Saga

There is very little historic documentation about these boats, but we know there were many variations within the general type. I wanted to build this in-part to discover why this hull shape and rig evolved for the upper Great Lakes. As an open ballasted boat, however, the originals would sink if capsized and I didn’t want to be quite that authentic! I worked with a naval architect to design ballast and buoyancy chambers to make the boat survivable, and I am able to self-rescue. Saga has sailed out of Chicago, Green Bay, McGregor bay in Lake Huron, Penobscot Bay in Maine, and here. I chose strip-composite construction using western red cedar and Douglas fir with FRP inside & out. People often comment on the unique electric auxiliary arrangement on Saga. The motor pivots from the rudder in and out of the water for silent outboard-like maneuverability in harbor and no drag while sailing. I often try to treat the boat as history research: What reef sequence would the old-timers have used? What ballast changes? How best to trim? Then after that pondering, there is still a lovely boat with a sweet sheer that seems to know what to do.