| Development | |
|---|---|
| Location | United States |
| Year | 1978 |
| Builder | Southern Sails |
| Name | Skipper 20 |
| Boat | |
| Displacement | 2,000 lb (907 kg) |
| Draft | 2.00 ft (0.61 m) |
| Hull | |
| Type | monohull |
| Construction | fiberglass |
| LOA | 20.00 ft (6.10 m) |
| LWL | 15.00 ft (4.57 m) |
| Beam | 6.67 ft (2.03 m) |
| Engine type | outboard motor |
| Hull appendages | |
| Keel/board type | shoal draft fin keel |
| Ballast | 800 lb (363 kg) |
| Rudder | transom-mountedrudder |
| Rig | |
| Rig type | Bermuda rig |
| Sails | |
| Sailplan | fractional riggedsloop |
| Total sail area | 143.00 sq ft (13.285 m2) |
TheSkipper 20 is an Americantrailerable, "character"sailboat that was designed as adaysailer andpocket cruiser and first built in 1978. The designer is not known.[1][2]
The design was built bySouthern Sails in theUnited States, from 1978 until 1981, but it is now out of production.[1][2]
The Skipper 20 is a recreationalkeelboat, built predominantly offiberglass, with wood trim and simulatedlapstrake construction. It has afractionalsloop rig, canoe hull with araked stem, a roundedtransom, a transom-hungrudder controlled by atiller and a fixed finkeel. It was produced in two versions, one with a standard cabin and the other with acuddy 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-mountedoutboard 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-typehead is located under the "V"-berth. Cabin headroom is 54 in (137 cm).[1][2]
The design has ahull speed of 5.2 kn (9.6 km/h).[2]
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]
