The Cygnus 20 is a Canadian trailerable

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminolo ...

that was designed by

George Hinterhoeller George Anton Hinterhoeller (1928–1999) was a Canadian boat designer and builder, a significant contributor to the Canadian sailboat industry for almost forty years. Early life Hinterhoeller was born in Mondsee, Austria on March 16, 1928. He fi ...

and first built in 1963.

Production

The design was initially built in 1963 by

Hinterhoeller Yachts Hinterhoeller Yachts was a Canadian boat builder based in St. Catharines, Ontario. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats. The company was originally founded by George Hinterhoeller as Hinterhoeller Limit ...

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and also by Clarkecraft of

St Catharines, Ontario St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontari ...

. When Hinterhoeller Yachts was absorbed into

C&C Yachts C&C Yachts was a builder of high-performance fiberglass monohull sailboats with production facilities in Canada, Germany, and the United States. C&C designed and constructed a full range of production line cruiser-racer boats, as well as custom ...

in 1969, the Cygnus 20 tooling was sold to Skene Boats of

Gloucester, Ontario Gloucester ( ) is a former municipality and now geographic area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Located east of Ottawa's inner core, it was an independent city until amalgamated with the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton in 2001 to becom ...

. Skene Boats went out of business in 1992 and the design went out of production. The

centreboard A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a ''centreboard trunk'' (UK) or ''centerboard case'' (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised t ...

boat was originally sold under the name HR 20, but after a class association was formed in 1965-66 the design was renamed the Cygnus 20. It was produced in both centreboard and fixed keel versions from 1965.

Design

The Cygnus 20 is a recreational centreboard boat, or optionally a

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

, with

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

wooden trim above decks and mahogany below decks. It has a fractional sloop rig with

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

spars, a spooned

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a vertical transom, a transom-hung wooden

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

and a centreboard or fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

. It has a fibreglass buoyancy tank. Normally an open boat, it can be fitted with a detachable

cuddy cabin A cuddy is a small room or cupboard, particularly on a boat. Sometimes a cuddy refers to a small but cosy hut. The origin of the term is not clear. Cuddy was in use in colonial America as early as 1655. The term may derive from the Dutch ''kaj ...

top and was advertised as being able to accommodate four people for overnight sleeping. For stowage it has an aft

lazarette The lazarette (also spelled lazaret) of a boat is an area near or aft of the cockpit. The word is similar to and probably derived from lazaretto. A lazarette is usually a storage locker used for gear or equipment a sailor or boatswain would us ...

. The boat is normally fitted with a small

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

for docking and manoeuvring.

Variants

;Cygnus 20 :This centreboard-equipped model displaces . The boat has a draft of with the steel centreboard extended and with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer. ;Cygnus 20 FK :This fixed-keel model displaces and carries of cast iron ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel fitted.

References

External links

* {{Trailer sailers and Trailer yachts worldwide Keelboats 1960s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Trailer sailers Sailboat type designs by George Hinterhoeller Sailboat types built by Hinterhoeller Yachts Sailboat types built by Skene Boats Sailboat types built by Clarkecraft

Production

Design

Variants

See also

References

External links