The Ultimate sport boat
Published Thursday, October 30, 1997, in the Miami Herald

By JAMES HESKETH
For The Herald

``I guess this would be the nautical equivalent to the sport car,'' said my friend, Dave Holland. ``If you think of most boats as Ford Fairlanes, this one would be a Mazda Miata. It is fast and fun. A good boat for first-time owners or experienced racers.''

He was talking about the Ultimate 20, one of the new breed of sailboats born in the 1990s commonly referred to as a sport boats.

Introduced in 1994, the Ultimate 20 was named the 1995 Boat of the Year by Sailing World magazine in the Handicap Racer / Sport Boat category.

The philosophy behind this boat can best be summed up by Jeff Canepa, president of Ultimate Sailboats International: ``Back in the late 1980s, we looked at the keelboat market and saw big, expensive sailboats that were long on cost and short on excitement. We discovered there was a large group of sailors looking for a boat that was fun, affordable, trailerable and easy to launch and sail.''

Dave and I were at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club on a blustery morning, getting an Ultimate 20 owned by Bill Ellis ready to sail. The first thing that impressed me was how easily this was done. Even though I had never seen this boat before and Dave had only been in it a few times and was not completely familiar with the set-up, we had it rigged and sailing in about 45 minutes. With practice that time could probably be cut in half.

This is a fun boat to sail. Weighing only 1,200 pounds and carrying a 205-square-foot mainsail, a 100-square-foot roller furling jib and a 452-square-foot asymmetrical spinnaker, it is fast. We could actually feel the boat accelerate when the breeze freshened. A deck-mounted sprit makes it possible for a short-handed crew to safely use the spinnaker. It can be raised, jibed, and lowered by one person without leaving the cockpit.

The relatively wide beam of eight feet, the flat planing hull and 450-pound bulb keel make this a very stable boat. The hull-deck joint folds outboard forming a three-inch lip that makes a great hand-hold when the boat is healed over. That lip also doubles as a deflector for any spray that would normally find its way into the boat. We did not get splashed once while sailing in 15-knot breezes.

The large open cockpit could easily accommodate four adults. Dave and I found plenty of room even with my Golden Retriever, Merlin, stretched-out between our legs.

There are some real nice convenience features on this boat, one of which is a built-in cockpit storage box that could be used as a cooler. An unobtrusive mount at the aft end of the cockpit holds a removable bracket for an outboard motor. A lightweight three-horsepower motor would be plenty for this boat. The open design of the cockpit allows for easy boarding after swimming.

In the cabin there are four berths for sleeping, and room enough for a port-a-potty. While this is not a boat for extended cruising, with a cooler and one of those small portable barbecue grills, weekend trips on the bay and in the Keys could be very enjoyable. With a combined boat and trailer weight of 1,750 pounds, almost any four-cylinder car could tow and launch this boat anywhere in Florida.

For those interested in racing this as a one-design class boat. There are five regional districts in the United States that schedule events. This year the national regatta was held in St. Petersburg. This is a new design that is growing in popularity throughout the U.S. and Europe. In April of this year there were 58 boats in 30 states, by October there were more than 100. There are 10 boats in Europe. A new manufacturing plant has just started production in Italy. For sailors not able to compete in class races, PHRF (performance handicap rating formula) ratings are available for racing in mixed-fleets.

USI is unique in that it is the only boat builder to guarantee complete satisfaction of their boats with a written buy-back guarantee. The base price for a new Ultimate 20 is $24,800 with trailer. A package with all optional equipment runs $27,000. USI also will act as a contact between owners wishing to sell their boats and buyers looking for used boats. Right now there are about three used Ultimate 20s for sale around the country. They are priced between $19,000 to $22,000