The big schooner is currently under construction at Graafship, in the Netherlands, under full licensing agreement with John G. Aden Inc. The exclusive rights to build this design, which after 86 years in Alden archives, will finally take shape as the schooner “Wolfhound” for it’s current owner.
Detailed construction drawings were never produced for this design. so some of the details in the implementation have to be inferred from other Alden designs from the same time period, such as the 1926 126’ 2-masted auxiliary schooner yacht “Starling”
For ongoing construction updates view the “Wolfhound” construction blog.
John G. Alden wrote: “The advantages of the three-masted rig for deep sea work are many. The area of the spanker is only about 60 percent of the main- sail of a two-master of the same hull design, and the weight of the boom and gaff are correspondingly lighter. There are, of course, many other advantages, and I would plan to have a small stationary gasoline engine on deck to hoist the sails and anchors, as all coasters do.”
Wolfhound Specifications:
Dimensions
L.O.D.: 121′ 00″
L.W.L.: 91′ 06″
Beam: 24′ 00″
Draft: 12′ 00″
Displacement: 182 Tons (m)
Concept Construction: Wood
Construction: Steel
Design: John G. Alden
Design Number: 0347
Design Year: 1927
Type: Auxiliary Three-Masted Schooner
Sail Area (Upwind): 695 m2
Naval architecture and consultant: Niels Helleberg, NHYD, Salem, MA
Structural Design: Paul Wester, WNA, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Special Advisors: A long list of some very special and incredibly supportive yachtsmen and professionals