cold molded sailboats for sale

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LA 28: The modern trailable boat that’s cold-molded from mahogany

• October 8, 2019

The LA 28 is a beautiful, cold-moulded wooden trailer-sailer that was designed to be unique, and has now sold nine boats across Europe. Sam Fortescue steps on board

Appropriately, it’s a long train ride through thick, thick forest before I reach the LA Yachts yard on the banks of Lake Müritz in central Germany. This seems apposite because the boat I’ve come to see is an exquisite example of how wood is just as relevant as ever when it comes to boatbuilding.

In truth, the LA 28 has little in common with the endless rows of fir that fringe the lake; she is cold-moulded from nobler stuff. But it is striking that this young shipyard chose to build in wood. I ask yard owner Lothar Fichtner why.

“It’s lighter than GRP and cheaper than carbon,” he says without blinking. So much for the romance of traditional construction, then. In fact, there’s little about this vessel the boatbuilders of 100 years ago would recognise.

Around 60kg of Sicomin epoxy is used in the lay-up. Photo: Soenke Hucho

For one, cold moulding is a technique that relies heavily on epoxy resin to stick each layer of wood to the last and sheath the whole structure to keep the water out. Then there can be as much or as little carbon in the rig and the finish as you want, while propulsion comes courtesy of a Torqeedo electric motor.

Despite her elegant tumblehome and the plunging curve of her coachroof, this is a thoroughly modern boat. “The best of modern and traditional,” Fichtner says.

The story of the LA 28 begins with the desire of a wealthy man to have a beautiful sailing toy. Lothar Fichtner was that man and, having sold his engineering business, he wanted to enjoy more of life from his second home on Mallorca.

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He approached a boatbuilder in the Muritz region called Andreas Zehle who specialised in the building of the German 20er Jollenkreuzer racing dinghy class, also cold moulded. Then he drafted in designer Martin Menzner from Berckemeyer Yacht Design in Laboe on the Kieler Fjord.

This small design house has worked on everything from dinghies to high-latitude yachts, using a range of construction materials and techniques. Crucially, Berckemeyer is strong in cold-moulded yacht design, or ‘speed strip’ as they call it.

The brief was for a trailerable 8-9m boat, that was “simple to rig, as single-handed as possible and with excellent sailing characteristics,” Fichtner explains. “I am bothered by the current development in boatbuilding. Almost all boats look the same. I wanted something exclusive that is modern in design and traditionally built.”

It takes more than 15 coats of varnish to achieve this degree of shine on the finish. Photo: Soenke Hucho

Menzner is a successful J/80 sailor himself, and the two men quickly saw eye-to-eye. The whole design process took just three months. Fichtner had no clear idea of it at the time, but he wasn’t just buying a boat, he was establishing a yard.

“I founded the shipyard because two boatbuilders were unemployed and I wanted to have a boat for my area in Germany and Mallorca,” he recalls. But one thing led to another, and Fichtner is a naturally ambitious man.

“We had a lot of success at trade fairs and continuous orders. Then I found my way into Germany’s Yacht magazine.” They have now sold nine boats since 2015, when the first garnered rave reviews at Interboat in Friedrichshafen.

Working with wood

Cold moulding requires a rough plug to be made, but no female tooling is needed, making it much cheaper to set-up than in the case of GRP or carbon. The plug around which the hull is formed is simply made from strips of softwood fastened around CNC-milled frames. It’s quick, cheap and relatively easy. The natural flexibility of the 2.5mm strips of wood used in cold moulding the hull iron out any imperfections in the mould.

The first stage of the process is to place a layer of plastic sheeting over the mould. Then the strips are bent into shape and clamped in place to hold their form. Each layer is bagged and vacuum infused with Sicomin epoxy resin, which soaks into the very top layer of the wood and helps to bond each strip edge-to-edge.

Each layer is laid in a different direction to the previous: longitudinal strips of okoume first, then lateral, then diagonal. For the outer layers, Lothar prefers African mahogany (khaya), giving a warm, reddish finish to the hull, which is many times stronger than the equivalent in glassfibre, and lighter too.

The deep curve of the tumblehome is all part of the hull shape, so it isn’t possible to mould the whole hull at the same time. Instead, there are two symmetrical plugs, one for the port side, one for starboard.

When the two halves are finished, they are simply epoxied together in the middle with a sort of low keelson covering the whole length of the joint for extra strength.

Cold moulding leads to a beautiful interior finish. Photo: Soenke Hucho

At this stage, the hull is still just a hollow form, albeit a beautiful one. Extra strength must be added next, which is achieved by ‘backfilling’ frames, ringframes and stringers – all glued into place after the event. These support the stresses of the mast, the shrouds and the keel, and provide structure for the transom, keelbox and so on.

The finish is a matter of personal taste – every owner makes their own decisions on this. Some have opted for carbon detailing; a layer of carbon epoxied around the aluminium mast post, for instance, a carbon keelbox and carbon fibre pads where the line for the retractable bowsprit passes through the companionway bulkhead into the cockpit. The mast and boom are both in carbon, with sails recommended in X-Drive carbon from UK Sailmakers.

Others have requested a white painted interior (a lot more work, observes Fichtner), or different woods used in the construction process to give a slightly different finish. The point is that every boat is unique and can be formed and specified to fit its new owner’s wishes: engine or no engine; spade rudder or transom-mounted kick-up rudder.

LA Yachts uses a very light wooden core for the tiller, then laminates it with carbon fibre. Photo: Soenke Hucho

Below the waterline the usual keel is a 600kg lead bulb, but again you can choose from a number of options. With the fixed keel there is the option of a 1.7m, 1.8m or 1.9m draught – depending on where you sail and how aggressively rigged she is.

But the hydraulic lift is proving a popular option, which reduces draught by 0.9m in the raised position. It’s a handy option for shallow waters, and makes it more feasible to land wherever the fancy takes you – perhaps with a family and a picnic basket.

True to the boat’s thoroughly modern character, Fichtner worked closely with Torqeedo in designing the LA 28 to use one of the company’s 2.5kW electric drives.

This is permanently mounted on a pod under the cockpit, but the throttle lives out of sight on a fold-down panel that pops out of one of the cave lockers. It’s a neat solution to the fact that the Torqeedo control is chunky and modern, and rather at odds with the otherworldly lines of the LA 28.

Controlled growth

The boat is resolutely designed to be simple to handle. “They sail easily and they’re very light. I can come into port by myself, and handle her myself,” Fichtner says. “With a bigger boat you always need a team – you are never alone.”

That said, there is a bigger boat on the horizon. Taking its cues from the look and handling of the LA 28, a larger 35-footer has been designed and will shortly enter the build phase. At 10.8m long, she can still be trailered, thanks to an all-up towing weight of just less than 3.5 tonnes.

“I want to invest in quality,” says Fichtner determinedly. “My dream would be to build just three boats per year.” There seems to be a preponderance of billionaires among the ownership ranks of LA Yachts, so perhaps three a year is more ambitious than it sounds.

Specification

LOA: 8.8m (28ft 11in) LWL: 8.0m (26ft 3in) Beam: 2.5m (8ft 2in) Draught: 1.7-1.9m (5ft 7in-6ft 3in) Keel raised: 0.8-1.0m (2ft 8in-3ft 3in) Displacement: 1.5 tonnes Ballast: 600kg (1,322lb) Engine: Torqeedo Cruise 2.0FP Price: €120,000 (ex. VAT)

The Legendary Night Runner

Possibly no other yacht has achieved greater success in the realms of both cruising and racing than Night Runner. Designed by Robert H. Perry for Seattle sailor Doug Fryer, she is a well known “wolf in sheep’s clothing” in Pacific Northwest waters with a classic appearance above the waterline and modern lines below. It is said that she is Perry’s favorite design. Under Fryer, she won just about every notable race in the Pacific Northwest. She is a veteran of 38 Swiftsure International Yacht Races (three times first overall), a singlehanded Transpac, four Victoria to Maui races (including a first in class) and four Van-Isle 360 races (Division II winner in 2009). At the same time, she served her owner as a comfortable and capable cruising platform, extensively exploring Pacific Northwest waters north to Alaska and a dozen circumnavigations of Vancouver Island. As if that is not enough, Night Runner completed a 21,000 mile voyage around South America by way of Cape Horn and the Panama Canal for which Fryer received the Blue Water Medal from the Cruising Club of America in 1998. To say that Night Runner knows her way is an understatement.

Night Runner’s cold molded construction by Cecil Lange and Son of Port Townsend, Washington provides the beautiful interior and exterior aesthetics of a traditional wood boat in a strong and lightweight package that stands the test of time. Night Runner is truly an heirloom boat.

New teak decks – repowered diesel – Balmar alternator – extensive sail inventory – forced air heat – Raymarine electronics

Interior Accommodations

Night Runner’s interior is beautifully finished. In the typical cold molded style, the interior of her hull is bright finished and all her structure is visible, giving a wonderful aesthetic. An offset companionway allows for a roomy aft stateroom and salon layout that feels larger than her 42 feet. Her U-shaped seagoing galley is opposite a stand up nav station. Forward, the centerline drop leaf table is flanked to port and starboard by straight settees with pilot berths outboard. Large skylights provide great light into the salon space. There are gimbaled tables for food and drink that mount on both the salon table and above the engine compartment at the galley. Forward of the salon, a passageway leads to the head with separate shower stall and the fo’c’sle with ample storage in large lockers to starboard, a work bench with vise, and sail storage bins.

Force 10 propane three burner stove and oven

Xintex S2A propane solenoid control

Propane tank

Pressure water – plumbed but not currently in operation

Fresh and raw water foot pumps at galley sink

Top loading refrigerator/freezer (2013)

Jabsco toilet

Espar Airtronic forced air diesel heater

Electronics and Navigation

Raymarine radar/chartplotter with radar antenna on pole (2012)

Icom IC-M120 VHF radio

Kenwood TKM-707 SSB radio

Kenwood MAT100 antenna tuner

Raymarine X30 autopilot computer with linear drive Autohelm Speed and Depth displays and Raymarine ST70 Wind display at cockpit

Autohelm Multi display in salon

Danforth Constellation compass at binnacle

Garmin GPS72 handheld GPS

West Marine VHF 460 handheld VHF (floating and submersible)

Running lights, deck light, anchor light, and LED masthead tricolor

Sony AM/FM/Cassette stereo with two Sony speakers

Electrical Systems

12v DC and 120v AC electrical systems

Weems and Plath AC distribution panel

Marinetics DC distribution panel

DC voltmeter

Heart Link 2000 panel

Magnum inverter/charger with external control panel

(2) Interstate 6v batteries

Pow R Surge 908D battery

Interstate SRM 8DS battery

Mechanical Systems

Westerbeke “55D Four” diesel engine (151 hours)

Engine control panel with tachometer, oil pressure, voltmeter, temperature gauges

HBW 250 direct drive transmission

Packing gland shaft seal

1 ¼” stainless propeller shaft and folding propeller (new 2009)

Balmar 100 amp alternator with ARS 5 external regulator

Racor primary fuel filter

Manual bilge pump below deck

Whale Gusher 10 manual bilge pump at cockpit

Deck and Hull

Night Runner’s was constructed by Cecil M Lange and Son in Port Townsend, Washington. Her hull was built in the cold molded style with four layers of 1 ¼” red cedar set in epoxy with the outer layer of planking laid longitudinally. The hull is stiffened by a laminated cedar keel, laminated frames, and bulkheads bonded to the hull, and a stainless grid that bears the load of her mast and keel. Her ballast is lead fasten with stainless bolts. Her topsides are finished bright with black and white boot stripes. There is a rub rail along her hull sides. A short bulwark and double lifelines surround her deck. Then decks are plywood with teak overlay, replaced in 2014. A large foredeck space with vertical capstan windlass and samson post is well configured for handling ground tackle. The cockpit serves well for both racing and cruising. The mainsheet is sheeted from the end of the boom to a Harken traveler just forward of the large wheel. There is good cockpit seating aft with storage below and lockers below the aft deck.

Simpson Lawrence V2000 anchor windlass

Bruce anchor with chain and rode

Danforth anchor with chain and rode Fortress FX37 folding anchor

Samson post

Green canvas mainsail cover and binnacle cover

Sails and Rigging

Black anodized aluminum mast and boom

Solid rod standing rigging (2009)

Strong Track low friction mainsail track

Storm trysail track

Hydraulic backstay adjuster

Furlex 400s headsail furler (2009)

(2) spinnaker, (2) jib, staysail, (1) mainsail halyard, (1) spinnaker pole topping lift

Removable (adjustable) inner forestay and babystay

Dyneema running backstays

Spinnaker pole and reaching strut

Harken mainsheet traveler

Port and starboard boom preventers

(3) Barient 26 winches on mast

(1) Barient 22 winch on mast

(1) Barient 20 self tailing winch on cabin top

(1) Barinet 23 self tailing winch on cabin top

(1) Lewmar 50 self tailing winch on cabin top

Barient primary and secondary winches

Sail inventory:

Mainsail (tri-radial) – Dacron – Ullman Sails

Mainsail (tri-radial) – Dacron – Lidgard Sails

Mainsail (cross cut) – Dacron – Shattauer

#1 genoa – Carbon – Hodges

#2 genoa – Tape Drive – UK

#3 jib – laminate – Hodges

#4 jib – Dacron

#5 jib – Dacron

(2) .5 oz spinnakers

.65 oz spinnaker

.75 oz spinnaker

1.5 oz spinnaker

1.5 oz reacher spinnaker

2.2 oz spinnaker

Genoa staysail – Dacron

Spinnaker staysail – Dacron

Jib top – Dacron

Drifter (older) – Dacron

Code 0 windseeker

Storm trysail

Miscellaneous and Safety

Lifesling in custom canvas bag

McMurdo 406 EPIRB (battery expired May, 2018)

Avon roll up inflatable dinghy

Charcoal BBQ

Notable recent maintenance and upgrades

August, 2003

New Engine, Regulator and Exhaust – $21,774

North Harbor Diesel

January, 2009

Roller furler – $4,630

Rod Rigging – $5,819

New folding prop and shaft

Canoe Cove Marina – $4,136

Summer, 2012

Radar and chart plotter

January, 2013

New bowsprit, king post and cockpit hatch covers

David’s Custom Installations – $18,652

Refrigeration – New compressor, plates and water pump

Sea Freeze of America – $4,317

September, 2014

New main sail

Ullman Sails – $7,382

October, 2014

New teak deck

Townsend Bay Marine – $ 41,877

38' Cold Molded Express

Profile & arrangement.

This 38-foot custom express cruiser launched in July 2010 was constructed at E. M. Crosby Boatworks in West Barnstable, Massachusetts. Her hull, of cold-molded Spanish cedar, was built by Brion Rieff Boat Builders of Brooklin, Maine. She was the winner of the WoodenBoat Show's 2011 Concours d’Élegance award for Best Professionally Built Power Boat.

The arrangement of the yacht and her accommodations reflect her intended use as a day cruiser and weekender for a family of four. The forward v-berth accommodates the owners, their young children sleep in upper and lower berths opposite the head. The head is fitted with a stall shower, perhaps the one luxury in what is otherwise a very simple yacht. A small galley with Inox drawer refrigerator is located on the bridge deck. She is simply outfitted. There is no genset or bow thruster. Cooking will be done on a grille or portable camp stove on the beach.

This design combines, in an unusual way, several familiar Hunt themes: the aluminum construction and workboat styling familiar from our work with pilot and patrol boats; the requirements of sportfishing, which we know from experience with both production and custom clients; and the engineering of jet propulsion, which we have done for decades in boats from 9' to 90'. And of course, under it all lies the Hunt deep-V, developed and refined over fifty years for performance and comfort.

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