Images courtesy Jim Taylor Design.
Dreadnaught, as a word, is all about “fearing nothing. ” But as a boat, she’s tells a kinder, more subtle Spirit-of-Tradition story. This 49-footer is a Jim Taylor design daysailer lovingly assembled at Brooklyn Boat Yard back in 2014. This boat is all about equilibrium. She balances a traditional, near classic, hull of just 35.1 feet of waterline with long overhangs that extend the boat’s sailing length under way, just as legendary designer William Fife might have used a century earlier. As is the way with Spirit-of-Tradition vessels, the old-school story above the water is balanced by modern technologies below. The boat carries a near-neurotically crafted minimal rudder and keel, extending from a carefully slippery canoe-shaped hull. Dreadnaught is easy to maneuver and features a comfortable motion in the choppy waters of mid-coast Maine, where she spends most of her life. The boat is also light and built with exacting cold-molded craftsmanship. She is finished off with an all-carbon rig via Hall Spars, sails by Doyle and modern deck hardware by Harken: The mainsail goes up and down at a push of a button.
We’ve seen her sail: She’s easy, nimble and fast on the race course.
Specifications:
LOA: 49.0 ft Sail Area (RSAT w/genoa): 1007 ft^2
LWL: 35.0 ft ‘IM’: 53.0 ft
Max Beam: 11.6 ft ‘J’: 15.6 ft
Draft: 7.8 ft ‘LP’: 142% Genoa; 95% Self-Tacker
Disp (Meas Trim): 16,500 lbs ‘P’: 53.3 ft
Ballast: 7,250 lbs ‘E’: 19.4 ft
Equipment:
Spars: HallSpars — custom carbon mast (w/2 swept spreaders) & carbon boom
Rigging: Navtec — Nitronic solid S.S. rod
Winches: Harken — 2×46.2STP primaries, 2×40.2STP mainsheet, 2×40.2STP housetop (1 electric)
Engine: Yanmar — 53 hp 4JH5E Diesel w/SD50 Saildrive
