Description
The Glen-L Tango, an 18-foot 6-inch trailerable overnight sloop designed by Glen L. Witt in the 1970s and offered through Glen-L Marine Designs, punches above its weight with a light, stiff, beamy hard-chine hull that belies its compact size, delivering brisk performance and family-friendly comfort for coastal daysailing, club racing, or weekend gunkholing in bays, lakes, or the ICW. Measuring 18'6" LOA (16'6" LWL) with an 8-foot beam and 1-foot draft (centerboard up; 4 feet down with 800 pounds lead ballast for a 40% ratio and comfort ratio ~22), it displaces 2,000 pounds, enabling easy towing behind a mid-size car on the Series 1700 trailer and solo ramp launching; the jib head sloop rig (low center of effort for stability) carries 200 square feet of sail (SA/D ~20 for lively acceleration, hull speed ~5.8 knots with 6–8 knots reaching in 10–15 knots breeze) on a tabernacle-stepped aluminum mast for effortless setup. Built via sheet plywood construction (¼-inch marine ply over oak frames, sheathed in fiberglass/epoxy for durability; 600–900 build hours using full-size patterns), the design features a self-bailing cockpit (6'3" long for starlit sleeping), and a surprisingly spacious cabin with full sitting headroom (5'6"), full-length berths for four adults, port/starboard galley provisions, portable head, and minimal centerboard trunk intrusion—ideal for couples or families.
