Grace Eileen Boat Plans and Kits

I designed this boat, named for my daughter and co-builder, for family use on Penobscot Bay and the coast of Maine. I wanted a vessel that would give comfortable accommodation to a crew of four, for cruises of up to two to three weeks. She would have to be affordable to build, I would have to be able to handle her by myself when necessary, she would have to perform well, especially to windward, and, of course, she would have to be as pretty as I could make her.

After doing a number of concept drawings, I decided on an overall length of 30 ft, beam a little over 9 ft, draft of 5 ft, and a displacement of 7,000 pounds. I am a believer in light displacement for coastal cruising. You get a lot of boat for your money, with good interior volume, and exciting performance and windward ability with modest sail area, which limits costs of sails and rigging, and makes sail handling easier with a small crew.

The hull form is modern, without being extreme. The fin keel is longer than in an outright racing boat, making for a stronger hull/keel joint, and putting the center of gravity lower, without the need for a bulb. The separate rudder is hung on a skeg, right aft, a very strong, powerful arrangement.

The sail plan shows a fractional sloop rig, the simplest, most economical, and efficient for a boat of this type. The large, tall mainsail is very effective in light airs, making it easy to approach an anchorage under this sail along. The fin keel and rudder placed well aft make the boat nimble and easily handled in congested waters.

I chose what is basically glued lapstrake construction, using 12 mm marine plywood over a structure that is similar to that of some of my smaller boats. The cost of materials is substantially less than for cold molding, and the labor content is also less, with only one layer of planking, and no need for longboarding the hull. The hull is sheathed in glass fiber and epoxy resin up to the waterline, as are the deck, cabin top, and cockpit seats and sole. Everything else is sealed with epoxy resin. This very effectively seals moisture out of the structure, and cuts down on maintenance.

The Grace Eileen has proven herself to be the delight to sail that I had hoped for. She loves to go to windward, exceeds her hull speed off the wind, she’s always docile and responsive, and remarkably dry in a chop. The big galley makes living aboard a real pleasure, while the open transom is a bigger asset that I had expected. Taken all round, I couldn’t be happier with this very sweet little cruising boat!
 

THE PLANS

The plans include thirteen sheets of scale drawings, full size patterns of the stem, transom, bulkheads and station molds, printed on CAD film, and specifications, with notes on building.

WHAT YOU CAN ORDER: (Click on Boat Design and Prices Page and Order Form)

• STUDY PACKAGE:
  STUDY PACKAGE. Includes fours sheets of scale drawings showing the sail plan and hull profile and deck layout, a lines drawing, and accommodation drawings, with an illustrated booklet with detailed description of the construction method, discussion of materials, and other issues. $15.00 + P&H: (Shipping: $2.50 USA, $20.00 Canada, $24.00 all other countries.)

• PLANS:
  Full size patterns, construction drawings and accommodation drawings, sail plan, specifications and building notes. $1050.00 + P&H. Shipping Costs are given on the Order Form

• ALSO AVAILABLE:
  Sails, Lead ballast keel.