The Eolia 25 is a French trailerable sailboat that was designed by Philippe Briand as a coastal cruiser and first built in 1983.Henkel, Steve: The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats, page 349. International Marine/McGraw-Hill, 2010.
Production The design was built by Jeanneau in France from 1983 until 1989, with 1288 boats completed, but it is now out of production.
Design The Eolia 25 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of single skin fiberglass polyester, with wood trim. It has a masthead sloop rig, with aluminum spars and wire standing rigging. It has a deck-stepped mast and a single set of unswept spreaders. The hull has a raked stem, a plumb transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed fin keel or, optionally a stub keel and centerboard. The fin keel version displaces and carries of cast iron ballast, while the stub keel and centerboard version displaces and carries of cast iron ballast, with a steel centerboard.
The keel-equipped version of the boat has a draft of , while the centreboard-equipped version has a draft of with the centerboard extended and with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water or ground transportation on a trailer.
The boat is fitted with a Japanese Yanmar diesel engine of , or an optional outboard motor for docking and maneuvering. The fuel tank holds .
The design has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow around a drop-down dinette table and an aft cabin with a double berth on the port side. The galley is located on the port side just forward of the companionway ladder. The galley is L-shaped and is equipped with a two-burner stove, a icebox and a sink. A navigation station is opposite the galley, on the starboard side. The enclosed head is located just aft of the companionway on the starboard side. The fresh water tank has a capacity of . Cabin headroom is .
For sailing downwind the design may be equipped with a symmetrical spinnaker of .
The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 243 and a hull speed of .
Operational history In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "the Jeanneau Eolia 25 was available either as a fin keeler (fixed draft 4' 9", shown here) or as a keel-centerboarder (draft 2' 7" board up, or 5' 11" board down). Although an outboard was an option, a high percentage of the boats sold have a raw-water-cooled Yanmar 1GM1O diesel of 7.5 hp. Either choice should power the Eolia 25 at hull speed. Best features: We think the layout is quite clever, with a double berth aft under the cockpit, an enclosed stand-up head in the highest location in the cabin, a modest-sized but practical nav station, and a U-shaped dining area seating up to 7 of 8 souls for that relaxing after-the-race beverage. The table slides down on the mast compression strut to form the center portion of a double berth, The arrangement below makes the cabin seem quite airy and pleas- ant, despite a too-small forward hatch and no opening ports, Worst features: We can't imagine why this boat has a PHRF rating 30 to 40 seconds a mile higher than her comp[etitor]s. We don't think she deserves such harsh treatment."
See also List of sailing boat types
References