Brooklin Boat Yard was put on the map by the late Joel White, who had a significant impact on not just boat and yacht design in general, but also Maine-based boatbuilding. For 40 years he turned out some of the best wooden craft, from dinghies to pleasureboats and racing craft. His son Steve White carries on the tradition today at Brooklin Boat Yard. No doubt the senior White would be pleased by this design, an 82 Spirit of Tradition. The one-off cruising sloop echoes construction and design cues that he upheld.
The Brooklin 82 Spirit of Tradition is to be built via the cold-molding method with epoxies, all vacuum-bagged. She’ll also employ carbon fiber for the mast, boom, and rudder. Draft is 11 feet (3.35 meters), with a beam of 22’6” (6.9 meters).
As much as Brooklin Boat Yard works with independent naval architects, Steve White wanted the in-house department to flex its muscles for this project. “I thought it important to challenge the team and demonstrate our own creative capabilities, generating designs that exemplify our philosophy,” he says, “designs that are attractive and classic in style but with modern underbodies and appendages and modern sail-handling; designs that are efficient to sail or power, and designs that are efficient to construct.”
In profile and philosophy, the Brooklin 82 Spirit of Tradition draws inspiration from a somewhat smaller Steve White design from 1992. That yacht, Dragonera, is a flush-deck pilothouse ketch that every year cruises from Maine to far southern waters. The original owner has been making the trip since delivery and doesn’t intend to stop anytime soon. Similarly, this sloop can chase horizons with either a professional crew or experienced owners at the helm. There’s a working cockpit for that purpose, separate from a strictly relaxation cockpit.
Regardless of who takes the wheel, the Brooklin 82 Spirit of Tradition will have twin hydraulic headsail furlers. One is for a working jib, with the other for a reaching sail. In-boom furling is planned, too, for the mainsail.
Those spaces aboard the 82 Spirit of Tradition are meant for an owner to personalize. The general arrangement and decor can be handled in house or in collaboration with the designer of your choice. Brooklin Boat Yard’s team suggests a forward owner’s stateroom and three guest staterooms. A slightly raised pilothouse spills extra natural light into the main relaxation area. In keeping the galley open to this area, the 82 Spirit of Tradition creates a casual, comfortable environment.
Of course, the 82 Spirit of Tradition also includes a nav area off the living space. If you plan on hiring professional crew, the aft port cabin can switch from a guest space to accommodate them, with bunk berths.
Upon contract, the 82 Spirit of Tradition can be built in 18 months. Price: $4.8 million, depending of course on interior outfitting and systems selection.
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