Precision 23 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Taylor's hull form reflects serious racing pedigree applied to a cruising brief. The Precision 23 carries a fine entry, substantial flare in the topsides forward and wide quarters that taper to a relatively small transom, a shape that produces a smooth motion when heeled and resists hobby-horsing in a chop. Beam is drawn to the maximum trailerable road width of eight feet six inches, which serves a dual purpose: it keeps the boat street-legal while providing ample accommodation in the cabin and better-than-average sitting headroom below.

Hull construction is hand-laminated with ISO/NPG gelcoat and a vinylester resin skin coat, with the hull-to-deck joint bonded and through-bolted. The deck is a sandwich built around closed-cell PVC foam, with plywood inserts located beneath the mast step and anywhere through-bolts are used. Poured-in-place foam stiffeners reinforce the seat-back coamings. The mast compression load is transferred not by a post — which would bisect the cabin — but by a reinforced overhead deck beam that maintains the openness the designer sought.

Keel and Centerboard Arrangement

The most distinctive engineering feature of the Precision 23 is its hybrid underbody: 850 pounds of internal fixed lead ballast sits in a shallow fin, while an elliptical-profile, airfoil-shaped centerboard drops through that housing to provide upwind bite. This arrangement keeps the trailering draft to one foot eleven inches while extending to five feet four inches with the board lowered — genuine keelboat performance in a package that floats off a standard launch ramp. Taylor considered the alternatives carefully and concluded that the high-lift NACA foil sections of the centerboard and rudder are one of the more efficient foils in a boat this size. A kick-up rudder with the same elliptical profile allows the crew to explore shoal anchorages inaccessible to fixed-keel boats of similar length.

Rig and Sailing Characteristics

The Precision 23 carries a simple fractional rig with one set of spreaders and chainplates placed well inboard, a configuration that opens the side decks to unobstructed fore-and-aft movement and tightens upwind sheeting angles without requiring a traveler. The tall-aspect mainsail of 138 square feet carries most of the drive; the working jib measures 110 square feet, and a 155-percent genoa of 169 square feet is available for light air. A 335-square-foot spinnaker rounds out the inventory. The rig earns a PHRF rating between 225 and 231, comparable to the larger swing-keel Catalina 25, which reflects credible performance from a moderate displacement. Reviewers found the boat responsive on all points of sail and noted that the large mainsail on a fractional rig, combined with flattened hull sections, lets the yacht sail extremely well both on and off the wind.

Cockpit and On-Deck Layout

The seven-foot-three-inch cockpit is a genuine selling point. Seats built into the stern pulpit — standard on production boats and considered worth retrofitting on earlier examples — create a social space rarely found in this size class. Chainplates placed inboard free the wide side decks of cumbersome shrouds, and three separate lockers — an anchor locker forward, a ventilated gas can locker aft, and both a deep and a shallow lazarette — organize gear efficiently. Seated cockpit visibility is excellent. Hardware throughout is Harken. The one acknowledged gap in the deck package is the absence of a traveler, which reviewers consistently recommend adding early rather than retrofitting later.

Interior Accommodations

Below decks the Precision 23 delivers what few boats under 26 feet can honestly claim: a sense of space. The absence of a compression post, replaced by the overhead beam, keeps the interior open and airy. Ventilation is provided by Lewmar opening ports and hatches of notably high quality. The galley — more functional than that on many 30-footers — occupies the starboard aft position and includes a stainless steel sink with manual water pump, an ice chest with a teak step, and a two-burner alcohol stove. A Thetford Porta Potti sits forward to port. Sleeping accommodations include a V-berth measuring 84 inches along the hull side, a starboard quarter berth at 73.5 inches, and a port quarter berth extending to 138.5 inches — notable in a 23-foot boat. Forward bulkheads do not compartmentalize the interior, preserving the feeling of volume.

The Verdict

The Precision 23 is a well-resolved trailerable cruiser that does not force its owner to choose between road practicality and genuine sailing performance. Taylor's NACA-section foil package, inboard chainplates, and fractional rig work together as a coherent system rather than a collection of compromises. Construction quality is solid — vinylester skin coat, through-bolted hull-to-deck joint, foam-cored decks — and the interior exceeds expectations for the size. The platform rewards a 155-percent genoa or cruising gennaker in light air, and the missing traveler is a straightforward addition. Precision Boat Works does not recommend the design for offshore passages, and the boat should be understood for what it is: an inshore and coastal cruiser of unusual capability.

Pros

Shallow draft (board up) with genuine 5-foot-4-inch keel depth under sail
Inboard chainplates open side decks and tighten upwind angles
Interior volume and headroom well above class average
Robust vinylester/ISO-NPG construction with bonded, through-bolted hull-to-deck joint
Road-legal beam permits wide trailering options
Fractional rig keeps sail sizes manageable for short-handed crews

Cons