifully by two large windows either side, two forward, two opening hatches in the deckhead, two hull ports and a small opening port to starboard. All hatches are stainless steel and fitted with fly screens, likewise the two pairs of cabin dorade vents fore and aft, and those without built-in blackout blinds have had some made by Susie’s seamstress mother. Lighting is LED throughout. The starboard settee is 1.93m (6ft 4in) and has served as a berth, with lee cloth, for a fifth crew. To port is a curved settee and there’s a lockable sliding seat to starboard of the table, with a removable backrest as it’s not intended to act as a handrail at sea. There is abundant stowage behind and below all seats and in lockers outboard, and a TV pops up behind the starboard seating. There is tankage below the sole and a bilge sump at the base of the companionway with good access to all pumps and sensors.
The guest cabin forward is bright and airy with three opening ports and a large escape hatch. There is 1.88m (6ft 2in) of headroom and a 1.90m x 1.32m (6ft 3in x 4ft 4in) double berth to port, with a pipe cot above that stows in a locker outboard. The forward aircon unit is below the berth, along with drawers, and there are electric fans throughout the boat. The forecabin heads has 1.86m (6ft 1in) of headroom and a curtain separating a shower forward, and there is stowage outboard to starboard behind the mirrors above the sink.
The loo is freshwater-flushing.
There’s 1.83m (6ft) of headroom in the full-beam owner’s cabin. There's stowage outboard port and starboard, and in the forward bulkhead locker – above the watermaker. All lockers and doors have slatted ventilation. Below the 1.93m x 1.53m (6ft 4in x 5ft) berth is a 500-litre water tank, the aft aircon and good access to the steering quadrant under the head of the berth. The en suite heads is to port with a separate shower cubicle forward, which has a door opening into the saloon so that you can get at the aft cabin without bothering the cook. Both heads have holding tanks.
Chart table
The forward-facing chart table is half-Admiralty size with ample stowage inside, in drawers forward of the knees and inboard. There’s a switch panel outboard, a 15in plotter screen forward and the usual selection of radios, Navtex, AIS and battery monitors. She has an SSB radio linked to a Pactor modem but Tom and Susie found it easier to connect their Iridium Go! satellite phone for downloading weather and sending emails. The inverter for the 220v AC circuit (she has 12v DC, too) is below the chart table.
Galley
She has a linear galley to starboard with most stowage outboard, but some inboard, too. This boat has a threeburner Force 10 stove with an upand-over cover that locks into place. Aft of the cooker are the fridge and freezer, both of which have top and front access, an impressive 10cm (4in) of insulation and temperature controls aft. The large single sink is under the companionway. There's good natural light and ventilation through opening hatches in coachroof and cockpit, and lighting under the sidedecks, in the deckhead and above the sink.
Maintenance
‘A round-the-world trip has its own rule of thirds,’ says Tom, ‘sailing, sightseeing and maintenance.’ Fortunately, the Hylas 46 is designed with this in mind. Everything is labelled, from seacocks to wiring, and everything has excellent access: engine, generator, PSS seal, fuel and water manifolds. All the stainless steel tanks are fitted with inspection hatches. Her designer appreciates the importance of maintenance.