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Faster than a Cal 20

8K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  SchockT 
#1 · (Edited)
I am looking for a small keel boat to sail out of Long Beach, CA - which has a bit more wind than most other places in southern California. There are lots of Cal 20's here and good competitive racing in that class, but the boat is quite slow. A little farther north in Los Angeles (Marina del Rey) there are some Martin 242's, which is a much faster boat. However, I understand that the M 242's can be quite a handful in the Long Beach winds. You don't see many Santana 20's here either, probably for the same reason.

I am more interested in coastal day sailing than racing, but still want to race (PHRF) from time to time. Can you suggest some other small keel boats that can handle a moderate breeze and sail faster than a Cal 20? I would like a 18' - 20' boat but, since speed increases with length, that may be difficult (unless I get a lifting keel "sports boat.") In any event, I would like to keep it about 25' or less if possible. What do you think? ** I forgot to mention Single-handed sailing. The boat need to be suitable for that, too. **

Thanks, Richard
 
#2 ·
We owned a Martin 242 for 15 years in a windy area.. they are manageable once you get the hang of it.. great, responsive boat for not too much money.

Back into the 20 foot range I'd look at the Santana 20 or 525, maybe a Holder 20 if you can find one, or a Hotfoot 20 (later refined to an Ultimate 20). The Ranger 22 is another similar boat.

A Mull Ranger 23 would be another good candidate with better manners than those mentioned above. The Ranger models should be easy to find in SoCal.

Check out the Rangers and others here: http://sailboatdata.com/view_builder.asp?builder_id=49
 
#4 ·
How about an Ultimate 20 or U-24?
 
#7 ·
Those were gonna be my next two suggestions.
 
#8 ·
Thank you all for the replies. They have been quite helpful.

The following boats are all regarded as being relatively fast: Holder 20, Ultimate 20, Ultimate 24, Martin 242, Moore 24, Olson 25, Santa Cruz 27, Express 27, J/22, J/24, J/80. Over half of them were noted above. Which are the best for single-handed sailing? I have been told that a Martin 242 is not a good solo boat because it is too high performance. (Is that right, Faster?) Are some of the others also quite a handful and/or require more crew weight?

Which of these would you most like to sail single-handed? Which might be the poorest solo boat?

How about "sport boats"? Boats like the: Melgas 24, Open 5.70, Pogo 2, Rocket 22, Viper 640, and VX-One. (The Ultimate 20 & 24 are also in this class, I believe.) Several people have told me that the Viper 640 is not good for single-handing. On the other hand, several people have told me that the Open 5.70, Pogo 2, and VX-One are good for solo sailing and the two Ultimate boats are suggested above. Do any of you have any experience with single-handing any of these sport boats?

All comments are welcome.

Thanks, Richard
 
#9 ·
Many 242s are singlehanded around here, but not on a regular basis.. the biggest issues are the deck layout (jib winches are on the cabintop) and boat's reliance of some crew ballast. OTOH the boat's basic 3 sail program (no genoas, no sailchanges) are a plus.

However for the uninitiated I don't think any of these hi perf boats would be considered 'good solo boats' by most. The Open 5.70 and Pogo are likely conceived for singlehanded ocean racing, but they rely on extremely experiences sailors too (I'm not saying you're not one, btw...).

"Faster than a Cal 20" was the original concept, and a lot of boats will fit that criteria. I'd favour the Ranger 23/26 and their more sedate cousins for singlehanding, esp if occasional overnighting was on the menu.
 
#11 ·
Of course if you have a boat that's faster than a Cal20, in PHRF racing you still have to beat it on corrected time. You can get some mega-fast nutter boat but unless you sail it accordingly, you are still going to loose to a well sailed Cal20 even if you finish miles ahead of it on the water.
 
#14 ·
A lot of the boats mentioned would work very well for you. I might suggest that you also factor in what other boats are racing actively in your area. Whether PHRF or class racing, it's fun to have other boats of the same class to race against. Also, get to know the other racers of that (those) class(es). Sometimes the personality of a group of people will appeal to you - or not so! A fun social group can make the racing just part of a really fun "scene". Racing, even single handed - can be more than just making the boat go around a course the fastest. Learning from other sailors, friendly rivalries, hanging at the dock or the club after a race or series, having dinner with a group of friends, all can be a part of racing. For example, after our Tuesday night races, we all head down to the local resturant/bar and have a bit of a party. Once a month it's a BBQ at the Santa Cruz Yacht Club. It's fun. In that group, by the way, it's a bunch of Catalina owners, and a bunch of other boats as well, so having the same type of boat might not be a big deal. A lot depends of what's going on in your specific area. Take a look at what's offered in your area, it might make a difference to you.
 
#15 ·
I owned a Hotfoot 20, and it is a full on sport boat. It gets pretty powered up in breeze. A skilled racer could handle it single handed but you would want a sprit and asymetric. There is just empty space down below. The nice thing about them is they are a deep draft keel boat, but you can lift the keel and trailer the boat behind a small car.

I raced on an Olson 25 and it was a fantastic boat. It has a very forgiving masthead rig, and is very quick. As a bonus it has enough of an interior that you could do overnight trips if you like. I have also raced on M242s; they are fun to one design race, but I would take an Olson 25 over a 242.



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