This is a serious offshore yacht, combining a lifting keel and powerful membrane sail plan with the yard’s established practice of fully laminating the structural bulkheads.
Design and Construction
The 64 RS uses unidirectional and bidirectional fiberglass sandwich construction. Rather than relying on liners or cosmetic fillers, the yard fully laminates the structural bulkheads to the hull and deck, creating a rigid cage. Titanium stanchions and a titanium pulpit provide a strong sense of security at the rails.
Compared with her larger sibling, the Solaris 68, the 64 has higher freeboard. That extra hull height made room for a more spacious tender garage aft without sacrificing the beamy 5.40 m (17.72 ft) midsection.
The lifting keel provides a variable draft of 2.60 to 3.75 m. Owners can therefore trade shallow-water access against the 10.83 ft draft that maximizes righting moment and windward grip.
Rig, Controls, and Performance
The sail plan uses Banks Sails’ iRevolution membranes, made from a Dyneema-and-carbon mix. A 120 m² mainsail and 102 m² genoa drive a hull displacing roughly 27.6 tonnes. A two-position hydraulic adjuster controls backstay and boom-vang tension, allowing the rig to be depowered or tightened quickly from the helm.
The cockpit has five electric winches, with the center winch dedicated to the mainsail. From either steering station, the skipper can operate the sail-furling gear, tender-garage hatch, keel, and lighting controls. Bow and stern thrusters are controlled through a single joystick.
In YachtClass testing, the 64 RS reached 8.5 knots at 30 degrees off the apparent wind in just 10 knots of breeze. That result underlines the efficiency of the narrow, tall rig on a moderate-displacement hull.
Reference performance data gives the yacht a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 24.7, a capsize screening figure of 1.79, and a comfort ratio of 36.1.
Accommodations
The forward master cabin can be fitted with either a standard outboard double or an island berth. A navigation-data repeater beside the bed lets the owner monitor passage information without leaving the stateroom.
A door beside the companionway leads to two guest cabins. Each has two single berths that can be joined to form a double, along with a private head. The higher freeboard that shapes the exterior also adds volume aft, where the tender garage remains separate from the living spaces.
Verdict
The Solaris 64 RS is a thoughtfully engineered large cruiser that combines an advantage in light-wind performance with the structural integrity of a fully laminated hull-and-deck cage. The lifting keel and joystick-controlled thrusters make a 64-foot yacht manageable in tight harbors, while the membrane rig and hydraulic controls deliver real speed without a full crew.
The accommodations are clean and geared toward the owner. However, the performance-cruiser rating bands suggest that the yacht is tuned more for efficient passage-making than for outright regatta pace.
Pros
- Lifting keel with a 2.60–3.75 m draft range
- Titanium rail hardware and fully laminated structure
- 8.5 kt in 10 kt of wind at 30° apparent, demonstrating light-air capability
- Joystick control of the bow and stern thrusters, plus garage controls at either helm
Cons
- Estimated below-average performance band in reference scoring
- Higher freeboard may not appeal to sailors seeking a low-slung profile
