Flicka...a perfect cruiser???

[Frank]

I have owned several different boats over 29 yrs of sailing...my most recent is a Flicka 20. I figured I would share my reasoning for purchasing it, if for no other reason than to stir a debate.I believe 1st and foremost ,people must be honest with them selves on how they will use thier vessel. All too often people (in my opinion) buy too large a vessel for reasons that never seem to materialize and then in the process they pay way more marina/storage/maintainance/insurance fees and spend more $$ sailing do to much larger anchors,sails,mooring lines,fenders etc etc......all the while quite often sailing less do to the lack of simplicity of a 'quick sail cause the wind just came up'. I have been there. Might just be me, but on a night with a  35knt wind I just never felt as safe on a 34ft boat with a ton of freeboard and a 35lb anchor as I did on a low to the water 25fter and a 25lber. And if ya do drag (and we ALL do sometime)...it's WAY easier to haul in and reset a 25lber!!! Back to my reasoning on the Flicka...I sail approx 2 1/2 to 4 mths each year in southern Florida and the Bahamas...so obviously shallow draft is a must (Flicka 3ft 3in) Judy is not yet retired ,so joins me for 3weeks leaving much of my cruising solo.Small size means easy singlehanding (flicka 20) Anchoring alone can be entertaining both setting and retrieving..the Flicka has 2 anchor rollers on its bow sprit...both anchors ready at all times.When solo it is nice to have a sence of security...flicka has a small bulwork,bow/stern pulpit and double lifelines.For me ,gulf stream crossings are the norm, so a 'safe' and comfortable boat is a must as any one cruise will have several crossings of the gulf stream and Bahama banks. The flicka has a long record of safe ocean passages with many many documented Pacific crossings. Her heavy displacement and full keel make her as safe and comfortable out there as a 20 could be.Her 'capsize screening' and 'motion comfort' numbers exceed many 30fters !! Her small sails make reefing and sail changes easy as well as a much lower price adding light air sails etc. It is nice to have 'range' under power and the lil 9hp diesel 'sips'only a 1/4 gall per hour @ 4 1/2 knots !! (18mpg!) the 12 gal. tank  with a 5gal spare gives lots of fuel. Judy and I spoke about what we REALLY needed/wanted. A comfortable bouble...hopefully one I can get out of and let her sleep in and one that does'nt have to be set-up/taken apart. Flicka has a real nice sized Vberth...I can get up ,make coffee,read below in the rain or go out to the cockpit and let Jude sleep.Standing headroom (or close) is a must and the flicka comes through with 5ft-11in. We have 3 teenagers..all 3 at once on ANY boat for a full week (unless the queen mary) would be stressful but we want to bring 'one at a time' for a week each...more fun..more 1on1...more 'bonding' ..less stress. The 1/4 berth on the flicka is great for a teenager on an adventure. There are some moments in life I simply don't like to share and I'm just not comfortable with the head in the open under the V berth arrangement in many small boats. The flicka comes through with an inclosed head !!! (amazing on a 20fter). So there you have it....smallest size possible for easy single handing (and MANY other reasons)shallow draft,safe/seaworthy,seperate double bunk,additional berth for a 'kiddy',private head and standing headroom=flicka 20.   Add in Pacific Seacrafts build quality and Flickas 'salty look'.....thats how I ended up with 'Jubilee'

[Zen]

Frank, all I can say is congrats. Sounds near perfect to me. Had I found one before I got my Ariel I would have snatched it up quick. Very livable sounding, all those features sound great. Like a woman ( & and a man ) no one is completly perfect , but that sounds very close! You should have many happy days & niights of sailing. Sweet! 8)

Reminds me of the old show, "My friend Flicka"  :D

[xroyal]

Frank, you won't get any arguments from me. I've been casting about for a boat at the local yacht club and marina. Recently I was talking to the skipper of a Catalina 25, and commented that the nearby Sanibel 17 was a cute little boat (for lake sailing). He and his wife laughed at the thought of it. Last week I got a chance to sail on the Sanibel. The skipper had the jib on in a flash, and we were out sailing in a very few mins...while all the other boats were tied up.  Granted, the Sanibel per se is not my cup of tea, but reinforces your principal of easy to afford/use.

I'd expect you'd see a lot more Flickas out there except for the cost. Of course, you can't build all the features of the Flicka for the cost of the average boat.

Speaking of cost, if only I could justify the time and expense of towing Revival from Fla to OR!    ;D

[Zen]

Oh, Frank, There is one downer, I'm sorry to tell you about giving up your Ariel and going Flicka. I noticed it once I sold mine and so did "5 miles from the bottom" Starcrest  :)
You will be pretty much ignored when/if you show up to a certain On-line board. You now bare the mark of Trader!  :o

;D ;D ;D ;D

Do not let that bum you out whilst you're there having loads o fun though  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

We still love ya man!  :D

[Zen]

Speaking of cost, if only I could justify the time and expense of towing Revival from Fla to OR!    ;D

Oh , I can help with that!
Life is short, sometimes you have to go for it! The tomorrow you wait for may never come! Enjoy today!  ;)

need more, I got several  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D


Of course your wife may not relate to that philosophy, but you could alway live on the boat.


or...

Fly to Fla and sail her home, some young'ns did it, with no experience!

[Frank]

Zen..I plan on posting pics 'over there' of my pearson electra and flicka. It will be OK....I used the 'search button' 1st and there weren't any ,so they will be welcome.The electra is kind of a 'mini ariel' anyway.I gotta keep checkin back..it is a great bunch and Ebb is tooooo funny...gotta love his wit !!!

[Frank]

Kurt...I'm chuckling to myself here....guess you'l be seeing me here for a very long time. All of my recent boat transactions are to smaller vessels. By 2016 I'll be into a 'real good 15'....I can see it comin !!!  Here's to "small boats/long distances"

[s/v Faith]

Frank,

  The Flicka is a great boat!  I will never forget when I went below on one.  I literally had to step back up in the cockpit  to figure out if the boat had magically grown!

  It was a fero-cement flicka (yes, there are a couple of them) Imagine fero-cement on a 20' hull!

  Much like other things in life...... sufficiency is a beautiful thing.

Satisfaction is wanting what you already have.   ;D

[xroyal]

You definitely have me thinking smaller. Yesterday I sailed on the Catalina 25 I mentioned above.

Most of my current sailing will be on our big lake. The wind can really pipe up, and this boat's freeboard is a hinderance to me, especially when docking in close quarters. Add to that, who needs to drag around berths for 5-6 and a galley when you only hope to grab the wind for a few hours or a day.

I'm on a 30 mile long lake that can get down to 6' depth in lots of spots. Yet the boats are getting bigger and bigger, including a just arrived Catalina 30 and a 36' double ender Perry design (new mast for the 36'er cost him $10,000!). Bear in mind, the latter 2 boats are for hubbies whose spouses don't go out. On the Cat25, I'm 6', and couldn't even sit up straight in the cabin without hitting my head. I will add one positive....the self furling jib was sweet.

I'm beginning to think a Santana 22 or Ranger 23 might fill the bill for me. Heck, even a Cape Dory Typhoon Weekender (if I could find one) might be the perfect boat for now. Even if I do move back to the SF Bay area in a year or so I'll be concentrating on smaller is better. Thanks for reinforcing the principle!  :)

[Frank]

Better yet...ya can have a small 'fleet' of them for way less than a good 30fter !!

[Oldrig]

Frank,

I won't say that I'm jealous, but the Flicka was for many years the boat of my dreams. Unfortunately, being Pacific Coast boats, Flickas very scarce here in New England--and very expensive. The only one I ever found that I could afford had been holed after running up on rocks--and the repair job didn't look too good.

After a long, fruitless search for a Flicka in my price range, I decided to go with the "East Coast Flicka" instead. For those who don't know it, that's the Cape Dory 25D. It's a wonderful, Carl Alberg classic that's built to take heavy weather, although it's probably not as sturdy as a Flicka.

With its 19-foot waterline and cutaway keel, the 25D is probably a bit faster than a Flicka. But the real difference is the standing headroom (at least if you're relatively short, like me and my wife). Instead of a V-berth, the entire forward compartment is devoted to a head and small sink. This is a feature that my wife adores, especially after sailing for 18 years on a sitting-headroom catboat with a portapotty.

Oops, I'm getting really wordy--and I didn't mean to give a sales pitch for my particular boat. The point is, she's small enough for me, and big enough, too.

Enjoy that Flicka!

--Joe

[AdriftAtSea]

Headroom is a feature that is well worth having.  I looked at many boats during my search for the boat I finally bought.  One of the things that helped me choose the Pretty Gee was having enough headroom to stand up and be comfortable.  Several of the boats I had looked at were so low that even a short (5' 4") person like me could not stand upright.  UGH.

As I plan on spending many days at sea on this boat, i wanted one I could at least stand up in.  It has a forward head compartment, like your Cape Dory 25D, rather than a v-berth.  Some of the boats I looked at boasted room to sleep six or seven, but realistically, they were better suited to being floating condos.  I doubt that I will ever take a long passage with more than myself and another person... daysails with a half-dozen are one thing, long voyages with that many a totally different story.

[xroyal]

Frank: June 1 I said above I was thinking about a Santana 22. Then I spotted one on craigslist in Vancouver, WA. June 4 at 1AM she rolled in front of my house. Has 1230 lb ballast, 7'10" beam, 3'6" draft and a comfy 6'9" cockpit. Should be about perfect for my lake. Should I decide to move back to the Bay Area, she'll handle that fine too. I sailed and raced on the same boat on the Bay for several seasons. Would have preferred a Ranger 23, but I'm a happy camper.

http://home.earthlink.net/~xroyal/public_html/Santana.jpg

[AdriftAtSea]

Congrats on the new to you boat.  What is her name going to be?

[xroyal]

Thanks! I'm chewing on that one.

I continue to thank Frank for helping me think small is better!

Santana handle this lake? I just read where this boat did the first SSSociety Transpac race from San Francisco to Hawaii in 1978 in 17 days.  ;D

[Zen]

Nice looking boat, congrats!

Early Christmas treats are fun!

Well any treats are fun  ;D ;D

[xroyal]

Thanks Zen.

I'd say she looks pretty good for a 39 year old boat. She may be sporting a navy blue hull, etc before the summer is out. First, I've got to paint my house....darnit.

[Frank]

pic

[Frank]

pic

[Frank]

pic