Cork 1720 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for a used Cork 1720 means buying into a one-design keelboat conceived by Royal Cork Yacht Club racing members and designed by Tony Castro as an affordable, safe and exciting club racer. These are day boats rather than cruisers, and the used examples carry the same essential layout and rig decisions as the original specification, so the buyer's task is less about variant spotting and more about inspecting documented weak points and confirming the gear tier typical of the class.
Layouts on the Used Market
The 1720 is a 26.25-foot monohull with an open cockpit arranged for four or five people and a virtually empty below-deck volume suited only to stowed spinnakers and warps. There is cramped storage below but no real accommodation, and the deck layout makes it virtually impossible to work the boat with the hatch open, which avoids swamping. A balsa-cored deck sits over a solid fiberglass hull, and the lead bulb keel carries ballast against a 3,003-pound displacement. Used buyers should expect the same short guard rails that limit hiking and the same foot braces that hold crew only when upright.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
A spinnaker is commonly fitted, and an asymmetric spinnaker is often seen, while a gennaker is a less common owner upgrade. The rig carries 42 sqm upwind with a choice of two jibs on a single track via a two-to-one sheet and ratchet turning block, and the vast stowage bins either side of the winch pod are standard for kite launching. The smaller short-hoist spinnaker is the smarter medium-condition option, and a documented owner-style fix for the bin issue is canvas flaps and elastic rather than a factory change.
What to Inspect
The haphazard positioning of the deck fittings was a major obstacle to enjoyment in period testing, and the mainsheet and backstay cleats proved difficult from the rail and almost impossible without a foot shove, with the backstay needing a fundamental rethink. Around the mast base, control lines and halyards lead with little logic and crowd the same area. The spinnaker stowage bin has no top and can let the kite cascade over the side on takedown. Below, the foot braces keep crew secure only when upright, not at extreme heel, and the hull lay-up of stitched and woven glass in Vinylester should be checked for the durability the construction implies.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The typical markets for these boats are the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Portugal and Ireland. A buyer's short checklist: confirm the lead keel and balsa deck are sound; test the backstay and cleat operation from the rail; inspect mast-base line routing; verify spinnaker bin tops or fit canvas flaps; and accept the boat as a day racer with no accommodation. The 1720 rewards a flat-sailing crew and punishes deferred ergonomic fixes, so a clean deck layout matters more than cosmetic polish.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Cork 1720. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 3 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26 | 4 | $ 12,718 | — |
| May 26 | 1 | $ 12,277 | -3.5% |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $ 11,717 | -4.6% |
Where they're listed
Cork 1720 listings appear across 2 countries. United Kingdom has the most listings with 5 (83.3%), followed by Netherlands.
Country view
6 listings · 2 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | $ 12,714 | 5 | 1 | 83.3% |
| Netherlands | $ 12,277 | 1 | 1 | 16.7% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
3 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J-Boats J/70 | 22.74' | $ 44,950 | 32 | 5 |
| Kirie 720 | 24.67' | $ 12,566 | 8 | 0 |
| Cork 1720You are here | — | $ 12,702 | 6 | 2 |