Light, responsible and weatherly, she tacked through less than ninety degrees, could be sailed round in circles without adjusting the sheets, or manoeuvred under mainsail alone. Downwind in a Force 4-5, she fair galloped along, lurching a little, but never maliciously : uphill she carried her way, crisply, through sloppy seas of Christchurch Ledge, and generally fizzed a bit.

On the other hand, and in common with numerous modern boats, reducing mainsail area by means of conventional slab reef - ing and a coachroof - mounted halyard winch, is easy for two but a scramble for one. You come aft to lower the sail, then forward to pull down the leech. As we said when we sailed the GK24 (PBO 131) marking the halyard to make sure you can cast off the right amount, can simplify matters, but of course, all sorts of options are possible, and whether you plump fot jiffty reefing, or substitute a mastmounted halyard winch, Evolution will try to meet your needs.

As Alan Foulkes-Jones, their sales manager, took pains to point out "the bad old take-it-or-leave-it attitude adopted by firms in the past is simply unacceptable today," To prove the point our demo boat had a foreshortened starboard settee to make room for a hanging locker : an arrangement preferred by her owners, and executed by the builders on their behalf.The remaing berths are all sensibly proportioned, with one exception: the dinettte-double which measures only 3ft 2inch across. Most couples will find it narrow. Headroom is about 6ft aft, tapering by 4 or five inches amidships. Stowage space is good and the galley well equipped. On a detached level, the odd caravan-style catch was criticised, while the chart table with its toylike supporting chains looked somewhat suburban and has now been replaced with a strut. The general standard of workmanship below, though adequate, is simple rather than sophisticated.More advavanced is the hydraulic mechanism used to raise the keel. It certainly looks a lot neater than a jockey Winch, which is what you get on the 19 and 22. Of course the big advantage with hydraulies is ease of operation, or should be: I found it a bit of a struggle. in that respect it contrasts sharply with the one on the B25 (PBO 160) which due, largely to the pivoted swing-keel, seemed far more powerful, and meant you could pump, in relaxed fashion, while seated at the tiller, On the Evolution you really need to stand up. Still she sailed well, even the 800lb. fin almost half-way up,though were she mine, I think I might make some wedges to climinate slop between keel and box.

Should you raise the keel while sailing, in the first place? Evorution, unlike some builders, say yes a quailified yes, one should add: clearly in spite of an additional 800lb. of internal ballast. it would be foolish to raise too much, in high winds. Nevertheless it was good to see proper locking mechanism for the half-up position. I particularly liked the cockpit. Sensibly proportioned side benches, less than two feet apart, allow you to brace your legs without stretching: raised plinths on the bridgedeck carry the sheet winches well inboard, to save leaning out (see picture Below) everything falls readily to hand.

Construction is touch.Minimum hull lay-up comprises three layers of 450gm CSM, plus two 600gm rovings: decks us a balsa sandwich, gel coats are sprayed.