It has a spooned, raked stem, a raised counter, angled transom; a keel-mounted rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed long keel.
[1][3] The boat may be fitted with a small 6 to 10 hp (4 to 7 kW) outboard motor for docking and maneuvering or an optional inboard Japanese Yanmar 2YM15 diesel engine.
[3] In a 2017 Sail magazine review of the Marlin Heritage, Adam Cort wrote, "the Marlin Heritage 23 showed a good turn of speed and then some during a boisterous early spring daysail on Buzzards Bay—making short work of both the chop and a brisk headwind as Cape Cod Shipbuilding president Wendy Goodwin and I short-tacked our way down the Wareham River.
The boat did so without giving even the slightest cause for alarm, thanks to her fine, spoon bow and easy forefoot, which both sliced through the waves and kept the crew dry with a minimum of effort; plenty of waterline beam amidships to provide enough form stability to stand up to a press of sail; and a good 1,400lb of lead at the bottom of the boat’s gently curving full keel.
The Marlin Heritage’s keel-hung rudder did an equally fine job of keeping a grip on the water sailing to windward, even when we dunked the leeward gunwale in the 18-20 knot gusts—no surprise given the creator of the boat’s lines.