20 ft weekend performance sail boat

Hello!

I'm pretty much a newbie in the boat buildning business. I have built a strip kayak, wood and glass fiber.

Now to my idea. I want to build a ~20 ft sail boat with these demands

• 
  Fast and fun sailing
  Can go high in the wind
  Accommodates 2 persons sleeping
  Can access waters where keel boats have problems
  Buildable by me
  Beautiful design, I like long and narrow boats. With nice wood work on the deck.
  Affordable ~$2000-3000. Secondhand sails etc.

So after research and alot of reading. This is what I've come up with:

A 20ft with 5-6ft beam. Flat bottom, using centerboard or chinerunners. Ballast . Hull built with plywood sandwich construction or maybe single plywood. Laminated with glass fiber. Deck built with strips and laminated.

Wooden mast, for aesthetics . Reading about sails. Junk, Lug or regular I'm not sure yet. I value performance and easy handling for solo sailing. Input is welcome.

My next step is building models in some kind of foam material. To get a feel for the design idea and maybe a hint on stability and performance.

I'm inspired by Matt Layden's boats, for example Paradox. But I would want it longer and not completely over built. Plus I want to put in work in making beautiful wood work on the deck.

My biggest concerns and what I focus on reading on is how to build a boat that sails good and fast. And what designs elements that promotes this.

Feedback and ideas are welcome

Best regards
/ Jonas

 

The trailer will cost $3000. The sails close to $1000 for very ordinary ones- not fast ones. Deck hardware for anything that pretends to be fast will cost in the $1000s. You'll want a motor- used for $500 if it's decent. Try Ruell Parker's Sharpie book. His crab skiff is elegant but small, no camping. You'll probable go through $2000 worth of supplies such as rags and gloves and cleaners and sandpaper and plastic sheets and tools building the boat. The fairing and paint materials alone might run a $1000 for a 20'. Will you be paying a storage or rent fee? It will cost you twice as much to build a hull as buying a comparable one new because of the cost of buying retail. A used glass boat and trailer could be had in your price range. Check out old Compact 16, Precision 17, Peep Hen. Also check out here-

http://www.shortypen.com/sailboat-guide/pocket-cruiser/

Take the time to acquire some study plans for some small boats. They are very cheap. They will usually indicate a build cost and (optimistic) build time.
After getting sidetracked a couple times, I finally got my first build in the water nine years after I started it. It had lived in five states before it ever got wet.

All small boats are fun to sail. It's more fun sailing than mowing the grass. Find a versatile boat that you are happy spending a lot of time in. It doesn't have to be perfect when you launch it. It just has to float. You can spent the next twenty years tricking it out with fancy woodwork. Considering your cost restriction, I'd look at 15-16 footers.

I'm not trying to discourage you from building a boat, but if you want a fast 20' cruiser with some nice woodworking touches, you might want to budget $6000/yr for the next five years. Check out the 550 also. There is a lot of good contemporary home build data on it.

 

Thanks for your reply. Thing is. The project is to build and design a boat. I already own a boat 22ft so buying a new is not my intention.

I've might have understated my budget. Nothing that I can't reevaluate. And it's not the thing here I have access to tools and some materials. And I know what I spent building a 5.8 m kayak.

And plywood, glass fiber and epoxi isn't all that expensive. I know all the extra fuzz will cost. I can buy a used sail for $200. Won't give me performance maybe, but it will sail.

I'd rather take criticism and ideas regarding sail types, hull design and centerboard/chinerunners/keel discussions.

Ps what is 550 referring to?

 

Take a course and in a few years, you'll have the skills necessary to design a fast 20' weekender boat. It will not be really fast, as your SOR has limited this to a degree, but you will have the understanding necessary to develop a middle of the road preformance oriented sailor.

 

http://www.i550sportboat.com/