Rhea Marine’s Trawler 34, made in France, is now heading for the United States, with two boats going to Cardinal Yacht Sales in Bellingham, Washington.
The Rhea 34 has a conventional trawler layout, with two cabins, one head, and either one diesel or two. As a former trawler (Grand Banks) owner, I found a few things appealing in the new Rhea. It has a door on each side of the salon, providing immediate access to both sides decks. This is an great help in docking (which I often did by myself), as well as providing more fresh air and ventilation in good weather. It also has side doors in the hull to facilitate boarding, whether you’re tied up port-side-to or starboard-side-to.
One unusual feature of the Rhea is that it doesn’t have a traditional swim platform. Instead, the entire transom folds down (think of the original True North design) so it becomes a swim platform itself while extending the usable space on the aft deck considerably. The aft deck also has two bench-type seats for relaxing, while a door leads in to the salon (giving the salon a total of three doors).
The flybridge has a traditional upper helm and captain’s seat, with L-shaped seating on the starboard side with an optional fridge. The Rhea also has a mast, boom and shrouds if you ever want to raise a steadying sail. (On my Grand Banks I did this exactly zero times; maybe I was missing something.)
The galley is aft in the salon, with a sliding glass door and window opening to the aft deck. There’s a single seat for the captain at the lower helm, and a settee that can be converted to a double berth. A bow thruster is standard.
The Rhea 34 has a semi-displacement hull with a fine entry. Power comes from a single 380-hp Volvo D6, providing a cruising speed of 8 knots and a range of 800 nm. The company says that twin 250-hp Yanmars produce a top speed of 21 knots.
Below, the master stateroom is forward with an island bed, hanging lockers, port lights and a deck hatch. The en suite head has a separate shower. A second, small cabin is a bit aft.
Specs.: LOA: 34’5”; Beam: 13’5”; Draft: NA; Disp.: 17,636 lbs.; Fuel: 464 gals.; Water: 106 gals.; Power: 1×380-hp Volvo D6. Read more at http://rhea-marine.fr and http://cardinalyachtsales.com
