Flicka 20 for Sale, a Buyer's Guide to the Pacific Seacraft Flicka

Flicka 20 for sale, what the market looks like in 2026

A Flicka 20 for sale rarely sits on the market long if it is a genuine Pacific Seacraft boat in good order. This is a cult boat, and the buyers know exactly what they want: a tiny, overbuilt cutter with standing headroom, a real enclosed head and a reputation for crossing oceans. Expect most listings between about $25,000 and $55,000, with outstanding late boats pushing $60,000 to $70,000 and rough or owner-finished examples dipping below $20,000.

Inventory is thin and scattered. California, the Pacific Northwest, Florida and the Chesapeake have the most boats, and many sell privately through owner networks, classified sites and the occasional Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace ad. A cheap Flicka on Craigslist can be a real find, but it is just as often a Nor'Star kit boat finished in a garage or a Pacific Seacraft hull that has had decades of creative modification. The rest of this guide is about telling the difference.

A Block Island lobster boat reborn in fiberglass

Bruce Bingham based the Flicka on the small sailing lobster boats that worked Block Island Sound out of Newport, Rhode Island, in the 1800s. He had sketched surviving examples near Wickford, Rhode Island, in the 1950s, and the design appeared as a six-part series in Rudder magazine starting in September 1972, originally intended for ferro-cement construction. More than 200 sets of plans were sold to amateur builders, which is why you will still find Flickas in wood and other materials.

Bingham began building a fiberglass plug for his own boat but had to sell it before completion to Nor'Star in California, which put the boat into production in 1975, selling kits for owner completion and finished boats built under contract by Westerly Marine. Nor'Star stopped in 1977, and Pacific Seacraft bought the tooling. Pacific Seacraft built the Flicka until 1998, finishing at hull number 434, and Steve Henkel credits it with over 400 boats. Bingham and Katy Burke later cruised about 6,000 miles in a Flicka called Sabrina.

Nor'Star kit, home-built or Pacific Seacraft: why provenance matters

The single biggest price driver on a Flicka is who built it. Pacific Seacraft boats are uniformly well built: solid fiberglass hulls, later laid up with vinylester resin that resists osmotic blistering, balsa-cored decks with plywood under hardware, an inward hull-to-deck flange capped by a teak rail, and a structural liner tying the hull together. Cabinetry and detailing are yacht quality. John Vigor wrote in Good Old Boat that no other production boat of her size in the US rivals her interior space and ocean-going ability.

Nor'Star boats and owner-finished kits vary enormously. Some are beautifully completed, others have weak bulkhead bonding, improvised wiring and non-standard rigs. Ask for the builder's certificate and decode the hull identification number. Pacific Seacraft used one HIN format before 1984 and the standard US Coast Guard format afterward, and the Flicka owner community keeps a hull database that can confirm a boat's history.

• Pre-1984 boats lack a cockpit bridgedeck, a real concern offshore
• Some early boats have aluminum toerails rather than the later teak caprail
• Model A boats were heavier, reported by Pacific Seacraft at about 6,000 lbs with 1,750 lbs of ballast
• Gaff, yawl and other unusual rigs exist and narrow the resale audience

The Flicka 20 interior and cabin, bigger than it has any right to be

Step below and the trick is obvious: 8 ft of beam carried far forward and aft, a high cabin top and no forward bulkhead give about 5 ft 11 in of standing headroom and the feel of a boat six to eight feet longer. Teak joinery, a holly sole and six opening bronze portlights make it feel like a yacht rather than a camper.

Layouts changed over the years, offering two, three or four berths, but a typical Pacific Seacraft boat has a large V-berth forward, a galley on one side with a two-burner stove, sink and icebox, a compact enclosed head opposite, a short settee and a quarter berth. Tankage on most boats is about 20 gallons of water and 12 gallons of diesel in a tank under the V-berth (Sailing Magazine lists 8 gallons on the boats it saw), with an 8 gallon holding tank. It is snug for a cruising couple and comfortable for a single-hander.

Inboard Yanmar or outboard: choosing the right engine setup

Most Pacific Seacraft Flickas left the factory with a Yanmar 1GM10, a single cylinder diesel of about 9 hp with a 35 amp alternator. It pushes the boat to around 5 knots and burns very little, but many of these engines are now 30 to 45 years old. A boat repowered with a new Beta or Yanmar diesel is worth several thousand dollars more, and a tired original 1GM is a negotiating point.

Some boats use a long-shaft 9.9 hp outboard instead. That saves weight, money and maintenance, but there is no charging alternator unless you add one, and in a steep chop the prop can ventilate. For coastal cruising and trailer sailing an outboard Flicka is a sensible, cheaper buy. For offshore plans, a healthy diesel is worth paying for.

How a 5,500 lb 20-footer actually sails

Numbers tell you what to expect. Displacement of 5,500 lbs on an 18 ft 2 in waterline gives a displacement to length ratio near 409, very heavy, and sail area to displacement is only about 12.9. Hull speed is 5.7 knots and the PHRF average is around 288. In light air a Flicka plods, and upwind in a short chop it tends to pitch.

What it does well is carry sail in a breeze and look after its crew. The long keel tracks, the motion is easy for the size and the ballast ratio of about 33 percent keeps it stiff. Owners report trade wind crossings averaging around 120 miles a day, and Flickas have sailed from California to Hawaii and Tahiti and back. A slight weather helm is normal. Add a light-air drifter or asymmetric if you sail in summer conditions on protected waters.

Survey priorities and ownership costs

Most problems on a Flicka come from age and owner modifications rather than original construction. Moisture in the balsa-cored deck around stanchions, chainplates and the mast step is the most common expensive finding. Check the bowsprit and its fittings, the bronze portlight seals, the chainplates and the rudder hardware on the transom. Inspect the condition of the internal ballast area and look for signs of hard groundings on the keel.

Ownership is cheap by any standard. Budget about $3,500 to $8,000 a year for a slip or mooring, insurance, bottom paint and engine service. The Flicka is trailerable with a suitable trailer and tow vehicle (it weighs about 5,500 lbs before gear), which can cut storage costs dramatically. Finding a place to stow the dinghy is the eternal Flicka puzzle: most owners use a small inflatable stowed below or on the foredeck.