The Skipper 20 is an American trailerable, "character" sailboat that was designed as a daysailer and pocket cruiser and first built in 1978. The designer is not known.[1][2]
Production
The design was built by Southern Sails in the United States, from 1978 until 1981, but it is now out of production.[1][2]
Design
The Skipper 20 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim and simulated lapstrake construction. It has a fractional sloop rig, canoe hull with a raked stem, a rounded transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed fin keel. It was produced in two versions, one with a standard cabin and the other with a cuddy cabin.[1][2]
The boat has a draft of 2.00 ft (0.61 m) with the standard shoal draft keel.[1][2]
The boat is normally fitted with a small 3 to 6 hp (2 to 4 kW) well-mounted outboard motor for docking and maneuvering.[1][2]
The design has sleeping accommodation for two people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow. The portable-type head is located under the "V"-berth. Cabin headroom is 54 in (137 cm).[1][2]
The design has a hull speed of 5.2 kn (9.6 km/h).[2]
Variants
- Skipper 20
- This cabin model displaces 2,000 lb (907 kg) and carries 800 lb (363 kg) of ballast. With its bowsprit it has a length overall of 20.00 ft (6.10 m).[1][2]
- Skipper 20 Cuddy
- This model displaces 1,900 lb (862 kg) and carries 800 lb (363 kg) of ballast. Lacking a bowsprit, it has a length overall of 18.75 ft (5.72 m).[1][2]
Operational history
In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "this is a character boat of a type attractive to people who think that a sailboat hull shaped like a lifeboat is safer than a hull with a normal transom, In reality, it isn't, at least in a vessel this small. Best features: Compared with her comp[etitor]s, the Skipper 20 has a larger cockpit, with a convenient outboard engine in a well under a hatch just ahead of the rudder, and her simulated lapstrake topsides give her a jaunty antique look. Worst features: Perhaps the designer (who is unidentified in the literature we've seen) expected all skippers to spend most of their time under power. That seems a likely possibility considering the boat's pitifully short mast and tiny sails—exacerbated by a main boom which is needlessly high on the mast. Moreover, the stubby keel is too shallow to keep the boat from side-slipping under sail, and for reasons we can't fathom, the rudder is much too small for effective steering while sailing ..."[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h McArthur, Bruce (2021). "Skipper 20 sailboat". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Henkel, Steve: The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats, page 57. International Marine/McGraw-Hill, 2010. ISBN 978-0-07-163652-0
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