Most folk will think of sailing boats when they dream of breaking away from everyday life, and voyaging towards the distant horizon with all those exotic places and ports beyond writes W M Nixon. But some very special motor-cruisers evoke the same feelings, and when you contemplate the potential of this twelve-year-old Trader 535 from MGM Boats in Dun Laoghaire, you can almost see the palm trees waving gently in the breeze beside some secluded and sheltered paradise island anchorage, and this handsome craft set in the midst of it riding gently to her cable.

Yet you don’t need to be in the world’s warmer cruising zones to appreciate this Tarquin Marine design’s attractions. She has been created with all-weather comfort in mind in a successful hybrid concept. There’s just enough of a hint of the trawler yacht about her to give the reassurance of rugged seagoing ability, while at the same time there’s a sweeping elegance to her lines which means she still looks well in the most stylish company.

Be warned, however, that this is not a boat for the casual sailor. By that I don’t mean you have to be a complete techie to run her – she is conceived and organized very much with the reasonably competent owner-skipper in mind, and you don’t have to be a fully qualified marine engineer to get confident use of her. But the point I’m trying to make is that to do justice to a boat of this calibre, you should be thinking of frequent use, and living aboard for long periods as you make leisurely voyages along fascinating coastlines – as she’s currently based in Dun Laoghaire, a proper and detailed round Ireland cruise would be a good start.

She’s pushing towards 55ft in overall length, so it’s reassuring to know that in addition to 510hp provided through the main power plant, she has both bow and stern thruster to assist with berthing in tricky corners. For the fact is, the Trader 535 is a proper little ship. She’s laid out for civilised adult living with sleeping space for just six with two double cabins, two bathrooms, plus a twin.

A feature which genuine seagoing types will appreciate is that the galley is aft of the saloon, which minimises motion for that most valuable crewmember the ship’s cook, while maximizing space with the aft chines in the hull facilitating exceptionally large stowage lockers.

Although she was built in Taiwan and has the inevitable Taiwanese teak in preponderance on deck and round the cockpit, below it’s refreshing to find the featured timber in the luxurious accommodation is solid maple, which thanks to its paler hue provides an additional and very real impression of welcome airiness.

At a practical level, her hull below the waterline was Coppercoated in 2010, and this is still providing a most effective anti-foulant, as well as indicating that she has been in a caring ownership. The quoted price of €317,750.00 is indicative of the size and quality of the vessel under consideration, though it compares well with comparable craft elsewhere. More details from John McDonald of MGM Boats and the full advert here.