André Bénéteau launched this design in 1973 – the first cruising yacht of any size produced by his company. She was a long-keeled, wheelhouse motorsailer and was, in some ways, ahead of her time.



The wheelhouse contained a large dining area to starboard facing a reasonably sized galley and an internal steering position – but no chart table. Forward, down a couple of steps, was a second dining table with a large heads compartment opposite. Right forward was a double cabin. Both the dining tables dropped down to form double bunks.



Her high-volume hull, tall superstructure and long keel meant performance under sail was sedate, but her 40hp diesel gave powerful motoring. Build quality was moderate. Only a few Evasion 32’s were imported into the UK, but the concept expanded to eight models from 22ft to 37ft.