Displaying items by tag: Frers

9th June 2016

Sailing Cruiser For Sale In Which Classic Frers Style Combines With Beneteau Skills

The plans (above and below) of the Idylle 13.5 reveal her to be a classic cruising yacht with modern comforts

There are many sides to the story of this Beneteau Idylle 13.5 writes W M Nixon. Some are happy, some are less so, but all are interesting. She’s a 45-footer which dates from a magic era in the 1980s when the classic yacht design skills of German Frers were combined with the technical expertise of Beneteau to produce the Idylle range, three fine performance cruiser – 10.5, 13.5 and 15.5 – which were built with trouble-free and comfortable yet fast cruising in mind. In an era when weird high volume craft with vast retroussé sterns were beginning to dominate the market, they continued to look like proper yachts, and they still do.

This Galway-based example of an Idylle 13.5 has a proven cruising record, but a recent illness – from which he has happily recovered – has meant that the owner has been unable to commission the boat in recent years. Now that he is contemplating getting afloat again, he’ll be starting in a smaller scale, and is prepared to take a 7.5 to 8.5 metre RIB in part exchange against the asking price of €55,000.

Though built in 1985, the boat wasn’t launched new until 1987, and has remained in the original ownership ever since, an example of loyalty which is rare these days. However, one item of equipment which hasn’t been included in the overall theme of loyalty is the original engine, as it has been replaced with new 60hp Perkins 4108 Lowline with new transmission, which will be a huge plus for any prospective purchaser.

The onset of illness led to the cancellation of cruising plans which had seen an investment in sails which are still virtually new, so clearly there are great opportunities here for someone looking for a cruiser with sound basic equipment and large enough for long liveboard periods, for she doesn’t stint on spacious comfort below. As for her hull profile – with the prop shaft emerging from a skeg rather than relying on an often troublesome P-bracket – here again we find suggestions of a genuine intention for serious cruising. Definitely worth a look. See the full advert on Afloat Boats for Sale here

idylle 13.5 deck

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Competitions

The most significant events for the Half Ton Class has been the annual Half Ton Cup which was sailed under the IOR rules until 1993. More recently this has been replaced with the Half Ton Classics Cup. The venue of the event moved from continent to continent with over-representation on French or British ports. In later years the event is held biennially. Initially, it was proposed to hold events in Ireland, Britain and France by rotation. However, it was the Belgians who took the ball and ran with it. The Class is now managed from Belgium.