Practical Boat Owner - June 2018

BOATS

Boat LOD Beam

Cape Cutter 19 5.80m 2.20m

Windhunter 19 5.80m 2.20m

Shrimper 19 5.86m 2.18m

Bay Cruiser 20 6.17m 2.32m

Beneteau First 20 6.25m 2.48m

Norfolk Gypsy 20 6.10m 2.30m

Red Fox 200 6.17m 2.50m

Jeanneau Sun 2000 6.64m 2.55m

Norfolk Gypsy 20
The Norfolk Gypsy is a classic 20ft
(6.10m) gunter-rigged micro-cruiser with a
high-peaked gaff, spruce spars, bronze
fittings and hardwood trimmings. Her hull
is hand-laid GRP, and for stability
combines internal ballast with firm bilges.
A shallow draught and bilge runners
enable her to be beached comfortably.
The modest gaff rig offers a fair
performance in light airs and strong
winds, and she’s easy to handle, even in
rough weather. In gusts, the lightweight,
flexible gaff tends to bow around the mast,
automatically flattening the sail. Tweaking
the peak halyard also allows you to make
useful sail shape adjustments, while the
slab-reefed mainsail and genoa furler
make reefing easier and safer. The
centreboard is lowered and raised by a
winch, with the control rope led into the
cockpit for the helmsman.
Her deep cockpit is roomy enough for
six, although four is more sensible.
Everything is to hand for the helmsman,
with the mainsheet aft and jib cam cleats
atop each coaming. Being below the
waterline it isn’t self-draining, but a manual
bilge pump is supplied.
Decks are moulded non-slip, while the
cabin top has Treadmaster. The foredeck
is lowered to provide a safe working area

and there is a stout Samson post.

Below, her sitting room-only interior is

cosy with plenty of nice wood, although

white deckhead and hull sides plus several

portholes brighten it up. A GRP furniture

moulding incorporates the berths, galley

and lockers, and a child-size vee-berth

adjoins the two adult-length saloon settees.

The centreboard intrudes into the footwell

a little, but there’s a swing-out table

around the kingpost and a small chart

table aft, below which is the optional loo.

There are outboard (6-8hp) and inboard

(Yanmar 10hp) motor options. The former

in a well ahead of the rudder, the latter

situated under the bridge deck.

Contact Neil Thompson Boats, 01263

741172, http://www.neilthompsonboats.co.uk

Bay Cruiser 20
Apparently, the initial plan was to fit a
cabin to the Bay Raider 20 (featured last
month), but it quickly transpired it would
require a taller cabin for sufficient
headroom, making her less attractive and,
more importantly, less stable. So instead a
brand-new hull was developed with a
wider beam and higher freeboard.
Construction is an epoxy composite of
ply, GRP and Airex polymer foam to
produce a very strong, yet very lightweight
(451kg dry) boat that can be towed by a
saloon car on an unbraked trailer.
Like the BR20 she is water ballasted,
storing 400kg of water in two tanks
beneath the waterline, which fill
automatically when launched. A high-
capacity hand pump allows them to be
emptied afloat, or they drain by gravity
when recovered to the trailer.

The ketch rig enables her to sail in

windier conditions under mizzen and jib

alone, and means the sails are small and

easy to handle. Unlike the BR20 she

comes with a one-piece carbon mast and

a conventional boom for easy reefing. All

sail controls lead into the cockpit, which

has angled coamings for comfort and is

sized to allow the crew to brace against

the seat opposite. An optional sprayhood

covers half the cockpit, providing shelter

for crew and helmsman alike. She will

accommodate a 6hp outboard in her

centreline well, which can be tilted up out

of the water when sailing. On the foredeck

raised bulwarks offer security and there

are two lockers plus a stout Samson post.

Below, she has a large vee-berth forward

and one quarter berth under the cockpit

seating to port. A small galley unit sits

between the two, while to starboard is a

Other boats to consider

Caravela 22

Jaguar 21/22

Hunter Sonata 21

Etap 20

Prelude 19

Pippin 20

Seal 22

Galion 22

Mirror Offshore (19)

Westerly Nimrod 18

Teliga 20

Dehler 22

short settee, allowing for a deep cockpit

locker. The centreboard is disguised by a

folding saloon table and there’s room for a

portable toilet under the bridge deck.

Storage is underneath the seats and

berths, and behind backrests. A 40-litre,

hand-pumped freshwater system is

optional, as is cabin lighting, and the

layout can be customised to a degree.

Contact Swallow Yachts, 01239 615482,

http://www.swallowyachts.com

Neil Foster/Waterfront Yachting

Norfolk Gypsy 20

micro-cruiser

Bay Cruiser 20

features high tech

construction