Sb 20
LASER · Tony Castro · 2003
Updated
The Sb 20 is a 6.14 m planing racing yacht designed by Tony Castro and built by LASER, first launched in 2003. It races in Sportboat.
Length
6.14 m
20′ 2″
Beam
2.15 m
Draft
1.51 m
Displacement
0.7 t
Sail area
27 m²
On the podium
Where a Sb 20 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
12%
of 60 starts by 9 boats
Wins
7%
Read from 60 starts by 9 boats between 2019 and 2025, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Sb 20 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Republic Cup 2025 Offshore Race2025
Coppa d'Autunno2025
Regatta Port Varna - General Broker Cup2024- Regata Varna Channel Cup2024
- Sportboat European Championship2022
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
9%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: 2 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Sb 20 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Sb 20 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
4.23
39°
Beam reach
7.75
90°
Broad reach
11.65
135°
Downwind VMG
9.48
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
The stronger it blows, the better this design looks. Give it a fresh day and long legs and it delivers more than it promised; in a drifter it is working uphill.
Where it gains
Its best ground is off the wind when it blows, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage downwind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short on the beat once the breeze fills, giving away time it never gets back.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 3.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a Sb 20
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.08 | 4.05 | 4.22 | 4.23 |
| 52° | 4.62 | 5.69 | 5.96 | 6.11 |
| 60° | 4.82 | 5.84 | 6.21 | 6.43 |
| 75° | 4.95 | 6.01 | 6.62 | 7.04 |
| 90° | 5.24 | 6.20 | 6.88 | 7.75 |
| 110° | 5.34 | 6.70 | 7.53 | 8.62 |
| 120° | 5.23 | 6.69 | 7.98 | 9.66 |
| 135° | 4.78 | 6.29 | 7.86 | 11.65 |
| 150° | 4.08 | 5.73 | 6.86 | 10.95 |
| Run VMG | 3.54 | 4.99 | 5.94 | 9.48 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 280 kg.
Rigging
Sb 20 rig and sail dimensions
A Sb 20 carries 8.03 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.32 m boom, a forestay 7.38 m above the deck and a 4.08 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 6 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails