Harbor 20

The scene was a familiar one: a group of “mature” sailors sharing a drink at the yacht club bar on a sunny afternoon, lamenting the fact that they weren’t sailing. It was at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club in Southern California four years ago when several racing veterans, including boatbuilder Tom Schock, past Admiral’s Cup winner Bill Palmer, Arthur Strock and Grant Baldwin, took on the challenge to find a craft that would combine simplicity, ease of use and cost-effectiveness.

They noticed a big gap between the local dinghy favorites like the Lehman 12 and the popular, yet pricey, one-design sport boats. So they decided to come up with their own solution. Two years later, the Harbor 20 was launched. This daysailer combines modern technology with the elegance of a Herreshoff skiff in a formula that has found a receptive audience. Nearly 100 have emerged from Schock’s factory, with nearly half residing at Newport Harbor Yacht Club.

Simplicity rules the Harbor 20 from bow to stern. The jib features the self-tacking Hoyt club boom that doubles as a jib vang when going downwind, and the sail furls in a snap. Lazyjacks allow you to drop the main without having to fold the sail on the boom. An intricate system of pulleys under the deck at the mast feeds all the control lines out onto a shelf within easy reach at the front end of the cockpit.

The transom has a clever swing-out electric motor option, which is powered by two batteries stored forward under the cockpit seats. This motor is permanently mounted on a stainless steel pivot arm in the aft lazarette. With the hatch open and lines clear, I simply rotated the contoured shaft and propeller up and out over the starboard gunwale.

Powering out of the harbor, the electric motor hummed quietly and moved the hull along at a healthy 5 knots. Against a chop, it might be challenged, but for calm conditions, it is more than adequate and infinitely more aesthetic than an outboard. Fully charged, the batteries provide four hours of power. The 24-volt system recharges at the dock.

The cockpit stretches over almost half of the boat’s overall length, with comfortable seating for six to eight. Deep coamings provide adequate back support, and with a 900-pound keel and 50-percent ballast-to-displacement ratio, you won’t be riding the rail too often.

A sump with both an electric bilge pump and a manual diaphragm pump will drain off incidental water in the bilge. Heavy-weather sailors might want to think twice before thrashing into heavy chop without an optional dodger fitted over the front end of the cockpit for protection. A bailing bucket might also be a smart accessory. Positive flotation has been engineered into the underdecks, including a sealed-off bow chamber and either air bags or Styrofoam blocks under the sidedecks.

Also unseen, but worth noting, are fiberglass floor timbers instead of the industry-standard wood. This makes the hull 100-percent glass and should eliminate rot. Schock is also offering an optional nonsloughing, copper-based, environmentally friendly bottom coating that’s sprayed into the hull mold.

A lead keel is encased in a fiberglass shell. The bulb concentrates weight at the bottom of the low-aspect design for maximum righting moment. The Harbor 20 draws only 3 feet, 6 inches, making it suitable for shallow bay cruising. The spade rudder offers good control.

The boat moved easily and tacked pretty much without effort. The full-batten main should reduce wear and tear on the Dacron and keep replacement costs down. Sailing downwind with no spinnaker inspires the crew to pull out the sandwiches and drinks, but a spinnaker can be rigged for the more adventurous crowd.

Racing doesn’t interfere with the boat’s creature comforts. The boat can be campaigned either short-handed or overloaded with rail-sitters, with seemingly little effect on its racing. Some racers have even been known to set up the small table that fits in the front of the cockpit and enjoy wine and cheese as they round the buoy. Instead of bemoaning their land-bound status, those Newport Harbor sailors are now out on the water, as are many of their friends. With the simple yet sporty Harbor 20, they have few excuses not to be.