The Santana 21 is the most exciting trailerable boat to come along in a long time. It is an unbelievably comfortable cruising boat that is easily within the budget of most families. It features an unique hinged keel which was designed to give the boat the stability characteristic of a fixed in keel and the mobility provided by a fully retractable keel.
The molded interior is incredibly complete and is warmly finished in an off-white color with teal trim and decorator cushions and carpeting.
The Santana 21's unique keel is both fixed and retractable. The fixed portion is 12 inches deep and is securely attached to a reinforced section of the hull with six galvanized steel keel bolts. Housed within the forward section is a cast iron hinge which weights approximately 100 pounds and is 19″ x 12″. This sturdy hinge gives the swing keel superior lateral support and protects it during beaching maneuvers. The hinge also allows for the mounting of the pivot bolt in cast iron rather than in fiberglass. Wearing and eventual leakage around the pivot bolt is therefore impossible.
The swing keel itself is constructed entirely of cast iron and combines with the hinge to make a total keel weight of 550 pounds. It is easily raised and lowered by a special winch which is safe and simple to operate. The keel cable is, by the way, completely concealed within the fixed keel where it cannot cause harmonic vibration or act as a kelp and garbage collector.
The Santana 21 was designed to go places… so it is easy to trailer and to launch and recover. With the swing keel in the "up" position, the keel extends only 12 inches below the bottom of the boat; so with the detachable rudder off, the Santana 21 is free to slide into the water without a snag.
Rigging the Santana 21 mast is a quick and easy operation because of the specially designed mast hinge. Simply place the mast into the hinge, walk the mast up, and secure the forestay.
While on the road going to your favorite sailing spot, you will find the Santana 21 a convenient camper. Instead of using a motel, you can just pull off the road, climb aboard, and enjoy the same cruising accommodations as you would afloat.
The attractive interior of the Santana 21 has more than enough room for the average cruising family. It sleeps four on full-sized berths below and has room for two more in the spacious cockpit.
The head compartment is located in an isolated spot just forward of the main bulkhead. The head area has plenty of elbow and leg room and enough space for a self-contained toilet.
This swing keel design was a natural for the W.D. Schock Corporation because the firm has had more that twenty years experience in making the world's most competitive centerboarders and the finest racing/cruising keel boats. The Santana 21's long waterline, high aspect ratio keel and outboard rudder combine to make her sensitive and responsive in either light or heavy air.
The spacious cockpit is self-bailing and features fully non-skid seats and cockpit sole. With a large crew aboard, the seats convert easily in to another two berths for sleeping under the stars.
The high aspect ratio 7/8 rig offer excellent performance over a wide range of sailing conditions. The small main and large headsail combination is designed to give exceptional light air performance while making the Santana 21 a stable, easy-to-handle boat in heavy weather.
Here is a pdf with documentation for tuning the rig, working on the keel and keel mechanism . Plus various other topics written up by prior owners.
On the sub pages to this page are also some write ups of some projects I have done.