Highlander
Description
The Highlander is a 20-foot one-design sailboat designed by Gordon K. "Sandy" Douglass in 1951 for racing and day sailing. It offers stability and speed, with a wide 6'6" beam, 450-lb hull, and pivoting 88-lb centerboard. Sail area includes a 170 sq ft main, 70 sq ft jib, and 200 sq ft spinnaker. Built initially in wood, now in fiberglass by Allen Boat Company, it supports 3–5 crew. Known for its forgiving handling, it’s raced in 14 U.S. fleets under the Highlander Class Association and popular for recreational lake and bay sailing. Over 1,000 boats have been built, and it remains in production due to its durable, simple design.
Construction Details
| Designer | Gordon K. (Sandy) Douglass |
|---|---|
| Builder | Allen Boat Co. |
| Length | 20.000 ft |
| LOA | 20.000 ft |
| LWL | 19.670 ft |
| Beam | 6.670 ft |
| Displacement | 830 lb |
| Max Draft | 5.600 ft |
| Min Draft | 0.670 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Documents
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 24.872 ft - (7581 mm) |
| Foot | 13.67 ft - (4167 mm) |
| Leech | * 27.28 ft - (8315 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 86.22 ° |
| Diagonal | 27.58 ft - (8406 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 6 in - (152 mm) |
| Area | * 175.12 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 17.83 ft - (5435 mm) |
| Foot | 7.67 ft - (2338 mm) |
| Leech | 15.75 ft - (4801 mm) |
| Length Perpendicular | 6.77 ft - (2063 mm) |
| Area | * 60.34 ft² |
| Sail Type | SPINNAKER |
|---|---|
| Stays | 20.5 ft - (6248 mm) |
| MidGirth | 14 ft - (4267 mm) |
| Foot | 16.33 ft - (4977 mm) |
| Area | * 285 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.