Arabella is a Colin Archer-inspired, double-ended ketch designed by William Atkin. She displaces about 25,000 lbs and has berths for up to 5 people, and despite her large size, she’s easily sailed single-handed. She’s 37’ 6” on deck, with a 32’ waterline, and will carry 816 sq ft of sail. The frame is of White Oak, and she’s planked with a mixture of White Oak and White Cedar. She has a laid White Pine deck.

Colin Archer was a famous Scottish naval architect and shipbuilder from Larvik, Norway. He primarily designed fishing vessels for use on the North Sea and expedition boats for polar exploration. He’s known for designing efficient sailers that are seakindly in rough weather and big seas. 

The Atkins are a legendary family of boat designers; they refined and tweaked Archer’s designs to create numerous double ended designs such as Thistle, Vixen, and of course, Ingrid and Stormy Petrel. Many of those original builds are still afloat today—to date, the original Vixen has made two circumnavigations of the world and is capable of many more.

William Atkin said of Ingrid:

“The lines show a genuine redningskoite-life boat of the North Sea, as nearly perfect in form as any boat can be...

She has all the characteristics usually associated with seagoing ability. She can be depended upon to sail herself. She is ableness personified and equal to any situation...

If you will build her just as shown you will have a sterling vessel and one in which you can go anywhere, anytime.”

ARABELLA PARTICULARS

Interior Layout Notes

Standing headroom—6’+

Berths—5

Galley/Kitchen—Sink, propane stove and oven, refrigerator, freezer

Head/Bathrooms—1 with sink, shower, and composting (desicating) toilet

Construction Materials

Frames—White Oak

Planking—Eastern White Cedar, White Oak, and Black Locust

Deck—Laid Eastern White Pine

Ceiling in cabin—Eastern White Cedar

Cabin Sole—Mahogany and Cherry

Main Mast—Hollow, Black Spruce

Engine—40-hp Nanni diesel

Fuel capacity—60 gallons

WHY DID WE CHOOSE THIS ATKIN DESIGN?

Deciding which boat to build is like trying to pick a car to build if you had every make and model throughout all of history to choose from. The options are daunting!

After poring over various designs I came to the decision that I need to pick a designer then pick the boat, that way the field could be drastically narrowed. It’s kind of like deciding on a Ford or Mercedes, then picking which model and year to build.  

After a lot of reading and research, I ended up on the Atkin website and really loved their tagline: "Individualized Designs for Unregimented Yachtsmen." That sure described me! After a bit more digging and reading I came to learn that Atkin’s hometown was relatively local (in Connecticut) and that his designs have a very good reputation as solid, safe vessels and their plans are written with the home builder in mind—a crucial detail. Having never built a boat before, choosing something straight forward with modest shape and decently sized scantlings would make the build easier to achieve.  

With the plan to voyage and live aboard, a boat that would be sea kindly and able to capably haul gear and provisions would be very important as well. Large enough to house a few friends but small enough to single hand was also a big consideration. The Eric and Vixen both had great appeal, and Eric was the boat that won the first Golden Globe Race! Clearly, the seaworthiness of the design was well proven. Neither of them were quite right though, then I read about Ingrid.

Atkin said of her:

"Ingrid is a big boat. She has all the characteristics usually associated with seagoing ability. She is the kind of boat that behaves in rough water. She can be depended upon to sail herself. She is ableness personified. And equal to any situation."

That was exactly what I was looking for! The really remote corners of the world call the loudest to me, and Ingrid not only seems like a boat that could take Robin, me, and our friends there and back, but it’d be a boat that would enjoy doing so. She can sleep five but is small enough and efficiently rigged to single hand; double-enders have a great reputation offshore, the ketch rig gives options for sail combinations, tiller steering keeps it simple, and altogether the design is a very solid offshore cruiser. As soon as I read about her, I knew she was the boat I was going to build.

It was not until after construction began that we found out that a gaff-rigged version, Stormy Petrel, exists and after seeing the sail plan and comparing rigs, it was no contest. For the places we want to go and the things we want to do, a low-slung and low-tech gaff rig is ideal.

The plans gave us everything we needed and nothing we didn't. Pat was a great help anytime we had a question, all in all we have been very happy with the choice.  

—Steve