DYNAMO, 57' Yawl

With Dynamo, I wanted to design a traditional looking cruiser/racer with an updated underbody which might compete in the “Spirit of Tradition” classes which were becoming more popular. I have always had an affinity for the classics and a great respect for the designs of Olin Stephens, so I started there, by perusing among the many successful S & S designs for cruising sailboats. In Stephens’ book Lines there is described a yawl built by Burger in 1956 by the name of Dyna, which was one of the first sailing yachts ever to be built of aluminum. She was 57’ 11” overall which, to me seemed like an ideal size for a family to go cruising in. I like the yawl rig for its balance and advantages when shorthanded, and there was a certain synchronicity to the fact that I was employed at the self-same yard which launched Dyna over fifty years prior. Dynamo evolved to be a modernized version of Dyna, updated to reflect more modern sensibilities and qualities in a cruising sailboat, yet retaining a flavor and aesthetic derived from the 1950s.

Dynamo would be of similar size and it would retain a similar rig and arrangement to that of Dyna’s but I wanted to separate the keel and rudder and perhaps stiffen the bilges a bit. Above the waterline, I wanted to soften some of the hard edges referencing the styling cues of the automotive industry of the 1950s. I think modern aluminum construction allows for more curvaceous shapes than what a yard might have been willing to tackle in 1956.

In addition, Dynamo, using aluminum construction, is considered by many to be more ecologically sound than FRP construction by virtue of the simple fact that, at the yacht’s “end-of-life”, aluminum can be recycled. To further reduce the yacht’s carbon footprint over its lifespan, I wanted to explore the concept or regenerative power, where, when not motoring (or racing) the power generated by the wind pushing the vessel through the water could be captured by deploying the propeller and using it to generate electricity which could be stored until it was needed later. This would also increase the range of the yacht under power, which can come in handy when becalmed.

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