1937 Abeking & Rasmussen Burmester 50sqm12m

An elegant and beautiful classic design from the legendary Abeking & Rasmussen, well maintained and carefully owned from an experienced owner. SYLENA is now for sale and ready for her next custodian.

FURTHER BROKER’S COMMENTS:

SYLEMA, originally launched as Seepferdchen, is one of the 100 Windfalls yachts.

The Windfalls consisted of a fleet of over 100 high quality wooden offshore yachts taken as reparations from Germany after the 2nd World War. Virtually all British service personnel who sailed offshore for the next 15 - 20 years were introduced to sailing in these yachts. As the years went on the services gradually disposed of them and they were bought by civilian owners, in due course becoming classic yachts, still known as Windfalls. Their beautiful lines still turn heads today.

The yachts were built in Germany in the 1930s to provide training for the German armed services. They were owned by the German Government and after the war were taken by the British Government as reparations. The majority were then sailed to England, where they were promptly dubbed Windfalls and initially allocated to Navy, Army and Air Force of the British and Commonwealth Services.

The yachts varied in size from 85 ft to 32 ft and included some very fine large craft. During the 1940’s the Windfall fleet was mainly condensed to three main classes: 100 square metre (sq m), 50 sq m and 30 sq m, with an overall length of 55 ft, 42 ft and 32 ft respectively. Mostly of them are now under private ownership, sailing as classic boats and much admired at classic boat rallies or Tall Ships Races.

Despite being built for use in the Baltic they have since sailed far and wide, cruising extensively and racing in most of the Northern Hemisphere offshore races including the Fastnet, Bermuda and Trans-Atlantic Races. That they were very well constructed is amply demonstrated by the fact in 70 years not one has been lost at sea due to stress of weather. 

BUILDER’S HISTORY:

The Burmester shipyard was founded in 1920 by Ernst Burmester (1893–1965) in Bremen- Burg. Due to an increased demand for yachts in the 1920s, the company - from 1925 Yacht- und Bootswerft Burmester GmbH - grew considerably. In 1935, after liquidation, Ernst Burmester became the sole owner of the boatyard.

In the 1930s, the shipyard mainly built lifeboats and small boats, such as clearing boats and sea cruiser yachts for the navy. In 1941 two branch yards were set up in Swinemünde (Ostwine) especially for war production, the yacht and boatyard Burmester Räumbootswerft and the Ernst Burmester Schiffswerft KG for KFKconstruction. As an armaments factory, the Burmester shipyards also employed Dutch, French and Polish slave labourers during World War II .

OWNER’S COMMENT:

SYLENA is more than a classic good looking with a beautiful history. Built for the German cadets training of the navy in 1937, SYLENA was part of the 100 German windfalls taken over by the English Navy after the war, then later sold to British and Dutch owners before taken over in the French seas of Bretagne by present owner. At sea it’s more than a pleasure to sail, very strong and quicker upwind and manageable alone below 20 knots of wind. Now time to contemplate a new project, bigger for family cruising and race. SYLENA's hull was perfectly epoxied as per inspected by both inspector and professional in France.

CONSTRUCTION

RCD Status:

• Our understanding is that the vessel is exempt from the European Union’s Recreation Craft Directive as she was first placed into use within the EEU prior to June 1998.

Hull Construction:

• Wooden construction
• Refitted with epoxy layer - 2000
• Honduras mahogany
• Transverse structures with a continuous keel from aft to bow.

Deck & Superstructure Construction:

• Structural teak deck – approx. 20 years old

Keel & Rudder:

• Lead fin keel.
• Spade rudder

MACHINERY

Engine & gearbox:

• Nanni 3.75HE 143008 3-cylinder producing 21hp @ 3600 RPM diesel engine - 2000
• Mechanical reduction gearbox
• Fresh water engine cooling via raw water intake and heat exchanger
• Single lever engine control
• HURTH/ZF reverse gear box - 2000

Service & Maintenance:

• Approximate hours 1000 in 2021

Propulsion & Steering:

• 3-bladed propeller clockwise rotating propeller
• 25mm diameter SS propeller shaft lubricated with cooling water
• Tiller steering

ELECTRIAL SYSTEMS

Voltage systems:

• 12vDC domestic circuit with 12vDC starting circuit and 220vAC via shorepower.

Battery Banks:

• 1x 12vDC engine start battery
• 1x 12vDC service battery

Charging / Inverter:

• Automatic battery charger with Mastervolt splitter
• Mastervolt inverter

Alternators:

• 24vDC engine-mounted alternator for start bank charging

Other Electrical:

• Electrical control panel with thermal breakers
• 230vAC shore power supply

PLUMBING & GAS SYSTEMS

Fresh Water:

• Pressurised fresh water supply

Bilge Pumps:

• Manual bilge pump
• Electric bilge pump

TANKAGE

Fuel:

• 35 litres total fuel capacity in 1 plastic steel tank

Fresh Water:

• Unknown fresh water capacity in 1 wood-epoxy tank

Grey Water:

• Epoxy-wood grey water collecting box with manual operated “whale” gulper 220 12vDC discharge pump

NAVIGATION & COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT

In Cockpit:

• Electric compass
• Autohelm tridata, depth, speed, log and wind direction
• Furuno GPS Chartplotter GP31
• Raymarine ST 6002 Authopilot
• Furuno NX300 Navtex
• Anemometer

DOMESTIC EQUIPMENT

Galley:

• Stainless steel sink with pressurised cold water supply
• Washbasin drain to grey water collecting box
• 12vDC fridge

Heads:

• Manual head forward

ACCOMMODATION

Summary of Accommodation:

• Up to 3 berths in one cabin and saloon.

Accommodation Finish:

• Mahogany and solid wood interior joinery

DECK EQUIPMENT

Rig:

• Aluminium anodised Holland Spar mast and boom
• Keel-stepped mast with 2 sets of inline spreaders plus diamond rigging
• Wood-epoxy keel step
• Stainless steel standing rigging – approx. 2000
• Dyneema backstay – 2018
• Harken MKIII manual furling jib
• Mechanical backstay adjuster
• Spinnaker track on mast
• Spinnaker pool
• I: 11,25m
• J: 3,18m

Winches:

• 2x Lewmar 30 2-speed self-tailing manual winches in the cockpit
• 2x Lewmar 40 2-speed self-tailing manual winches in the cockpit
• 2x Lewmar 40 2-speed self-tailing manual winches on mast for main halyard

Sails:

• Full batten Dacron main sail - Incidence – 2020
• Dacron furling jib - Incidence – 2020
• Gennaker – never used - Incidence – 2020
• Old sails:
• Main
• Genoa

General:

• Stainless steel pulpit and pushpit
• Double guardrail and stainless steel stanchions – removable

Anchoring & Mooring:

• Ploughshare anchor
• Anchor chain
• Fenders and warps

Covers, Cushions & Canvas:

• Winter awning
• 2x winter cover for the wood panels

SAFETY EQUIPMENT:

General note on safety equipment: Any safety equipment such as liferafts, Epirbs, fire extinguishers and flares etc. are usually personal to the current owner(s) and if being left on-board as part of the sale of a used vessel may require routine servicing, replacement, or changing to meet a new owners specific needs.