The affection for sailing ships takes many forms, many varieties, many excesses. But this one is exceptional. The ship in question is moored in the Elbe mudflats of Pagensand. Midsummer, the sun is blazing. The tide is low, the cruiser has fallen dry. A beautiful boat. Mahogany brown, painted to a mirror-smooth finish. It looks racy, elegant, fast, brand new.
Next to the dinghy cruiser, knee-deep in mud, stand a woman and a man. They are both naked. They are holding rags in their hands, polishing and stroking the hull. She occasionally reaches on deck and takes a sip of champagne.
The perfect dinghy cruiser with attention to detail
Sailing can be so beautiful, so big, so crazy the love for a floating commodity. However, anyone who describes Gabriele and Jan Goral's boat as an "object" will probably have a bottle of champagne pulled over their heads by Mrs Goral. Because this is about much more than that. An object of desire? Far too cute. A sailing piece of life? More like it, but not nearly enough. So is it about obsession, about the art of boatbuilding obsessed with detail? Something like sheer madness under sail?
Yes, I suppose you could call it that. And there it is, the result, this marvellous 55-metre dinghy cruiser. Over ten metres long, 3.20 metres wide at the stern, tapering forward to a sleek stem. The 55 square metres of sail area: meticulously rigged. The boat is fresh in the water this season. The proud owner couple are still working on the fine-tuning and details, but the maiden voyage to the Danish South Sea has long since been completed.
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Mrs and Mr Goral are now back on their river. The Elbe, the sandbanks, the flax. "This is the most beautiful sailing area in the world," Gabriele Goral exclaims, raising her glass to the sky. Her luck must be perfect. This summer's day, the warm Elbe lapping at her feet. The nearby green banks - and in front of her nose, caressed by sponge and rag, her new boat. The two of them designed the dinghy cruiser themselves. Built it themselves. Suffered it themselves. And that is the really special story of this boat - its genesis, its creation. It is the story of two people addicted to sailing, culminating in this little sewing box at sea.
From the beginnings of the dinghy cruiser
The creation of the dinghy cruiser "Sekt oder Selter" began more than forty years ago. Jan Goral, just ten years old at the time, sneaks around the yacht building yards in Wedel near Hamburg, scurrying through the boat halls. He sees the ships, the planks, the boat builders' tools. He knows immediately: this is his thing. He asks if he can do anything, if he can help. The boss hands him a broom. "If you like boats, you can start by sweeping out the hall."
Young Jan is soon helping with the slips and goes sailing on a cutter for the first time at the age of 13. He completes an internship as a boat builder and completes his apprenticeship in 1982. Right from the start, Jan Goral's hands found what they love, what they do best; he promptly becomes a state winner, then a national winner in boatbuilding. After his military service, he moved to Norderney and worked at the Dübbel & Jesse aluminium shipyard, including on the "Kathena nui", the boat that Wilfried Erdmann sailed around the world twice non-stop.
Passion as an introduction to boat building
Then comes his masterpiece: Goral builds a 20-metre dinghy cruiser, which he calls "5 before 12". But he doesn't just build the boat as a showpiece. Above all, he builds it to sail on. Because there has long been someone who, in addition to an increased passion for boat building, also has an increased passion for sailing: Gabriele. Crazy about the North Sea, in love with the Elbe, crazy about sailing.
Her grandfather was a fishing boat captain, her mother one of the sailing "Golden Girls". Gabriele Goral was already crawling over the deck planks as a baby and later helped her parents to refit the family boat "Nymphe". The young Gabi practically grew up on a dinghy cruiser; at the age of twelve she was already holding sandpaper and paint brushes in her hands - when they weren't out sailing somewhere.
You have to know all this to understand this cruiser. This boat, which is lying in the sun in the Elbe modder today and is now waiting for the tide again. Yes, otherwise you might not realise what it's made of. What an extent of sacrifice, what a portion of boat infatuation.
A new project is needed
Gabriele and Jan Goral sailed for 25 years on their 20-metre "Jolli", knew every sandbank on the Elbe, cruised in the Wadden Sea, often to Helgoland. Jan Goral, however, soon changed his profession. He went to the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency and measured ships there, which he still does today. "It's a good job, I still have a lot to do with boats," he says. "Above all, this job offers more security than the craft of a boat builder." However, his true love over the years has always been his old passion: chisels and planes, planks and the smell of wood - boat building.
The idea of building another, a new dinghy cruiser had therefore been haunting his mind for a long time. "Our 20 in a big way, that would be something," he thought to himself. The project would be extensive. Mighty in its dimensions, hefty in its costs.
But the idea continued to ferment. And on several trips across the North Sea, with the wind becoming increasingly fierce, one day they both wanted a larger, more stable boat. The beginning of the aforementioned jollyboat was finally delivered on two trailers in 2009: a sawn-up tree trunk nine metres long - 3.5 cubic metres of sipo mahogany, weighing 2.5 tonnes and costing 3,000 euros. The wood will have to rest for three and a half years to dry before it is ready for a ship. Mountains of wood are stored in the Gorals' shed, right next to their house. This is where the marvel will be built.
The requirements for the dinghy cruiser are extensive
The boat should be suitable for the mudflats, be able to fall dry on any bank of the Elbe and also be fast and robust. And, of course, it should look good. A sailing yacht that has been thought out down to the last detail, because after all, no-one else is putting their hand and judgement to it than someone who has had boat building in their blood since childhood. No, there would be no half measures in this project. Jan and Gabriele Goral set about constructing the boat of their lives.
Jan Goral draws the lines himself and designs the crack and shape. On the computer, he uses CAD programmes to calculate the optimum ratio of sail, lateral surfaces and centre of gravity. An experienced friend helps him, and Jan Goral has his final design checked again by a professional. Incorrect calculations, a boat that doesn't sail perfectly after years of construction? Unthinkable!
Start of dinghy cruiser construction
On 2 October 2012, Jan Goral's birthday, there is a special kind of present: the two of them don't pop the corks or go out for a fine meal - on this day, they set up the first Mallen in their shed. This is the real starting signal, and all the other birthday presents in the world are a joke in comparison. The couple take a week's holiday. The first mouldings follow, then they put on the veneer. Cedar on the inside, mahogany on the outside, karweel arranged.
The hull is built overhead, the underwater hull is laminated over at the end, two layers to make the boat more pressure-resistant for the mudflats. When asked how often the two of them worked on the boat, the answer is unanimous: "Always. After work, into the night. All weekend long. We only sailed twice during this time."
Sparkling wine or seltzer- all or nothing
Two years and seven months, totalling 4,000 hours of work, went into the construction of their new dinghy cruiser. The boat devours all their savings, an insurance policy plus the money from the old 20er, which has now been sold. Friends come to the hall and help. "Our whole social life soon took place in our shed." There are always sandwiches there, crates of beer at the ready. The 20 metre-long rack around the nascent hull soon became known as "the longest bar in Wedel".
They have to work in cramped conditions, constantly bending and twisting around the boat. They even have to build special steps and fixtures to be able to work above, below and inside the hull. Jan Goral sometimes hangs upside down in the hall, dangling twisted from a pulley to apply putty and cordless drills somewhere on the frames. Boat building with special requirements. The problem: you want a large boat, but the shed only offers limited space. Ultimately, it is the shed that dictates the final dimensions of the dinghy cruiser. The shed is only 4.50 metres wide, the exit measures just 3.45 metres, and they will also have to dismantle the entire carport and unhinge the gate in order to be able to manoeuvre the finished boat out of the shed at all. To the centimetre, by a hair's breadth.
But the Gorals would probably have demolished the entire hall and ended up relocating the entire neighbourhood in order to somehow get their vehicle outside after almost a thousand days.
A complex planning and construction process
This was followed by the centreboard box, the interior fittings and the exterior structure. Three layers, glued together. In between, again and again and without end: details, details, details. Planning, planning, planning. They spend nights poring over catalogues, calculating, calculating, ordering. A gigantic package is delivered for Christmas 2015: Blocks, rollers, cleats, fittings, winches, bolts, hinges. They unpack the treasures in front of the Christmas tree, feel the parts and go through everything. "Open one of these parcels," recalls Gabriele Goral. "Nothing, absolutely nothing else comes with it. It was paradise on earth and a great motivation at the end."
The time has come on 31 May 2015. They have centred the boat out of the hall and it is now in Wedel at the marina. 300 people have gathered, family, friends, parents, acquaintances, spectators. A former colleague of Jan Goral gives the christening speech, then the "Sekt oder Selter" goes into the water. The dream floats. Four days later the rig is delivered, the next day the mast is in place, and a week after launching they go out sailing for the first time.
The tide has now come in and the couple set sail. The dinghy cruiser is fast, and promptly pulls away at wind force three. The boat easily makes seven on the wind, rushing through the waves at 10.5 knots at half wind. Jan Goral stands at the tiller in the wide stern. "The boat is still half a workshop," he says. "We carry fittings and lots of tools on board."
Everything on board is well thought out
Yet they have already travelled 1,300 nautical miles in this first season. Because now, after endless months, after almost three years in the shed, the Gorals can finally do what they really love again: sailing - in every spare minute. Their season starts in March and ends in late November. Even on gloomy foggy days, they are out there somewhere on the mudflats.
Now with the new, big Jolli. Only those who let their eyes wander around the ship a little will realise what it contains. There is the aerodynamically shaped flagpole, the solar panel sunk flush into the cockpit floor. "High-performance cells, customised," remarks Jan Goral, walking barefoot over the dark glass. "Supplies eight amps, our little power station on board." There is the twin rudder system; blades and cassettes made of carbon fibre. There is the outlet for the supply and exhaust air of the gas heating, neatly covered with a round mahogany panel with a continuous grain.
The Traveller is bolted to the floor, so the cockpit offers plenty of space: the cockpit of the dinghy cruiser is six square metres in size, so you could easily dance around. In summer, the couple like to sleep out here or convert the cockpit into a floating lounge with cushions in no time at all. Sit down, sundowner in hand, enjoy.
Special features and individual solutions characterise the dinghy cruiser
The bollards for the mooring lines are a special detail, much more elegant than the usual cleats. Gabriele Goral really wanted some that could be lowered into the water. The pair had the bollards specially turned by a precision mechanic, six of them with stainless steel springs. They snap out of the teak deck at the touch of a thumb.
The tiller, moulded from 15 layers of ash and mahogany. The cockpit shower, connected to the ballast tanks; the tanks hold 160 litres, hidden under the forecastle boxes. When sailing, the water is pumped back and forth depending on the trim. The additional ballast, salt or fresh water as required, was important to Jan Goral. "These are two mates who sit on the edge, don't drink beer and don't drool."
The cutter staysail has its own furling system, "the headsails can all be set on the fly," says Gabriele Goral, while her husband heads for the next bay. The couple usually anchor; they prefer to be outside rather than in the harbour. Until the depths of autumn, when most of the others have long been cruising between the fireplace and the kitchen.
As soon as the hook is dropped, Mrs Goral disappears into the cabin. There is plenty of space here too, everything is well thought out and optimally utilised. A large refrigerator is hidden on the port side behind the saloon table. It has a capacity of 110 litres and the gel storage plate can easily keep two and a half crates of beer cold for three days without ever being connected to shore power.
A dream comes true- after a lot of work
Subtle light falls through the skylight above the sea toilet and its counterpart to starboard. A seamless transition up on deck. The Gorals heated the tinted acrylic glass at home in the oven at 130 degrees and moulded it themselves. All sleek and streamlined. And even the colours, which are quite unusual for a dinghy cruiser, have a system with the Gorals.
Turquoise is his favourite colour, bright pink is theirs. "We like it upbeat," says Jan Goral, and so the personal colouring is distributed equally across various parts of the boat. Neon yellow trim lights, poison green mast controllers and bright purple downhauls run across the flat cabin deck. Inside, bright turquoise upholstery and bunks make the saloon really shine, radiating out into the teak cockpit. Madame was allowed to choose the colour of the spinnaker; the huge canvas is as garishly purple as a 1950s Cadillac.
Sunset. Jan Goral stirs two ice-cold caipirinhas in the galley - green, but not poisonous green. The two of them sit in the back of the cockpit, revelling, enjoying. It's their river, their summer. And their big dream of a dinghy cruiser has come true.
This article first appeared in YACHT 10/2016 and has been revised for this online version.
Technical data dinghy cruiser "Sekt oder Selter"
- Hull length: 10.30 m
- Waterline length: 9.90 m
- Width: 3.20 m
- Draught: 0.30-2.50 m
- Weight: 3.6 tonnes
- Mainsail: 31 m²
- Genoa: 24 m²
- Engine: 10 hp outboard motor
