Design and Construction
Cardell's hull is a hand laid fiberglass shell carrying an iron fin keel with a bulb, a configuration that lowers the center of gravity to increase righting moment while keeping draft shallow enough for modest marinas. The keel itself is iron, and the bulb's geometry is what lets the boat sit at roughly 3.94 to 4.24 feet depending on load. Against a full-keeled counterpart, the fin makes her more maneuverable but less directionally stable, a familiar trade in small performance cruisers. The builder's solid glass approach means the structure is straightforward, and the low seasonal maintenance burden of the hull material suits an owner who wants time on the water rather than in the bilge.
Rig and Handling
The Balaton 24 carries a masthead sloop rig, whose chief merit is simplicity and the ability to set a given sail area lower than a fractional rig would, reducing heeling moment for the same cloth. Working sail area for mainsail and jib is 272.3 square feet. Sheet spec is practical and uniform: jib and genoa sheets run about 24.4 feet at 3/8 inch, the mainsheet 61.1 feet at the same diameter, and spinnaker sheets 53.8 feet. The ballast ratio sits at 42 percent, higher than 62 percent of comparable designs, and the displacement-length figure of 210 places her among "moderate racers," with more than half of similar boats rated heavier. Cardell appears to have chosen a slightly quicker hull form, and the fin keel's agility complements that intent.
Performance Profile
Numbers from the design record paint a coherent picture of a light, narrow, comfortable small boat. The length-to-beam ratio is 3.12, making her slimmer than 69 percent of similar sailboats, while the capsize screening value of 1.87 would, by that formula alone, admit her to ocean racing. Theoretical hull speed is 6.2 knots. The Motion Comfort Ratio ranges 18.7 to 21.2, reported as more comfortable than 76 percent of similar designs, and immersion runs about 578 pounds per inch. The wetted surface is about 17m2 (182 ft2). None of this makes her a heavy offshore voyager, but it explains why she feels settled for her size.
Accommodations
Below, the Balaton 24 is equipped with five berths, and headroom is near the average for the class. The accommodation count is generous for a 24-footer and speaks to her role as a weekend coastal cruiser rather than a daysailer with a cabin.
The Verdict
The Balaton 24 is a thoughtfully proportioned small sloop: narrow, well-ballasted, and comfortably tuned for her length, with a low-maintenance hull and a shallow-draft bulb keel that widens her cruising range. She is not a stiff passage-maker, but as a mid-sixties design she balances simplicity and pace better than most of her peers.
Pros
- Hand-laid fiberglass hull with minimal seasonal upkeep
- Bulb fin keel lowers center of gravity and keeps draft under 4.25 feet
- Masthead rig simplicity with lower heeling moment than fractional setups
- Comfort and ballast ratios superior to the majority of similar designs
Cons
- Fin keel sacrifices directional stability versus a full keel
- Shallow draft and light displacement limit heavy-weather authority
