BoatsNimble Boats 20

Nimble Boats 20

Fractionally Rigged Ketch · Keel/centreboard · First built 1986

A Ted Brewer-designed fractional ketch with a keel-centerboard hull, built for versatile shoal-draft cruising

Designed by Ted Brewer & Edward S. Brewer.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Keel/Cbrd.

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

TrailerableBeam 2.36 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 841 kg of hull, so roughly 1,450 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 841 kg of hull, with a keel that raises or a draft shallow enough to float off a trailer — she can go back on the trailer at the ramp, not only into the water.Shoal draftDraws 0.28 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
LivelySea-kindly

Her light displacement on a beamy beam gives 9 — a quick, lively motion that feels every wave.

Comfort ratio 9
CoastalBluewater

At 2.53 she sits above the 2.0 line — beamy for her weight, and happiest coastal.

Capsize screening 2.53
LightHeavy

107 — light for her waterline, so she is easily driven and quick to accelerate.

Displacement / length 107
EasygoingPowered-up

22.0 — plenty of sail for her weight; lively and quick to respond.

Sail area / displacement 22.0
TenderStiff

22% of her weight is ballast — on the tender side; she'll heel readily and want a reef sooner.

Ballast 22%

Light and lively — happiest day-sailing and coastal-hopping in settled weather.

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
21.6%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Fractionally Rigged Ketch
Ratios
SA / displacement
22.0
Displacement / length
107.4
Comfort ratio
9.3
Capsize screening
2.53
Hull speed
6.0 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
547
Hull
Hull type
Keel/Cbrd.
Construction
Fiberglass
Ballast type
Lead
Production
Years built
First built 1986
Designer
Ted Brewer, Edward S. Brewer
Builder
Nimble Boats

Boats like this, on the water

Nobody has filmed this one — but these are close.

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Dufour Yachts T66.15 mSame hull family0.2 m shorterA lightweight 800kg fractional sloop with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for spirited performance in light air
Melges 247.32 mSame hull family0.9 m longerA 7.32-meter sportboat with a lifting keel and a 32.09 sail-area-to-displacement ratio built for rapid planing
Catalina Yachts 227.26 mSame hull family0.9 m longerA swing-keel masthead sloop with 15,000 units sold, offering a highly versatile and trailerable coastal cruiser
O'day 226.61 mSame hull family0.2 m longerA prolific production success with over 3,000 hulls built, offering a nimble fractional rig for coastal daysailing
Microtonner 195.50 mSame hull family0.9 m shorterA high-performance fractional sloop designed by Nestor Volker to the International Micro Class rule for competitive racing

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

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Nothing filmed of this one yet

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