Spirit 21 (6.5)

BoatsSpirit 21 (6.5)

See her sail

The Spirit 21 (6.5), on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Is it for you?

Character

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

TrailerableBeam 2.39 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 953 kg of hull, so roughly 1,550 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 953 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 0.51 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 11 — a quick, lively motion that feels every wave.

Comfort ratio 11

CoastalBluewater

At 2.45 she sits above the 2.0 line — beamy for her weight, and happiest coastal.

Capsize screening 2.45

LightHeavy

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

Displacement / length 142

EasygoingPowered-up

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

Sail area / displacement 19.1

TenderStiff

26% of her weight is ballast — on the tender side; she'll heel readily and want a reef sooner.

Ballast 26%

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

What the fleet has seen

The Spirit 21 (6.5), as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Spirit 21 (6.5) is a 6.5-meter masthead sloop designed by Henry R. Hinckley and built by Glastron, with production running from 1977 to the present. It features a swing keel and a pop-top cabin, which provides 6.17 feet of headroom when raised and 4.33 feet when lowered.9:12 The boat has a displacement of 952 kg, a beam of 2.4 meters, and a draft of 1.5 meters. An optional 5-gallon water tank is available. Berthon International, a brokerage and boatyard in Lymington, United Kingdom, maintains facilities for yacht display and comprehensive maintenance, including an 80-tonne travel hoist and a climate-controlled spray booth.9:22

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen once across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The record

Full specifications

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

Dimensions

Weights

Ballast / displacement

26.2%

Rig & sail area

Rig

Masthead Sloop

Ratios

SA / displacement

19.1

Displacement / length

142.2

Comfort ratio

10.7

Capsize screening

2.45

Hull speed

5.8 kn

Pounds / inch immersion

525

Hull

Hull type

Swing Keel

Construction

Fiberglass

Production

Years built

First built 1977

Designer

Henry R. Hinckley

Builder

Glastron

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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.

Spirit 23Originally the North American 23, this Robert Finch-designed masthead sloop features a keel-centerboard hull for shoal water Spirit 23 KA fin-keel masthead sloop built in Texas with a 36% ballast ratio and a hull speed of nearly six knots

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The fleet has more to say

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