Sailing has the advantage over many other sports that spectacular "equipment" can potentially add a lot to the public image and media attractiveness of the sport. If we go back to the pre-WWII years of the Olympics, the larger keelboats that were used were Skerry Cruisers/Square Meter Yachts and Meter Yachts. At that time these boats were the most advanced, fastest and beautiful yachts ever produced.
The Scandinavian Cruiser 20 (SC 20) combines the charm of classical Skerry Cruisers with state-of-the-art technologies. They are created for sailors, who value elegant design as much as high speed and easy handling. Love at first sight. I came, saw... and was defeated!
The Scandinavian Cruiser 20 got some time on the water in Denmark last Wednesday. She performed beautifully in the windy conditions and Jesper and Michael made good use of the trapeze for an altogether fantastic experience!
The boat has excellent stability, speed and tracking for recreational rowing, great rowing exercise or club racing. It can be rowed either in a single sliding-seat setup or a double fixed-seat arrangement, and has a large self-draining cockpit, carbon fiber oars, Concept II oar locks, stainless steel outriggers, racing seats, and built in oar storage holes.
The full length battens are "bamboo sticks" so the sail is a little wrinkled as they we sewn in by hand. We now use a lead weighted swinging centerboard and water ballast. In sailing mode the boat tracks very well and it feels more like a keelboat than a dinghy. I could leave the rudder alone and go forward while the boat kept going. The rudder is very powerful. It is very long and narrow boat, and when the breeze picks up the speed goes up quite well.
The weather in Xiamen, China was sunny and warm as it seems to be each time we come here to sail. We started out by rowing the Scandinavian Dory 18 in the single rowing and sliding seat set-up, with my wife and son as passengers and acting as my “eyes” looking forward from the stern. The boat is exceptionally stable in rowing mode, and two people can easily change positions by walking past each other rather than one climbing through the legs of the other person.
More exciting news! The Scandinavian Cruiser 30 has arrived. The SC 30 is very addictive to sail because she performs and feels better than most other boats.
The great reviews keep coming! Here is the latest update from our Danish friends at Baadnyt magazine. After two test sailings on the Roskilde fjord, the verdict was all in favor of the SC20! Here is the full article by Jacob Johannesen. Pictures are by www.seljfoto.dk.
Obviously we are very excited to share with you the first independent test of the Scandinavian Cruiser 20. Our German Distributor Christian Brandt had invited the renowned German sailing magazine "Segeln" for a test session on the River Elbe. Below you can find the translated text of the article. All text and pictures are from Thorsten Hoge from Segeln Magazin.
From factory Red Dragon boat yard in Xiamen, China we have received the latest photos of the Scandinavian Dory 18 in production. We expect the first SD18 to arrive in NY late August, well in time before the Newport Boat Show.
An exclusive interview with Nis Peter Lorentzen about how he got started in the boating industry. How the Scandinavian Cruiser 20 came about and what we can expect from Scandinavian Cruisers going forward. A must read for all Scandinavian Cruisers enthusiasts!
As far as the future of sailing goes, Rod Carr says: "Getting and retaining younger members is the biggest challenge for sailing". Rod also believes that the next step for the RYA is: "to create more opportunities for 25-35 year olds, cash strapped and short of time to pay and play". We couldn't agree more.
Following the excitement of not having the UK boat in time for the RYA Dinghy Show it was a pleasure to get down to rigging and sailing the first Scandinavian Cruiser in the UK. It has been purchased by a customer in Scotland for sailing in a Loch near Jura on the west coast.
Scandinavian Cruisers now has more than 1000 fans on Facebook. Two winners were able to capture the moment we reached 1000 fans, and they have both won the 46 page Scandinavian Cruisers book prices at $67.95.
The overall look of the SC 40 is quite unique, a blend of traditional as well as modern. The lines and surfaces are very clean and crisp. There is a minimum of deck hardware, and where possible, the metal hardware is polished bronze. There are no hatch or portlight frames above deck; all structural frames for openings are to be made of composites as much as possible and be positioned under deck. Joints between parts are to be tight and uniform.