"Certainly worth noting, the HYLAS 46 gets
electrical panel award of the year both for
"The Hylas 46 is also notable for an interior
comfortable enough to border on plush and " There is excellent (engine) access at the front with further access through panels on three sides, the plumping and through hulls are meticulously labelled and easy to reach" Comments from Cruising World Review of the HYLAS 46
From Cruising World, September 1996, Boat Review: Hylas 46 by Bill Lee You are probably wondering why a report on a prominent new cruising vessel — in this case the Hylas 46 offered by Caribbean Yacht Charters — flags a charter company and not the manufacturer’s yard. Well, when it comes to Hylas, CYC’s Dick Jachney is why we in the United States have ready access to this family of sailboats from Taiwan’s Queen Long Marine in the first place. Jachney has found in the Hylas line standards of quality, value and performance that make as much sense in the context of a working charter fleet as they do in the context of a serious and diligent owner seeking a top product. The company offers the boats on a private ownership basis and on a purchase-and-charter basis as well. The Hylas 46 is the continuation of a very successful run of semi-custom center-cockpit boats. Earlier models came off the drawing boards at Sparkman & Stephens; this one is a German Frers’ design, notable for its modern fine entry and wide midship beam brought aft, its fin keel and its deep semi-elliptical spade rudder balanced off a partial skeg. In the true spirit of earlier Hylases, the 46 is also notable for an interior comfortable enough to border on plush, and systems scenarios hard to beat for their meticulous installations. The cockpit in its midship configuration is high and compact but very comfortable, with easy foot bracing across for the crew when heeled. Helmsman seating is comfortable both when level or heeled and then either from windward or leeward. All running rigging is led back to the cockpit for convenient sail handling. The rig by Kemp features double spreaders and split lower shrouds; the section is hefty enough to waive the need for runners. Our test model flew a conventional-hoist mainsail with full battens and lazy jacks. I consider this arrangement superior to a mainsail that stows in the mast because it makes for a larger roach, real battens, a sturdy headboard and a better all-around shape of sail. Also, with conventional hoist the mast itself can be lighter for the same effective strength. Many view the Hylas line as laid out for charter purposes because of how these boats are marketed, but I consider the Hylas 46 to have a distinct owner-optimized bias once you venture below. The aft stateroom and head are grand with a 60-inch-wide, larger-than-queen-size island berth, extensive storage, a usable desk, good ventilation and lots of room to walk around in. This differs from the forward stateroom, which has a less regal feel about it given a berth width of 42 inches in the center. Bareboat charterers wedded to separate but equal accommodations might note this, but in truth both quarters are private and it should be noted that each is provided with its own head. In the hands of a private owner the 46 is eminently comfortable. The layout allows passage to the owner’s accommodations aft on either side, down the starboard side by way of the galley and the port side by way of the head. The main cabin table is notably versatile — a small cocktail table in its normal mode, a large dining table once raised, expanded and simply converted. The main settee can become another double berth when needed and the starboard settee converts to twin bunks. General interior construction is what I like to call that of a wood boat built into a glass hull and deck, and it is quite well done. Storage below is extensive, and deck access storage is more vast than that aboard most comparable center-cockpit yachts. Typically the Queen Long yard in Kaohsiung has done a first rate job putting the boat together and this is evident as much in the hardy feel of the vessel under way as in any close inspection of glasswork and structural components behind the finish. Construction details are ABS approved. The hull is laid up with solid glass for impact resistance and strength, while the deck is cored with end-grain balsa for stiffness and reduced weight. The keel is cast in lead and externally hung with no less than 15 one-inch keel bolts. The engine is located beneath the main companionway under the galley island; there is excellent access at the front with further access through panels on the other three sides. Plumbing and thru-hulls are meticulously labeled and easy to reach. And, certainly worth noting, the Hylas 46 gets the electrical panel award of the year both for access to wiring and for the superb quality of its installation. We sailed the 4'10" shoal-draft Scheel-keel version, although she is also available with a 6'2" fin keel for stiffer and more weatherly performance if shoal draft is low on your list of priorities. We enjoyed puffy, reaching conditions in 10 to 18 knots of breeze, and we flew a full main and full 135-percent overlapping genoa. Unreefed she was a bit tender in the more prominent gusts — as one might expect — but I ascribe this to her powerful SA/Disp figure of 22.5, to the shallow keel with its higher center of gravity, and to the vessel’s fixed three-blade prop simply because a boat encountering drag responds less positively to the rudder. Her lines, quite sharp forward and very full aft as we noted earlier, are modern and fast; in breezy conditions the combination of a deep fin and a folding low-drag prop would prove exhilarating. Frers’ design has sophisticated performance written all over it. The 46 shows good attention to safety features, which include very generous, substantial grab rails over the Dorade vents, high lifelines, clean decks, a secure cockpit and a sturdy, well-supported rig. The non-skid is first rate. In my Boat Of The Year inspections I did not find safety harness pad eyes installed in the cockpit, and I feel that any serious offshore vessel should have them as standard equipment; pad eyes for side deck jack lines are a good idea as well. She is equipped, however, with excellent teak and stainless rub rails running full length just beneath the sheer. These represent a serious and sensible item often omitted on cruising boats whose sleek, unembellished topsides invariably show the scars of docking and rafting episodes well before their time. The Hylas 46 comes with extensive standard equipment and an abundance of top-quality name-brand gear. I deem her a "must see" for any serious racer considering an attractive semi-custom purchase in a value-conscious production wrapper.
HYLAS 46 CAUGHT IN TAIL END OF HURRICANE MITCH. back to top NINE DAYS TO VIRGIN GORDA BY JERRY AND SUZANNE LITNER From the Hylas Owner's Association Magazine Being a brief account of the award winning passage of the Hylas 46 sloop Suze (ex-Kyan) from Hampton, Virginia to the British Virgin Islands as a participant in the Carib 1500 Rally... including the thrilling adventures on the marge of Tropical Storm (ex-Hurricane) Mitch. Steve Black, who puts together these rallies, had a great phrase that sums things up. He said, "The one thing that saves sailor's sanity is that they have short memories". And so, we (Suzanne and I) have pleasant memories of the passage... managing to block out the 50 knot winds, twenty foot seas, and being hove-to for 11 hours (which actually was almost pleasurable, considering what preceded.) And for all of you who believe in the Hylas boats these is also the good message: "Hey, these things really are great bluewater boats!!". Some sixty odd boats, ranging form 28 to 56 feet, gathered in Hampton for the rally. There was a busy week equipping the boats, since (as we were to discover in spades) setting a boat up for the ocean is quite a bit different from coastal cruising configuration. West Marine was a sponsor of the rally and they certainly knew what they were doing... for an entire week they ran almost hourly shuttles to their Hampton store and by the time the rally started on a warm Sunday morning the store looked like it had been looted. The Gulf Stream briefing, complete with colored charts to amuse us, was right on the money. The stream was where we expected it and the eddies and meanders were right there, too. If (like us) you have never experienced the stream it is an amazing phenomenon. We had equipped ourselves with a swimming pool thermometer with which we dutifully sampled the water temperature. And on a bright sunny day, with a moderate wind, the water jumped from 69 degrees to 82 degrees... we were in the stream. And you could see it... what had been a flat sea was suddenly lumpy. The weather briefing turned out to be not as accurate. They promised us a pleasant passage with 'no significant weather features' Well, at least they were right for the first two days. It should be mentioned that one of the key elements of the rally type of passage is the radio communication. An SSB radio is one of the elements of gear you have to add. Twice a day (at 7.30 am and 6.30pm) there is a roll call and everybody reports with position and local weather and wind. And in return they give us any advisories worth mentioning, such as the one that came at the end of the second day when they informed us that Hurricane Mitch, having devastated Central America, had changed course and was planning to cross Florida and head right for us. Now, a rally is not a race (strictly speaking). But we all know what happens when any two sailboats get into any sort of proximity. For the rally there were handicaps (interesting works of fiction) assigned and classes designated and it began to taste just like a race, except you could run your engine if you got bored... But since the engine time was added to your elapsed time the trick was only to use your engine when the speed drops to less than half of the expected sailing speed. Despite the quasi-race aspect it was a relaxed time until the storm advisory and suddenly there was injected a sense of urgency. The advice from on high was: If you can get to 23 North and 65 West by Thursday you'll be safely out of the storm track... and that meant pushing it. With everyone supposedly heading for this safe quarter Suzanne fantasised that when we got to that spot on the ocean we'd find all the boats neatly rafted up and having cocktails.. No Way!! Storms don't always follow neat predicted tracks and despite the southerly push most of the boats got caught in the storm ... some worse than others. Two boats were lost (although the crews were saved). One, a 38 footer, was abandoned at sea when the five man crew, desperately ill and unable to handle the boat any longer, opted to accept an offer from a German freighter that was standing by and they were taken aboard and off they went to Hamburg. Another, a Tayana 42, was unable to heave to and while lying ahull was rolled and dismasted and the crew suffered serious injuries, necessitating a rescue by the Coast Guard out of Bermuda. There were a couple of other boats that suffered severe enough damage that they turned and ran into Bermuda for repairs. And one of the smaller German and wiser boats turned around and sailed northwest for two days until the storm went by. Suze proved her mettle in those conditions .. all four of us on board take our hats off to Dick Jachney who conceived it, to Frers who designed it and to the guys in Taiwan who built her so solidly. It should be mentioned that we had equipped Suze with a stout staysail stay, a new storm staysail, and the all-important running backstays... a great investment. During the peak of the blow we rolled the main in to match the staysail and had complete confidence in the rig. During the night at about 11, while we were making decent progress more or less reaching through the gigantic seas, we began to feel that we were unnecessarily punishing the boat and ourselves, so we decided to heave-to. None of us on board had ever done this in storm conditions, so it was on-the-job training. But we learned fast.. the staysail was backed, the main was semi-trimmed and the wheel was lashed over (held with some stout lashings). And so for 11 hours we rode up and down on the heaving seas and only once during that time did we take a breaking wave. Suze just sat there with her bow about 60 degrees to the wind... parked in the middle of the ocean. To those of you who have never heaved-to in a storm let me say, "Try it, you'll like it". It certainly was a rough ride. When we got to Virgin Gorda it was amazing to hear of the mechanical carnage throughout the fleet... and these were serious off-shore boats, not your typical plastic bath-tubs. Electrical failures were rife, gear was broken away, autopilots quit, radios went silent, sails were ripped, one boat had bulkheads collapsing, one had the cabinets ripped loose, and one (believe it or not) lost the fluid in the magnetic compass. But no one was seriously hurt, although the bruises, scrapes and cuts among the women who toughed it out down below in an environment like a washing machine were awesome .. they deserved special medals. Suze came through with hardly a scratch. The worst was an opened seam on the foot of the genny which we sewed up on deck while hove-to. And there were small things which seemed big at the moment, like when the bilge pumps stopped because of dirt in the filters. The worst scare came when we 'lost' electric power. We had screwed up in using the microwave and the inverter and the engine starting battery was 'on-line', so we had a panic moment when we thought we had no way to start the engine and recharge. But then we realised that the windlass battery was on a second circuit and the Gods (or someone else) had equipped us with a set of 20 foot long jumper cables so they reached all the way back to the starting battery and we were back in business. But here comes my one criticism: a 55 amp alternator just is not enough to keep 400 amp hours of house batteries and 125 amp hours of starting battery juiced up when you need it. We had to recharge about every four hours. The boat came through in such good shape that after only one day at the marina while other boats were 'rebuilding'. And many others were still out there (we were the 10th boat to finish) we took off for two days of goofing around the BVI (which included a 48 knot squall). After the storm passed it was pleasant trade winds sailing in 25 to 35 knot winds.. complete with a delightful pod of dolphins playing in the bow wave. It is interesting how easily you get used to 35 knots after you've been through 50 knots... and 30 knots is almost 'a drifter'. We even got some fishing in and had a nice Dolphin (the fish, not the mammal) dinner. We would have finished even earlier than we did except for getting hung up on a fish-trap buoy. Would you believe five miles from the finish, in the middle of the whole Atlantic Ocean, we caught a fish trap buoy. We had to roll up our sails and drift downwind (at 3 knots) while our designated diver (Suzanne) went over the side with a knife in her teeth and with great difficulty cut away the lines that had jammed our rudder. Oh yes.. what about this award winning stuff. Well, we did finish first in class!!! And well we should.
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