Tore Herlin 10 Metre Ketch

Wandra was designed for Gösta Boman, a client who wanted a sturdy yet elegant cruising vessel that in those days would have been called a fifty fifty with a restricted draft of 1.36 m and a 36 sq metre sail area, combined with a powerful engine to maximize her cruising rage in the Stockholm archipelago independent of wind conditions. In 1944 however, probably because of the wartime oil shortage Boman asked Herlin to increase her power under sail. That is when she got a deeper and heavier ballast keel and taller rig (Plans of both configurations are available).The third of only four owners to date decided to further increase the sail area by adding a bowsprit which in turn necessitated an all around high bulwark in order to stand up to it, an addition that eliminated the drop of the deck in profile.

 With the present owner Wandra left Stockholm waters for the first time in 2002 to sail on an inshore lake in Austria, where the idea of bringing her back to her 1944 configuration began to take shape. In 2005 she went to Kiel, where a talented young boat builder, who had just finished building a yacht of similar size and construction to Wandra, took on the task of examining and restoring her. It transpired there was an amazingly sound and original boat left under all the add-ons and in the end, only the main mast and galley compartment had to be replaced - still it was to take more than 2000 hours to bring her up to show condition, an effort that proved worthwhile when she was awarded the "German Classic Restoration” Trophy in 2009. 

Wandra is carvel planked oak on a combination of grown and steam bent oak frames, copper riveted and bronze bolted throughout. The deck is the original - two layers of Oregon pine with a layer of oiled paper between - still tight after all these years. It has seen some sanding and refinishing such that nail heads do show here and there but the overall condition and craftsmanship that went into it is too good to discard. The mizzen mast is original but the main is new - of spruce - as are the rig and sails. Steering is wheel to cable with emergency tiller.

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