| Santana 23 D | |
| Designer: | W. Shad Turner |
| Location: | United States |
| Year: | 1978 |
| No Built: | 144 (plus 50 fixed keel version) |
| Builder: | W. D. Schock Corp |
| Role: | Racer-Cruiser |
| Draft: | 5.25feet with keel down |
| Displacement: | 26000NaN0 |
| Hull Type: | monohull |
| Construction: | fiberglass |
| Loa: | 23.33feet |
| Lwl: | 20.62feet |
| Beam: | 8.83feet |
| Engine: | outboard motor |
| Ballast: | 11300NaN0 |
| Rudder Type: | transom-mounted rudder |
| Rig Type: | Bermuda rig |
| I: | 30feet |
| J: | 8.75feet |
| P: | 29feet |
| E: | 10.5feet |
| Sailplan: | fractional rigged sloop |
| Sailarea Main: | 152.25square feet |
| Sailarea Headsail: | 131.25square feet |
| Sailarea Total: | 283.5square feet |
| Phrf: | 171 |
The Santana 23 is a lightweight, 23-foot 4-inch sailboat that was designed by W. Shad Turner and manufactured by W. D. Schock Corp as a "high performance racer"[1] and trailerable cruiser. It was first built in 1978 and remained in production through 1987, with a total of 194 units produced,[2] [3] [4] though the hull was brought back in 1993 as the Santana 2023. It was produced through 1984 as the Santana 23 "D" (for "daggerboard") model, commonly called the Santana 23D, with a retractable, vertical, daggerboard keel similar to racing dinghys, with a remaining 50 produced through 1987 with a traditional keel, called the Santana 23K. The hull was also used to inspire the Wavelength 24 also by Schrock, and supposedly "many other models."
The 23 was initially designed as a recreational daggerboard boat, built predominantly of fiberglass with a balsawood core designed to reduce weight. It has a raked stem plumb stem, a semi-cut-down vertical transom.[2] [3] For the final three years of production, the boat was modified to use a traditional keel.
The Santana 23 is an Ultra Low Displacement Boat, made popular in the 1970s and 1980s in racing fleets, and was Schrock's attempt for one-design racing that never fully-materialized. It initially had a lead ballast of 1170 lbs (of which only 170lbs of which were in the daggerboard keel) and a hull weight of only approximately 1500 lbs for the boat itself. From Schrock's marketing brochure on the Santana 23:
In 1994, the hull was brought back by W.D. Schrock in a redesigned model called the Santana 2023, using the original production's daggerboard design but with a water ballast tank, to reduce weight further than the original 23 models while trailering, and to compete in sales with popular water-ballast models from MacGregor and Catalina. The "R" racing version of the 2023 has a similar PHRF rating as the fairly-fast original 23D that was designed to compete with trailerable racer-cruisers like the J/24, Merit 25, Capri 25, and others.
Particularly in areas where water levels vary, and due to the boat's ability to beach with the retractable keel all-the-way in rather than in a keel housing like most centerboard keelboats, the 23D has a strong reputation and retains high resale value, similar to the cult-like following of the S2 7.9 which also has a vertical daggerboard design. The boat is also designed to plane on the water downwind with the keel up, similar to the Hobie 33. The mainsheet traveler is cockpit-mounted, and the deck-stepped mast has double-spreaders.
The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 171 and a hull speed of 6.1kn.[3]
The cabin has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin and two, 7' settee berths in the main cabin that reach under the helm to seem like large quarterberths though the entire aft cabin area is open and accessible, separate from the wet locker in the rear of the boat. The galley has a sink, drawer, and counter, and is used as a step to enter the cabin. Cabin headroom is 520NaN0.[2] [3] and the walls are lined with a thin carpet, allowing the cabin to be comfortable and usable for a low-deck-height racing boat.
The boat is normally fitted with a small 3to outboard motor for docking and maneuvering and to keep weight down.[2] [3]
In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "best features: A comparison of statistics with her comp[etitor], the San Juan 23, shows that the Santana 23 (either the K or D version), despite similar ballast and displacement figures, is (like the Wavelength 24) more of a serious racing boat. The Santana's PHRF, for example, is 63 seconds-per-mile faster than the San Juan 23. She also has the highest Space Index. Worst features: The hull is built light (weight excluding ballast is under 1,500 pounds), so you need to be careful to avoid damage."[3]
