Championships Yachting in Austria has already built and sold more than 50 Lago 26 boats, in various versions as a sports boat with a lifting keel, as a modern dinghy cruiser with a swivelling ballast centreboard or as a heavily slimmed-down and "airworthy" foiler with extendable side wings. Now brand founder and master sailor Hans Spitzauer has further expanded the brand's programme with a new variant as a sporty daysailer. The YACHT test editorial team had the opportunity to put the little all-rounder to the test on Lake Constance.
The boat will be launched under the name Lago 26 Speedster. The prototype has so far been built as a demonstration boat. Four orders have been received and the first boat in the series is now under construction. Hans Spitzauer now has the hulls and decks of all the boats in the Lago 26 series manufactured by a supplier in Bosnia. The boats are then finally completed at the Championships Yachting shipyard near Vienna.
Flat deck and carbon fibre mast now standard
The original hull shape of the Lago 26 has been adopted for the new Speedster version. However, designer Juliane Hempel has given her own design a new, almost flat deck, without the relatively high and distinctive cabin superstructure as on the sister versions. The powerful and super-lightweight carbon mast (standard) is also positioned further back on deck and the lifting keel is also set back slightly. This results in a longer J-measurement, which enables a self-tacking jib of a reasonable size. Another new feature is a fixed bowsprit for a gennaker or code zero instead of the retractable trunk as on the Sword, Keel and Foil versions. The Lago 26 Speedster is also powered by a 3 kW electric pod motor.
With the new Speedster version, Hans Spitzauer wants to offer a boat that can be easily and comfortably travelled alone, in pairs or with a small crew. And: with two berths in the foredeck, the daysailer can also be used as a weekender. The low total weight of just 980 kilograms is also remarkable. Together with the lifting keel, an attached and therefore removable rudder blade and a width of just 2.50 metres, the boat is also very easy to trailer and can be easily launched and retrieved via the ramp.
The base price for the Lago 26 Speedster is 80,640 euros, including 19% VAT and including carbon fibre rig and lifting keel. However, the sails are not included in the basic price and must be purchased separately. In addition to the mainsail and the self-tacking jib, a gennaker and/or a furling code zero are recommended.
The full test report with all the details on sailing performance, equipment and functionalities will follow in a future issue of YACHT.
Technical data Lago 26 Speedster
- Hull length: 7.95 m
- Overall length (with fixed bowsprit): 9.55 m
- Width: 2.5 m
- Draught of lifting keel: 0.36-1.60 m
- Weight: 980 kg
- Ballast/proportion: 370 kg / 38%
- Sail area downwind: 26.0 m²
- Gennaker: 50,0 m²
- Code Zero: 30.0 m2
- Motorisation: Electric pod motor 3.0 kW
