Rhea 730 Timonier 2023 Review

Rhea Marine is a French boat-builder with a range of boats spread from traditional trawler-style motor yachts perfect for life in the slow lane right up to fast, sleek, Euro-chic dayboats.

One of its more interesting lines of boats is the Rhea Timonier series. Timonier is French for "helmsman", and the range taps heavily into boating's heritage to produce a line of classically styled trawler boats disguised as easy-ownership fishing boats and day cruisers.

The smallest of these boats is the Rhea 730 Timonier, the subject of our test.

Ensign Yacht Brokers doesn't publish prices for the Rhea 730 Timonier, so instead you're going to have to show your interest and ask.

The boat comes out of the factory with a rather basic layout that includes the helm and co-pilot stations, a basic vee berth, and other necessary gear such as cleats, bollards, handrails and storage such as wet lockers built under the cockpit floor, and dry ones under the vee berth.

The default engine is a 200hp diesel, with the option to step that up to 230hp.

There are a number of add-ons you can include on your order, such as a pair of fold-down bench seats for the cockpit coamings, a two-seat dinette inside, a chemical toilet and even a fully enclosed vee-berth. There are also features such as coloured hulls and a timber light spar for the wheelhouse roof, as well as an assortment of functional teak highlights.

Rhea’s boats are built at La Rochelle, a French port on the Bay of Biscay that opens to the Atlantic Ocean. If you're not familiar, the Atlantic is a rather large body of water with an at-times challenging mix of conditions, and boats such as the Rhea 730 Timonier are built to handle them.

The foam-cored fibreglass boats are hand-built and incorporate plenty of wood trim that provides an important visual reminder of the heritage of this trawler style of boat design.

Measuring only 7.3 metres from stem to transom, the Rhea 730 Timonier remains unmistakeably a shrunken-down trawler. That means a high-sided and near-vertical bow up front with a large flare running back to a squared-off “tumblehome” aft section encompassing the cockpit.

The Rhea 730 Timonier’s big difference from the classic Atlantic coastal boat design is the semi-displacement hull that sits under the neo-classical version. It features a distinctive hard chine running from the bow to provide lift and lateral grip and a flatter planing surface aft, which combine to give the 730 Timonier a big advantage – it can get up onto the plane and move along at a surprisingly fast clip.

Of note, Rhea’s Timonier line is made to be low-maintenance over its lifetime. That includes the ability to careen the boat, meaning you can comfortably beach it high and dry and antifoul the hull without needing to haul it out of the water. A stainless steel strip along the keel line helps protect the proud fibreglass keel from wear or tear.

The rudder and propeller are fully protected from grounding via a large aft keel plate.

The Rhea 730 Timonier is all about understated simplicity. 

The boat comprises a small cockpit forward, a substantial wheelhouse centrally and a large cockpit aft. The focus appears to be on space, with the aft cockpit benefitting the most.

The high bow forward endows the Rhea 730 Timonier with a deep internal freeboard that’s made to feel even safer via a high stainless steel rail running aft as far as the cabin. The depth is carried right through to the transom, meaning that if you’re pulling up alongside a floating dock ingress and egress is much easier via the transom door if you can back deep enough into a berth. Fitting an optional swim deck would help here.

The side decks are deep and wide and provide easy access to the bow cockpit that’s a step higher to give headroom to the cabin space below.

Of note, the Rhea 730 Timonier includes a sliding door next to the helm so the skipper can easily get forward or aft to dock or cast off single-handed.

The boat has a large SOPAC-style hatch on the transom allowing the skipper to easily check the rudder controls, while a large hatch in the curved cockpit floor swings up to starboard to reveal a very open and accessible engine bay with maintenance touch points in easy reach.

The wheelhouse on the Rhea 730 Timonier is surprisingly large given the small size of this motor yacht. Our test boat was quite open inside with just a helm chair and another for the co-pilot. You can option this area up with a two-seat dinette, but leaving it clear opens up how you use the space – Ensign had an icebox with a padded lid in one corner, and a folding table and chairs for the other.

Access to the wheelhouse from the cockpit is via a sliding glass door that provides a good seal against the weather once closed. As well as the sliding door beside the helm, the large outboard aft windows slide open to provide cross-ventilation. You also can option a sunroof to let in even more light and air.

A handrail mounted in the middle of the wheelhouse roof provides a safe handhold while walking in and out of the space in heavy seas.

The helm station sits quite tall with a commanding view forward via the three-pane windscreen, and all around via the deep wheelhouse windows.

The helm itself is simple, featuring a stainless steel wheel, a telegraph-style throttle and shift control and analogue fuel, revs, oil pressure and temperature gauges for the inboard Yanmar engine turning the screw. There’s also a joystick for the Sidepower bow thruster, a handy feature given that with this style of drive layout, prop walk (where a slow-spinning propeller pulls the transom of the boat sideways at low speeds) is a factor.

The dash in front of the skipper is large enough to mount either a single large chartplotter/fishfinder or a pair of them depending on how the owner will use this boat, but small item storage is at a premium. There’s a small channel atop the console that’s okay for storing sunglasses or pens, but nowhere to easily stash a wallet or mobile phone. There is a large recessed shelf between the cockpit and the windscreen, but it is unlined so things will just slosh around in it.

Both seats are comfortable with fold-up squabs that allow you to more easily stand than sit. They also swivel to face aft if you want to use them for entertaining, and the skipper has a stainless steel foot rail.

Panels on the side and rear of the console bulkhead provide access to the back end of whatever flush-mount electronic devices are fitted.

The co-pilot’s side of the Rhea 730 Timonier is given over to the cuddy-style cabin. The vee-berth is large and the space is comfortable enough for overnight stays and tolerable for extended ones. Our test boat included a chemical toilet to make life onboard a bit easier. The cuddy was open to the wheelhouse on our test boat, but you can enclose it as a factory option.

A build plate sits inside the wheelhouse showing a relief of the Rhea 730 Timonier and boasting some of its credentials, including the latitude and longitude of where it was built.

The Rhea 730 Timonier is wonderful in its profile. The coamings are completely uncluttered, with almost everything, including the cleats, concealed below the teak-topped coamings – a nod to this style of boat’s heritage. Only the bow rail and anchor’s bitt rise above it.

The cockpit is very simple, with a couple of rod holders recessed into the coaming and a pair of rope lockers to either side. These latter two can be optioned as fold-down bench seats.

Two drained underfloor lockers that can be used as fender storage and kill boxes are outboard of the cockpit’s central engine hatch. The cockpit floor has a quite pronounced curve in it, falling away from its forward end as it goes aft so that it sort of sags down towards both corners of the transom. It’s not an issue walking around, but if you plan on adding tables and chairs it will become noticeable if you can’t get them to sit evenly.

The walkways forward provide good access and include a full handrail to port, and a smaller handrail to starboard because of the side access door. 

The single step up to the bow space is quite high and may have benefitted from being split into two smaller ones. Once up in the bow, it is easy to walk forward to the forepeak to access the anchor locker.

The bow includes a single forward-facing seat moulded into the fibreglass in front of the wheelhouse. It’s not padded and a bit bleak-looking, but add a rug, a couple of throw pillows and a deckchair it could become quite comfortable.

Our boat is fitted with a pair of outriggers, suggesting its owner will use this as an offshore sports fisher rather than a Sydney Harbour day cruiser.

Fishing trawlers look the way they do for a reason; they’re built to be tough in a range of conditions.

Our trip out of Sydney’s Middle Harbour started smoothly enough, building to a heavy incoming swell as we made our way across to Rushcutters Bay.

The Rhea 730 Timonier is such an easy boat to skipper. The responsiveness from the helm, both for throttle and steering, is immediate and precise, with the hull happy to hold its course and track true. Open the throttle wider and pitch the Rhea into a turn and the chines hang on tenaciously, providing plenty of bite on the water.

The boat sits on a semi-displacement hull, meaning that once up on the plane it can cruise at a comfortable speed. On test, we saw a maximum of 26.0 knots, but at a steady cruise, the Rhea 730 Timonier was comfortably sitting on 17.0 knots.

Of note, the wheelhouse was a bit noisy. The big, boxy design acts a bit like a resonator, channelling a significant amount of engine into the space. It’s better with the aft sliding door closed, but it’s still there.

The lack of electronic instruments meant we could not complete a performance test on this boat, but in terms of what you’d expect, fuel use would have to be around a litre a nautical mile at cruising speeds.

The Rhea 730 Timonier is a very likeable boat that’s a pretty good half-step between owning a sailboat and a motor yacht. It boasts all the elements of a life that moved much slower than the high pace of modern-day society, yet it is no slouch when it comes to getting places quickly.

There’s also so little to look after. The engine is easily accessible, the teak will need the occasional re-oiling, the decks are all easy to wash down, and if you’re really committed to the ownership experience, the nearest beach at low tide is all you need to clean the hull.

As a social platform, it offers a lot apart from the lack of seating while passage-making – it’s where the optional fold-down coaming benches and a swim deck will make a difference.

As a fishing platform, it offers a proven Atlantic Ocean-capable hull that’s no slouch when the run home needs to be a quick one, and a walkaround deck free of anything to snag a fishing line.

Like the Ford Mustang, it’s a cracking modern-day adaption of a classic and iconic shape that has stood the test of time well.

Specifications
Model: Rhea 730 Timonier
Length: 7.3m
Beam: 3.0m
Draft: 0.7m
Weight: 2700kg
Engine: 200hp (min)/230hp (max)
Engine as tested: 230hp Yanmar 
Fuel: 300L
Passengers: 8

Priced from: TBA including aft and starboard sliding doors; compass; electric windscreen wiper; pilot and co-pilot seats; stainless steel handrails and bitt; floor hatch to bilge; mechanical steering; vee berth with mattresses, under-berth storage and shelving; space for chemical toilet; draining chain locker; bow roller; 2x fairleads; 2x cleats; fender chainplates; live bait tank; forward bench seat; 200hp inboard engine

Price as tested: TBA including outriggers; 230hp Yanmar inboard engine

Supplied by: Ensign Yacht Brokers