Achilles 9 Sailboats for Sale & Market Overview

The Achilles 9 Metre represents a significant evolution in the lineage of Butler Mouldings Ltd., marking the transition from the slender, racing-oriented lines of the Oliver Lee-designed Achilles 24 to a more robust, voluminous offshore cruiser. Launched in the late 1970s, the Achilles 9 was Chris Butler’s "clean sheet" design, intended to provide a legitimate blue-water platform that could handle the rigors of short-handed, long-distance passage-making while maintaining the brand's reputation for agility. Unlike its smaller predecessors, which often prioritized speed over volume, the Achilles 9 was engineered with a generous 10-foot 4-inch (3.15m) beam, a feature that fundamentally changed the vessel's stability profile and internal capacity. As noted by the Achilles Yacht Owners Association, the model was specifically conceived to offer more substantial accommodation than the Achilles 24 or 840, catering to the growing market of sailors looking for a capable coastal and cross-channel cruiser.