Review of Dark Harbor 20

Basic specs.

The Dark Harbor 20 is a sailboat designed by the American maritime architect Olin Stephens in the mid thirties. Only a few boats have been produced. The Dark Harbor 20 is built by the American yard George Lawley.

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Hull

The hull is made of wood.

Rig

The Dark Harbor 20 is equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

Keel

Fin keel

The Dark Harbor 20 is equipped with a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.25 - 1.35 meter (4.10 - 4.40 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Dark Harbor 20 is 1.55, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.0 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Dark Harbor 20 is about 83 kg/cm, alternatively 469 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 83 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 469 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Dark Harbor 20 is 27.4.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 73% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just above average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Dark Harbor 20 is 4.46.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 100% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design. This type of design is also referred to as 'needle'.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Dark Harbor 20 is 50%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 92% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly above average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Dark Harbor 20 is 289 which categorizes this boat among 'medium weight cruisers'.

34% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Dark Harbor 20 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 11.7, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 13.4.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 8% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / underrigged

The Dark Harbor 20 has more rig than 42% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.

Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 15m² (161 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

Rig

Dimensions of sail for fractional rig.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	21.1 m	(69.2 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	21.1 m	(69.2 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	21.1 m	(69.2 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Jib sheet	9.1 m	(30.0 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Genoa sheet	9.1 m	(30.0 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Mainsheet	22.9 m	(75.0 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	20.1 m	(66.0 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Cunningham	3.0 m	(10.0 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Kickingstrap	6.1 m	(20.0 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Clew-outhaul	6.1 m	(20.0 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Dark Harbor 20 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.