Kirby 23
Description
The Kirby 23 is a Canadian fiberglass racer-cruiser designed by renowned naval architect Bruce Kirby (best known for the Laser dinghy and Sonar keelboat) and first built in 1985. It serves as a cruising-oriented version of Kirby's Sonar one-design keelboat (sharing the same hull but with modifications for comfort), featuring a fractional sloop rig, fin keel with spade rudder for responsive handling and good upwind performance, and a simple, functional interior suitable for short coastal cruising or club racing. Built by Ross Marine (Canada), production was very limited (only 6 hulls completed), making it an extremely rare classic today—similar in concept to the Blazer 23 (a related Kirby design with a longer trunk cabin and more sail area) but with the Kirby 23 focusing on a balance of racing speed and cruising amenities.
Construction Details
| Designer | Bruce Kirby |
|---|---|
| Builder | Ross Marine (Canada), |
| Length | 23.000 ft |
| LOA | 23.000 ft |
| LWL | 18.800 ft |
| Beam | 7.750 ft |
| Displacement | 2400 lb |
| Max Draft | 3.920 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 25.75 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 8.67 ft |
| p | 28 ft |
| e | 9 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25.75 ft | 8.67 ft | 28 ft | 9 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Kirby 23 - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 28 ft - (8534 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 11.5 ft - (3505 mm) |
| Leech | * 29.65 ft - (9037 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 29.9 ft - (9114 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 5.25 in - (133 mm) |
| Area | * 166.24 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.
Comments
