BoatsSailstar Boats Pioneer 17

Sailstar Boats Pioneer 17

Fractional Sloop · Fin w/transom Hung Rudder · First built 1962

A deluxe, heavy-duty fractional sloop featuring a fin keel and a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio

Designed by Talman Bigelow, R. Baker & Robert H. Baker.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Fin w/transom Hung Rudder

Is it for you?

Character

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

TrailerableBeam 1.93 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 318 kg of hull, so roughly 900 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Shoal draftDraws 0.91 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 6 — a quick, lively motion that feels every wave.

Comfort ratio 6
CoastalBluewater

At 2.85 she sits above the 2.0 line — beamy for her weight, and happiest coastal.

Capsize screening 2.85
LightHeavy

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

Displacement / length 80
EasygoingPowered-up

30.7 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 30.7
TenderStiff

14% of her weight is ballast — on the tender side; she'll heel readily and want a reef sooner.

Ballast 14%

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

  • Lighter than ~94% of boats her size on file
  • Narrower than ~82% of boats her size on file

Compared with 180 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

The record

Full specifications

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

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
14.3%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Fractional Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
30.7
Displacement / length
80.0
Comfort ratio
5.7
Capsize screening
2.85
Hull speed
5.3 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
356
Hull
Hull type
Fin w/transom hung rudder
Construction
Fiberglass
Ballast type
Iron
Production
Years built
First built 1962
Designer
Talman Bigelow, R. Baker, Robert H. Baker
Builder
Sailstar 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.

Birdyfish S4.20 mSame hull family1.0 m shorterA 4.2-metre foiling monohull with a 100kg displacement and a high-performance Marconi cat rig
Can a Normal Sailor Actually Buy a Foiling Dinghy Now?2:23from Practical Sailor
Borge Bringsvaerd Bb116.18 mSame hull family1.0 m longerA Norwegian-built classic with an active class association that has raced continuously since the 1960s
Join us inside the Dragon's Lair: 11 Dragons and a handful of fast cars13:53from SEILmagasinet

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.

Sailstar Boats Explorer 17A high-performance fractional centerboard dinghy designed by Robert Baker to rival the O'Day DaysailerSailstar Boats Defender 17An open-cockpit, fractional-rigged centerboard dinghy designed as an economy version of the Explorer 17Sailstar Boats Tallstar 14A lightweight fractional sloop designed by Robert H. Baker, featuring a centerboard hull also produced as the MeteorSailstar Boats Orion 19Fractional Sloop · 5.79 m

Keep looking

Nothing filmed of this one yet

Two ways to keep looking — both search what the fleet has actually recorded.

Search the fleet for boats like thisAsk the fleet about the Sailstar Boats Pioneer 17

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