Watkins 23 XL
Description
The Watkins 23 is a small American trailerable fiberglass cruising sloop derived from the Helsen 22 design. It was built by Watkins Yachts of Clearwater, Florida, with the hull originally adapted with permission from Dutch-born designer Johannes "Jopie" Helsen (with Watkins brothers making minor modifications for production). Introduced in the mid-1970s as one of the company's earliest models (starting around 1973–1974), the Watkins 23 family—including base and XL designations—featured a swing-keel/centerboard configuration for easy trailering and shallow-water access. Production of the overall Watkins 23 line ran until about 1980 (with some sources noting activity into the early 1980s), during which approximately 400 boats were completed before the model was phased out as the company shifted focus to larger designs.
Construction Details
| Designer | Johannes "Jopie" Helsen |
|---|---|
| Builder | Watkins Yachts (Fla) |
| Length | 23.000 ft |
| LOA | 23.000 ft |
| LWL | 19.800 ft |
| Beam | 8.000 ft |
| Displacement | 2500 lb |
| Ballast | 900 lb |
| Max Draft | 6.000 ft |
| Min Draft | 1.500 ft |
| Year Built | 1973 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 24 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 9 ft |
| p | 21 ft |
| e | 8.75 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 ft | 9 ft | 21 ft | 8.75 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Watkins 23 XL - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 21 ft - (6401 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 8.75 ft - (2667 mm) |
| Leech | * 22.32 ft - (6803 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 22.47 ft - (6849 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 4.5 in - (114 mm) |
| Area | * 95.699 ft² |
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Watkins 23 XL - JIBSAIL
| Luff | * 20.5 ft - (6248 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 12.28 ft - (3743 mm) |
| Leech | * 17.32 ft - (5279 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 10.35 ft - (3155 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12 ° |
| Area | * 106.07 ft² |
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Watkins 23 XL - GENOA
| Luff | * 24.35 ft - (7422 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 14.84 ft - (4523 mm) |
| Leech | * 22.65 ft - (6904 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 13.5 ft - (4115 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4 ° |
| Area | * 164.36 ft² |
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Watkins 23 XL - ASYMMETRICAL
| Luff | * 24.35 ft - (7422 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 14.85 ft - (4526 mm) |
| Leech | * 22.4 ft - (6828 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 165 % |
| Area | * 271.2 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.
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