Skipjack Sailing 13--Pacific Seacraft 20 Flicka--The Adventures of a Navy Nuke Escapee 

His boat is the definition of ship shape. The most appealing aspect is its simplicity. The fewer systems to break, the fewer to fix...brilliant!

Good grief ... did not expect these kind comments from your readers Russ ..... to all thanks 👍🥃 Some corrections: -Waterline 18 foot not 17 -All ports weigh about 80 pounds collectively (not individually) -Just an FYI my boat is powered by a 6hp 4-stroke outboard ... originally was powered by an electric outboard but sadly the battery capacity proved inadequate Cheers and thanks Russ .... hope to see you soon

Ever since I first discovered the Pacific Seacraft Flicka, I've absolutely loved it! Having always been taken with compact cars, vans, motorcycles, cabins, helicopters and boats, upon seeing the Flicka and subsequently learning just what a superbly designed and constructed blue water sailboat she was, at 20' LOA, and with standing height in the cabin, and having earned an outstanding reputation as a strong, capable craft, loved by owners, I was captivated! Thank you for sharing this beautiful example of what remains an unequalled blue water sailboat, the little boat that can, could and did!

My favorite sailing story was Tinkerbelle, Robert Manry's well written sailing story in a sailboat even smaller than yours, which he crossed the Atlantic with in the 60's. My dad shared sailing stories with me--he was an American Navy civilian inspector working at the now closed Mare Island shipyard but the Navy also sent him to Long Beach, Norfolk, Groton CT, Honolulu, and Seattle and he helped commission most of the Navy's nuclear surface ships and subs, including the early Trident fleet. He then moved to the US Nuclear regulatory commission, and helped inspect nuclear power plants, decommission nuclear testing sites, and most importantly, increase the safety of nuclear imaging and radiation treatment used in the medical field. But sailing he loved, and he shared with me all of his sailing books. A WWII and Korean vet, he always hated war, but volunteered for WWII and was recalled for Korea, where he became Eisenhower's and the brass's photographer and was a combat war photographer helping the war corespondents since he felt that was the most peaceful role he could have in War. He taught us as children never to own guns unless we were in the service or peace officers. I chose neither field, but wanting to travel like you and my Dad, I became a tourism systems instructor. I have been on a sailboat, but only captained small sub 20 foot cabin vessels used for cruising and fishing, a skill I learned at age nine in Oregon when my folks took me camping. One highlight of my life was giving my wife and daughter the gift of a submarine ride for my daughter's 13th birthday on our only visit to Oahu in '13, where we dived to about 100 feet below sea level. It had portholes for us to see the marine life with and an old wreck intentionally sunk to become a coral reef. We took a boat from the dock near Hilton Hawaiian village out to meet it. But I loved watching the sailing races on Howard Prairie Lake in Oregon and even have a couple of small sailing models made of wood I found online. Thanks for sharing your story and the humbling and awe inspiring nature of the wind and the waves and the sea salt in all blood of living organisms.

These are amazing boats. I almost bought one in 1988 new. 40k. But today i have a 43 year old tayana 37 loaded with 3 freezers and 2 yesrs food supply. During covid i was in indonesia for 9 months. I had 1 years food and 2 deep freezers. The second i got to port i put 3rd deep freezer and 2 yesrs food. Let the world do what it wants. I am cruising. I go where no one goes.

Flicka is a beautiful, sweet little boat. Well done. I am restoring a sweet little Pacific Seacraft 25 1978, she is a double ender. I just love my little boat. Fair Winds mates ,,,/),,,

The man did a nice job with restoration of a real beauty. I like his hard dodger design........Thanks for the interview.

I owned a Flicka back in the 1980's. Had mine "bristol" and very personalized. They are great boats, seaworthy beyond belief! Just a comparatively low-budget way to live the high life.

Dulcinea #412 1992 Flicka here! We love it

That is one mighty little boat.

Fantastic interview, I learnt more about the flicka 20 in 17 mins than I thought was possible 😂 Would love to see a follow up to this, Chris and Wookie need there own channel 👍

That boat is incredibly tidy and uncluttered for a small liveaboard. Nice video. Many thanks.

When I was 26 and fresh out of the Marine Corps I sailed my Tayana Mariner 36 to the Keys and Bahamas for a season shakedown. At that time, the flicka was one of my dream boats and has remained so. I was paralyzed not long after that cruise and never realized my dream of world cruising. I sometimes wonder if in my limited condition if I could do a solo trans Atlantic in one of these. I love your boat an am envious. Looking at your boat ignites a little bit of the dream

Great story! Thanks.

Perfect interview and boat, well done.

What a superb gentleman's yacht. That is pure perfection. I love my 25 footer, but this beauty is from another universe. Elegant, classy, and wonderfully well built. BTW, an Australian chap called Serge Testa circumnavigated in a boat that was 11'10'', so this glorious little beastie could certainly do it. Best wishes chaps, Cheerio!

I have been loving Flickas since they first came out Nice tour Thank you Never have owned one but was looking 2 at my marina today just because Maybe one day still

Wonderful boat

Couple of fun guys living life there way! 🎉

That’s my kind of sailing. Great tour and conversation.

I've sailed a Flicka back in the 80's. They are the finest sailboats anywhere or any size. It's double-end stern is terrific in a following sea. Built to last, built to sail anywhere

Very pretty and very tidy little boat. Nicely done!

What a beautiful little boat! Who needs more?

Nice perspective on keeping things simple. Keep the videos coming Russ.

My favorite thing about those boats is the head. It's a shame more of these tough old boats don't position them there at the back.

As the owner of a cape Dory 25 I very much agree with him, cape dorys are great boat!

Beautiful boat

Awesome Boat!

Great lookin boat, nice vid. Thanx.

What a gentle man!

Lovely boat and a lovely guy, thanks for sharing this

She's a beauty! I am in the early stages of building a 15' dinghy, funny to think this is only a few feet longer, but has so much more. Chris has done a lovely job on restoring her. Enjoyed the vid, nice interview.

What a beauty! Nice tour; thanks.

Wow, that's the coolest yacht and the dude has a high ID for sure.. Thanks for posting this interesting view ..

So much to compliment! Love the Flicka! My wife & I put down a deposit on one back in ...1981? or '82? The dealer/broker went bankrupt and life took other turns and we never revisited that dream (*sigh*) but, seeing this beauty, makes me feel the nostalgia and want to buy a good used one. Everything I loved about Bingham's design rang true in your description of her. Also--I'm with you on the scotch! I'm an Aberlour fan too 😋 Safe Travels

That really lifted my spirits. Love the idea. Thank you.

Good interview! So good to see Chris! I was in a stone’s throw of the gentleman’s (I use that term very loosely) boat for a few years and really enjoyed seeing the evolution into what you see today!

Just WOW... thank you for sharing

Very nice video and explanation! 💯💯💯

Happy New Year. Have a good and save time with your sailing boat. 😊

Cool little boat. I would like one like this

Looks like a great little boat. Just found your channel and like what I see. I wasn’t a nuke but I was a “A Gang” Machinist Mate and served on the Oklahoma City (SSN 723) in the early 90s for six years. I loved it and learned a lot but I also have the sailing gene in me. Keep it up.

I like the cover over the companion way

Wow, amazing!

Great boat, thanks for the video.

If I was single, ( 41 years with my wife and happy ) I'd live on a sailboat! I'd trade my Catalina 25 for the Flicka 20 in a heartbeat! Great video! Thanks for posting

so great !

Excellent video and an incredible sailboat!!! I have a similar scenario . I just put a monitor wind vane on my Cape Dory 22 and have plans to travel the Pacific Ocean . A smaller boat can be just as seaworthy as any larger sailboat . I learned a lot watching your video and will incorporate those things into my own boat . I am in the Channel Islands of Southern California at Ventura West Marina . I am not a live aboard but in my travels to the Islands all these things in your video apply . Great boat and great Ideas !!!!

Such a cool little boat. Love the hard dodger

Impressive

Great design for a small boat

Love the Flicka tour, thank you. What a beautiful yacht, a credit to Chris for such a lovely restoration and refit. I use the same anchoring technique as Chris as I prefer to solo sail. Do you have Bruce Bingham’s book? It’s a treasure. Cape Dory’s are a good pedigree, love the 31. KISS keep it simple & smart. Fair winds.

It's very cool boat!!!👍

Great vid Russ. Shane Acton published 2 books which I enjoyed thouroughly. Very inspirational books. That is a great looking boat there!

Hi....former sub ET here. Love the videos..Thanks for sharing with us.

Beautiful

I'm super jelous.. The ultimate big boys toy.

Thank you sir chris and thank you my dear russ ❤

These boats sail much bigger than they really are!

Love it. I can really appreciate this boat.

Love the boat!

Amo esse barco. Saudações do Brasil

Beautiful boat. I just bought a Flicka 20. Can't wait to sail her and would love to make her look like this one. I'd be interested in learning more about how he built the hard dodger, and what kind of breaker/electric panel that was.

Sadly Origo stoves are no longer being manufactured. What a shame. I hope someone will market a replacement soon.

A few corrections. Mike Howarth and Henry Mohrschladt were the founders of Pacific Seacraft. Mike was the builder and shop foreman and Henry was the designer(PS 25, Orion 27, Mariah 31). They purchased the Flika hull mold and immediately designed a new deck for the boat. This was done to reflect the general appearance of the other boats in the Pacific Seacraft line. The PS 31, PS 34 and PS 37 were designed by Bill Crealock. All decks of the PS line were cored with plywood or balsa depending on the area.

What a wonderful boat! I'm a big fan of Flickas and Dana's. Never sailed one, since I live IN Central Europe. But this is one of the boats I would love to own

Heavy!

What a beautiful boat, never heard of it before. I think I need help with the Wood work to restore it properly. Your wood look so good.

Where did you get the repair parts for the ports? Particularly the rubber gaskets.

I have a Skookum 34, bigger but the same spirit and overbuilt in the same "Little ship" fashion. As I work on a partial refit, I am trying to keep it simple. I love this little Flickka!

Hi Chris!

Fantastic!! What a great insight into such a cool boat that I have never seen before, thanks for sharing this with us. 👍🏻 How can we learn more about Chris? His original website seems to be down. I’m from South Africa and he sounds like one of my homeland brothers, would love to get in touch with him or at least follow his travels. Thanks

Nice boat and an interesting interview. Was than an outboard hanging in the stern? Is there no inboard diesel in the boat?

I looked, you did not mention the diesel engine, did you remove it in favor of the outboard? I personally dislike any diesel fumes in the cabin so that would suit me.

Is there any Flicka 20 building plans available ? That would be a treat...

I can see the advantage of having an outboard as opposed to an inboard diesel with a boat of this size. Not sure how it affects the overall length of the boat as far as slip costs.

oh ,just a 20 foot sailboat

Lovely boat. The keel is like a long keel but not as deep and seems to taper from bow to deeper at the stern. Is there a name for this? It looks great for protecting the prop and rudder though.

Great video tour of the amazing Flicka. Do you know what he used for a dingy? Did he have an inboard or outboard motor? Thanks!

Flicka is Swedish meaning girl, in case anybody wanted to know

coolest thing I've seen in a while. interior seems like an optical illusion...20 feet? not "every bit as safe as a 40+", that is just silly, but manageable is important if alone. PS . Aberlour and The Balvenie (doublewood is my favorite) - perfect

Is the enclosed head typical or did you install it during your excellent remodel?

I just went back to check out your review of the Flicka. Great video. I’ve been looking at these lately. Thing if I get my old body back in shape I might get one. I live on the Connecticut River about a half mile from the Atlantic.

8:00 "Because of the implication"

Re bronze port lights, go to Port Towsend Foundry. They MAKE 'UM RIGHT.

werry good,

Pacific Seacraft especially the Flicka (20ft.) Being so short and very heavy in very large waves acts like a cork. Which in reality is a lot safer then larger boats😊😊😊 Larger boats can pitch pole alot easier which can be very scary😟

how did you build the hatch cabin? i would like to build one of those for my Catalina 22, or have one made.

No doubt she's a lovely looking little boat and by all accounts well built, that said 50,000 US$ is a lot of bucks for 20 feet of older boat

Is this boat docked on St. Pete Beach?

Nice .This boat is for sale?

NB Its pronounced 'Eye - La' and you should checkout the neighboring island of Jura (Celtic for red deer) although be warned that some surrounding passages are classed as 'un-navigable' by the Royal Navy due to intense tidal surges, particularly the Corryvreckan Whirlpool (The witch's cauldron).

Escape Navy Escape !

$50,000 thousand dollars is a lot of money Do you consider that inexpensive. Stayed at marinas is expensive.

What interests me is how to register a sailboat without an address. I mean, if you've been at sea for a year and you've got an address, you still have to pay for the apartment and then there are taxes and other things. Again, you no longer have an address (at the municipality of residence and you are deregistered from the state) can you not register a vehicle?

a very beautiful matchbox . i wish one of this for my self but its very expensive for a sudamerican old man like me . i musta sail crap as always . fair winds

Solid boat to sail , painfully slow , like sleeping in a closet that moves alot you can't sit up in , it's a what boat do you really want thingy , i wouldn't fault anyone for loving theirs :) not the small boat for me though .

What a cutie!

topp , werry good , my boat looking like Flicka ,but my is 17 feet total 21 ,Flicka are a werry bjutyfull boat ,cip it..

You can cross the Sahara desert in a VW beetle. But you wanna take a Toyota Land Cruiser. I would never cross oceans in a 20ft. I have a 22ft sailboat and i wouldt even think about it.