Sagitta 20 Buyer's Guide
The Sagitta 20 is a late-sixties Sparkman & Stephens design from the Danish yard Royal System Yacht Yard A/S, and on the used market she presents as a compact coastal cruiser with a hand-laid fiberglass hull, a balsa-cored deck, and a choice of iron fin keels. She carries four berths, a galley, and a head below, and the 225-square-foot masthead rig is light enough for short-handed sailing. A buyer shopping the brokerage listings is really choosing between draft options and the condition of that cored deck.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every Sagitta 20 shares the same essential interior: teak-faced accommodation for four, with a galley and toilet, wrapped around a 7.68-foot beam. The meaningful variation between boats is the keel. One iron fin draws about 3.84 to 4.14 feet by load, the other about 2.85 to 3.15 feet, so a shoal-keel example opens up shallow marinas a deeper one cannot reach. Look at the keel stamp or measure the stub before assuming which draft you are buying, because the two versions look similar at a glance.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Most examples rely on an outboard for docking and maneuvering rather than an inboard, and a 3 to 4 hp unit is typical for that role, or 76 to 92 pounds of thrust if the owner went electric. The masthead rig inventory includes mainsail, jib/genoa, and spinnaker halyards each 69.1 feet at 5/16 inch, and control lines from a 20.2-foot jib sheet to a 50.6-foot mainsheet at 10 mm diameter. A 135 percent genoa lifts the sail-area-to-displacement ratio from 14.9 to 17.7.
What to Inspect
The balsa-cored deck is the item that decides whether a given hull is a bargain or a project. Because the deck core is balsa, any through-deck fitting is a place water can reach the wood and rot it from inside the sandwich. At a viewing, press the deck around winches, chainplates, and stanchion bases for softness, and look for stained teak or bubbled gelcoat above those fittings. A damp meter on the cabin top is worth bringing; a reading that climbs near fasteners means the core has been wetted and the repair will mean cutting out the balsa. Treat every penetration as suspect until you confirm it was bedded to keep water out.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Before you commit, run through the essentials:
- Confirm which iron fin keel is fitted and its draft.
- Press the deck around every through-fitting for soft balsa.
- Carry a moisture meter across the cabin top and trunk.
- Check the 3 to 4 hp outboard or 76 to 92 lb thrust electric drive.
- Verify masthead halyards and 10 mm sheets are present and sound.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Sagitta 20. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 2 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 26 | 1 | $3,117 | — |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $3,117 | 0.0% |
Where they're listed
Sagitta 20 listings appear across 1 country. Denmark has the most listings with 2.
Country view
2 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | $3,117 | 2 | 1 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
2 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20 | 24' | $ 27,650 | 20 | 6 |
| Sagitta 20You are here | — | $ 3,116 | 2 | 1 |