Hylas Yachts is a brand of fiberglass, center-cockpit

sailboats A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

and luxury power yachts built in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

by Queen Long Marine Ltd and designed by

Sparkman & Stephens Sparkman & Stephens is a naval architecture and yacht brokerage firm with offices in Newport, Rhode Island and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA. The firm performs design and engineering of new and existing vessels for pleasure, commercial, and milita ...

German Frers German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, Bill Dixon and Salthouse of New Zealand. Sizes range from 42 to 70 feet. Joseph Huang, the president of Queen Long Marine, introduced the brand in 1984. HYLAS SAILING YACHTS

History

In the early 1980s, Joseph Huang of Queen Long Marine Ltd. partnered with

to build a 47 foot sailboat called the Stevens 47. They named her after Bill Stevens of Stevens Yacht Charters because he ordered so many of the original boats. In 1984, Huang added two German Frers designs of 42 and 44 feet. He branded them Hylas after a Greek mythological youth associated with

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

and the cruise of the

Argonauts The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, '' Argo'', ...

. The Stevens 47 and Hylas 44 foot versions were popular charter sailboats. Along with Bill Stevens, Caribbean Yachts Charters (CYC) under Dick Jachney ran a charter fleet of 44 and 47 Hylases. Jachney split the cost of new Hylas Yachts with private owners in exchange for using their boat in the CYC fleet for a couple years. This allowed the owner to save considerably on a new Hylas. While a former charter boat could have been refitted, in general these are poorly outfitted for cruising and have high engine hours. The presence of high engine hours on chartered Hylas 44's is especially troubling because of the difficulty of repowering. In 1990, Joseph Huang and Dick Jachney joined forces and redesigned the 44 and 47 adding sugar scoop sterns into eventually the 46 and 49 versions. These 46 and 49 Hylases became the mainstay of the CYC fleet. Around 1998, Hylas introduced a German Frers 54-foot model. In 2000, they introduced a raised saloon model of the same 54-foot Frers hull design. During this period, Hylas cut ties with CYC and became unaffiliated with any charter boat operation. During the 2005 Caribbean 1500 rally from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

to the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

, two 54 Hylases lost substantial portions of their rudders. The lower third of the rudders which was all foam and unattached to the partial skeg broke away under the high stress. These failures were later attributed to groundings prior to the passages. More recently, Hylas introduced a 63-foot Frers design which has been extended to 70 feet. In 2010, they introduced the 56 Frers, an extended version of the 54.

Models

Hylas Sailing Yachts line offers H46, H48, H49, H56, H57, H60, H63 and H70 foot designs. The Hylas Power Yachts line M44 and M49. The H49 is a Tony Seifert modified version of the original Sparkman & Stephens designed 47-footer. All others are by German Frers and Bill Dixon. Queen Long Marine in

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...

, Taiwan is the sole builder of Hylas Yachts. For the H56 and H70 foot models, they use

Twaron Twaron (a brand name of Teijin Aramid) is a para-aramid. It is a heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibre developed in the early 1970s by the Dutch company Akzo Nobel's division Enka BV, later Akzo Industrial Fibers. The research name of the para ...

, a Kevlar like

aramid Aramid fibers, short for aromatic polyamide, are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers. They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic-rated body armor fabric and ballistic composites, in marine cordage, ma ...

fiber.

References

{{Reflist, 2

Resources

* Farrow-Gillespie, Liza
An Open Letter To Hylas
retrieved 2010-4-2
Hylas Yachts Review
retrieved 2010-4-1 * Kretschmer, John (November 2008)
Boat Test: Hylas 66
Sailing Magazine * Kretschmer, John (October 2002)
Boat Test: Hylas 54 RS
Sailing Magazine * McGeary, Jeremy (May 2009)

Cruising World Yacht building companies Companies of Taiwan Taiwanese brands Germán Frers

History

Models

See also

References

Resources