Design and Construction
Bingham’s original 1971 design was intended for amateur construction before Pacific Seacraft acquired the molds in 1978, and the boat as built by Seacraft remained the same until 1983, when a new deck mold was tooled to replace the worn-out original. The hull is a solid fiberglass laminate to a layup schedule adequate for most 30-footers of moderate displacement, with a traditional profile of slack bilges, a full keel, sweeping shear accented with cove stripe and scrollwork, and a bowsprit over a bobbed stem. The deck carries a plywood core and the bolts securing the hull-to-deck joint also secure the standard aluminum rail extrusion.
Inside, a molded hull liner is tab bonded to the hull, and a fiberglass/wood composite beam under the cabin house roof transfers mast stresses through the house sides to the underdeck bulkheads, which are not bonded to the hull itself, only to the liner. The builder defends this construction, claiming that it will support over 8,000 lbs, more than the Flicka’s displacement, and beginning in 1983 a turned oak handhold post was added between the mast support beam and cabin sole to further increase strength. Encapsulated lead ballast of 1,750 pounds sits in the molded hull, and all through-hull fittings are fitted with seacocks.
Rig and Handling
The Flicka comes with two alternative rigs, the standard masthead marconi sloop and the optional gaff-rigged cutter, though most of the boats have been sold as sloops with a 249-square-foot sail plan. Her performance profile is governed by mass: in drifting conditions the Flicka simply has too much weight and too much wetted surface area to accelerate, but when the wind gets up to 10 knots or so she begins to perk up if sea conditions remain moderate. With the wind rising above 10 or 12 knots she becomes an increasingly able sailer, and although initially very tender and quick to assume a 15-degree angle of heel, in winds over 15 knots she feels like much more boat than her short length would suggest.
Accommodations
The Flicka has an uncommonly airy interior for her size, a notable trait in a 20-foot hull with an 8-foot beam. There is no enclosed head in pre-1983 models, and there is no sleeping privacy in that layout. A removable section of cockpit sole over the engine compartment gives superb access for servicing, and external chainplates eliminate a common source of through-deck leaks though they expose the chainplates to damage.
Known Issues
At the aft end of the cockpit, the lack of a bridgedeck or high sill was judged decidedly un-seamanlike on early boats, a deficiency addressed when one of the 1983 changes added a bridgedeck. The encapsulated ballast risks more structural damage in a hard grounding than exposed ballast would, and the underdeck bulkheads bonded only to the liner rather than the hull remain a construction point the builder has had to defend rather than a conventional structural bond.
The Verdict
The Flicka 20 is a genuinely singular pocket cruiser: a Bingham design built for offshore passages with bluewater screening numbers and a construction weight class above her length. She is slow to accelerate in light air and tender initially, but earns her sea-kindly reputation as the wind builds, and her 1983 updates corrected the most glaring cockpit drainage omission.
Pros
- Capsize screening formula of 1.66, built for offshore work with documented ocean crossings
- Solid fiberglass hull laminate to a 30-footer’s schedule; plywood-cored deck; seacocks on all through-hulls
- Added bridgedeck and oak mast post in 1983; external chainplates remove a leak source
Cons
- Pre-1983 models lack enclosed head and sleeping privacy; no bridgedeck aft until 1983
- Underdeck bulkheads bonded only to liner, not hull; encapsulated ballast vulnerable in hard grounding
- Too heavy and high-wetted-area to accelerate in drifters; tender to 15 degrees before stiffening
