Jody,
If you are serios about a new 20 boat and can wait till this fall, you should consider looking at the one Vectorworks Marine is building.
As there is no consensus on a formula for the NA20 the Smyth team was tasked to design the optimum rig configuration for a 20 foot cat with a 8.5 beam. While in light air a 1000 sf of sail area will beat 200 They will inversely be destroyed when the wind blows 20. The challenge is to design a complete system that provides the ability to be tuned to run well over a wide range of wind and crew conditions. The I20 and HT18 did not exist a few years ago, but now are creating their own classes and in the case of the HT18 formulas. A base line has to set somewhere and grown from there. The goal of the V20 was to build a platform that optimized what could be achieved given the limitations of the platform size without spending 35K (See Marstroms M20)
Initials specs
20ft long
8.5 wide
300 lb all up
Main 200 sf
Jib 72 sf
Spin 350 sf
Some of the keys to the design revolve around simplicity and ease of handling the systems for tunability to handle many conditions easily. The Jib is an overlapping full roach, self tacking, and fully battened. The self tacking simplifies the crew work, while the improvements in performance come from the overlap and ability to depower without luffing as in the systems currently found in the 20 footers. The main is Smyths square top on an carbon stick that can be easily tuned for power. Ther main will also have reefing capability designed similar to what he used for the HT class. The spin snuffer is also rigged so that no pole bags and toilet seats ride out front, but can be still easily handled for those short bouy courses.
Look out for some more formal press releases coming soon.
The first platform is due to be on the water testing in Sept, and will be racing the FL circuit this winter. If the platform can be sufficiently tested and there is interest, the factory has agreed to produce boats for charter in selected races such as the Tybee etc.
Take care
Matt
