Cygnet 20 Trailer Yacht: Review

It's a long time between drinks but the Cygnet 20 is a new craft that offers the same family-friendly qualities of the trailer-sailer that were so popular in the 1970s and 80s.

OVERVIEW
- A fun day-sailer for hitting the road less-travelled
The Aussie-made Cygnet offers a blend of comfortable day-sailer and overnight accommodation, yet also some retro charm via a bowsprit, curved sheer and gaff rig. However, don't be fooled by the cute appearance and timber trim. Under the skin, the Cygnet is really a contemporary sailboat with modern speed and performance.

All this makes the Cygnet a fun yacht to sail and just right for cruising our inshore coastal and inland waterways. Her compact size is made-to-measure for exploring all the interesting nooks and inlets close to shore.

Indeed, this trailer yacht is about the freedom to explore the places you just can't go with a deep keel yacht.

Her swing-up centreboard (keel), allows the Cygnet to safely navigate shallow bays and sandy shoals. If you hit bottom, simply raise the centreboard and sail off. Or you can nudge her up to the beach and go ashore. No need for a dinghy, of course!

First impression on Pittwater is of a sail craft ideally suited to sheltered waterway cruising. She would be perfect for coastal lakes like Lake Macquarie, or better still the Myall Lakes, which are too shallow for conventional yachts.

She is just the ticket to visit those beautiful, less travelled waters and find your own private beach-heaven.

The Cygnet's postcard-pretty lines are a joy to behold and only add pleasure to the sailing experience. To me, she evokes the character of those traditional English yachts with her red tan or traditional cream sails. Of course, the sails are made in modern Dacron.

Beneath the illusion of a traditional timber craft, you're really buying a modern fibreglass yacht. And that's fine if you're a wee bit jaded by the me-too look of modern yachts and yearn for something with the character and soul of timber yet not the maintenance.

Builder David Bradburn says the Cygnet 20 is also about providing more affordable yachting. And I agree that's something we sorely needed in the Australian yacht market at present.

Thanks to the Sydney design team of Hardcastle Lowe Yacht Design, the Cygnet 20 delivers a nice turn of speed under sail. The under-body is modern and her cut-off ends conform to the modern trend to maximise waterline length. The result is a craft that, in the right hands, will be a little terrier in twilight races.

The performance is enhanced in surprising ways. The gaff has been modernised with black carbon fibre spars to save weight. It makes rigging so much easier. The stubby mast sits in a hinged mast-step and the whole show, including boom, mainsail and gaff, folds flat when towing. A canvas travel cover goes over the lot when you finish sailing. And off you go.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
- A trailer yacht tailored to your needs and budget
The Cygnet 20 is being offered at a Standard Sailaway Specification and optioned to whatever level you require.

The Standard Sailaway version provides a ready-to-sail package with a set of white Dacron sails, water-ballast system, rigging, teak tiller, varnish timber gunwale capping, jib roller furler, and cabin with furniture moulding that provides four sleeping berths. The cabin has some timber trim and floor carpet and two aft bunk cushions. Price is $49,500.

The test boat Cygnet had all the creature comforts added like forward bunk cushions, Porta-Potti toilet, gas stove and folding dining table for four people. It also had a 4hp Tohatsu outboard, cabin pop-top, anchor with chain/warp, tan or cream sails. Price was $63,250 for this version.

A deluxe interior finish adds another $5,500 to the price and the trailer anther $4,400.

DECKS AND ACCOMMODATION
- A family trailer yacht that sleeps and sails four or more
Life aboard starts with the roomy, self-draining cockpit with seating room for 4-6 people with enough space to stretch out for a rest. It's a very comfortable cockpit to sail and relax, thanks to high backrests.

The outboard well is just under the tiller, so the motor is always ready to start at a moment's notice. Flanking the engine are spacious cockpit lockers so you can stow plenty of deck gear and stores.

Below is an inviting cabin with two quarter berths stretching aft and a double berth for'ard. In between the bunks, a fibreglass moulding provides a small galley with sink starboard, stove to port.

 Up under the V-berth is the toilet. An optional curtain across the cabin will provide the necessary privacy for guests.

After sailing bigger boats, this cabin seems 'intimate' by comparison, yet it's actually very comfortable and has proper backrests. You can add an optional pop-top hatch which raises cabin headroom to 170cm.

HULL AND ENGINEERING
- Water ballasted and well-made
A key design feature of the Cygnet 20 is a water-ballast system that allows 230 litres of water ballast to be added when needed. This stability is added when sailing but towing weight remains low.  

The folding centreboard also contributes a lot to stability when its locked down. It has 72kg of internal lead ballast.

The Cygnet features a one-piece fibreglass hull moulding with an ISO NPG gelcoat and high-density foam coring in the topsides and deck areas.

She certainly is a sturdy little ship with a solid fibreglass bottom with plenty of double-bias and biaxial layers of fibreglass. The internal fibreglass furniture moulding plus a 50mm stainless steel mast compression post adds further strength to the craft.

Unlike some of the early production trailer-sailers the Cygnet 20 is very easy on the eye. The compact trunk cabin looks just right and nicely finished off with a pair of oval-shaped window ports.

ON THE WATER
- A gaff rig and a slippery hull
Under sail in a moderate breeze of 6-10 knots, the Cygnet quickly revealed her performance.

Her long waterline and moderate hull volume glided easily through the water and left an incredibly clean wake. The racing pedigree was also evident in the way she heeled to the gust yet the helm pressure did not load up.

As I steered her upwind, the Cygnet quickly slipped into the groove, and picked up speed promptly after each tack. The long waterline and deep, hydrodynamic shaped centreboard allowed her to slip along nicely at around five knots in only 6-10 knots of breeze.

The Cygnet 20 is a very responsive boat and the way she points high to wind confirms a sailing efficiency more akin to a modern yacht. On a more practical level, she is very easy to sail single-handed thanks to the jib sheets running to cabin-top jammers, easily reached from the helm.

The central mainsheet also falls easy to hand and you can adjust the centreboard from the cockpit with a 6:1 drum winch.

Admittedly, the gaff rig has the added complication of twin halyards, however, it's surprising how quickly you become familiar with the controls.

In strong winds, you would certainly need to take a reef in the big mainsail. However, a clever trick you could employ when caught by a sudden squall is to dip the gaff. This way you de-power the sail without losing helm balance or speed.

By the way, that big 'fat' gaff-mainsail pushes her along surprisingly fast downwind. Later in the day the boys had her doing 7.5 knots when the breeze pipping in at 20 knots.

VERDICT
- An affordable family trailer yacht with charm
The Cygnet is something we need in the market — an affordable, compact, yet comfortable yacht for inshore sailing. She is also fast enough to shine in club races yet not too extreme to handle. And she sleeps a family.

Most importantly, the Cygnet provides a big, safe cockpit with all sail controls, plus motor, within reach of the helm.

On road weight of around 1100kg places the Cygnet within the tow capacity of popular mid-sized cars like the Camry or SUV Subaru Forrester. And if there's no room to park her at home then a marina dry-store facility would be your answer.

LIKES
>> Easy, one-step rigging
>> Very suitable for trailing
>> Just so pretty to look at

NOT SO MUCH
>> Lack of extra purchase or winch for jib
>> Needs a swim step on transom
>> Some water drag from outboard well

Specifications: Cygnet 20 Trailer Yacht
Price as Tested: $63,250 for test boat with all the creature comforts including forward bunk cushions, Porta-Potti toilet, gas stove and folding dining table for four people, 4hp Tohatsu outboard, cabin pop-top, anchor with chain/warp, tan or cream sails. A deluxe interior finish adds another $5500 to the price and the trailer anther $4400.
Price From: $49,500 for Standard Sailaway version as a ready-to-sail package with a set of white Dacron sails, water-ballast system, rigging, teak tiller, varnish timber gunwale capping, jib roller furler, and cabin with furniture moulding that provides four sleeping berths. The cabin has some timber trim and floor carpet and two aft bunk cushions.

LOA: 5.85m
LWL: 5.4m
Beam: 2.23m
Draft: 0.34m - 1.57m
Dry Boat Weight: 800kg
Trailing Weight: 1100kg
Loaded Displacement: 1250kg
Working Sail Area: 23.5sq m
Fuel tankage: 12lt
Fresh water: 20lt
Auxiliary: 4hp outboard

Supplied and built by:
Bluewater Cruising Yachts
Cardiff, NSW, 2285
Phone: 02 4956 8522
See Bluewater Cruising Yachts.