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North
Sea Trawlers Outfitted As Yachts
Author: unknown
Published
in SEA and Pacific Motor Boat, December, 1960.
The 70-ton
Norwegian trawler Edward Grieg created quite a stir when she negotiated
the jetty at Newport Beach, California in 1960 after a 10,000 mile trip
from her builder to the owner, sailing on her own bottom. She was launched
by Romsdal Shipbuilders on the West Coast of Norway and was purchased
by Len Koutnik of Encino, California, who took delivery in Acapulco, Mexico.
The 65 ft
Grieg is the first of seven vessels for West Coast owners building in
Norway and imported by Peter Varney's Lido Yacht Sales, Newport Beach.
She was the subject of worldwide interest when caught in Europe's worst
storm in 23 years on her way to the USA in December, 1959.
She was reported
lost during the five-day gale, after departing from Lisbon, Portugal.
The storm took 120 lives, delayed liners as much as 24 hours, and gave
quite a beating to Grieg, which was hove to for 51 hours in the middle
of the English Channel. But she suffered no serious damage and continued
on to the Canaries, Barbados, Panama and Acapulco under command of E.
F. Scott, one of the principals of Romsdal.
Others aboard
were Mrs. Scott, their nine-year old daughter Cinda, and Mr. and Mrs.
E. Lamerdin from Northern California. What manner of vessel is Edward
Grieg? Yachtmen will be quick to recognize her seagoing character, though
she differs markedly from the Pacific cruisers and commercial fishing
boats they were accustomed to seeing. She is, in reality, a North Sea
trawler, designed to take any sort of weather and built to the extremely
high Norwegian Ship Control specifications.
The hull form,
construction details and general design represent 100 years of development
in that maritime country. The hull is planked with 2-in. fir over 5-in.
square laminated frames on 11-in. centers. Inner planking is also 2-in.
fir. Fastenings are 5 x 5/16 in. square forged iron ship nails, galvanized,
with the planking bolted to the frames and inner planking with 1/2-in.
bolts at every other frame.
That the boat
is built to take a beating is shown by the fact that the keel and keelson
are of 8 x 9 in. timbers. The shelf is almost 5 x 5. The clamp is 8 in.
x 3 3/4 in., bolted at every frame head. Deck beams are 6 x 6 5/8 in.
Deck planking is 2 1/2 x 4 in., fastened with 1/4-in. square forged iron
boat nails galvanized 3 1/2 in. in length. Every beam, carlin, shelf or
timber in general is lock jointed. Steel knees are located at every other
deck beam, bolted. Other hull work is equally strong and all was inspected
by Norwegian Ship Control.
One of the
real surprises is Grieg's interior layout and accommodations. The pilot
house has a full size chart table, settee berth for the off watch and
unlimited visibility in all directions. The main deck house aft serves
as a salon, with settee, teak dining table and occasional chairs. The
galley is forward on the same level with deep double sinks and seagoing
cooking gear. Forward on the main deck is a sailing cabin with built-in
upper and lower berths, teak writing desk and full length lockers. A ladder
for use in bad weather leads to the pilot house.
Below and
aft is a large guest stateroom with complete privacy from the rest of
the vessel. It includes built-in port and starboard berths and large lavatory
with stall-type shower. A ladder leads to the main deckhouse. From the
sailing cabin a ladder leads below to the owner's stateroom forward, which
includes full size double bed, divan and small settee, teak cabinets and
chests. There is a full size shower in the large enclosed head. The engine
room is just astern and has full standing headroom. Forward of the owner's
stateroom are two more private staterooms both with built-in upper and
lower berths and clothes lockers. In the eyes of the ship, there is a
third head accessible to both forward cabins.
The finish
throughout is a blond mahogany from Africa called limba, trimmed in teak.
All doors, window trim and floors are solid teak as are cabinets, chests
and furniture. The engine is a single Swedish Penta diesel providing 9
1/2 knot cruising speed. Engine mounts are fabricated from heavy steel
plate athwartship across the floors and up the sides of the hull about
two feet. Steel 8 inch "I"
beams are welded onto these plates with the mounting pads, then welded
from 1/4-in. plate on the beams. The engine is high enough off the bilge
that the engine pan can actually be removed. The entire unit is bolted
down with 1-in. bolts through the bottom of the ship.
Engine aligning
jacks are built-in. One of the most interesting features is the Ulstein
variable pitch three-blade hydraulically operated 48-in. propeller, which
is driven through a 4.55 to 1 reduction gear. This setup eliminates the
need for reverse gears, since propeller pitch is merely reversed to propel
the boat backwards. Once the engine is started, only two levers are required
for operation, the throttle and the lever controlling the variable pitch
propeller. The latter can actually "feather" the prop so that the boat
neither moves ahead nor astern. Thus to slow down, the throttle need not
be touched, just the propeller lever. To reduce speed, one decreases the
pitch of the propeller, keeping the rpm steady. Thus, speed can be controlled
while running the engine at the correct rpm.
In addition
to the Grieg, six other Varney boats have been completed, all sold to
Newport owners--three 45-ft Torsk class cruisers, two additional 65-ft
Griegs and one 75-ft Malaguena class. The builder expects to begin work
on two more 75s in the near future. For further information write the
builder at 3420 Via Oporto, Newport Beach, California. |
