Pippin 20

[IJL]

Has anyone got a Pippin 20 or any experience sailing one? I searched the forum but didnt find much from people who has actual experience of the boat.

 

[TSB240]

If you searched the forum you will have seen this...

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?285175-Pippin-20-comments-please&highlight=pippin

In which the usual suspects give much irrelevent and a tiny amount of relevent info!

I picked up that there are a number of them at Rutland and I believe there was one at Kielder..

I suggest a call to either club and you might get the offer of a trial sail..

Chesterfield about half way between them!

PBO did a test on it so I am sure for an extotionate fee for three pages of print you can downlaod a copy!
http://marinedirectory.ybw.com/reprints/results_related.jsp?tem=pbo&id=20386&relation=sales

 

[IJL]

Thanks, i Have seen a nice looking one for sale and thought someone might have some experience of them as the other thread was fairly old. I have seen a few around but not spoken to their owners.

 

[wooslehunter]

Strangely enough, I passed one in Chi harbour on my way out today. Seemed like a nice little boat. Sorry - that the sum total on my Pippin 20 experience.

 

[Shrimpy20]

Good morning. I see this thread is a few weeks old now but you may still be interested in the Pippin 20 so I may be able to help. I have one and so does a friend of mine, in fact they are both outside the window as I write. I know two other owners as well. Everyone who owns one seems to love their Pippins. They are cavernous inside and really are a proper cruising yacht despite being 20 feet long and only 850kg. You need to buy a 23 footer to get more space below decks. The design is clever, especially some ingenious places to store the loo to make up for not having a separate heads. They are a trailer sailer and towing weight is only around 1200kg all up including the purpose built trailer. My friend towed his easily through the Pennine hills with a 1500cc diesel and got over 30 to the gallon. It is low slung on the trailer and tows like a dream and could even fit in some garages. Double axle trailer gives great stability. There are some compromises in the sailing performance of the standard boat to allow for easy rigging etc. The mast is shorter than the boat can handle to allow for easy raising and lowering etc and this is compensated for by using a large overlapping genoa on a masthead rig. A tad old fashioned now, this rig is not best suited to going upwind. Windward performance is also affected by the hull shape that is broad and flat to give amazing internal space as the overiding design consideration. The keel is vertically lifting with a simple and easy to maintain mechanism and is a steel plate with large cast iron wing shaped bulb on the bottom. The cast iron ballast is three quarters of the overall keel weight and being at the bottom is in the right place allowing a light overall ballast to give excellent stability. Form stability is incredible due to the wide beam (8 feet) and flat bottom, the Pippin stands rock steady when you step onto the side from the jetty, no swaying around spilling everones cup of tea. Being light, off wind performance is great for such a small boat whereas upwind is a bit of a compromise. In light airs you need to free off a bit to keep the boat moving and stop the keel stalling which can happen at around 1.2 knots boat speed. Pinching is not recommended unless the wind is up. With the keel up they draw very little water and can take the ground on a cheap drying mooring or on your favourite beach for that summer picnic. Pippins are very well built and strong boats and are really seaworthy. They are made entirely in-house in Boston (England) where they do everything themselves, even building the trailers. Attention to detail is excellent and what really sets them apart from the competition is the superb quality upholstery which gives an upmarket look and really does still look new after a decade of hard use. They are cheap too, currently (2013) around £24000 for the complete boat including road trailer and 20% VAT (and some extras like roller furling etc). Used ones are usually like new inside and offer real value. There is a great one for sale at the moment up at Kielder reservoir in Northumberland for around £10000. They are easy to launch, you only need to immerse the trailer to the hitch and away it floats. The mast is winched up before launching using the trailer winch and is easy peasy. Sailing a Pippin is a bit like sailing a large dinghy without the chance of falling over, way more fun than heavy old boats that just plod along. My own boat has been heavily modified and is a different beast altogether. It has a 3 feet taller mast and a 7/8 fractional rig with smaller jib. Windward performance is dramatically improved especially in light airs where it sails away from the standard rig with ease and points higher too. For offwind fun in the lighter stuff I have a large assymetric on a retractable bowsprit that really does give dinghy sailing appeal. If I was buying a Pippin now, I would consider buying a cheaper older boat with tired rig and look at re-rigging it with a rig like mine. The finished result would be a far better boat with new sails for not much money. The Pippin only needs a four hp engine to push it along so you can motor for hours for a few litres of fuel if the wind deserts you. The engine is in a well in front of the rudder so gives superb control in ahead or astern and does not come out the water in a seaway like transom hung outboards. The Pippin will also motor sail on any point of sailing and at any angle of heel quite happily (running the engine at 1/4 throttle can transform upwind performance even in very strong wind). No expensive inboard engine maintenance requirements to boot.
So, if you want a small and light boat that you really can take home for the winter behind a normal car but that has huge space below decks and can realistically be cruised by a small family then what else would you buy??? No mass produced French rubbish here you know.

 

[Verbil]

Good morning. I see this thread is a few weeks old now but you may still be interested in the Pippin 20 so I may be able to help. I have one and so does a friend of mine, in fact they are both outside the window as I write. I know two other owners as well. Everyone who owns one seems to love their Pippins. They are cavernous inside and really are a proper cruising yacht despite being 20 feet long and only 850kg. You need to buy a 23 footer to get more space below decks. The design is clever, especially some ingenious places to store the loo to make up for not having a separate heads. They are a trailer sailer and towing weight is only around 1200kg all up including the purpose built trailer. My friend towed his easily through the Pennine hills with a 1500cc diesel and got over 30 to the gallon. It is low slung on the trailer and tows like a dream and could even fit in some garages. Double axle trailer gives great stability. There are some compromises in the sailing performance of the standard boat to allow for easy rigging etc. The mast is shorter than the boat can handle to allow for easy raising and lowering etc and this is compensated for by using a large overlapping genoa on a masthead rig. A tad old fashioned now, this rig is not best suited to going upwind. Windward performance is also affected by the hull shape that is broad and flat to give amazing internal space as the overiding design consideration. The keel is vertically lifting with a simple and easy to maintain mechanism and is a steel plate with large cast iron wing shaped bulb on the bottom. The cast iron ballast is three quarters of the overall keel weight and being at the bottom is in the right place allowing a light overall ballast to give excellent stability. Form stability is incredible due to the wide beam (8 feet) and flat bottom, the Pippin stands rock steady when you step onto the side from the jetty, no swaying around spilling everones cup of tea. Being light, off wind performance is great for such a small boat whereas upwind is a bit of a compromise. In light airs you need to free off a bit to keep the boat moving and stop the keel stalling which can happen at around 1.2 knots boat speed. Pinching is not recommended unless the wind is up. With the keel up they draw very little water and can take the ground on a cheap drying mooring or on your favourite beach for that summer picnic. Pippins are very well built and strong boats and are really seaworthy. They are made entirely in-house in Boston (England) where they do everything themselves, even building the trailers. Attention to detail is excellent and what really sets them apart from the competition is the superb quality upholstery which gives an upmarket look and really does still look new after a decade of hard use. They are cheap too, currently (2013) around £24000 for the complete boat including road trailer and 20% VAT (and some extras like roller furling etc). Used ones are usually like new inside and offer real value. There is a great one for sale at the moment up at Kielder reservoir in Northumberland for around £10000. They are easy to launch, you only need to immerse the trailer to the hitch and away it floats. The mast is winched up before launching using the trailer winch and is easy peasy. Sailing a Pippin is a bit like sailing a large dinghy without the chance of falling over, way more fun than heavy old boats that just plod along. My own boat has been heavily modified and is a different beast altogether. It has a 3 feet taller mast and a 7/8 fractional rig with smaller jib. Windward performance is dramatically improved especially in light airs where it sails away from the standard rig with ease and points higher too. For offwind fun in the lighter stuff I have a large assymetric on a retractable bowsprit that really does give dinghy sailing appeal. If I was buying a Pippin now, I would consider buying a cheaper older boat with tired rig and look at re-rigging it with a rig like mine. The finished result would be a far better boat with new sails for not much money. The Pippin only needs a four hp engine to push it along so you can motor for hours for a few litres of fuel if the wind deserts you. The engine is in a well in front of the rudder so gives superb control in ahead or astern and does not come out the water in a seaway like transom hung outboards. The Pippin will also motor sail on any point of sailing and at any angle of heel quite happily (running the engine at 1/4 throttle can transform upwind performance even in very strong wind). No expensive inboard engine maintenance requirements to boot.
So, if you want a small and light boat that you really can take home for the winter behind a normal car but that has huge space below decks and can realistically be cruised by a small family then what else would you buy??? No mass produced French rubbish here you know.

Hi am thinking of buying a pippin 20, how do they handle in a force 5 to 7 gale ? Want to do some cruising along the south coast from a marina. Many thanks

 

[Tranona]

The Pippin 20 was designed to what is now Category C in the RCD standard. See here for a definition CE Categories Explained | Bates Wharf so is suitable for coastal sailing on the south coast. However doubt many would choose to sail one in the higher wind strengths and particularly sea states given in the standard. The main limitation is the ability to make progress in heavier conditions rather than the ultimate stability of the boat.

 

[Verbil]

Thanks for that, does anyone know the measurements of the forward V berth ? As my wife and i would like to use it if possible ?
Thanks