Design and Construction
Enderlein's 20-foot platform pairs a hand-laid solid fiberglass hull with a balsa-cored fiberglass deck, and the yard finished both hull and deck in the same GRP medium. The fin keel is iron, and the reported draft runs about 2.95 to 3.25 feet depending on load, which lets the boat settle into shallow marinas that larger cruisers cannot reach anchor. Her displacement-length ratio of 234 tags her among moderate racers in the standard classification, while an immersion rate of roughly 447 pounds per inch speaks to a stiff little hull that resists sinking under extra gear. Marieholm built the MS-20 as part of a family of 20-foot variants under Enderlein's partnership, distinct from the later S-20 that followed in 1976.
Rig and Handling
The boat carries a fractional sloop rig, and the sail-area-to-displacement index reads 12.6 with the ISO reference sail but rises to 14.4 once a 135 percent genoa is set. YachtDatabase's review found that she carries more rig than 73% of similar sailboats, a slight over-rigging that favors light-air cruising on a modest hull. Standing and running lines follow a compact pattern: the three halyards each run 60 feet at 1/4-inch diameter, while sheets and the 50-foot mainsheet are 5/16-inch, keeping deck hardware light and manageable for short-handed crew. The theoretical displacement hull speed is 5.6 knots, and the calculated maximum is about 5.9 knots, with a Relative Speed Performance score of 4 — enough to hold a steady coastal pace without claiming offshore pace.
Accommodations and Seakeeping Numbers
Below, the MS-20 is equipped with three berths, a sparse but honest layout for a 19.68-foot LOA motorsailer. The Motion Comfort Ratio sits at 16.2 and the capsize screening value is 2.11, a figure the reviewing publication pointed out as outside the threshold for ocean-race acceptance anchor, a useful boundary marker for buyers imagining long passages. The wetted surface of the underside is about 139 square feet, a small footprint that keeps her quick to accelerate and easy to push through a marina berth under the Volvo Penta MD1 diesel and shaft drive.
The Verdict
The MS-20 is a narrowly drawn, well-ballasted pocket motorsailer whose Enderlein pedigree shows in an efficient hull and a surprisingly generous rig for her length. She is not a bluewater racer by the numbers, but as a shallow-draft weekender with a simple three-berth cabin and a bulletproof single diesel, she fills a specific niche well.
Pros
- Iron fin keel and 29 percent ballast ratio give reassuring stability for the size
- Load-dependent draft of under 3.25 feet opens shallow marinas
- Fractional rig with genoa yields sail-area-to-displacement of 14.4, lively in light air
- Solid fiberglass hull and balsa-cored deck from a known Swedish builder
Cons
- Capsize screening value of 2.11 excludes her from ocean-race categorization
- Only three berths and 19.68-foot length limit cruising range and guest capacity
- Moderate-racer displacement-length ratio of 234 favors pace over load-carrying comfort
