Allures 51.9 Review 2025 – The Aluminium Adventure Yacht Built to Go Anywhere

Welcome back to Sailing Ruby Rose. This is the Allure 51.9. It's 52ft, an aluminium hulled adventure boat. 52ft of pure luxury wrapped up in an aluminium hull with a composite deck. This for high latitude sailing for circumnavigation, centreboard, could be the perfect boat. Let's do a full tour and then you can tell us what you think afterwards. So welcome to the walkthrough of the Allure 51.9. So we can see we've got a beautiful fold down bathing platform here which gives you direct access to the life raft. If you remember back to 2020 in our original reviews, we are super keen on very easy life raft deployment. So that's a lovely thing to see. There is also a hatch there which goes through to a storage locker and a step that is obviously the bathing platform all controlled on a, I think it's really a 6 to 1 purchase line. Another thing to notice here is one thing that Allure is actually famous for, it is almost their signature, is this kind of stern arch. It forms a bit of a gantry, it integrates a set of davits and in this case we've got lights, we've also got a starlink dish. It is actually a very very useful feature and we've seen this on the Allures and also the Alubats as well. So again one of the signature features of the aluminium boats from this mark. Lovely to see and it's lovely that they are continuing this through the range. Moving up these foldable steps we enter the kind of like the aft area, aft of the cockpit. Now this is a really lovely area and you can see there's those windows there that go through to the aft cabin. The cockpit is large and spacious and twin helmed and we've got a lot of really nice innovative features here that I was very very impressed about. The first thing to notice here is this kind of very innovative split cockpit table which in its current incarnation gives you direct access down the companionway but can be put together or opened up gate forward. Very very clever, I really like this, it's also a very beautiful feature. Moving forward again, direct access to the companionway without the cockpit being bisected by a table is a lovely thing to see and then we have this beautiful teak framed companionway which takes us down into the saloon. However before we end up down there let's take another spin around the cockpit. A very very large spray hood here, again supported by a large arch. One thing that we've always shown you is wide and clear side decks, always super useful. There are times when you are going to have to come down here at a fair clip and uncut as side decks as well as these hatches are really nice features that we really do appreciate on a boat of this caliber. But as we walk down the side decks, important to notice as we've said already this is a composite deck and this it's not flexi-tip, it's actually molded into the deck. Very beautiful, very easy to clean and it does protect the interior of the boat from heat. So we've got this beautiful foredeck area here, large enough probably I would stow a dinghy on this for big ocean passages. And then moving forward this is presented as either a cutter or a solent rig with again between the two fore stays a large opening hatch and that takes us through into a locker. Again it's very very well set up, not sure if there is a facility for a baby stay here for a storms jib and of course a small bow split for an asymmetric. But let's take a look in this locker, again looking in these lockers gives you what apart from a perception of size it gives you a real appreciation for the build of these boats. They are built like tanks, draining floor and a large deep locker for stowing lines and obviously sails. But you can see like the way the ribs of the hull are constructed here, this is a super tough boat and it is really nice to see there that this actually acts as a crash bulkhead as well. So again lots of innovative and safety features built in. And then forward of the locker we have an external windlass with foot controls. Moving back around just to have a look sweeping look at this deck there is lots of light going through and something I really do love is these low profile saloon windows that kind of give so much light into that large saloon which we'll look at later. The mast is huge and we'll talk about specifications when we get to that section. But twin spreaders again I really these forward mounted radars I kind of think that they're a bit of a hazard and I'd want ours mounted on the side and another signature feature the granny bars to help you kind of like organize your sails, your sail trim and obviously the lines while you are on deck. Again these are all safety features and this boat is really built for exploration so there's a lot a lot of nods to safety in potentially bigger seas than you would experience when you're kind of bimbling around the Caribbean. This boat has a furling main but it can be specified obviously with a slab reefed main or even in boom furling should that be the way you wish to go. But again lots of sail options and obviously lots of sail material options. But again this boat is meant for shorthanded sailing unlike the Explorer Cab that we saw the other week. Moving back down those side decks you get the kind of idea of how that bimini can kind of be extended to give a really huge amount of shade. And when we finally get back to the cockpit let's just start with the helm position. There is a very large and very comfortable bench seat for long watches this would be both protected and comfortable and yeah I approve of this 100%. The twin helms here have all the controls handy so we've got obviously navigation controls. We have throttlers at both helms and also the ability to control the sail trim electronically using hydraulic furlers. Everything here is very very well laid out and again I could see this as being a very comfortable place for night watches or even just long watches. And one final feature to notice here there is a large power winch here which would be used for asymmetric sail trim and again it is something that you could it is really set up for shorthanded sailing which I Welcome to the Southampton Boat Show. This it's our book it's finally arrived the Boat Life Manual 305 pages of a complete blueprint on how to live on a boat like amazed to see this in print finally so yeah. And what else? Practical Boat Owner just rated the Boat Life Manual as one of the best new reads. In addition to that there is a small company well actually it's a massive company called Boat & Yacht which labelled it as an honest personal companion for anyone who dreams of life on board. And finally Dick Ifari one of the badasses sailors ever to have lived wrote the foreword. So how do we feel about this? Well pretty chuffed. So if you want a copy of the Boat Life Manual check the links below. Now as before let's take a walk through the cockpit again past those two sides of that bisected cockpit table down the companionway and took a look at the interior of what is described as a luxury go anywhere yacht. Now again I do like these teak facings it is reminiscent of Ruby Rose but as we walk down the wooden companionway steps it is important to notice just how much light and airiness this area has. There is two starboard first let's start with the watermaker controls moving to port we have two steps down into the galley and we have a large c-shaped galley with just about everything you could need there is an in this case a dishwasher a hob but again lots of really intelligent features including this little bin for scraps which again something we had on Ruby Rose 2 and something that we really designed and enjoyed using it was very very very useful for kind of disposing of rubbish at sea that it was organic and it didn't take up too much space but again well thought out double sinks which we love a microwave dishwasher and again lots of really good quality fiddles doing work and preparing meals in a galley in a monohull you do need to be able to brace yourself and also stop things kind of like moving all over the place so I do I'm very impressed with these deep fiddles and they would also provide grip there's obviously the the bath or the cooker to kind of like strap yourself in but again a really nice area another feature is this kind of twin seat small table that doubles as a kind of like a chart table I'm not a great fan of these and the reason is that I tend to get seasick if I can't see the horizon I'm making a passage plan but again there is a full-size navigation seat and for those of you who aren't as weak as weak of constitution as I am this would be a good area and I do like the multi-functionality of boats where you can actually create a little area here just for sitting and chilling or for passage planning and navigation but again this is something which is it's just a beautiful area now as we swing around to starboard there is a very large sofa area as with most monohulls there is a large table that kind of like can be extended but just look at the amount of light coming through here the mirrors on the bulkheads give an increased amount of light and again this led lighting it is a very very beautiful and I would say opulent area obviously it's set up for a boat show but I can really see a family or a couple here enjoying this in its entirety it is a very very beautiful boat and again just the quality of the craftsmanship the quality of the woodwork here is something which I don't think actually comes across as well on video but walking down below it was very clear the amount of design has gone into this lovely rounded corners easy access to drawers just a lovely area all over moving forward let's look at the this well it's one of two master cabins I would say the four cabin here is a lovely island bed again I would say that the amount of light just from the hatches in the deck and obviously these large kind of port lights as well it is some area that I would consider to be like it's an opulent cabin there's not a lot of storage here but normally the these four cabins don't have the storage that you find in an aft cabin but as we sweep round there are fans there's an air conditioning control and this boat can be very very highly specced so we've got lovely little led reading lights there there are blinds throughout and again the use of mirrors just to kind of create space it's something which comes from interior design in in houses but lovely to see coming into boats and again lots of light if you remember Teresa's minor obsession with hatches and ventilation when we were kind of looking for Ruby Rose 2 this is lovely to see that we've actually got twin hatches here when probably wasn't necessary but a lovely feature moving starboard there are the Pullman birds again these would be good for crew or for children important to notice actually that these taper very significantly towards the foot of the bed so if you are living with a hobbit or you have someone with a very very large feet this may not be the best place to put them but again they are lovely areas and I think from the large plushy shark you could probably imagine this was designed with children in mind moving to port now we have a very sizable heads again very well set out a sink none of the twin sink malarkey we saw in the other boat and a full standing shower with a shower cubicle again we did not have a standing shower cubicle on Ruby Rose 1 and it became something that we really did regret not having so full standing shower cubicle and then if we go aft there is this kind of corridor area which is actually very beautiful and does provide a lot of storage there's a lot of cabinetry here there is additional cold storage here and it actually provides functionality to an area that would probably could be described as dead space unless it was filled with storage but really nice to see but moving back we go into what is the master cabin now this is a beautiful area again so much natural light coming through steps up and steps down that these steps are necessary but they do provide a bit of a tripping hazard but again it is a very very opulent area and as with the ml50 review there is an area for a sofa for dressing and again it's nice to have separated areas on a boat where individual crew members can just take time out away to chill to read or to catch up on correspondence it is without sounding like a victorian parlor maid a nice place to be to but again overall the the ambience here is just of pure luxury lots of handhelds and lots of functionality added to that now as we move around and just move back into this cabin to have a good look around you can kind of get a good look for the size of that sofa and you could probably lay down on it and even sleep on it if you want to do is sizable and forward of this we have the master bathroom now again we have electric toilets and everything you would expect to find in a marine heads sinks a lovely full-size shower and again if you have the inclination and the money and the time to go around the world this would make a really really good choice lovely teak tap shower great there i would probably argue that that probably wouldn't stand up to long-term use because if that teak does tend to blacken with time so i probably would swap that out although aesthetically it is very very beautiful now let's take a look at what i love to see which is engine rooms this has a dedicated engine room not a bay a room and walking inside again you can see the quality of the layout the fact that everything is easily accessible at eye level so you are able to look at breakers a fire extinguisher system and most of your electronics without actually bending over the filtration system and the fuel reservoirs everything is there and easy to look at and to check so again we've got fuel filters oil filters and that is a large volvo 110 horsepower engine although there is an option to have a nanny engine put in at the same time and something important to see in this day and age we have a shaft drive thank you i am a huge proponent of shaft drives over sail drives for monohulls so again very well set up for offshore sailing now all important things the specifications of this boat there's a start the builders earlier built in cherbourg in france we spent a lot of time there aluminum hull with a composite deck it has a center board which is going to be fantastic for offshore sailing and shallow anchorages we are talking 54 feet beam of 15 foot 10 with that centerboard up and down making a huge difference 18 and a half thousand kilos of displacement and she is sold as a cutter rig on a 22.2 meter high mast again lots of options there for the keels and for the steering and for your sail configuration and as i said before a volvo penta 110 or the nanny 115 or 140 finally 700 liters of fuel and 600 liters of water capacity but the questions you've been asking a lot like what does this cost so the base price about 700 000 euros but as with all these boats you have to add about 50 percent more to get this to sail away and so this version we're looking at between 1.1 and 1.3 million dollars checking the used market we have used models 21 to 24 coming in at about 850 to 1.1 million and the nearly new the turnkey versions again there's not much of a drop in price here so you are looking at up to 1.5 million euros so what do we think well what's not to like it is perfect it is perfect aluminium hulls i love aluminium hulls there are disadvantages to them one thing that they pointed out to me that they have made the deck in a way that it does not transmit heat so the the whole aluminium boat thing with a composite deck you don't have that issue the other thing is you don't have the kind of convection going through from sunlight she's beautiful twin-helmed semi-bespoke gorgeous down below top up above and possibly should you wish to go around the world in comfort and style in a boat that is built like a tank this may be for you let us know what you think in the comments down below and we'll be back soon with more boat reviews so give us a like and if you fancy it subscribe to the channel because why not catch up with you soon goodbye