Jack Giles, wrote in his 1967 review of the design of Ilaria – ‘Every yacht which has been the subject of a long and careful study in the design office, combines the latest thinking of Architect and Owner, and exhibits of necessity many features of general and detail interest which have evolved from the fundamental purpose for which the design and building have been undertaken’.
Also named Aire for a short period in the 1970’s, first and foremost she was built to race: ‘she must be given every possible characteristic contributory to this end – hull form, sail plan rating and ballast ratio’.
Ilaria’s owner, who had built the little Susanna (design number 0290) and who had made a very special study of visible features of all recent successful yachts in the range of size in which he intended to build the new boat, had a very clear idea of the type which appealed to him. Laurent Giles undertook and extensive series of tank tests at the Saunders Roe facilities, Cowes, England. Here the designs and selected modifications were thoroughly scrutinized prior to construction commencing at the La Spezia shipyard in September 1966.
At a time when the fashion for hull and keel/rudder arrangements was moving swiftly towards separate fin and skeg Giles observed ‘whatever success in other yachts may be attributed to the present fashion of short fins and independent rudders, when this was put to the test in the tank, as a modification to the Ilaria model, the oracle gave an unambiguous answer in the negative. So Ilaria can be seen to have a short fin indeed, but with integral rudder.’
The construction of the yacht was fairly normal for the time: Centreline of Iroko and Honduras Mahogany. The frames and intermediate timbers of Acacia: planking – glued double skin Mahogany and ply deck with Teak laid swept planking.