Design and Construction
The hull is solid fiberglass, and the boat was offered with different keel alternatives — a daggerboard lifting keel and a fin keel — the former able to be raised and lowered vertically so the boat can work into shallow marinas at a draft of only 1.8 to 2.1 feet under load daggerboard shallow-water access. The fin-keel version draws 3.6 to 3.9 feet. A 1976 facelift brought a newly developed balanced rudder to the design. The lifting roof, or Hubdach, is the signature accommodation feature, giving standing or seated headroom that a standard trunk cabin of this length would not provide.
Rig and Handling
She is a masthead sloop carrying 269 square feet of sail area overall, with the working jib and mainsail alone totaling 172 square feet. Sheet sizing runs to a 57-foot mainsheet and 22.8-foot jib and genoa sheets, all around 3/8 inch diameter, with a 50-foot spinnaker sheet for downwind work. Docking and maneuvering typically rely on an outboard of 2 to 3 horsepower, or an electric outboard producing 46 to 55 pounds of thrust. Her length-beam ratio of 2.78 makes her beamier than 66 percent of comparable designs, while a displacement-length ratio of 149 places her among the 'light racers' — 73 percent of similar sailboats are heavier.
Performance Envelope
The theoretical hull speed is 5.8 knots. Her capsize screening value of 2.49 means she would not be accepted to participate in ocean races, and her Motion Comfort Ratio of 10.6 is more comfortable than only 21 percent of similar sailboat designs. The immersion rate of 544 pounds per inch and a wetted surface near 161 square feet round out the picture of a light, shallow-draft coastal boat rather than an offshore passagemaker.
Accommodations
Below, the Back Decker sleeps five thanks to the space opened by the lifting roof. The roof itself is the defining liveability element, trading the cramped fixed cabin of a typical 22-footer for a brighter, more usable interior volume. No source details the berth layout beyond the count, but the five-berth capacity in a boat of this footprint is a direct consequence of that variable-height cabin.
Refits and Ownership
Production began in 1973, with a 1976 update that delivered both the facelift and the balanced rudder. A second production site opened in Tunisia that year to build the Neptun 22 alongside the original line, and the builder also established a facility in Warburg during the model's development era. The daggerboard and outboard-dependent propulsion mean owners should expect simple, accessible systems with no inboard to maintain.
The Verdict
The Neptun 22 Back Decker is a clever small-boat solution: a light, beamy coastal cruiser with a lifting roof and a shallow-draft board option that made her Europe's best-selling yacht of her time. She is not an ocean racer or a heavy-weather voyager, but for sheltered-water cruising and trailering she remains a pragmatic, well-conceived design.
Pros
- Lifting roof gives five-berth accommodation unusual for 22 feet
- Daggerboard drops draft to 1.8 ft for shallow access
- Light displacement and beamy hull among the roomiest of her peers
- Simple outboard propulsion, easy to service
Cons
- Capsize screening bars ocean racing
- Comfort ratio below 79% of similar designs
- Not intended for offshore passage work
