Design Brief & Intent
The Ancom 23 was designed to serve as an agile coastal cruiser and club racer. To stand out in a competitive 23-foot market, Hans Denhertog abandoned the typical flat-bottomed or heavy-displacement configurations of the era in favor of a sleeker hull form. Built of solid hand-laid fiberglass, the hull lines prioritize efficient water flow and reduced surface drag. Below the waterline, the boat features a modern fin keel capped with a ballast bulb alongside a high-aspect spade rudder. This design choice was relatively forward-thinking for the early 1970s, allowing the boat to carry its ballast low to increase stability while maintaining a modest draft of just three and a half feet.
The interior design is straightforward, reflecting the boat's pocket-cruising intent. While head room is limited by its 23-foot length overall, the cabin layout is highly functional. It features a classic V-berth forward, a compact main salon with two settee berths, and a minimal galley area near the companionway. The joinery and overall fit-out lean toward utilitarian simplicity, using marine plywood and fiberglass liners that are easy to clean and maintain, rather than the extensive teak cabinetry found on larger, more expensive cruisers of the time. It was built for sailors who prioritized deck layout and sailing mechanics over domestic dockside luxury.
Rigging & Hull Configurations
Unlike many recreational pocket cruisers of its generation that utilized a masthead sloop rig, the Ancom 23 was engineered with a fractional sloop rig. This fractional configuration utilizes a smaller headsail (jib) and a larger mainsail, bringing several operational advantages to short-handed crews. Tacking is significantly easier because there is less genoa sheet to winch in, making the boat highly maneuverable in tight channels and short-tack situations.
Under deck, the ballast-to-displacement ratio stands at a solid 38.24%, indicating a well-ballasted boat that carries its canvas stiffly. The inclusion of a bulb at the foot of the fin keel concentrates the ballast's weight at the lowest possible point, drastically improving the righting moment compared to a standard straight fin keel of similar draft. This allows the Ancom 23 to carry a taller, high-aspect rig without becoming overly tender in initial heel. The spade rudder is positioned well aft to maximize leverage, providing immediate and positive steering response.
Sailing Performance & Handling
On the water, the technical ratios of the Ancom 23 translate into a lively and highly communicative sailing experience. With a displacement-to-length ratio of 189.73, the boat sits firmly in the moderate-displacement category. It is heavy enough to punch through light chop without losing steerage, yet light enough to accelerate quickly in a gentle breeze. The sail area-to-displacement ratio of 16.98 confirms that the boat is well-powered, allowing it to perform well even in light-air conditions where heavier pocket cruisers tend to stall.
Under sail, the boat feels more like a dinghy than a traditional keelboat. The helm is highly responsive, though the high-aspect spade rudder requires an active hand to prevent stalling if the boat is over-canvased. With a capsize screening ratio of 1.86, the boat possesses excellent primary and secondary stability for a vessel of this size, technically meeting historical standards for offshore racing safety. Its motion comfort ratio of 18.81 is notably high for a 23-footer, meaning the hull shape softens the motion in a seaway, reducing the jerky, tiring motion common to lighter displacement hulls. However, because of its fractional rig and generous sail area, the boat will feel slightly over-rigged when the wind climbs past 15 knots, making early reefing of the mainsail essential to maintain optimal trim and control.
Known Issues & Cruising Reality
Because the youngest Ancom 23 hulls are now over fifty years old, prospective owners must approach them with a strict triage protocol. The most common structural concern relates to deck rot. Like many production boats of the 1970s, the decks utilize a balsa-core sandwich construction to save weight and add stiffness. Decades of neglected deck hardware seals, dry-rotting chainplates, and leaking stanchion bases frequently allow moisture to penetrate the core, leading to delamination and soft spots.
Additionally, the spade rudder design, while highly efficient, leaves the rudder post vulnerable to bending or internal corrosion if the boat has suffered a hard grounding. Since Ancom Marine went bankrupt in the mid-1970s, there is no factory support, meaning replacement rudders, custom hardware, or rudder bearings must be fabricated as one-off DIY projects or sourced from general marine supply houses. Original mast steps and chainplate bulkheads should also be thoroughly inspected for stress cracking or water damage.
The Verdict
The Ancom 23 is an underrated, historically significant pocket cruiser that offers a level of sailing performance and structural stiffness rarely found in boats under 25 feet from its era. It represents an excellent entry-point or down-sizing option for sailors who value responsive handling, clean lines, and an active helm over caravan-style interior volume.
Pros
- Lively and responsive sailing performance due to an efficient fractional rig and high-aspect underwater profile.
- Low center of gravity and high ballast ratio make the boat remarkably stiff and stable in a blow.
- Bulb keel design provides the performance of a deep fin keel while maintaining a modest 3.5-foot draft.
- Highly maneuverable and easy to tack short-handed due to smaller headsails.
- Complete lack of factory support or active owner associations due to the builder's short production run.
- Intrusive deck balsa-core rot and potential rudder-post vulnerability are common on aging hulls.
- Utilitarian, cramped cabin space compared to beamier, modern 23-foot cruisers.
