The 36' Ketch "GRACE"
Copyright 1999 - 2007
Michael Kasten
Hull Form
Grace is from the lineage of the 42'
Zephyr
and the 42' Highland Lass II. As with those
designs, Grace is intended to be easily built, so makes use of a
single chine fully developable hull shape. For the sake of economy
Grace has an all steel hull, deck and house.
Having been originally designed for steel, this means that construction
in all aluminum is very easily arranged - mainly just a re-specification of
the scantlings and the ballast, plus a few added notes on the drawings and
in the Vessel Specification.
Particulars
Hull dimensions and displacement are as follows:
- LOA - 36'
- LWL - 28'
- BOA - 11'
- Draft - 4' - 9"
- Displacement - 16,850 lb.
- D/L - approximately 341 depending on load
- Working Sail Area - 732 sq. ft. plus the genoa
Interior
The interior drawn for Grace has the benefit of a
'midship galley that spans both sides of the vessel. This arrangement
maximizes the cabin sole area, i.e. the galley is in the widest part of the
hull, so it can have a wide sole area that is not trying to climb up the
hull sides (as would be the case if the galley were aft). Here, the
galley is also in proximity to the settees just forward.
The settees are in this case, not full length berths, but instead are
comfortable seats on either side of a center table, hung off the main mast.
The benefit of locating the settees in this spot is that there is plenty of
headroom above, and combined with the forward "V" berth, the seating is more
or less a large "U" shape that wraps around the table. Plenty of play area
really...! Even so, each settee seat can be used for younger guests,
much to their delight because they get to be nearby!
Due to the ketch rig, the main mast is far enough aft to allow there to
be a permanent double berth forward without hindrance from the mast.
Right aft of the galley is a head compartment to starb'd and a bureau /
hanging locker to port. With a flip-up sink, there is convenience and
a very conservative use of space.
With the galley and the head compartment amidships, this allows a pair of
quarter berths to be located aft. This arrangement maximizes the
usable cabin space, making excellent use of the large area below the aft
deck, allowing two guests to sleep in relative privacy.
If it were so desired, on quarter berth could be made into a large
storage area aft, and the forward end turned into a seat facing forward.
The bureau / hanging locker could then turned into a chart desk.
Personally, I'd prefer to have the hanging locker...!
These are practical matters really, and I've yet to see a better overall
layout for a mid-30's size vessel.
Rig
In keeping with the rest of the boat, the rig has been kept
quite simple both to build and to use. Still, ample sail area is provided.
It can be argued that the ketch rig provides a larger number of balanced
sail combinations than any other rig. It is one of the reasons for
the popularity of the ketch rig for voyaging.
The low aspect gaff mains'l on Grace
gives quite a good spread of canvas. When running, what wind escapes
from the main is intended to be captured in light airs by replacing the jib
with a genoa, and then using the jib as a mizzen stays'l. Very neat and
practical, since only one extra sail need be carried for light weather, and
the jib can perform double duty.
The spars are all aluminum pipe. When painted, everyone will assume they
are wooden spars. Aluminum pipe is stronger than wooden spars and weighs no
more. The fittings are fully welded in place, making aluminum pipe spars
very quick to fabricate. Due to there being far less labor involved, they
are also considerably less costly than to fabricate the same fittings in
steel for placement on a wooden mast. Aluminum spars of this type will
last longer and require less maintenance than spars built in any
other material, bar none.
Self Steering
With a sheet rove through a few blocks along the windward side
from the stays'l boom to the tiller, plus a stout bungee cord on the other
side of the tiller, Grace will self-steer very well.
Some may not believe that this simple sheet-to-tiller arrangement works
well enough to do without a steering vane or auto-pilot. Given the
combination of keel, hull and rig design that we have provided for Grace,
it very definitely does!!
We have steered many a voyage using this arrangement. Tracking is
excellent, and... you can't beat the cost of setting it up...!
For more information about Grace, please
inquire.
