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. The original article is posted here. All text and pictures are from Thorsten Hoge from Segeln Magazin.

Thank you Thorsten and Christian!

Haye

Smaller Boats, More Fun!

Scandinavian Cruiser 20: Chinese-Firecracker

A mini Skerry Cruiser from China - Can that be right? We have tested the Scandinavian Cruiser 20 on the German River Elbe and experienced a real surprise...

Text and photos: Thorsten Hoge

Confucius once said: "The one who looks to the past to understand the future, can teach the others."

"Well, how interesting is that", you will probably say! As soon as the journalist test sails a boat from the Far East, he has to quote Confucius. Couldn't he come up with something more original? In my defense, I'll say this: "if it fits so well as it does here, you'd understand why."

But first we have to find the new classic. Among all the modern boats in the Wedeler Harbor, it is not easy to spot the 20 foot boat. Especially because she rises only slightly more than 20 inches above the water and is barely higher than the surrounding docks. But wait, isn't that the mast with a raised main sail moving in the wind...

The Scandinavian Cruiser 20 (SC 20) we've discovered in the harbor, really is a classic yacht, long and slender like the Swedish Skerry Cruisers from yesteryear. And flat like the North German landscape. These are my first impressions. A beautiful rig: free-standing, rotating and made out of carbon fiber. The mainsail: wide with a large roach. Lifting keel and rudder is also made out of carbon fiber and with serious draft. Double furlers for the sails on the foredeck. The boat has little in common with the North German landscape, at least when you consider her origin. The first part of the name "Scandinavian" is somewhat misleading since the boat is built in China. Her founder Nis Peter Lorentzen is from the Danish Bandholm Boats family and manages the company out of Beijing.

We start our test sailing on the German River Elbe and right away I feel at home at the helm. All the controls are well positioned and ergonomically laid out. Although I do notice the unusual main sheet routing — the sheet goes to a small traveler on the aft deck of the boat behind the helmsman. A little adjustment for me but less unusual for my co-tester Martin who is used to sailing catamarans. On upwind legs you would not manage the main very actively and one would focus more on steering the boat. The open keelboat reacts very lively to the smallest steering inputs. This makes her a joy to sail. A real sailing pleasure. And the way she goes upwind... It's like a dream. Upwind leg after upwind leg follows against the current of the Elbe. Her pointing angle of attack is hard to measure accurately but could well be around 70 degrees. She tacks very fast. The narrow jib doesn't allow for much steering error. If you don't pay attention it will costs you speed right away. The narrow yacht needs some heel, the bow lifts somewhat and more lift to windward is achieved. This if a real difference compared to the wide hulled modern boats who tend to be over-trimmed on the nose when heeled.

Modern Keel

The boat is really at home on the upwind course — just like the old Skerry Cruisers but with the advantage that the modern keel clearly provides more lift than the traditional full keels. The stability is extraordinarily good with 50 percent of the ballast in a carbon fiber keel with lead bulb and a very low center of gravity.

The SC 20 is very sensitive to crew weight when you consider that two adults at almost 400 pounds will contribute roughly half the weight of the entire boat. Sitting with legs out on the high side freeboard is not an option on such a small boat but hiking out does improve her performance. More crew weight doesn't necessarily provide more righting momentum without sacrificing speed. However this is only relevant in regattas. Under normal sailing this is hardly an issue. Hiking out using a harness is an option but not a requirement. The SC20 allows for some water to come into the cockpit on the leeward side of the boat. However you never feel unsafe. The self draining system could have benefitted from a little increased capacity.

The real fun starts when we broad reach her. The second roller furling hosts an asymmetrical spinnaker that is easy to deploy from the cockpit. I roll up the self tacking jib, all done singlehandedly, and off we go. This little thing starts planing! Of course she is not as fast as a similar sized sports boat going downwind, but it is a lot of fun. The standard asymmetrical spinnaker is designed flat and doesn't allow for a straight downwind course. As a result the angle off the wind is rather large. The sail is fast and easy to use. The total spinnaker surface area is not too large. It is important is to keep your speed up as the keel is very narrow. When you don't have sufficient speed it is easy to start drifting sideways. A sailor who is used to a traditional keel will need some adjusting here.

The carbon fiber mast comes apart in two sections and rotates. It is supported with two check stays which are also used to adjust the forestay. Most important for the trim, especially going up wind is the main and its large roach. The boom is attached to the mast relatively high up which makes the boat that much more comfortable to sail. No dinghy style maneuvers are required when tacking or jibing.

The second part of the name Scandinavian Cruiser becomes obvious when you review the proposed line of yachts — more real cruisers are to be launched shortly from 30 to 66 feet. There is also an expansion of the model range downward in the form of a 18 foot long Dory. Very different from the cruiser but the same philosophy applies: "Study the past to see the future".

Summary

Scandinavian Cruisers set out to build the fastest possible daysailer with classical lines. I think that they succeeded. Real sailing pleasure combined with high build quality. Wet when the conditions are very choppy but still very comfortable to sail. A real Chinese-Firecracker. Confucius would not have wanted it any other way.