| Menger Oysterman 23 | |
| Designer: | Bill Menger |
| Location: | United States |
| Year: | 1977 |
| Builder: | Menger Boatworks |
| Role: | Day sailer-cruiser |
| Draft: | 1.67feet with lifting keel down |
| Displacement: | 26000NaN0 |
| Hull Type: | monohull |
| Construction: | fiberglass |
| Loa: | 31.25feet |
| Lwl: | 21.08feet |
| Beam: | 8feet |
| Engine: | outboard motor |
| Keel Type: | lifting keel |
| Ballast: | 5000NaN0 |
| Rudder Type: | transom-mounted rudder |
| Rig Type: | ketch |
| Sailplan: | ketch rig |
| Sailarea Total: | 323square feet |
The Menger Oysterman 23 is an American trailerable skipjack that was designed by Bill Menger as a daysailer and cruiser and first built in 1977.[1] [2]
The Oysterman 23 is based upon the general lines of the Howard Chappelle-designed Blue Crab skipjack and intended to resemble traditional 19th century oyster fishing boats of the Chesapeake Bay area.[1] [2]
The design was built by Menger Boatworks in the United States, starting in 1977, but the company went out of business in 2004 and the boat is now out of production.[1] [2] [3]
The boat was supplied compete and ready to sail or in kit form for amateur completion.[1]
The Menger Oysterman 23 is a recreational sailboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a ketch or optional masthead sloop rig, a long bowsprit, a raked stem an angled transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a lifting keel. It displaces 26000NaN0 and carries 5000NaN0 of ballast in the galvanized steel lifting keel.[1] [2]
The boat has a draft of 1.67feet with the lifting keel extended and 6inches with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water, beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.[1] [2]
The boat is normally fitted with a small 4to outboard motor, mounted in a transom well, for docking and maneuvering.[1] [2]
The design has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin and two straight settee berths in the main cabin around a drop-leaf table. The galley is located on the port side just aft of the bow cabin and is equipped with a two-burner stove. The head is located just aft of the bow cabin on the starboard side. Cabin headroom is 510NaN0. The optional fresh water tank has a capacity of .[1] [2]
The design has a hull speed of 6.2kn.[2]
In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "this little Chesapeake Bay skipjack is based on the lines of a Howard Chapelle design called Blue Crab. She could be bought from Menger Boatworks either as a ketch (favored by about 70% of buyers) or as a sloop. The ketch, with less sail area more spread out fore and aft, is easier to balance than the sloop when sailing in varying wind conditions. The sloop, on the other hand, is faster, simpler, and doesn't have a mast cluttering up the cockpit. Oddly, dimensions for this vessel seemed to vary more than most other designs, depending on the sales brochure. For example, in one place the ketch sail area is 309 square feet and in another it's 323 sq. ft, In one place the sloop area is 355 sq. ft. and in another it's 370 sq. ft. Ballast is 600 lbs. in one place, 700 lbs. in another. It's a puzzlement. Best features: For someone looking for a character boat, this may be your cup of tea. The outboard engine is in a cockpit well, convenient to the helmsman. The jib is on a jib boom, making life easy for a singlehander tacking up a narrow channel or sailing downwind wing and wing, Those who have tried it claim you can sail upwind in two feet of water without excessive sideslip. Worst features: With a SA/D ratio of 30, she should be responsive in light air, while on the other hand she may be a bit tender in heavy air. But of course, you can always reef."[2]
