Cute As A Bugs Ear And Salty Looking Too

Article By Bernard Boulanger

I found my Danica 16 whilst perusing the local craigslist, The idea of a pocket cruiser had been nagging at me for a while, Something small,trailerable, yet seaworthy and with a couple of comfortable berths would be ideal...oh yeah and preferably cute as a bugs ear and salty looking too. The Danica was out in Harrison Hot Springs, a resort community about 2 hours out of Vancouver up the Fraser Valley. I did some research and the closest I could find was the Nordica site, which isn't terribly surprising as the Danica was built using the Nordica as a mold, but with a deeper, fuller keel, a lazarette (thus a smaller cockpit) and a higher more roomy cabin. It also features a cockpit drain which many Nordica owners wish for. They're both Colin Archer type double-ender designs, not unlike life boats but with a reputation for speed in high winds and ease of sailing. The Danica Builder Peter Hahn liked the Nordica design but wanted a few changes so he made his own version. Shortly after he sailed one from Vancouver BC to Hawaii!! with just oars for auxilliary power hoping for a world record , but someone beat him there in an 11 foot boat...that must've been frustrating! In total 25 Danica 16s were built, One by the name of Emily garnered some yachting fame in 1985 when she was sailed up to Desolation sound. It's a cool story

Excited by all this information I saddled up the mercedes and headed up to Harrison. She was cuter and sturdier looking than imagined, in need of a few small glass repairs inside and some brightwork refinishing.. I really liked the real opening brass portholes and seaworthy look. When I got back I got right to work with some retabbing and a bit of keel bottom repair. I also had to add a slide in 7' trailer extension so I could float her off the trailer with her 28" draft, either that or rig the mercedes for underwater use. I had her in the water about a week later and had a ball, easy to sail singlehanded, she could heave-to no problem and was nice and stiff with the full keel and 400lbs of ballast. She sails more like a larger boat than a 15 footer, sometimes in light airs you have to backwind the jib to come about, but very steady on her course. I put a little seagull 40plus on the back for auxillary power, changed the roller furling main to traditional reefing and added a bow pulpit.

Then I took her on a camping trip up Indian arm with my girlfriend (always a good test for a pocket cruisers live-ability). Took off in the early afternoon..I passed a friend in a 30 foot boat on the way. He got really mad when I asked him if he was hove to!. Stopped at Twin islands on the way and spent the night on the boat, cosy yet with sitting headroom and room to stretch out. The opening ports made for a nice cross breeze. Next day we sailed the rest of the way up the arm to Granite falls, (about 24km one way) mostly running with the genoa poled out wing a wing. On the way back we were beating into a good stiff breeze at about 20-25 degrees heel , she handled it well. I didn't have to reef and we made good time. As she was small, round and stout I named her "Nutmeg"

She doesn't paddle too bad either! One time I lost the wind about 3km from the launch, hooked up the Seagull which ran fine..but I hadn't noticed I'd lost the pin securing it to it's mount till it jumped off the back of the boat for a swim!!!!! Luckily I had it secured to a lanyard, but it wasn't going to start for me right then without a thorough rinsing. So I paddled the 3km back,about 1000 strokes. My next goal was English Bay and Howe sound with Bowen Island my first point of call (about 25km one way) Here she is at Ambleside on the trailer ready to tackle Bowen with the stronger winds and bigger chop of the sound.

It was a blustery day, I was sailing singlehanded as usual with some hot tea and rough provisions. I beat out across English Bay headed towards Point Grey. When I'd made it about halfway, I came around on the other tack and headed towards Point Atkinson with it's picturesque lighthouse and WW2 gun emplacement. (here it is here from a previous near windless sail/motor in Nutmeg, that's Bowen in the background))

When I started getting close, the wind started freshening and the white horses started getting more frequent, I was spilling a lot of air out of the main to stay at a reasonable angle so I hove-to and took a reef in the main (being a dinghy sailor originally, being able to heave to is pretty cool). This worked like a charm and I came about on the starboard tack to weather the point and then head towards Bowen

There's a short video with some fine sailing music on youtube that was taken at about this point

Fun stuff, The wind that day was 16-20 knots but Nutmeg seemed right in her element. After I weathered the point I had pretty well reached Bowen Island. As the day was waning and it was late in the year I decided to not stop there but opted instead for a brief circumnavigation of Passage Island and then head back to Ambleside. The wind had calmed considerable by this time but there was still enough to keep me going as I ran back to the launch . making it there by dusk.

This year as soon as things warm up a bit more. I'm going to do a little fairing and painting of the bottom, and add a retractable bowsprit for fun and a little more light air ability. She'll also get new Halyards, some genoa tracks and a few other essentials for some longer overnight cruising. I plan to head over to Gibsons where my drummer lives, explore Howe Sound and then head off across Georgia Straight to cruise the Gulf Islands! Adventure!!

Nothing like a little seaworthy pocket cruiser that lives on a trailer, all the fun, but little of the crushing responsibilty and expense Yeeehaa! Here she is again docked in Deep Cove with the Swivel gun my brother made me and then sailing off of Cates Park. These shots are both pre-pulpit. You can see she still has the wooden anchor box on the bow and I'm trying out the foresail roller furling from my Chrysler Mutineer.