Design and Construction
The 23 D is a fiberglass monohull built predominantly with a weight-saving balsawood core. The hull weighs about 1,500 pounds before ballast—and under 1,500 pounds excluding ballast—while total displacement is 2,600 pounds. The boat carries 1,130 pounds of lead ballast, including 170 pounds in the daggerboard keel. The builder described the daggerboard as 170 pounds of lead encased in high-density foam and fiberglass.
The hull has a beam of 8.83 feet and a waterline length of 20.62 feet, with a raked stem and a semi-cut-down vertical transom. Steering is by tiller through a transom-hung, floating auto-lifting rudder.
The daggerboard keel works much like a racing dinghy’s. Raised, it reduces draft to just 0.83 feet; lowered, draft increases to 5.25 feet. The boat is designed to plane downwind with the keel raised.
Rig and Handling
The 23 D has a fractional Bermuda sloop rig, with a deck-stepped mast and double spreaders. Its sail plan totals 283.5 square feet: a 152.25-square-foot mainsail and a 131.25-square-foot jib. The I foretriangle measures 30 feet, and the mainsail luff is 29 feet. The mainsheet traveler is mounted in the cockpit.
A PHRF rating of 171 puts the Santana 23 D 63 seconds per mile faster than the San Juan 23. Around hull number 85, Schock moved the keel truck aft by 4 inches to reduce the weather helm transmitted to the helmsman.
Accommodations and Auxiliary Power
The cabin sleeps four, with a double V-berth forward and two 7-foot settee berths in the main cabin. Headroom is 52 inches, and the cabin walls are lined with thin carpet.
The galley is minimal, providing a sink, drawer, and counter. For docking and maneuvering, the boat normally carries a small 3 to 6 hp outboard mounted on the transom.
Known Issues
The best-documented production change is the keel-truck relocation around hull number 85. Earlier boats transmitted more weather helm to the tiller; moving the keel truck 4 inches aft reduced it.
The weight-saving balsa-cored deck is the one area where a buyer should expect long-term moisture exposure after four decades of service.
The Verdict
The Santana 23 D is a purpose-built, light-displacement planing daysailer. Its daggerboard and sub-1,500-pound hull give it unusual draft flexibility among Schock’s 23-foot offerings. The fractional rig, cockpit-mounted traveler, and reduced weather helm after hull 85 suit sailors who want speed without the draft penalty of a fixed keel.
Pros
- Designed to plane downwind with the keel raised; raised draft is 0.83 feet
- Light, approximately 1,500-pound hull
- 2,600-pound displacement and 1,130 pounds of lead ballast
- PHRF rating of 171, 63 seconds per mile faster than the San Juan 23
- Sleeps four, with practical 7-foot settee berths
Cons
- 52-inch headroom limits cabin comfort
- Balsa-cored deck presents a long-term moisture risk
- Early hulls, before roughly hull number 85, transmitted more weather helm
