Design and Construction
Aloa Marine built the 23 R in France from polyester, with solid fiberglass used for both the hull and deck. The published hull length is 6.8 m, with a 6 m waterline, 2.48 m beam, and 1.20 m draft. She has a fin keel and transom-hung rudder.
Displacement is 1,200 kg, including 360 kg of iron ballast. That gives a ballast-to-weight ratio of 30 percent, recorded as 0.3 in the French test record. The HN Group 8 classification places her among modest-performance coastal designs.
There is some disagreement over the dimensions. One owner, consulting francisation papers, gives an overall length of 7.25 m, a waterline of 6.60 m, and a draft of 1.15 m. The builder’s published dimensions remain the standard reference.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The fractional sloop rig carries 25.5 m² of sail, divided almost evenly between a 12.7 m² mainsail and a 12.8 m² genoa. A sail-area-to-weight ratio of 21 and ballast-to-sail-area ratio of 14 describe a boat that should be light on her feet without being overcanvased.
The French review also records a ZV ratio of 14, reflecting the same balance between stability and sail area expressed by the other coefficients. Auxiliary power comes from a 6 to 8 HP outboard.
Accommodation
Below deck, the Aloa 23 R has four berths and 1.5 m of headroom. That clearance is low by modern standards and better suited to weekending and sheltered-water cruising than to standing-headroom living. The compact interior reflects both the 6.8 m hull and the boat’s Category 3 coastal role.
Verdict
The Aloa 23 R is a tidy, limited-production French pocket cruiser with a clean fractional rig. Faroux’s design is coherent: light displacement, moderate ballast, and a small but well-proportioned sail plan make her an accessible entry into coastal sailing.
The discrepancies between the builder’s published dimensions and the figures in one owner’s papers are worth noting during any survey. Even so, the boat’s essential character is clear: a simple polyester coastal sloop built in modest numbers.
Pros
- Light, easily handled fractional sloop
- Mainsail and genoa of nearly equal area
- Solid-fiberglass hull and deck from a known French builder
- Four berths in a Category 3 coastal cruiser
Cons
- 1.5 m headroom limits comfort below deck
- Short production run and limited total of 99 hulls
- Conflicting dimensions in the builder’s specifications and one owner’s papers
