Allures 45.9: a practical cruiser for sailing enthusiasts

If you're after a go-anywhere cruiser, the Allures 45.9 firmly ticks that box, says Graham Snook in Yachting Monthly. The raw battleship-grey aluminium hull "might not to be everyone's tastes", but it's "insanely practical" it won't crack or craze, it doesn't fade or need polishing, and in ten years' time it will pretty much look the same, other than a few more scuffs and scrapes.

She's "a handsome vessel", says Tom Dove in Sail Magazine. The 45.9's long waterline, plumb bow and flat sheerline follow the current design trends for performance cruisers, while the deckhouse has a clean, smooth line that melds into a wide, functional cockpit.

The rig is a versatile double-headed sloop with an anchor bowsprit that allows you to set a big asymmetric spinnaker in light conditions. A single person can move out and tend all the controls, while a crew of two will find sailing this boat especially easy, says Dove.

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There are three accommodation layouts to choose from for the interior. Cruising World's test boat was a two-cabin model with a large single head to port off the companionway, and with a technical room aft of the head, which is "really terrific", says Herb McCormick for Cruising World. The interior layout "belies the workmanlike appearance of the robust topside". In other words, "it doesn't look like an expedition boat but rather a contemporary cruising boat with accoutrements that wouldn't feel out of place on a modern, French production model".

All in all, the 45.9 feels "indestructible" in the water, says Snook. She "gives me all I want in a cruising yacht and so much more".

Length overall: 48ft 4in. Loaded water length 45ft. Beam: 14ft 6in. Draft: 9ft 6in (board down); 3ft 6in (board up.) Displacement: 28,224lb.Ballast: 10,707lb. Fuel/water (gallons): 165/111. Engine: 60hp Volvo. Designer: Berret-Racoupeau.