The Idler

Silence at anchor is not a given on a catamaran of this size, and it is the whole idea behind The Idler. Sunreef Yachts delivered her in 2024 as a hybrid-electric machine, with sail, solar and battery doing work a diesel engine alone would otherwise do, so guests spend an evening without an engine's hum in the background.

Build and provenance

The Idler is a Sunreef catamaran, 24 metres long with an 11.5-metre beam, a composite catamaran whose width is spent on living space rather than on performance alone. Sunreef Yachts' own studio drew both the naval architecture and the interior, so the hull and the layout share one design language rather than being bolted together from different hands.

Layout and accommodation

Eight guests sleep across four cabins, including a full-beam suite with its own balcony, and a crew of four look after them, a complement that puts service ahead of stripped-down sailing. Fold-down balconies open onto the water at anchor, turning a cabin wall into a private terrace rather than a fixed hull side.

Performance and engineering

Two 120 kW electric motors drive The Idler, drawing from a 550 kW battery bank that two 100 kW diesel generators can top up when solar and regeneration fall short, so she can motor in near silence well beyond the anchorage, not just around it. Seven North Sails 3Di sails, plus a Parasailor for downwind legs, show that the electric drive works alongside true sailing rather than replacing it.

On deck and at anchor

At anchor, a Williams jet tender covers short hops to shore without waking the electric plant, and a twenty-foot storage container ships separately with gear, toys and spares so the deck itself stays clear for guests rather than doubling as a garage. Solar panels keep topping up the battery bank whenever she is not under way.

Where she lies and how to see her

The Idler is based in St Martin. We arrange a viewing there, travelling out to see her with a buyer, and once an offer is accepted a survey and sea trial follow before the sale is finalised.