Design and Construction
Both the hull and the deck are made of hand laid fibreglass, a construction approach that asks only for a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season hand laid fibreglass needs little upkeep. The solid laminate carries no core, and the builder finished 1,200 of these boats from 1964 onward. With a beam of 7.05 feet and a length-to-beam ratio of 3.09, the yachtdatabase review notes she is slimmer than 79% of all similar sailboat designs, giving her a narrow, lithe footprint on the water rather than a beamy weekender's form.
Keel Options and Draft
The Sunbeam S 22 was built with different keel alternatives, a fin keel and a daggerboard keel among them. The fin-keel version draws about 3.77 to 4.07 feet depending on load, while the daggerboard variant sits at roughly 1.80 to 2.10 feet, letting either configuration tuck into shallow marinas shallow-draft daggerboard version. A spade rudder complements the fin or board, and the 36.77% ballast-to-displacement ratio — higher than 58% of comparable designs — keeps her planted despite the modest beam.
Rig and Sail Plan
She is built with a masthead rig carrying 204.5 square feet of sail area, and the SA/D ratio of 21.04 sits in the lively end of the range for a boat of her weight. The database's control figures list working sheet lengths: a 22-foot jib or genoa sheet of 3/8-inch diameter, a 55-foot mainsheet of the same diameter, and a 48.4-foot spinnaker sheet mainsheet runs 55 feet. Those numbers tell a practical story for a small boat that can fly a chute and still be handled on a confined foredeck.
Performance Profile
The theoretical hull speed is 5.7 knots, and the displacement-length ratio of 151 places her among "light racers," with 69% of similar designs rated heavier. Her Motion Comfort Ratio of 12.1 means she is more comfortable than 34% of similar sailboats — not a soft-riding cruiser, but a stiff little planing-type hull. The capsize screening value of 2.23 would bar her from ocean races, and the immersion rate of 455 pounds per inch shows how little she sinks under crew or stores. Relative Speed Performance of 42 means she is faster than 42% of comparable designs, a middle-of-the-pack result for a light displacer.
Accommodations
Below, the boat is equipped with 2 cabins and 4 berths, a layout that uses the 21.98-foot length to sleep a small crew without a separate saloon cavern. The wetted surface of about 150 square feet keeps her easily driven, and the 1,200-boat production run means interior molds were standardized across the class.
The Verdict
The Sunbeam 22 is a van de Stadt–penned trailerable racer-cruiser whose hand-laid glass hull and multiple keel options make her a practical small-boat entry. She rewards a sailor who wants light displacement and a masthead rig in a narrow, easily maintained package, though her comfort and capsize numbers mark her as a sheltered-water boat rather than an offshore candidate.
Pros
- Hand-laid fiberglass hull and deck needing minimal seasonal maintenance
- Choice of fin or shallow daggerboard keel for marina access
- Light displacement (DL 151) with lively SA/D of 21.04
- 1,200 built, so spares and class familiarity exist
Cons
- Capsize screening 2.23 excludes ocean racing
- More comfortable than only 34% of peers
- Slim beam (l/b 3.09) limits interior volume
