Hylas 54 Centerboard

[mlkirkley]

Does anyone know of the relative reliability of the centerboard design for a Hylas 54?

[Richard Jordan]

I would ask on the HYOA: Archives of HYOA@MILEPOST1.COM. If you do please post your finding back here. I would be interested to hear what owners say.

Most 54's have the fixed 7' keel. This is due to the expense ($24k last I checked) of the hydraulic centerboard option and simplicity of a fixed keel. Fixed keel 54's have better resale value. A quick scan of YW shows seven 54's for sale with only one as a centerboard. Then again, you do get 5'10" shoal draft centerboard up which bests the Bahama limitation of 6'. I have not heard or experienced out of the ordinary engineering problems with 54 centerboards.

[speciald@ocens.]

Don't know about the centerboard version. They must be rare. They do have a rudder design problem. Three Hylas 54's lost their rudder on the way to the Caribbean one season. I don't know if the rudders were re-designed after that problem. The rudders all snapped off below the skeg.

[GandT Solitude]

We have a 54 Centerboard. The value of the boat for resale is higher, and we have had on problems with the board. We are happy to have less draft when we need it, and more draft when we want it.

[Richard Jordan]

Originally Posted by GandT Solitude

We have a 54 Centerboard. The value of the boat for resale is higher, and we have had on problems with the board. We are happy to have less draft when we need it, and more draft when we want it.

I think you are right, and I don't know why I wrote otherwise. I just scanned the records and see more value put on centerboards, maybe. Of course there are so many other factors it is hard to be exacting. One thing for sure though is the fixed keel option is more common, 20 of 23 in the database...

[DeepFrz]

Three Hylas 54's lost their rudder on the way to the Caribbean one season.

Can you post a reference to that statement. I was not aware of anything like that, only one season where 3 boats had steering problems, one was a Hylas 54.

[GandT Solitude]

Originally Posted by GandT Solitude

We have a 54 Centerboard. The value of the boat for resale is higher, and we have had on problems with the board. We are happy to have less draft when we need it, and more draft when we want it.

Sorry for my typo... I intended to write that we have had no (not on) problems with the centerboard.