Design and Construction
The 1720 is a 26.25-foot monohull of solid fiberglass construction with a balsa-cored deck, and its hull lay-up uses stitched and woven glass reinforcements laminated in Vinylester resin. That solid laminate with Vinylester should prove tough and durable, and the spec block records a bulb keel with lead ballast against a 3,003-pound displacement, a 46.25 ballast-to-displacement ratio that explains the considerable righting moment testers noted from the 630 kg lead keel. At 8.0 m length and 2.5 m beam the boat is no lightweight at a documented 1,200–1,250 kg displacement, yet the hull form carries the sail area matched by that lead keel into a boat described as having the hull form to plane in more breeze.
Rig and Handling
Upwind the 1720 carries 42 sqm of sail area — big for the size of boat — with a choice of two jibs and a couple of deep reefs for regulating power, both jibs sheeting to a single track via a two-to-one sheet and ratchet turning block. Her substantial mainsail gives plenty of power even in light air, but the boat must be sailed flat; allow her to heel and the mainsheet or traveller has to be eased to maintain steering, otherwise a mild broach occurs, and constant easing of sheets when heeled is required to prevent a broach, though recovery is fast. Downwind the immense power of a 68 sqm asymmetric spinnaker — or a gennaker of 69 or 45 sqm — forces sailing quite deep, effectively preventing entry into the high-performance planing envelope in moderate conditions, and test sailors found her relatively slow to accelerate and reluctant to plane then; the smaller short-hoist spinnaker proved a better bet in medium conditions, generating nearly as much drive for much less heeling moment. Kept flat, the helm remains balanced if a touch on the heavy side, and the boat is no ultra-high performance screamer but gets around the track fast enough, better than many in a breeze, as a compromise between outright performance and ease of handling that a crew of four or five ordinary sailors can sail without being scared or bored.
Accommodations
This is virtually a day boat. There is room for four or five people in the open cockpit, but below decks the 1720 is essentially empty and difficult to access; some crammed storage space exists, yet even an estate agent would not describe it as accommodation, and getting the mainsail in and out down below is hard, though spinnakers and warps can be stowed there. The deck layout is arranged so it is virtually impossible to work the boat with the hatch open, which avoids any risk of swamping in the J24 style.
Known Issues
The short deck-level guard rails keep the crew from sitting facing outwards and limit hiking, and the foot braces aren't quite enough to keep the crew secure at large heeling angles, holding them only when the boat is upright. Testers flagged the haphazard positioning of the deck fittings as a major obstacle to enjoyment, and both the mainsheet and backstay cleats proved particularly difficult to operate from the rail, almost impossible without a firm foot shove, with the backstay seeming to need a fundamental rethink to be effective. Around the mast base, control lines and halyards lead to almost the same place with little logic, crowding the layout, and the vast stowage bin either side of the winch pod that makes kite launching simple is devoid of any top, so keeping the spinnaker from cascading over the side during takedown can be a problem — canvas flaps and a little elastic would soon see this solved.
Refits and Ownership
Ownership context is grounded in the original brief: the boat was designed as a basic package aimed at affordable club racing, and around a hundred were on the water at the time of the review, with 70 on the Cork Week 2000 start line, confirming a substantial market for exactly this kind of boat. The practical refit noted by testers is modest — canvas flaps and elastic on the spinnaker bins — while the more structural complaint, the backstay system, points to a fundamental rethink rather than a bolt-on fix. A fit mainsheet trimmer is among the first things on the shopping list after the boat itself, given the big sail area and the need to sail her flat.
The Verdict
The Cork 1720 is a purpose-built one-design racer that trades ultimate planing performance for a forgiving, affordable day-racer format a club crew can handle. The construction is straightforward and durable, the stability is real, and the open-cockpit day-boat ethos is honest rather than disguised. The weaknesses are concentrated in deck ergonomics and spinnaker management, not in the hull or rig concept.
Pros
- Solid fiberglass hull with Vinylester laminate and balsa-cored deck, documented as tough and durable
- 630 kg lead keel and 46.25 ballast ratio deliver plenty of righting moment
- Substantial mainsail powers the boat in light air; sails well with four or five ordinary sailors
- Open cockpit with room for four or five; hatch-open layout avoids swamping risk
- One-design lineage from the oldest yacht club in the world, with strong class numbers afloat
Cons
- Foot braces inadequate at large heel angles; guard rails prevent hiking
- Haphazard deck fitting positions and illogical mast-base control-line layout
- Mainsheet and backstay cleats hard to operate from the rail; backstay needs rethink
- Spinnaker bins lack tops, letting the kite cascade over the side on takedown
- Below decks essentially empty and hard to access; no real accommodation
