Photo Credit: Chesapeake 20 Class
Photo Credit: Chesapeake 20 Class
About Chesapeake 20
The Chesapeake 20s’ history is intertwined with the histories of local sailing and yacht clubs on the Bay, especially West River Sailing Club (formerly Our Own Damn Yacht Club) which had its first race on Labor Day weekend in 1929 where the highlight was a handicap sailboat race with three classes based on sail area: less than 100 sq. ft. with a four-minute head start, from 100 to 150 sq. ft. with a two-minute lead, and scratch boats of over 150 sq. ft. These “racing” boats were mostly bateaus or converted flat-bottom rowboats. At the first regatta, a 22 ft. heavy cypress boat with a spirit rig won. This inspired the Chesapeake 20’s direct predecessor, the Albatross Class – a 20-foot, double – ender with a chine or hard chimed bottom. The Albatross, with a lighter and thinner hull, beat the 1929 winning boat and similar designs. The Albatross Class continued to race and compete against the 150 sq. ft. class until Capt. Dick Hartge produced the predecessor to the Chesapeake 20 Class, Sea Witch, which was a hard chine bottomed boat. These sailboats were mostly built by eye without formal plans, and many were home-built using traditional Chesapeake Bay workboat construction techniques.
This informal set of racing boats continued to evolve until a common set of rules was created at a meeting of all the “Twenty Footers” in 1938, held by the West River Sailing Club’s Commodore at Annapolis Yacht Club. This meeting established the Chesapeake 20 Class rules and led to the development of the boats we still actively race today.
Design
Boats Produced: 112
Class boat builder(s):
Fiberglass Hulls;
Hartge Yacht Yard (primary), Galesville, MD
Wood Hulls;
Annapolis, MD
Trappe, MD
Oxford, MD
St. Michael’s, MD
Other local builders
Approximately how many boats are in the USA/North America? 45
Where is your One-Design class typically sailed in the USA? List regions of the country:
Chesapeake Bay
Does this class have a spinnaker or gennaker? No
Ideal combined weight of range of crew: 300-950
Boat Designed in 1938
Beam: 6′-7″
Weight of rigged boat without sails: 950
Draft: 4′-5″
Mast Height: 33’10”