Balboa 20
{{Short description|Sailboat class}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox sailboat specifications
|name = Balboa 20
|insignia =
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|designer = Lyle C. Hess
|architect =
|location = United States
|year = 1967
|no built =
|design =
|class =
|brand =
|builder = Arthur Marine
Coastal Recreation, Inc
|role = Cruiser
|boats =
|crew =
|trapeze =
|draft = {{convert|4.42|ft|m|abbr=on}} with keel down
|air draft =
|displacement = {{convert|1700|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}
|hulls =
|hull type = monohull
|construction = fiberglass
|loa = {{convert|20.00|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|loh =
|lwl = {{convert|17.50|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|beam = {{convert|7.08|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|hull draft =
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|engine = outboard motor
|appendages =
|keel type = swing keel
|ballast = {{convert|450|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}
|rudder type = transom-mounted rudder
|rigs =
|rig type = Bermuda rig
|I = {{convert|20.70|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|J = {{convert|8.80|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|P = {{convert|21.00|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|E = {{convert|8.70|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|mast length =
|rig other =
|sails =
|sailplan = masthead sloop
|sailarea main = {{convert|91.35|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|sailarea headsail = {{convert|91.08|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|sailarea spin =
|sailarea gen =
|sails other =
|sailarea upwind =
|sailarea downwind =
|sailarea total = {{convert|182.43|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
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|phrf = 276
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The Balboa 20 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Lyle C. Hess as a cruiser, at the request of Richard Arthur and first built in 1967.{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/balboa-20|title= Balboa 20 sailboat |access-date= 8 January 2021|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20210108232349/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/balboa-20|archive-date= 8 January 2021|url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/designer/hess-lyle-c|title= Lyle C. Hess 1912 - 2002 |access-date = 8 January 2021|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year = 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20210107195500/https://sailboatdata.com/designer/hess-lyle-c|archive-date= 7 January 2021|url-status= live}}Henkel, Steve: The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats, page 84. International Marine/McGraw-Hill, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-07-163652-0}}
The success of the Balboa 20 allowed Hess to become a sailboat designer on a full-time basis.{{cite web|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=31sRT6tbwssC&q=Balboa+20&pg=RA1-PA50|title= Lyle Hess: A Profile|access-date= 8 January 2021 |last= Malseed|first= Chuck |work= Cruising World|date= January 1977}}
The Balboa 20 hull design was used for two 1972 raised deck boats, the Ensenada 20 and the RK 20.{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/ensenada-20|title= Ensenada 20 |access-date = 8 January 2021|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year = 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20210108232512/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/ensenada-20|archive-date= 8 January 2021|url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/rk-20|title= RK 20 |access-date = 8 January 2021|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year = 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20210108232627/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/rk-20|archive-date= 8 January 2021|url-status= live}}
Production
The design was built by Arthur Marine and Coastal Recreation, Inc in the United States, starting in 1967, but it is now out of production.{{cite web|url = https://sailboatdata.com/builder/coastal-recreation-inc|title = Coastal Recreation Inc. 1968 - 1981 |access-date = 8 January 2021|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year = 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20200829192732/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/coastal-recreation-inc|archive-date= 29 August 2020|url-status= live}}
Design
The design goals for the boat were low cost and good seaworthiness.
The Balboa 20 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a fractional sloop rig, a spooned raked stem, an angled transom, with a lazarette, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a lifting keel. It displaces {{convert|1700|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}} and carries {{convert|450|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}} of cast iron ballast.
The boat has a draft of {{convert|4.42|ft|m|abbr=on}} with the keel extended and {{convert|1.58|ft|m|abbr=on}} with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.
The boat is normally fitted with a small {{convert|3|to|6|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} outboard motor for docking and maneuvering.
The design has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin and two quarter berths in the main cabin. The galley is located on the starboard side just forward of the companionway ladder. The head is located under the bow cabin berth. Cabin headroom is {{convert|48|in|cm|abbr=on}}.
The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 276 and a hull speed of {{convert|5.6|kn|km/h|abbr=on}}.
Operational history
In 1977 it was reported that the designer's personal boat was a Balboa 20, named Genesis.
In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "Lyle Hess’s designs are usually thought to be prettier (or handsomer?) than most, but in this early design it is hard to see a clear distinction from many other trailer-sailers of the era. Worst features: The cast iron swing keel, weighing more than a quarter of the total boat and controlled by a winch in the cabin, is at best a maintenance headache and at worst could cause serious leakage in the hull due to strain."
See also
Related development
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Coastal Recreation}}
{{Trailer sailers and Trailer yachts worldwide}}
Category:1960s sailboat type designs
Category:Sailboat type designs by Lyle Hess