Jan Brügge Boatbuilding: Woy 28: The big sister of the best-selling model

The first Woy 28 has been delivered on Lake Constance. The 8.70-metre-long daysailer combines a clinker-built wooden hull with a carbon rig, a lifting keel and four berths below deck. With a target weight of 1.5 tonnes, it carries 45.5 square metres of sail area when sailing close-hauled. This means that the slightly more comfortably designed sister ship to the Woy 26 remains sportily ambitious. Visually, too, it carves its own path with its low freeboard and raked bow. Behind the Woy brand – short for ‘wooden yachts’ – stands Jan Brügge Boatbuilding.

The debut model, the Woy 26, took everyone by surprise with its completely original, indeed utterly fresh lines: a shallow freeboard, moderate beam, negative bow, harmonious frame and, to top it all off, a massive sail area with a fathead mainsail and a backstay-less rig. The boat was a real head-turner, proved to be a sailing powerhouse and was immediately voted European Yacht of the Year 2026, made a much-acclaimed trade fair debut in Düsseldorf. And then the Woy 26 surprised everyone with its inner qualities: it was built using the new vacuum wood infusion manufacturing method devised by shipyard manager Jan Brügge himself.

Woy 28: Stringer construction instead of wood infusion

The Woy 26 is being built by Wood infusion. The process is similar to vacuum infusion for plastic yachts. The construction material, consisting of fabric or wood veneers – possibly combined with a sandwich core of balsa wood or foam – is positioned on the mould. It rests on a release layer and is covered on the outside with a mesh fabric and then with a vacuum film. A vacuum pump draws the free-flowing epoxy resin-hardener mixture from a container through the materials, whilst the vacuum film compresses the layers of wood (or the fabrics).

However, the new boat should be a little more cost-effective – in other words, simpler to build. It is constructed using the strake method and laminated with fibreglass and epoxy resin both inside and out. Inside, the wooden strakes remain visible, whilst the outside of the boat is varnished. At least the hull is. The cockpit and deck are left in their natural wood finish. The two create a lovely contrast.

A killer sail area ratio

It’s also lightweight thanks to its conventional construction: it’s expected to weigh in at 1.5 tonnes, with the keel alone accounting for 0.6 tonnes, whilst the fin is made of carbon fibre to lower the centre of gravity. The Woy 28 also delivers impressive performance in other respects: the sail area, comprising a Fathead mainsail and jib, totals 45.5 square metres. When this is set against the weight, it results in a substantial sail area ratio of 5.9 (dimensionless). This classifies the boat as a fast-planing racer. The 85-square-metre gennaker, which is flown from an extendable bowsprit, also helps in this regard.

Bonds issued by LA 28

"The boat is a completely new design," says Martin Menzner of Berckemeyer Yacht Design. However, it takes its cue from the LA 28, that gem of a boat in visible mahogany with a convex bow and an upward-tapered freeboard, which ranks amongst the most exciting boats of its size. Whilst the LA draws inspiration from classic racing boats, the new Woy – like its smaller sister – is thoroughly modern, without trying to emulate any familiar racing boat design.

High-quality fittings

The boat is fitted with a Pauger carbon rig, carbon rudder blades and a retractable electric pod motor with an output of three kilowatts. It is equipped with a lifting keel, which allows the draught to be reduced electro-hydraulically from 2.00 metres to 1.05 metres. The cockpit is spacious and open. The gunwales are only half as long as the cockpit floor; the remaining space can be used for lounging and sunbathing. Four berths are provided below deck; the customer who purchased the first boat – now delivered to Lake Constance – did not request any further comfort features.

Technical Specifications: Woy 28

• Fuselage length 8.70 m
• 7.80 m of fibre-optic cable
• Width 2.55 m
• Draught 1.05–2.00 m
• Mainsail 28.0 m²
• Jib 17.5 m²
• Gennaker 85.0 m²
• 3 kW pod motor

More on this topic

• Portrait of Woy 26
• Woy 26 is named European Yacht of the Year
• Wood infusion: Here’s how to do it
• LA 28: A variation on a theme