Design and Construction
Harlé's Brio is a fiberglass monohull with a raked stem and reverse transom, carrying a transom-hung rudder on a tiller and offered in two hull versions: a fixed fin keel or a stub keel with retractable centerboard fixed keel and lifting keel versions. The keels themselves are iron, whether the shallow-draft stub/centerboard or the deeper fin iron keel construction. With a beam of 8.2 feet and displacement near 2,646 pounds (one secondary source lists conflicting lower values, so the manufacturer's stated 2,645.55 is the safe anchor), the boat's ballast of 1,168 pounds on iron gives a ballast ratio around 43 to 44 percent. The hull's wetted surface runs about 172 square feet, and the immersion rate of roughly 534 pounds per inch speaks to a light, easily driven hull.
Rig and Handling
The Brio wears a masthead sloop rig of the Bermuda type, with a mast about 30.5 feet above the waterline and 215 square feet of sail. Her sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 17.98 and displacement-length ratio near 181 place her among moderate racers rather than sluggish pocket boats, and the theoretical hull speed is about 5.8 knots. The capsize screening value of 2.37 means she would not qualify for ocean racing, but for sheltered-water cruising that same low number reflects a shoal-friendly, easily righted character. The control lines are modest: jib and genoa sheets run about 21.7 feet in 3/8-inch diameter, with a 54-foot mainsheet and a 47.6-foot spinnaker sheet completing the set.
Keel Options and Draft
The two keel choices define where a Brio can go. The stub/centerboard version draws only about 2.3 to 2.6 feet depending on load, letting her into shallow marinas, while the fin-keel model draws about 3.6 to 3.9 feet shallow-draft centerboard version. Both are iron and both keep the boat trailerable. The lifting arrangement extends her cruising range well beyond what a fixed 3.6-foot fin would allow without sacrificing the ballast stability of a shoal keel.
Accommodations
Below, the Brio sleeps four: a truncated double V-berth forward and two straight settees around a table in the main cabin. The galley sits just aft of the bow cabin, split to port and starboard with a single-burner stove to port and a sink to starboard. The raised deck from the Love Love development gives the small hull a surprising sense of volume for a 22-foot cruiser, and the outboard motor well aft handles docking and maneuvering rather than an inboard.
The Verdict
The Brio is a clever Harlé pocket cruiser that packs four-berth accommodation and a real galley into a trailerable 22-foot fiberglass hull, with a keel choice that lets owners trade draft for shallow-water access. She is light, moderately quick for her size, and easy to haul, but her capsize screening and tiny displacement put her firmly in sheltered-water cruising rather than offshore work.
Pros
- Two keel versions, including a shallow 2.3–2.6 ft centerboard draft for marina access
- Four-berth layout with split galley in a trailerable package
- Masthead sloop rig with sensible running-rig dimensions and about 5.8 kt hull speed
Cons
- Capsize screening of 2.37 excludes her from ocean racing
- Small outboard-only propulsion with 7-gallon fuel capacity
- Conflicting displacement figures in secondary sources cloud exact weight data
