Precision 23

I've always liked trailerable sailboats - the ultimate escape machine. Perhaps it's due to my restless spirit. But whatever reasons, the urge to drive down the highway, boat in tow, heading for a new sailing venue offering a different challenge, another adventure, is appealing. Whether the challenge be tides, saltwater sailing, new islands to explore, (anything to break the boredom of sailing familiar waters) they are all good reasons to own a trailerable.

An let's not forget a key point: the considerable savings on wet-berth and winter-storage fees. Owning a trailerable allows you to take your mooring home, no charge. While not for everyone the trailerable appeals to a large segment of sailors who enjoy the search for greener pastures. To meet this market demand, back in 1986, Jim Taylor, a respected IOR designer based in Marblehead, Mass. drew the lines of the Precision 23, big sister to the successful Precision 18 & 21 (see CY. Dec '88 for a review of the Precision 21). Built by Precision Boat Works of Florida, the Precision 23 has attracted much interest. Unlike other trailerables, this yacht features a fixed, ballasted keel housing an elliptical-profile, airfoil-shaped centreboard. An elliptical-profile kick-up rudder allows the crew to gunkhole into areas normally inaccessible to similar designs.

"She's a delight to sail," says the affable Layzell. (If enthusiasm counted, Layzell would be salesman of the century). "I'm always impressed with how responsive the boat is in heavy air - lots of power."

Unfortunately, I would not experience anything approaching heavy air. Three trips to Bluffers Park east of Toronto to test-sail the boat resulted in complete weather washouts with only the occasional light zepher to push us along.

Watching Layzell rig and launch the Precision 23 is an education in precision (pun intended). The procedure is thus: after performing a singlehanded rigging performance (18 minutes flat) don hip waders, reverse the trailer down the launch ramp, slide the boat off the trailer to the dock (the reason for the waders is now apparent, but a bathing suit works just as well) and then quicker than you can mutter "ain't sailing fun," the yacht is ready for action. Sliding the boat back onto the trailer and de-rigging for the ride home is equally easy.

As I sat at the dock at Bluffers Park, the design made me think of a scaled-down version of an IOR racer. The cabin trunk is nicely proportioned to the topsides and merges unobtrusively into a graceful sheer. A large cockpit, almost seven feet long, allows adequate space for four adults plus plenty of storage in three separate lockers.
Using standard FRP (fibreglass reinforced plastic) construction techniques (the hull is hand-laminated), the yacht is structurally strong. The deck is through-bolted and sealed to the hull flange in typical fashion. An angles moulded toe rail and no-skid pattern enhances the deck superstructure. Although beamy for its length, (Taylor has drawn it to the maximum trailerable road width of eight feet, six inches), the increased girth amidships provides ample accommodation in the cabin, and better-than-average sitting headroom below is achieved.

The cabin space is airy, open and uncluttered. A strong overhead deck beam (in lieu of an intrusive mast compression post) helps maintain the openness the designer sought. The galley, although naturally compact, is more functional than that on many 30-footers I have sailed. Ventilation over the two-burner fitted stove is provided by an unusually large centre companionway.

The water tank is located under the cabin settee. A hideaway head is located forward under the V-berth. Sleeping accommodations are outstanding, notwithstanding the sales brochure's slightly optimistic suggestion, of sleeping five adults comfortably. Facing mid-cabin settees, combined with a sizable quarter berth and mid-size V-berth, should serve a small family well. I tested sleeping arrangements and found them adequate and comfortable at the dock and while underway. Cabin ventilation during those sultry summer nights is provided by a V-berth hatch. Cracking the hatch and opening the screened companionway should create sufficient downdraught to cool the inhabitants below.

The Precision 23 features a large mainsail on a fractional rig. With over 230 square feet of sail lifting the flattened hull sections, the yacht sails extremely well, both on and off the wind. While ghosting along on our test sail, I went forward to test both the non-skid pattern and the general deck layout In order to achieve proper sheeting angles, the designer has opted to place the chainplates inboard on the cabin top. Now free of cumbersome shrouds, the wide side decks are open paths from cockpit to bow.
Taylor and Precision Boat Works have succeeded in producing a top-end trailerable sailboat best described as a handsome weekender.

Specifications