Design and Construction
David Thomas shaped the Medina 20 around a light 860 kg displacement and a lifting keel, which together make the boat easy to launch and recover from a trailer and let it dry out upright on a mooring where deeper-draft rivals cannot sit. The keel-up draft is a minimal 10 inches, opening shallow creeks and drying harbours to the owner. Structurally, the hull uses flat after sections that promote early surfing once a sea builds under the stern, a trait that feeds directly into the boat's lively downwind behaviour. The design is explicitly based on the Hunter Sonata's proven lines, and that lineage shows in how the small hull punches above its length.
Rig and Handling
The Medina carries a fractional rig built around a high-performance bendy mast and a 140% deck-hugging genoa. That rig drives a boat that is fast to windward and, in the right conditions, capable of matching or beating many fast 27-footers anchor despite being seven feet shorter. Off the wind the flat run aft and the light displacement let a Medina attain in excess of 10 knots under spinnaker downwind, a startling number for a trailer-sailer. The same lightness and lifting keel that ease launching also make the boat forgiving to handle around a slip or a crowded launching ramp.
Accommodations
Below, the Medina offers compact four-berth accommodation contained within a single cabin. The space is honest about its size — this is a 20-footer, not a pocket cruiser with illusions — but the layout provides real sleeping capacity for a short-handed crew or a small family without external additions. The single-cabin arrangement keeps the interior simple and reduces the number of structures that can work loose or leak over a season of trailering.
The Verdict
The Medina 20 is a clever, performance-minded trailer-sailer that trades cabin volume for speed and access. Its Sonata-derived hull and bendy fractional rig deliver windward pace and exhilarating downwind surfing that embarrass larger boats, while the lifting keel and 10-inch dry draft make it one of the more versatile small craft for exploring shallow water and drying moorings. Production ended at hull number 170.
Pros
- Fast to windward and can match or beat many fast 27-footers
- Lifting keel with 10-inch keel-up draft for shallow and drying moorings
- Surfs early and exceeds 10 knots downwind under spinnaker
- Easy to launch, recover, and trailer thanks to light displacement
Cons
- Compact single-cabin accommodation limits comfort and privacy
- Small fleet size means fewer boats and parts in circulation
