Wild Wind 20

Wild Wind 20

Development
Location	United States
Year	1982
Builder(s)	Gale Force Yachts
Role	Cruiser
Name	Wild Wind 20
Boat
Displacement	2,200 lb (998 kg)
Draft	5.67 ft (1.73 m) with keel down
Hull
Type	monohull
Construction	fiberglass
LOA	20.00 ft (6.10 m)
LWL	18.00 ft (5.49 m)
Beam	7.92 ft (2.41 m)
Engine type	outboard motor
Hull appendages
Keel/board type	swing keel
Ballast	800 lb (363 kg)
Rudder(s)	transom-mounted rudder
Rig
Rig type	Bermuda rig
I foretriangle height	25.50 ft (7.77 m)
J foretriangle base	8.00 ft (2.44 m)
P mainsail luff	21.50 ft (6.55 m)
E mainsail foot	6.50 ft (1.98 m)
Sails
Sailplan	fractional rigged sloop
Mainsail area	69.88 sq ft (6.492 m2)
Jib/genoa area	102.00 sq ft (9.476 m2)
Total sail area	171.88 sq ft (15.968 m2)

The Wild Wind 20, also called the Gale Force 20 and Rinker 20, is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed as a cruiser and first built in 1982. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Production

The design was built by Gale Force Yachts in Syracuse, Indiana, United States, starting in 1982, but it is now out of production. Gale Force was the short-lived sailboat division of powerboat builder Rinkerbuilt Co., now called Rinker Boats and owned by Highwater Marine, LLC, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Polaris Industries Inc. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Design

The Wild Wind 20 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a fractional rig, a raked stem, a reverse transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed stub keel with a lifting keel. It displaces 2,200 lb (998 kg) and carries 800 lb (363 kg) of ballast. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The boat has a draft of 5.67 ft (1.73 m) with the lifting extended and 2.00 ft (0.61 m) with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water or ground transportation on a trailer. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The boat is normally fitted with a small 3 to 6 hp (2 to 4 kW) outboard motor for docking and maneuvering. ^[2]

The design has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin and two straight settee berths in the main cabin. Cabin headroom is 51 in (130 cm). ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The design has a hull speed of 5.7 kn (10.6 km/h). ^{[2] [3]}

Operational history

In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "best features: Offhand, we are hard pressed to find anything salutary worth mentioning. Worst features: The hull seems to be particularly ungainly, though in fairness, we haven't seen this boat in real life, only on paper. The layout is apparently a series of cushions laid end to end, and very little else—not our idea of a clever arrangement. The rudder appears to be a draftsman’s mistake, or a computer-graphics glitch: way too narrow, way too shallow to maintain full steering control in heavy wind and sea (or even in light wind and sea). In all, it isn't hard to see why Rinker decided against continuing production." ^[2]

See also

• List of sailing boat types

References

1. McArthur, Bruce (2022). "Wild Wind 20 sailboat". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
2. Henkel, Steve: The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats, page 146. International Marine/McGraw-Hill, 2010. ISBN   978-0-07-163652-0
3. Sea Time Tech, LLC (2022). "Gale Force Wild Wind 20". sailboat.guide. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.