Blue is a gaff topsail cutter Dragon designed by Bill Atkin in the 1920's and built by the Seattle Shipwright's Co-op in 1937. The original Dragon was designed for and built by W.G. Chute, co-owner of yard of Chute & Bixby in the 20's. Blue, USCG documented vessel 237000, was extensively restored and relaunched in 1998.
Originally named Hella Bella after Helen, one of the original owners who were owners of Alaska Copper and Brass, Hella Bella spent her summers cruising the northwest and was an active part of the Civil Marine Patrol during WWII.
Hella Bella was renamed Taruga in the 1940's. According to a plaque found in a locker this name came from a square rigged trading vessel that was lost off the coast of Tunisia in the late 1700's with all hands lost.
She was later modified from gaff to a jibheaded rig with shortened bowsprit and boom. She didn't sail well with this shortened rig and after a series of negligent owners reportedly sank at the dock in Lake Union sometime in the 80's.
Blue's restoration included 94 new steam bent oak frames, 2 original frames were left and sistered because they were behind hanging knees, new keel bolts, floor timbers, mast step, engine beds, new fir planking fastened with galvinized screws, iroko garboard, fir deck with iroko covering board, bowsprit heal post made from the old bowsprit, iroko stanchions, gunwale, cap rail, bronze life line stanchions, new rudder, pintels and gudgeons, new cabin sides, hatches, doghouse and doors.
New standing and running rigging, bent oak mast hoops, bow sprit, gaff, boom rebuilt to original design length plus wee bit longer to allow for a heavy outhaul and reef downhaul, new sails, new Murry winches, and iron work.
Sails include vertical cut duradon main with two reef points, duradon boom staysail, duradon working jib, duradon genoa, jib tops'l, spindrifter, storm sails. Lee clothes, sail covers, and boat cover included but all are ten years old, well weathered, and the boat covers have probably seen their last winter. Aries windvane and tiller-autopilot and Martin backpacker travel guitar included.
The bowsprit is hinged and hikes up with block and tackle on bobstay and bowsprit shrouds to shorten the overall length for cheaper moorage and infrequent heart attacks.
Design dimensions are roughly 27'6" waterline, 32' on deck, 42' overall, 11'6" beam, 6' draft. Overall length with the bowsprit down is closer to 44' and up closer to 35.' Overall beam is roughly 12' which is wider than the design dimension due to heavy spreader/guard at the chainplates. Displacement roughly 28,000# according to travel lift scales.
Rigging includes heavy chainplates, deadeyes and lanyards, parcelled and served galvanized rigging wire, wire-rope strop blocks. Stays'l rig includes original bronze horse/traveller for single sheet and two blocks for double sheeting. Main sheet rig includes original bronze horse. Bronze belaying pins in pinrails on shrouds and original cast iron spider band/goose neck on mast. Cast bronze boom gallows, bow rollers, hause pipes and dockline cleats. New stays'l boom is heavier than one shown in photos below, which had a tendency to bend in a blow.
Rigging for main tops'l is in place but there is no tops'l yet. She balances well and sails great with the restored gaff rig that matches her full keel design.
New Perkins M-35 marine diesel engine now with roughly 700 hours. Vintage bronze single lever engine control is mounted in cockpit footwell and connected to modern morse dual cable control located below deck.
Burns roughly half a gallon an hour at 2,000 rpm = 4.5 knots with three blade Max prop or one gallon an hour at 2,400 rpm = 5.5 knots. Large engine space with easy access to engine and systems from main cabin. Dual Racors, dual gell-cell battery bank new in 2007. Smart charger. High output alternator with spare. Larger raw water strainer. Two thirty-gallon stainless steel diesel tanks. Stainless drip pan under engine. Clean bilges.
New VHF, radar, knot meter, depth sounder, bilge pump. New interior, wiring, electrical panel, interior lights, masthead tri-light and anchor/running light, foredeck light, running lights. CD player/tape deck/ipod connection with great sound system.
Ship's compass mounted below port-light in cockpit bridge deck.
Rebuilt anchor windlass made in 1927.
45# CQR, 35# danforth, and storm anchor.
Originally underballasted (6,000# external cast iron) which is apparently common for Atkin's designs, added 1,500#s of internal lead ballast in the main settee lockers and beneath the cockpit footwell.
Two fifteen-gallon kerosene tanks for Taylor cook stove and diesel drip heater with two-gallon day/pressure tank that is pressurized by the kerosene transfer pump feeding from the kerosene tanks = heat for a month without having to manually fill tanks daily. Diesel and kerosene tank plumbing is connected so you could heat with diesel if you ran out of kerosene or could mix kerosene with diesel (50/50 max) in a pinch while underway and can use either system to prime the transfer pump on the other system when needed. Red Dot engine heater.
Two thirty-gallon polyethylene water tanks. Spacious galley with extensive storage lockers and jar racks and ten gallon gray water tank that drains through bilge pump thru-hull.
Levac head with twenty gallon holding tank through deck pump out and offshore connection to bilge pump thru-hull. Head pump plumbed to double as emergency bilge pump.
Four person offshore liferaft.
Original bronze portholes; two large, original port-lights set in the cabin top; and doghouse add a lot of light below.
Mast and rig were taken down in July 2007 for inspection. Mast stripped and revarnished. Ironwork painted. Rig slushed. No surprises. Tops'l sheet sheave added to gaff. New, heavier stays'l boom fitted.
Blue is for sail but will only consider selling her to right person.
$150,000 firm.
If you have fairly extensive experience with wooden sailboats and are interested in more information please write to
Restoration crew: Rick Petrykowski (extensive), Diana Talley (doghouse and cabin), Olive Adshead (stripper), Migel Winterburn (reframing), the fucket brothers (planking), Dave Thompson (corker, consultant, and spiritual advisor), Griz (rigging), Heidi Sawyer (sails), PT Foundry, and crew.
Deep appreciation to Rick Petrykowski and Diana Talley at Taku Marine for their work, mastery, advice, friendship, and passion for wooden boats.
Heidi Sawyer Sails
www.hasawyersailmaker.com
