The Seafarer 23 Kestrel is a Dutch 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 terminology ...

that was designed by

Sparkman & Stephens Sparkman & Stephens is a naval architecture and yacht brokerage firm with offices in Newport, Rhode Island and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. The firm performs design and engineering of new and existing vessels for pleasure, commercial, and milit ...

in daysailer and

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

models, first built in 1963.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 251-252.

International Marine McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

, 2010. The Seafarer 23 Kestrel is often confused with the 1978 Seafarer 23 Challenger and the 1976 Seafarer 23.

Production

The design was built by De Vries Lentsch in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, starting in 1963 and imported into the United States by Seafarer Fiberglass Yachts of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Seafarer later produced the boat in its own plant, a converted

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

Huntington, New York Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town's population was 204,127 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 11 ...

, but it is now out of production.

Design

The Seafarer 23 Kestrel is a recreational

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

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

, with wood trim. It has a

masthead sloop A masthead rig on a sailing vessel consists of a forestay and backstay both attached at the top of the mast. The Bermuda rig can be split into two groups: the masthead rig and the fractional rig. The masthead rig has larger and more headsails, a ...

rig; 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 raised counter, angled transom; a

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

-mounted

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

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, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn ...

and a fixed, stub, long

, with a retractable

centerboard 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 ...

. It displaces and carries of iron ballast. The boat has a draft of with the centerboard extended and with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water, or ground transportation on a trailer. The boat is normally fitted with a small well-mounted

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 maneuvering. The transom

lazarette The lazarette or lazaret (sometimes lazaretto) 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 boatswa ...

well is large enough to allow the motor to be tilted to reduce drag while sailing. The Kestrel was offered in a number of different deck and interior layouts. Initially there were two deck patterns for a daysailer and a cruiser, but later an intermediate deck was added. There were also six interior plans, including a bare one for owner completion. Model marketing names similarly varied, including Seafarer 23 Kestrel, Seafarer Kestrel 23, Kestrel 23 and Kestrel 22. Model configuration names included Cruiser, Overnighter, Catalina, Nassau, Nantucket, Monhegan and Olympic. In 1969 all the models were sold as the Seafarer Sail 'n Trailer 23. The cruiser cabin design typically has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double

"V"-berth A sleeping berth is a bed or sleeping accommodation on vehicles. Space accommodations have contributed to certain common design elements of berths. Beds in boats or ships While beds on large ships are little different from those on shore, ...

in the bow cabin and two straight settee berths in the main cabin. The

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

is on both sides, aft of the bow cabin and is equipped with stove to port and a sink to starboard. The

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

is located centered in the bow cabin under the "V"-berth. Cabin headroom is and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . The design has a

PHRF Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other. The aim is to cancel out the inherent advantages and disadvantages ...

racing average handicap of 270 and a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to- ...

of .

Operational history

In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "the grace of the classic Sparkman & Stephens hull form will appeal to traditional sailors."

References

External links

Photo of a Seafarer 23 Kestrel Cruise
{{Trailer sailers and Trailer yachts worldwide Keelboats 1960s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Trailer sailers Sailboat type designs by Sparkman and Stephens Sailboat types built by De Vries Lentsch Sailboat types built by Seafarer Yachts

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References

External links