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HARBOR
20 Review
- Sailing Magazine 2000 June
By Shimon-Craig Van Collie
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.
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