Wooden Ships Comments on this Alan Buchanan Bermudan Yawl
37′ bermudan yawl designed by Alan Buchanan and built by G.F. Smeeth, Dedham, Essex in 1966 to Lloyds 100A1.
One of the larger yachts built by this small Essex yard, evidently a quality yacht when built using top class materials and showing some very fine traditional workmanship.
Wooden Ships Comments on this Alan Buchanan Bermudan Yawl
37′ bermudan yawl designed by Alan Buchanan and built by G.F. Smeeth, Dedham, Essex in 1966 to Lloyds 100A1.
One of the larger yachts built by this small Essex yard, evidently a quality yacht when built using top class materials and showing some very fine traditional workmanship. The design has notable beam for an English yacht of her day with generous freeboard making her a stiff and dry yacht in a seaway with a large amount of internal volume. The cock-pit is large for the size of yacht and with wheel steering instead of a tiller sweeping the back of the cock-pit, it is very comfortable for larger parties.
Unusually for her time, the coach-roof runs forward only as far as the mast leaving wide side decks and a clear fore deck. Her yawl rig makes her an easily handled yacht in a breeze and she sails well under fore sail and mizzen alone thus eliminating the problems of reefing a big mainsail as the wind gets up.
Part time live aboard by the present owner, a professional seafarer, since 2012 and cruised many thousands of miles around the Mediterranean and back and forth across the Atlantic. Hauled out every year for careful maintenance, she has clearly been loved and properly used in the present ownership and has now returned to the UK to find a deserving new owner.
Length on deck 37’6”
Lwl 27’
Beam 10’3”
Draft 5’6”
Thames Tonnage 13TM
Displ. 7.8tons
Construction
- Planked in Afromosia for the bottom 4 planks and mahogany above all copper rivet fastened to steam bent Canadian Rock Elm timbers.
- Oak backbone and stem with galvanised strap floors on every timber. Floors lifted and refurbished with new bolts in 1999.
- External iron ballast keel with galvanised steel keel bolts. All bolts replaced either in 1987 or 1994 with 2 replaced in 2011.
- Solid yacht laid teak deck with varnished king plank, cover board and toe rails. Seams re-payed in 2016.
- Varnished teak coamings with sheathed plywood coachroof deck and varnished teak dorade boxes and hand rails.
- Self draining cockpit with teak coamings and scrubbed teak thwarts. Whitlock wheel steering system.
Rig
- Bermudan yawl rig on varnished wooden spars. All spars stripped and varnished in 2017 with 16 coats.
- Mainmast is keel stepped with single spreaders. New slab reefing varnished boom in 2012.
- Deck stepped mizzen mast, new from Collars in 2006, with a varnished slab reefing boom.
- Stainless steel standing rigging to internal bronze chain plates.
- Furlex roller reefing headsail fitted new in 2001.
- Pair of Lewmar 40 self tailing cockpit sheet winches, new in 2010. Pair of Secondary Gibb cockpit sheet winches. 3 top action halyard winches on the mast plus reefing winch on the boom.
- Full set of sails including 2018 genoa, downwind sails and storm sails all in good or excellent condition
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Machinery
- Perkins 4108 45hp 4cyl diesel fully rebuilt in 2016 and serviced regularly.
- Single lever controls to a centreline fixed 3 blade bronze propeller gives 5 knots cruising speed at 3 litre/hour.
- 2 x 12 volt 200ah domestic batteries. Dedicated engine start battery new in 2018.
- 20 gallon steel fuel tank under the cockpit sole.
- 50 gallon galvanised water tank under the cabin sole.
Accommodation
- 5 berths plus 2 small childrens berths.
- 6’7” headroom in the saloon and 6’4″ in the forecabin under the hatch.
- Steps down from the cockpit over the engine box with the galley to port. Quarter berth and forward facing chart desk to starboard.
- Galley has an ENO 2 burner gas stove with oven and grill, deep double stainless sink, and excellent design with pressurised running water. Deep locker in aft corner with removable 12v/220v refrigeration unit. 6’4” headroom in the galley.
- 6’ quarter berth is easily accessed. The forward facing chart desk with a seat lifts up to reveal a chart shelf and storage.
- Main saloon with a settee berth either side with backs that lift up into Pullman berths. New covers 2016. Dropleaf varnished teak saloon table offset to port giving a clear walk way through the boat.
- The starboard side berths are 6’3” but the port berths are much shorter due to the galley joinery.
- Central passage going forward with a heads compartment to port and large locker to starboard. Baby Blake sea toilet discharges directly overboard and a hand basin with manual water pump. Useful lockers under the side deck.
- Forward cabin with twin V-berths that convert to a large double with fore hatch above and ample standing headroom. Anchor locker beyond the berth.
Equipment
- Sestral steering compass
- Sestral hand held compass
- Depth/log/temperature transducer – not available, to be ordered new one
- Raymarine wind indicator
- 2 x E70 Raymarine chart plotter displays
- Standard Horizon DSC VHF (2017)
- ICOM DSC VHF
- AIS receiver
- Handheld ICOM M36 VHF
- SeaGO 4 person liferaft (service May 2019)
- 4 x lifejackets
- 2 x horse shoe life buoys
- Engine fire extinguisher plus 2 in the cabin
- Flare pack
- Whale Gusher manual bilge pump
- Electric bilge pump
- EPIRB
- Solar panel 110watts with regulator
- Shore power connection and 30 amp battery charger
- Shore power cable
- 45lb CQR anchor
- 60m chain
- Manual windlass
- Spare anchor
- Avon inflatable dinghy
- Fenders
- Warps
- Spare sheets and lines
- Covers and boom tent (new 2018)
- Mainsail by Westaway 1999
- Mizzen by Owen, 2004
- Genoa by Intersails, 2018
- Gennaker by Westaway, 2003
- Mizzen staysail by Westaway, 1998
- Spinnaker
- Storm jib
- Alloy Spinnaker pole
