The 30 square meter sea cruiser "Vinela" in 1959
The 15 copies of the 30 square meter version of the legendary class were drawn by the designers Klein and Jenzen. They are made of steel and may still sail - rebuilt or modernized - on inland areas or seas.
“Obviously there are still yachts from this construction series, which was noteworthy for the conditions at the time. At the end of August 2005 in Warnemünde I recognized the yacht 'Abigail' as a representative of this type, but I was unable to determine the owner”, says YACHT reader Klaus Zapf. He himself learned to sail on this shapely ship and circled Bornholm with it. The reunion was an occasion to look for old timers that were still preserved.
A total of 15 of the steel ships were built. Anyone who knows or even owns a 30 sqm sea cruiser should contact Klaus Zapf, Gehrenweg 63, 12526 Berlin, Tel. 030-6769367.
Dimensions of the 30 sqm sea cruiser to Klein and Jenzen: Length over deck: 9.10 mLength in the CWL (construction waterline): 6.25 mWidth in the CWL: 2.20 mmax.draft: 1.35
The heyday of German sea cruisers began after the First World War. The national cruiser classes of the DSV already existed for the inland areas: habitable regatta ships with large sail areas and filigree rigs. But the coastal sailors in particular dared to venture further out to sea, for which the "nationalists" were too dangerous.
The sea cruisers, more stable, heavy cruisers, came from the former opponent of the DSV, the German Sailing Association. At the German Sailing Day in Vienna in 1927, the DSV followed suit and introduced a new class: that of the famous sea cruisers, well-proportioned and seaworthy yachts of various sizes for the sea, whose regatta performances were comparable.
These ships were built using a new calculation formula: a compromise between the limit dimension formula and the KR formula. That means: the designers had to submit to certain limits when trying to build ships as fast as possible. The ship's width, draft, freeboard, deck jump and cabin superstructure were limited below, a certain minimum living space for long voyages was specified. The type of rigging and subdivision of the sail area were free. There were 30, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100, 150 and 250 square meter cruisers - and thus a revolution in sailing: types of ships for almost every budget.
"Abroad, the constructions were considered to be the most beautiful and functional that modern yacht building had to produce," writes Klaus Kramer in YACHT (2/1996).
In 1952 the sea cruiser was declared an age class, and KR standard values were assigned to the different class sizes. As a result, individual buildings became increasingly rare, and the time of series production began.