This must be one of the best day boats going. There are so
many things to be said in her favour. The only thing I’m not keen on is her
price tag; but, hey! - Business has to make a profit, and today things can be
very tight. With this boat there is no compromise on quality - even her hull is
constructed using the best mats and roving, laid up by hand in a temperature
controlled factory. Furthermore, instead of using epoxy resin, they use
isophthalic resin which is more resistant to osmosis.
Being a strictly one-design sailing boat she can be raced on
merit, each crew knowing that they cross the finish line according to their performance.
Since she is responsive to the helm and very stable, owing to her near 50%
ballast ratio, she’s suitable for newcomers and more experienced sailors alike.
With a 7/8th Bermudan rig she excels to windward and yet her fairly
large mainsail provides plenty of oomph downwind and on the reach – enough for
her to plane. She’s hard to capsize, and if she is knocked over in a squall,
she will self-right, and self-drain. The cockpit if fully self-draining;
therefore she will be at home on a mooring without need of a boom cover.
A great feature is her ability to sail in shallow water,
since, with the keel and rudder raised, her minimum draught is only 9 inches. A
4 HP outboard mounted in a coverable well which is forward of the rudder gives
exceptional directional control to the helmsman. For optimum performance when
under sail, removable closure blocks can be inserted into the outboard well to
maintain smooth fairing of the hull. Little effort is required to lift and tilt
the engine before inserting the blocks, and the procedure can be done in a
jiffy.
There are large storage lockers either side of the cockpit
and a larger one in the forward compartment under the foredeck. Access to the
latter can be gained through a deck hatch. These and other lockers provide
buoyancy, in addition to purpose-built sealed chambers that are filled with
closed cell foam. She will remain afloat, even if holed.
What more could you want from a day boat? Would you like a
good road trailer, which performs well by allowing you to easily launch and
recover her? She has exactly that. It has a tilt-back mechanism and nylon rollers
to make the process smooth, almost effortless, and without getting your feet
wet! (See photos at the Hawk 20 website*)
Yep, she looks very nice.
Links
*Hawk 20
Hawk 20 at YouTube
Hawk 20, Sailing, Racing, Cruising
Hawk 20 Day Sailing Boat Forum
YBW Hawk 20 Forum
Hawk 20 Yacht/Trailer Sailer
Hawk 20 (Bursledon Blog)
Keelboat Index - Hawk 20
Cabin Hawk 20 No 556 for Sale £21,500
5 Hawk 20s for Sale between £7,500 and £15,995 (Cabin
version)
Thank you for the review Bill.
ReplyDeleteI have often seen these boats on adds or magazines and wondered what they are like. I love the self-righting and self-bailing aspect for a day sailor.
Do you know of any other small boat with just these features but with an enclosed cabin also ? A budget go-anywhere boat.
Regards,
Jim
http://liffeysailor.blogspot.ie/
I don’t think you are correct about the GRP layup comment! Yes, isopthalic resin is more resistant to osmosis than the ordinary resin that was commonly used in the boat building industry until fairly recently, but epoxy resin is far more resistant again - that’s why anti-osmosis treatment uses epoxy, and as it is more expensive than isopthalic resin, it is why only more expensive yachts have it!
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