Design and Construction
The hull is fiberglass, and a fiberglass hull on this boat requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season. Pogo Structures built the 6.50 with different keel alternatives, including a fin keel with bulb and a shallow-draft arrangement. The fin-keel-with-bulb version draws about 5.18 to 5.48 feet depending on load, while the shoaler configuration sits at roughly 3.74 to 4.04 feet, letting the boat into even shallow marinas. With a beam of 9.74 feet on a 21.33-foot length, the length-to-beam ratio is 2.17, and the design is reported more roomy than 97 percent of comparable sailboats. The wetted surface measures about 182 square feet, and the immersion rate is approximately 729 pounds per inch, meaning load changes translate predictably into trim shifts for a boat of this size.
Rig and Handling
The Pogo 6.50 is built with a fractional sloop rig. Standing sail-control dimensions from the yachtdatabase.com review show a mainsheet of 53.3 feet and jib and genoa sheets of 21.3 feet, all in 3/8-inch diameter, with spinnaker sheets at 46.9 feet in the same diameter. Those lengths tell a practical story for owners re-rigging or replacing running gear: the boat's small stature keeps sheet loads modest, but the mainsheet is long enough that cockpit layout and traveler position matter more than on a typical pocket cruiser. The 992-pound iron ballast package provides a 50.56 percent ballast-displacement ratio.
Accommodations
The boat's documented spatial efficiency — more roomy than nearly all peers in its comparison set — suggests a volume-driven hull form rather than a stripped racer, and the 1,962-pound displacement with a 6.19-knot hull speed places it firmly in the light-displacement trailer-sailer tradition. The 6.50 serves as a day-and-weekender platform, not a bluewater hull, on the evidence of size and ratios alone.
The Verdict
The Pogo 6.50 is a light, beamy pocket cruiser with a genuinely shallow-draft option and a fiberglass hull that keeps seasonal upkeep low. Its fractional rig and modest sheet loads make it approachable, while the reported interior volume sets it apart among similar small sailboats. The production run under Rolland's original design partnership closed in 2000.
Pros
- Fiberglass hull needs minimal in-season maintenance
- Shallow-draft keel option enters shallow marinas
- Reported roomier than 97% of comparable designs
- Fractional rig with modest, well-documented sheet lengths
Cons
- Limited production run under original design
