In this section, we present selected articles from 100-year-old issues of *YACHT*. In issue 3/1926, the editorial team described a 19.50-metre ketch built by Abeking & Rasmussen, which was hailed at the time as the most modern vessel of its kind.
The accompanying drawings show one of the most modern German cruising yachts. The yacht was designed and built last year by the Abeking & Rasmussen shipyard on behalf of a German client. It represents a remarkable step forward in the development and expansion of our German yacht fleet. Any recreational sailor who has had the opportunity to visit various sailing areas will readily recognise this yacht as a larger version of the well-known ‘Ar’, which was featured in ‘Yacht’ magazine at the time. The outstanding successes achieved by Mr Rasmussen, the designer and former owner of the ‘Ar’, with that yacht prompted him to follow the same approach when designing this considerably larger yacht, with the aim of creating a vessel that is equally seaworthy, manoeuvrable and, at the same time, fast.
A glance at the sail plan is enough to see straight away what the primary requirements for the yacht were: speed, whilst remaining as manoeuvrable as possible. The advantages of a high rig for cruising yachts are likely to be so well known that there is no need to list them in detail. What may be new to some cruising sailors is that all the halyards – mainsail, headsail and jib halyards – are made of wire and run on winches, so that when all the sails are set, apart from the sheets, no rigging on the mast clutters the deck. The jib is also run on a boom and, just like the mainsail and mizzen, is stowed under tarpaulins rather than in a sail bag below deck – so this sail can also be cleared quickly. When at anchor, the boom is hoisted high, freeing up the foredeck for all tasks. A 23-square-metre broad jib serves as a storm sail for downwind sailing; a trysail for tacking in a storm is unnecessary, as the yacht is capable of weathering any storm whilst fully manoeuvrable under the jib and mizzen.
The yacht’s hull is constructed from shipbuilding steel in accordance with Germanischer Lloyd’s regulations for the highest class for large coastal vessels. The internal ballast is cast into the bilge. The fresh water, waste water and fuel tanks are designed as double-bottom tanks. The engine compartment is separated from the other compartments by a steel bulkhead, ensuring that neither petrol fumes nor oil can enter the other compartments. The deck is laid with narrow Oregon planks and, together with the teak superstructure, the teak gunwales and the whalebone, creates a very pleasing impression. The yacht was designed as a flush-deck yacht at the client’s specific request, and it is precisely this feature that gives it a particularly racy appearance.
From the spacious cockpit, where the steering wheel, steering gear and compass are situated, one enters the large sailing berth, which in turn is separated from the engine compartment by a steel bulkhead. The engine compartment is large enough to allow easy access to all parts of the 18 PS Selve engine. The Zeise gear-shifting mechanism can be operated from the cockpit. The engine is, of course, fitted with a starter motor.
Adjoining the engine compartment is a sleeping area with built-in, comfortable berths. Between the two small sofas in front of the berths is a toilet unit fitted with drawers and a large mirror with movable side panels. Two spacious cupboards for clothes and linen complete the furnishings. The entire room is finished in birch with teak trim. Tasteful curtains, carpeting and sofa covers, as well as electric lighting, give the room an extremely homely feel, so that even the most pampered lady can feel at home here for a few weeks. A door leads from this room to the spacious washroom, which is also accessible from the corridor. Cupboards are arranged along the corridor, intended primarily for the guests staying in the saloon.
The saloon is finished in mahogany, with a swivel table; the upholstery, carpet and curtains are tastefully coordinated with the rest of the room. Above the sofa backrests are two extremely comfortable fold-down berths with spring-loaded cushions, meaning that four people can sleep in the saloon.
The galley is also very spacious. The crockery cupboards and iceboxes are situated on the starboard side, whilst on the port side there is a galley worktop with a Primus stove; between the mast and the galley worktop is a coal stove, which has proved its worth exceptionally well on yachts of this size, so that the Primus stove is actually only used in exceptional circumstances.
The foredeck is extremely comfortably fitted out for two men, with the necessary cupboard space, bucket toilet, berths, etc. In fact, the yacht is so easy to handle that one can easily manage with just one paid crew member. The second berth in the foredeck could therefore be used by a young male sailor who is more interested in proper seafaring than in polished sleeping quarters.
We in Germany have every reason to be particularly proud of this yacht. It will be a shining example of German craftsmanship abroad.