Habakuk - Great Dane 28 owners' club

Habakuk

Habakuk is the prototype of the Great Dane 28” Sailboat and have sail number D-1. I received the boat from a family member, he purchased the boat in 1991. He has been extremely careful and when I took over the boat in 2008 it was in a very good condition.

The hull was build on Roskilde Bådværft in 1965, to be used as the prototype for the fiber model.

The data are as following:

Length: 8,5 meter
Beam: 2,5 meter
Draft: 1,45 metre
Weight: 4.000 kg.
Keel: 1820 kg.

The ship is build of African mahogany on laminated oak, an extra solid construction original used for the 38m2 Utzon spidsgatter. All aptering/accommodation is produced in Honduras mahogany, Origin Pine and Winge.
The deck is teak on 10 mm plywood. The keel is 1820 kg. soft bly/lead and the keel bolts are stainless steel. All other original screws is bronze and some of the later once in stainless steel. The original engine was a Volvo Penta Diesel 15.8 hk with el-start, but this was in 1998 exchanged with a Nanni Diesel 3.75 HE 21 hp.
There are two stainless tanks on board: A 80 liter diesel tank and a 120 liter fresh water tank.
Most of the electricity has been renewed as well as a small special box has been build for GPS and echo sonder. Furthermore, all documentation regarding maintain and electricity diagrams was delivered in perfect order.

I sailed the boat for the first time in 2008, from Limfjorden via Anholt and to Helsingør, where it is located today. Habakuk is easy to sail and is used today quit often to minor trips around Helsingør area.
However, as all old ladies, we need to keep an eye on the condition of the hull, but that is the life with an old mahogany ship.
Furthermore, we need to get some new sails. The mainsail and genua 1 is more than 30 years old, and the local sail maker has repaired them several times now.

May 2010
Some summer job to be done.

November 2010
Unbelievable but truth.
I took the liberty to write an e-mail to Klaus Baess, attached some pictures, just to ensure that my boat was the prototype and to get some back-ground information.
Next day I received the answer:

Kære Henrik Kofod !
Tak for din mail og tak for de dejlige billeder af dine 3 dejlige "sejlerbørn". Jeg har selv sejlet siden 1933
Habakuk’s historie er som følgende:
Jeg kontaktede Åge Utzon i midten af 6o’erne og bad ham tegne en 28 fods familiebåd med gode sejlegenskaber - med forbillede i hans berømte spidsgattere bl.a. Hans Steffens berømte SPRINGEREN som var hjemhørende i Helsingør.
Og mit eneste ønske om ændring var, at den ikke måtte være spidsgattet, men platgattet for ellers kunne den ikke sælges i udlandet.
Utzon tegnede så Great Dane 28 og så byggede jeg en båd efter hans tegning på mit daværende værft i Roskilde, der havde jeg nogle meget dygtige bådebyggere (7 mand).
Vi fik gennemprøvet den, Habakuk, og var tilfreds med dens sejlegenskaber, hvorefter vi støbte den af for at lave en form til fiberglasproduktion.
Båden solgte jeg til en herreekviperingshandler i Kolding han hed Andersen og var en kendt sejler i Kolding.
Senere mener jeg at have hørt at den var kommet til Ebeltoft eller Grenå og nu har du den.
Jeg håber det giver dig en ide om den første GREAT DANE 28.
Mange venlige hilsner
Klaus Baess

..and in English:

Dear Henrik Kofod !
Thank you for your mail and thanks for the lovely pictures of your 3 “sailor kids”. I have been sailing from year 1933.
The story for Habakuk is as following:
I contacted Aage Utzon in the middle of the sixties and asked him to construct a 28 feed family-boat with good sail conditions – with a touch of his famous spidsgatter, a.e. Hans Steffens famous “Springeren” that was located in Helsingør.
And my only demands was that it shouldn’t be sharp at the end, but flat, since I then could'nt sell it to foreign countries.
Utzon then constructed the Great Dane 28 and then I build it according to his drawings on my Shipyard in Roskilde, where I had some very good ship builders (7 man).
We tested the boat (Habakuk) and was satisfied with the sail-performance, why we then produced a mould for the fibre production.
The boat I sold to a "gentlemen's outfitter" in Kolding, his name was Andersen and was a famous sailor in Kolding.
Later I have recieved information that the boat was sold to Ebeltoft or Granaa, and now you got it.
I hope this gives you an idea of the first GREAT DANE 28.
With kind regards
Klaus Baess

__
I'm, very proud and greatful and thanks Klaus Baess. This is important for me,- and now I know for sure that I have a boat with a long history!!!!!!

December 2010
At this moment the boat is located inside at the Baadebyggeriet shipbuilding yard in Helsingør Nordhavn.

I have some few open issues with the old lady. I need some repair of 5 pcs. of frame/rib (da:spanter), 2 pcs. of bench (da:kistebænke) need some new mahogany, the cockpit site need new fernis, a replacement of some damages wood-peace under the deck here and there to avoid further problems and then some old nagle needs to be replaced by some in stainless steel

However,- I'm still so happy for my old wood-boat and love to sail with Y/S Habakuk. It really a nice experience to control this 46 years old 4 tons old wood-boad through Oresund in Denmark.
I just can't wait until the boat is ready again. I need to get it out from the shipbuilding yard in February so it can adopt the outside climate. It's not good for a wooden boat to be kept inside in this dry climate all winter.

June 2011
now the boat is on the sea again,- in a very good condition, but after 4 month in a too dry climate. All work at the shipyard is finished very nice and after a very long weekend trying to get the ship dry inside, 3 pumps on full speed in 1 week we succeed. I had to stay on the boat for 2 full days, just starting and stopping the pumps. what a nightmare. However, now she is dry.

July 2011
We have at last ordered a brand new main-sail from ZAR-Sails, and now we wait for the arrival. Until then we spend some time for small trips to Viken Harbour in Sweden with the Storm-Main-Sail and the old Genua 1.
GD-28 was originally constructed as a family boat and yes, it's absolutely a boat for the hole family!!
However, my dear lovely kids, Amalie (16), Asbjorn (14) and Asger (11) complains about the food on board. They claim very strongly that I have too much can-food and pasta,- and too less candy and sweets.
I need desperate to find a better menu.