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What PS neglects to say is how many entries there were in the cruising class. Four, maybe? No, we're being too cynical. We must give them the benefit of the doubt, and presume the annual race attracts dozens of cruisers. Which means the tiny 20-foot tot is interestingly light on her toes, too, but not exactly fast. According to the handicap ratings, she's 6 seconds a mile slower than the Cal 20, another 20-footer reviewed in the July issue of Good Old Boat. But if you're seriously concerned about 6 seconds a mile, it's obvious that you're not fit to own a Flicka yet. Your priorities are wrong. Please have your head examined and come back when you're better.
Basic design
The art of yacht design lies in intelligent compromise, and if you want to create a lot of space on a short waterline, you have to sacrifice looks or performance or a bit of both. Bingham took a small chance on performance and a bigger chance on looks by designing the Flicka with a hefty beam, tall topsides, and a high coach roof. She's tubby, and she's boxy, but somehow, although she has all the potential elements of a bathtub toy, she manages to avoid the sort of stomach-churning ugliness that repels you in mid-stride. Perhaps it's because her sterling character shines through her plain-Jane looks. Perhaps its because she's pug-ugly. Whatever it is, the word that most frequently comes to people's lips is "cute." And in this case, cute on deck translates into palatial accommodations down below, including headroom of 5 feet 11 inches and three full-sized berths.
She's a heavy-displacement, Bermudian-rigged sloop or cutter (your choice) with a masthead rig and a headsail set from a short bowsprit. Her hull is solid fiberglass, and her fiberglass decks are cored with balsa, but there's solid plywood where deck hardware is attached. She is fitted out in the usual PS tradition, that is to say, with no expense spared regarding materials or workmanship.
Her bow, like that of the Dana 24, is distinctively plumb. In fact, it is even more than plumb - the very top bends aft slightly, the better to
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