T HE fame of the Grey Dawn type of Dutch aux-

iliary is, literally, world-wide. Many of you are

By Gerald Taylor White
Design by West/own Associates
familiar with Flying Dutchman, the 22-footer that
appeared in MI in Dec, 1948, and Jan., 1949. This
design has the same basic hull form but has been
mathematically reduced to an over-all length of
16 feet.
Obviously a boat of this length is not a deep-sea
voyager, but for the man who wants a boat that will
go out in rough water, that is easy to build that is
comfortable, and that will last for a lifetime, there

126 Mechanix Illustrated

127
is little offered that will beat Hans Brinker.
Like all of the Grey Dawns, she requires
no steam-bending of frames. While she fol-
lows the lines of the Dutch boats that have
been used in the North Sea for centuries,
she may best be described in terms intel-
ligible to most Americans as a modification
of the famous Gloucester dory, but she has
more stability, less of a tendency to pound,
and a lot more room.
The cabin is not intended for serious
cruising, but there is sitting headroom and
a couple of folks who do not mind rough-
ing it could cruise for days in her. The best
auxiliary power would be an outboard
engine hooked either to the transom or to
a bracket attached to the stern.
Specifications
Deck fittings and all other hardware
throughout the boat should be of bronze
or brass. All fastenings should be of Ever-
dur, copper, or bronze and should be set in
counterbores and fitted with plugs on the
outside. All faying surfaces should be
smeared with marine glue or white lead.
The lines of the entire boat should be laid
down full size from the dimensions given
in the table of offsets and lines drawing.
Keel. White oak, in one piece, 3 in. thick,
shaped as shown. Note that the top of the
keel is 7/8 in. above the fairbody line. From
Station 4 to 7/8 in. forward of Station 7, cut
a slot through the keel 1-1/8 in. in width.
Deadwood. White oak, 3 in. thick, shaped
as shown.
Keel Battens. White oak, 7/8 x 5 in., fitted
down tightly on top of the keel between
frames, except in way of the centerboard
trunk, and fastened with 2-in. boat nails.
Stem. White oak, 3 x 5 in.
Stem Knee. White oak, 3 in. thick, shaped
as shown.
Stem Post. White oak, 3 x 4 in.
Stern Knee. White oak, 3 in. thick, shaped
as shown.
Cheek Pieces. White oak, 7/8 x 1 in.,
screw-fastened to bottoms of stem, stem
knee, stern post, and stern knee to take
planking.
Stopwaters. White pine, 1/2 in. dia., set
in holes bored through the rabbet line at
the junctions of the keel and stem, dead-
wood, stern post, and centerboard head-
ledges.
Keel Fastenings. There should be at least
five 3/8-in. bolts through the stem knee, a
similar number through the stern knee,
four through the deadwood, and two
through each of the headledges.
Transom. Philippine mahogany or white
oak, 1-1/4 in. thick, t h r u - b o l t e d to the
128
stern post. Made up of pieces about 10 in. in
width with each seam backed with a screw-
fastened oak batten not less than 7/8x1-1/2
in. Around the forward face of the transom,
7/8 x 2-in. white-oak cleats should be
screwed to form a backing for the planking.
Sampson Post. White oak or locust, 3 x 3
in., mortised into the stem and projecting
above the deck as shown. To be fitted with
a 1/2 x 7-in. bronze pin.
Centerboard Construction. Substituting
for the keel battens there are 2 x 2-in. oak
logs rabbeted 3/4 in. deep and 7/8 in. wide
along the inner upper edges. It is very im-
portant that these centerboard logs be
made exceptionally watertight. They fasten
to the keel with long screws passing
through the rabbet and bolt through the
headledges. The headledges are of 1-1/8 x 3-
in. white oak. They extend from the bottom
of the centerboard slot to the cabin roof.
The centerboard trunk is formed of 7/8-in.
white oak with the pieces approximately
8 in. wide. To insure watertightness, a
white-oak batten, about 1/2 x 1-1/2 in., is
screwed along each seam. The trunk sides
screw-fasten to the headledges and to the
trunk logs. In way of the trunk, the frames
are to be notched over the log and through-
bolted as shown. The centerboard itself is
of %-in. white oak built up as shown in the
detail and fastened together with 1/2-in.
dowels. The hole for the 1/2-in. centerboard
pin is bushed with a piece of brass pipe and
the holes through the keel are similarly
bushed. A piece of lead, 7/8 x 6 in., is let
into the centerboard to overcome flotation.
One of the best ways to hold the lead in
place is to bore a hole through each corner
of the lead with a portion of the hole cut-
ting the lead and the remainder passing
through the oak; then four bolts with large
washers can be run through. It will be
necessary to counterbore so there will be
no chance of the bolts striking the slot.
Frames. White oak, 7/8 in. thick, each
composed of five parts: one bottom frame,
two side frames, and two topside frames.
The bottom frames are 3 in. wide and the
other frames are 2-1/2 in. wide. Particular
attention should be paid to the erection
drawing, which shows the location of the
various parts of the frames as compared to
the station marks. The parts lap each other
and fasten together with 1/4 x 2-in. bolts
Sheer Clamps. White oak or longleaf
yellow pine in single lengths, 1-1/8x2-1/2in.
Set at each frame so the deck beam will
rest upon them. Fasten each at each frame
with one long boat nail and one screw.
Breasthook. Longleaf yellow pine or
spruce, about 2 in. thick, to fill in the tri-
angle at the deck forward of the Sampson
Mechanix Illustrated
129
post. Should be screw-fastened from the
outside; then two fillers should be added
outboard of the clamps as shown.
Chines. These are on the outside of the
boat and actually form planks. White oak
or longleaf yellow pine, l-1/4x3 in. At the
stem and stern cleats, they are to be very
strongly fastened and boxed in where
necessary.
Deck Beams. White oak or spruce, 7/8 x 2
in., cut to a radius of 24 feet and bolted or
screw-fastened to the frame heads as
shown. On the undersides, the corners
should be chamfered off.
Planking. Philippine mahogany, white
cedar, white pine, or cypress, 7/8 in. thick,
preferably in single lengths. Not counting
the chine, there are four bottom planks on
each side, six side planks, and one topside
plank. All planks fasten to the frames with
1-3/4-in. screws. If the fastenings are
plugged the screws may be reduced to 1-1/2
in. All plank seams should be slightly bev-
eled to leave 1/16-in. calking seams.
Decking. White pine, 7/8-in. T&G, boat-
nailed to the deck beams and covered with
10-oz. canvas laid in marine glue. At the
hatch and cabin openings, the canvas should
be turned down.
Most Step. White oak or longleaf yellow
pine, measuring 2 x 9 x 20 in., notched
around the headledge and over frames No.
7 and 8, through-bolted to the frames, and
mortised with a 2 x 2-in. hole for the mast.
Hatch. Mahogany, set on 7/8 x 1-1/2-in.
white-oak coamings. A ledge must be
screwed all around the hatch that will fit
down over the coamings. Hooks or other
fastenings should be provided to suit.
Waterways. Philippine mahogany or
white oak, about 7/8 x 7/8 in., except for-
ward, where they should be widened to
2-1/2-in. buffalo rails, as shown.
Cabin and Coaming. Philippine mahog-
any or white oak, l-1/8 in. thick, shaped as
shown. Set in 8 in. from the rail line and
fit very tightly against the deck. Cut a shal-
low groove along the under edge and lay a
thread of lamp wicking, soaked in marine
glue, in the groove. Fasten with long screws
passing up through the decking. In way of
the windows, openings are cut out and rab-
beted to receive [Continued on page 156]

LARGE-SCALE PLANS
will greatly simplify construction. Send $3 to
MECHANIX ILLUSTRATED Plans Service,
Faweett Building, Greenwich, Conn. Please
specify Plan No. B-I9I.

130 Mechanix Illustrated

131
 Hans Brinkex
[Continued from page 130]
double-thick glass that's held in place with
quarter-round moldings. To give additional
light and ventilation, two 4-in. portholes
should be installed in forward end of cabin.
Cabin Roof Beams. White oak or spruce,
3/4 x 1-3/4 in, crowned 1 in. in every 2 feet of
span. Chamfer off the under corners. Screw-
fasten to the cabin with long screws.
Cabin Facing. Mahogany. 3/4 x 6 in., screwed
to the deck beams to form the ledge of a shelf
around the cabin and to cover ends of beams.
Cartings. White oak or longleaf yellow pine,
7/8 x 2 in., running entire length of cabin and
cockpit and screw-fastened to the undersides
of the deck beams after cabin is in place.
Cabin Roof. White pine or spruce, 3/4-in.
T&G, nailed to beams and canvas covered.
Spars. Spruce. The mast is built up of 1/2-in.
stock with fillers, as shown in the detail. The
boom and bowsprit are solid pieces.
Standing Rigging. The shrouds and the fore-
stay are 5/32-in. flexible wire properly eye-
spliced at the ends and fitted with shackles.
The bobstay is 3/16-in. wire.
Running Rigging. The main and jib halyards
are 3/8-in. yacht manila The rigging of the
main sheet is as follows: from an eye bolt on
the starboard side of the transom, the sheet
leads up through one sheave of a double block
attached to the boom, down through a single
block on the port side of the transom, then up
through the remaining sheave of the block on
the boom. The jib sheets are double and of
1/2-in. yacht manila. The same diameter is
used for the main sheet. The topping lift is
3/8-in. manila. Since some difficulty may be
had in passing a splice through centerboard
trunk, it is suggested that two feet of center-
board pennant be a piece of brass bell chain
with remaining part 3/8-in. manila.
Blocks. The following will be necessary: for
jib halyard, one single block; for main hal-
yard, one single block; for topping lift, one
cheek block; for main sheet, one single block
on swivel and one double block on plate; for
jib sheet, two fairleaders; and for center-
board pennant, one cheek block or one block
on plate depending upon lead for pennant.
Rudder. White oak, 1-1/4 in. thick, made of
two pieces doweled together, shaped as shown,
with a tiller hole and bolted cheek pieces.
Tiller. White oak, 3 feet 7 inches long, 1-3/16
in. thick, and 2-1/2 in. wide, rounded off and
tapered to l-1/2 in. wide at forward end. To slip
into hole in rudder and be held by a pin.
Moldings. At the rail and sheer, install 1-in.
half-round moldings. At the cabin edge, in-
stall 3/4-in. half-round moldings. •
March, 1951