Halcyon 23

BoatsHalcyon 23

See her sail

The Halcyon 23, 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 2.29 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 1,406 kg of hull, so roughly 2,000 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Shoal draughtDraws 0.69 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.

LivelySea-kindly

Her moderate displacement on a moderate beam gives 16 — a quick, lively motion that feels every wave.

Comfort ratio 16

CoastalBluewater

2.06 — right around the 2.0 line, the edge between coastal and offshore.

Capsize screening 2.06

LightHeavy

213 — moderately heavy for her waterline, a balanced cruising weight.

Displacement / length 213

EasygoingPowered-up

17.0 — moderate power for her weight; steady, all-round performance.

Sail area / displacement 17.0

TenderStiff

37% of her weight is ballast — moderately stiff, a middle-of-the-road stability.

Ballast 37%

A balanced, easily-driven cruiser — comfortable and forgiving for coastal work.

Draws less than ~97% of boats her size on file
Narrower than ~82% of boats her size on file

Compared with 1090 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Halcyon 23, as the fleet has seen it

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

The Halcyon 23 is a 6.9-meter masthead sloop designed by Alan H. Buchanan and built by Offshore Yachts Ltd. from 1967 to the present, with approximately 1,000 units produced.1:45 It features a 2.3-meter beam, a 0.7-meter draft with its triple keel, and a displacement of 1406 kg.2:12 The design is nearly identical to the earlier Crystal 23. Practical Sailor acquired a Halcyon 23 as a teaching tool to explore the viability of low-cost cruising, noting its size makes it manageable while its 1,100 pounds of ballast provide a cruising feel.1:07 Aboard Practical Sailor's boat, a structural assessment of the deck core found no rot or structural failure, though screw holes required inspection for water intrusion.7:20 The crew replaced a failed bilge pump with a 1,000-gallon-per-hour Johnson pump.10:10 The boat is powered by an early Volvo single-cylinder diesel engine with a Dyna-start system.15:52

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen 2 times across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the water

The Halcyon 23 on video

Zero Dollar Cruising Dream | Halcyon 23Practical Sailor takes a free Halcyon 23 to test whether small-boat cruising can stay genuinely cheap.Practical Sailor

The record

Full specifications

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

Dimensions

Weights

Ballast / displacement

37.3%

Rig & sail area

Rig

Masthead Sloop

Ratios

SA / displacement

17.0

Displacement / length

212.7

Comfort ratio

16.4

Capsize screening

2.06

Hull speed

5.8 kn

Pounds / inch immersion

500

Hull

Hull type

Triple Keel

Construction

Fiberglass

Ballast type

Iron

Production

Years built

First built 1967

Units built

1000

Designer

Alan H. Buchanan

Builder

Offshore Yachts Ltd

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

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.

J Boats Tillotson Pearson J/247.32 mSame hull family0.4 m longerA legendary Rodney Johnstone design that defined the modern one-design racer with its high sail-area-to-displacement ratio

Everything You Think About Sailing Is Wrong3:59 from The Sailing Doodles Podcast

Marieholm Boats S-206.00 mSame hull family0.9 m shorterA short-run 1970s fractional sloop with a fin keel and transom-hung rudder, designed for coastal agility

Bay Cruiser 21: Sensibility with charm from SEILmagasinet

Cal 257.62 mSame hull family0.7 m longerA flush-deck masthead sloop featuring a pop-top companionway that became one of the most popular models in the fleet

Torres Strait: The Lost Files4:04 from Wind Hippie Sailing

Comet 7707.70 mSame hull family0.8 m longerA Jean-Marie Finot-designed IOR quarter-tonner with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for spirited club racing

SOLO SAILING - STERN-TO MOORING WITH BOW MOORING BUOY⚓🚢 #sailboat #sailing from Maurizio and the sail

Galion 226.71 mSame hull family0.2 m shorterDesigned by Ian Hannay, this fractional sloop proved her mettle by winning both the Round the Island and JOG races in 1968

Log Books and Boats1:38 from Sailing Gently

Sirius 7277.27 mSame hull family0.3 m longerA development of the Sirius 24, this fractional sloop features a fin keel with skeg-mounted rudder for balanced handling

Two Different Ways Sailing Changes Lives | #SAL #2510:15 from Hashtag Sal

The family

Boats like this

Nearby designs by size, type, and era — worth a look alongside her.

Halcyon 27An Alan Buchanan-designed masthead sloop with a long keel and heavy ballast, evolved from the earlier Diamond 27 Crystal 23An Alan Buchanan-designed masthead sloop that evolved into the Halcyon 23 and was famously fitted out by Stebbings & Sons Halcyon Clipper 26An Alan Buchanan-designed masthead ketch with twin keels, built for shoal-draft cruising and stability since 1971 Hunter Marine 23A fractional sloop featuring a 0.69-meter wing keel, optimized for stability and access to shallow coastal anchorages

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