"Not bad for a sheep that can move like a lion."
[ST. PETERSBURG FLORIDA] THE INAUGURAL NOODTM Regatta this past February offered a three-day intense sailing review of the Ultimate 20. In my eyes this boat represents a perfect opportunity for the club-level sailor to step up into a sportboat design without fear of being overpowered or intimated, by combining quick, light-air performance with manageable speed and control when wind is more than 20 knots.
One of the features of sportboat design is the crew never has to leave the cockpit during racing maneuvers. The jib furls with a below-deck furler, and the asymmetrical spinnakers require no on-deck work. This very manageable 20-footer has been optimized for all round performance without developing into a lion in sheep's clothing when the breeze really kicks in.
The aluminum rig with swept single spreaders and no backstay is easy to step and tune. If the boat is being drysailed, the retractable keel allows the hull to sit very low on the trailer with cleaning and boat care being performed from the ground instead of six to eight feet up in the air. At 1,100 displacement, two people can easily roll the boat anywhere with simple ease.
1st race
Before setting out for the first race, we were told 450 pounds on a Loos gauge is a magical setting for heavy air. We were not able to hear what the light air setting was, so we improvised. The first race was a picture-perfect day off of St. Petersburg Yacht Club with clear skies, a slight chop (the famous Tampa chop) and a warm breeze blowing 15 knots out of the north.
Our prerace tune-up did not give us any reason to change the rig tune, and we started our first race with eight Ultimate 20's on the line. Within a few minutes we settled down. I was impressed that the boat tracked well in the changing conditions, puff on or off, combined with the chop. It didn't hurt that we were first at the mark with the feeling of now what. A veteran of the class, Gene Hinkel, quickly showed us we were doing something wrong and before we knew it he was inches off our transom. The class asymmetric spinnaker design is flatter than a purpose-built runner. Class veterans ease the tack line two to three feet to increase power and rotate the sail out to weather. After this quick lesson, everyone in the class sailed more evenly. Fortunately we hung on to win the race.
2nd race
The wind was spotty. We loosened the rig four turns on the uppers and two on the lowers. We discovered when the breeze was on 15 knots we could hold our own. It was in the weaker breeze we excelled with the softer tune (more sag in the headstay) and powerful jib. Even in club boats simple tuning a turn here or there can make anyone faster. Unfortunately Gene Hinkel gave us a lesson downwind again. He won this race on pure downwind speed. We were watching and hopefully learning.
At the famous after race party all crews gathered for informal introductions and banter. We hoped to learn more about our own shortcomings and the unique features of the boat. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Dick Martin, reigning Ultimate20 Champion, crewed here and provided several pointers about sailing the boat. We eagerly waited the next day's racing.
The race is on
Saturday turned into a very light day with the first race being abandoned as the time limit expired. The race committee was persistent and eventually a light breeze offered the opportunity to start a fair race. We decided to set the rig up loosening it a further 10 and 5 turns off of the high wind setting. The lose setting proved to be fast with us sailing most of the race the wrong way, fast. On the second-to-last leg (a leeward leg) we were solidly in last. The lessons learned and given on our downwind speed we put into place. We concentrated on keeping the speed up in the six knots of breeze, and we steadily gained down the fleet to round third in the class. The very soft rig gave us the speed and power to pass the remaining two boats to go on to win the race. Lesson here: If slow, ask as many questions as possible, and then apply them.
Sunday was blowing more than 20 knots, and it was time to see how this fun boat would perform upwind in the bigger seas and surf down them. Again the boat tracked well with very balanced helm upwind. The main trim provided adequate headstay tension with care given not to over sheeting, inverting the main and losing the leech for pointing. The big surprise was that while we elected to sail with full main the rest of the fleet elected to reef it. Off the line into big square waves we were very equal with the reefed boats. Only after tacking with the waves at a less acute angle did our big sail plan have any significant improvement over the reefed sails. Downwind the boat got up and moved like any other sportboat. The difference is it did it without ever feeling out of control.
In summary
Overall the Ultimate 20 is a perfect choice for a sailor seeking a sportboat that can sail one design and not be afraid of stepping in over his head. This boat is fun, manageable, trailerable and inexpensive to own and race. Not bad for a sheep that can move like a lion.