What is a GOMAN EXPRESS 20?

Bill Goman was a C&C engineer who left the company in the 80's to start his own yard in Midland, ON. His partner was renowned naval architect Steve Killing, who designed the Goman 20 and then a 30 and a 35. The company soon merged with Express Yachts, so these boats are often referred-to as the Express 20 or the Goman-Express, etc. The Express 30's and 35's are still very sought-after racers, with very active fleets in Ontario and some places in the U.S. Unfortunatelly, only five of the 20-footers made it to the west coast, brought over in the 80's by a local sailing school.

Sail report by John Turnbull: "Sailing that narrow line between day racers and full-sized cruisers, the Goman 20 succeeds"."The engineering is exceptional. She sails like a dinghy, but is stable as a fixed keel boat. She's large enough to allow sleeping on & protection from the weather, yet small enough to fit your pocketbook so you don't have to pledge your life to sailing (but why not?). The hull entry forward is relatively fine provides great windward performance in moderate seas. The keel is fin & the rudder is hung on the transom. The deck is very uncluttered. All halyards are internal and lead under the deck inside the flush-mounted spray hood. Genoa tracks are recessed. All deck recesses are self-draining and the cockpit is comfy when sitting in it or on the high side. Below the quarter berths are 6'6" long for ma and pa and the kids can sleep forward in berths that are 5'2" long. There is adequate storage everywhere in lockers, shelves and bins. The best part about the Goman 20 is the performance. She has a light and responsive helm, sails very fast & is forgiving. She is easily sailed -great as a starter boat or for the experienced. Completely rigged for both light and heavy air. Trails easily. Low maintenance."

Original Brochure:  Page 1, page 2, Spec 1, spec 2, spec 3, spec 4.
Canadian Yachting review: Page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5.

Upgrades, Maintenance & Equipment

Hull: chemically (no scratches!) stripped down to the gelcoat, removing countless layers of old epoxy and anti-fouling. No blisters were found (or signs of older repairs) except for some paint-bubbles on the keel. The keel was professionally re-faired and the rudder drilled, drained, dried and re-faired. The whole underside was coated with five coats of Interprotect^TMepoxy water-barrier and two coats of anti-fouling, in 2005 (+ two more in 2006).

Top-sides: sanded, primed, faired in places and then painted with three coats of Brightside^TM poly, in 2005.

Standing rigging: professionally inspected and tuned (with a slight pre-bend in the mast) in 2005.

Running-rigging: replaced in 2005 and completed in 2006, including 4:1 backstay adjuster, 5:1 outhaul, 4:1 vang, 3:1 cunningham, pole up/down; all lines are led to the cockpit for easy single-handing; new hardware is almost all by HARKEN.

Sail Inventory: New fully-battened, open-footed dacron Main (2005); new dacron 135% Genoa (2005); new a-symmetric cruising/reaching spinnaker (2006); older but in-good-working-condition symmetric spinnaker; older but ligthly-used dacron 100% Jib; and the old Main and 125% Genoa, fairly beat-up but actually preferrable in light winds!.

Deck Hardware: replaced where necessary; everything has been re-bedded, including lifeline stansions (new lifelines too) in 2005.

Interior/Cabin: no work was required. A solar-powered ventilator was installed to prevent possible moisture build-up.

Engine: Honda 5hp, 4-stroke, outboard. Professionally maintained every winter.

Misc Equipment Included: Depth sounder, new VHF radio, marine battery (2004)/ charger/shore-power, telescopic spinnaker/whisker pole, port-a-potty, fenders, two anchors (one Danforth, one "colapsable"), tiller-extension, tiller-tamer, etc etc.