Design and Construction
Frers' hand is evident in the hull's proportions: a 61.6-foot waterline beneath a 69.6-foot overall length gives the 70 a long, lean hull with a ballast-displacement ratio of just under 39 percent and a comfort ratio in the upper thirties, figures that place her firmly among heavily built offshore cruisers rather than lightweight performance boats. The centerboard keel is the defining trait — she draws just over eight feet with the board raised and drops to a draft of 11 feet 10 inches when the centerboard is lowered, letting her tuck into shallow anchorages yet stand up to her sail plan offshore. Hylas' own construction practice for this class paired solid hand-laid fiberglass with aramid fiber layers in vinylester resin, and the hull-to-deck joint was an inward flange chemically bonded and through-bolted, then glassed over.
Rig and Deck Handling
On deck the 70 carries twin steering stations aft of the seating cockpit and a step higher, a layout that keeps helm visibility clear over a expansive aft deck roomy enough to hold a playpen. The rig is a masthead sloop with a Leisure Furl boom into which the mainsail furls, its mandrel driven by a hydraulic motor. Beyond the boom, all deck gear — winches, windlasses, and furlers — runs on hydraulic power, backed by two central hydraulic pumps. One limitation worth noting: the winches cannot be operated remotely. A 2,400-square-foot sail area on a 75,000-pound hull yields a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 21.5, moderate for a boat this size and consistent with her cruising intent.
Accommodations
Below, the vessel's command post doubles as a navigation desk and workspace, a telling detail for a yacht meant for long passages with serious route planning. The cabin sole is pale bamboo, a light-toned finish that offsets the volume of a 70-foot hull with 18 feet of beam. The aft deck's size, already noted, carries through to a interior scaled for liveaboard comfort rather than minimalist racing.
The Verdict
The Hylas 70 is a thoughtfully engineered big-boat cruiser: Frers' hull lines, a lifting centerboard for draft flexibility, and a heavily hydraulic deck plan that reduces crew workload at the cost of some remote-control limitation. Her construction and accommodations reflect a serious offshore brief.
Pros
- Centerboard draft from just over 8 feet to 11 feet 10 inches for shoal and offshore use
- Twin raised steering stations with clear sightlines and vast aft deck
- Fully hydraulic deck gear with redundant central pumps
- Frers design with strong ballast and comfort ratios for bluewater cruising
Cons
- Winches cannot be operated remotely
- Hydraulic reliance means systems complexity versus manual backups
