Design and Construction
The Condor 55 carries an iron ballast of 595 pounds inside a solid fiberglass hull and deck, with a displacement of 1,654 pounds that yields a ballast ratio of 40 percent. Her length-to-beam ratio of 2.46 and a comfort ratio of 10.61 place her firmly in the light, narrow trailer-sailer camp rather than the heavy cruiser class. The wetted surface of the hull bottom is about 129 square feet, and the immersion rate runs roughly 462 pounds per inch, so she sits lightly and responds quickly to crew and load changes. With a capsize screening value of 2.45, the design falls outside the threshold used to qualify boats for ocean races, a flat statement of her limited offshore remit rather than a knock on her inshore manners.
Rig and Handling
As a fractional sloop the Condor 55 carries a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 26.40, a lively number for a boat of this tonnage that speaks to a willing, easily driven hull. The keel is a drop arrangement drawing between 1.15 and 1.45 feet loaded, letting her skim over shoals and launch from a ramp with the board raised. Standing rigging and sheet specs are modest: the jib and genoa sheets are 18 feet long in 5/16-inch diameter, the mainsheet runs 45.1 feet in the same diameter, and the spinnaker sheet is 39.7 feet of 5/16-inch line. Those dimensions suit a small deck plan where winch loads stay light and a single handler can tend the cockpit without effort.
Accommodations
Below, the boat is equipped with four berths, the practical minimum for a small family or two couples on a weekend. The compact interior matches the 7.35-foot beam and the overall scale of an 18-foot hull meant for protected waters, and the berth count is the only accommodation figure the sources state.
Power and Equipment
Propulsion is by outboard. The Condor 55 will typically require a 2 to 3 hp outboard, or alternatively an electric motor producing 34 to 41 pounds of thrust if the owner prefers silent, emission-free pottering. That small power demand is consistent with the light displacement and the shoal, low-resistance hull form.
The Verdict
The Condor 55 is a purpose-built little sailboat for sheltered cruising and ramp-launched daysailing, not a passage-maker. Stöberl's late-seventies design delivers a readily handled fractional sloop whose light weight, lifting keel, and modest power needs make ownership simple and inexpensive. The several-hundred-boat production run suggests a proven, understood formula, while the capsize screen and the 40-percent ballast ratio keep expectations honest about where she belongs.
Pros
- Lifting drop keel gives 1.15–1.45 ft draft for shoal access and trailering
- Light 1,654 lb displacement with 40% ballast ratio and SA/D of 26.40 for easy handling
- Four berths in a proven small-cruiser package with several hundred built
- Tiny 2–3 hp or 34–41 lb-thrust electric outboard requirement
Cons
- Capsize screening value of 2.45 excludes her from ocean-race qualification
- Minimal accommodation detail beyond four berths; strictly a sheltered-water boat
