The INTER 20-
I had a very enjoyable weekend sailing the INTER 20 catamaran in sunny San Diego, California. Alan Thompson invited us to come down and sail the boat for the purposes of a review. I have sailed most of the production catamarans made in the US and found the INTER 20 by Performance Catamarans to be the best sailing two man boat I have ever spent time on by a fair bit.
I want to preface this review with the fact that we are NOT dealers for the INTER product line nor any of the Performance Catamarans boats.
Admittedly we sailed in flat water and the conditions were ideal but the INTER 20 did so many things really well I think it is worth noting the highlights:
#1 This is the best steering catamaran I have ever sailed including a Marstrom Tornado which ranks second in my opinion. There is almost no helm at all and when you ask the boat to change directions it does in a hurry and without effort or deceleration. Even with the spinnaker up I found the boat's helm unloaded and very manageable.
#2 The sail plan generated an amazing amount of controllable power both upwind and downwind. The sail area was very manageable with the stock rigging from the factory.
#3 The quality of cordage, fittings and spars were excellent. The foils needed some minor work but are VERY* nice for a production catamaran under $15,000. The rudder system at first glance seemed fragile and wimpy but after driving the boat I found that it was adequate for the minimal loads it is required to handle.
#4 The EO Snuffer was simple and effective. Some McLube (SAILKOTE) would be helpful for getting the spinnaker out of the spinnaker sock. Beyond that the sail was simple to set and easy to dowse.
#5 An added benefit to the
BEAM FORWARD DESIGN
was a large amount of trampoline space. This made the boat feel much larger that the NACRA 6.0/ NACRA 5.8/ Prindle 19/ Miracle 20s which are in the same overall length range.
I would like to thank Alan Thompson and NACRA fleet #2 members for sailing upwind and downwind several times which allowed me to see the relative difference in sailing styles various skippers use including champion Brandon Wallace. Brandon's all black hulls with white decks was unusual looking but apropos for his close proximity to Sea World and the ORCA whales which the boat closely emulates with it's color scheme (very cool).
If I were in the market for another beach catamaran the INTER 20 would be my choice hands down....
You can read this and other boat reviews on the ULTIMATE CATAMARAN BUYERS GUIDE located at : http://www.sailingproshop.com
Mark Michaelsen
www.sailingproshop.com
Mark A. Michaelsen ~MM~
1244 Pacific Coast Highway
(562) 594-8749 Voice
OK Mark, your working hard! Now another daunting task, get a review of the I-17R for us. And why doesn't Performance provide you with boats? Isn't their action or lack of it counter productive to their own sales? It would seem as though they don't care what the sailing public wants to know. Thank you for the review. Oh, on that list of boats to review. Why don't you test the M-20 after the I-17R? Not that I could afford the M-20 but you never know when the piggy bank could get captured.
Thanks for the review!
John
I wonder how the Hobie Fox compares to the Inter 20...
Anyone have experience with this?