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Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Hawk 20





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)

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for the review Bill.

    I 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/

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  2. 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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