Muskrat — Alden Challenger K/CB Yawl

A very elegant and sea-kindly yacht, eminently capable offshore from the renowned John G. Alden design office. The Challenger Yawl was developed through extensive tank testing at the Stevens Institute model basin, aimed at creating a first-class seagoing sailing yacht to be built in the new FRP material while preserving the aesthetic and construction quality of traditional sailing yachts.

Halmatic Ltd. of Portsmouth produced these fiberglass hulls, finishing them with mahogany superstructure to retain the classic yacht character. Below deck, varnished wooden joinery throughout provides traditional elegance. The centerboard design allows a draft of just 4’ — enabling access to areas many boats her size cannot reach. The split yawl rig is very easy to handle, and with a relatively low aspect she does not get overpowered easily.

Hull, Deck, Cabin & Cockpit

Full keel with integral centerboard, cut-away forefoot, and keel-hung rudder with propeller protected in the aperture between keel and rudder. Solid FRP hull with painted exterior — dark blue topsides, white boot stripe, gold cove stripe. Deck is solid FRP with integrated supporting beams, bedded, bonded, and bolted to the hull with overlapping flanges, further secured by thru-bolted mahogany toe rails and taffrail.

The cabin house uses traditional wooden construction with solid mahogany structural members. Cabin sides, front and aft bulkhead are varnished; cabin top is marine plywood with an FRP cloth overlay set in polyester resin, painted finish with off-white decks. Cockpit also features traditional wooden construction with solid mahogany structural members and coamings (varnished), marine plywood/FRP sole with exterior teak deck underfoot.

Deck Hardware

• Cast bronze bow stem iron with integral bow chocks; bronze bow pulpit with navigation lights
• Stainless steel bow anchor roller; Simpson Lawrence 555 2-speed manual windlass
• Saltwater anchor wash-down spigot forward
• Varnished mahogany toe rails and taffrail; bronze stanchion posts with coated wire lifeline; opening gate to starboard
• Bronze genoa tracks with adjustable cars on toe rails
• Bronze chain plates and covers for main and mizzen rigging
• Bronze deck plates with threaded inserts for sail leads, mizzen mast step, main backstay tang
• Varnished mahogany dorade box with bronze cowl (forward cabin ventilation); bronze low-profile dorade cowl (lazarette)
• Bronze deck fittings for fuel, water (port/starboard), and waste; bronze deck plate for original galley charlie noble
• Varnished mahogany propane storage box
• Cast bronze bow cleats, docking cleats (port/starboard aft), chocks on taffrail; bronze diamond pad eye for mizzen sheet

Cabin Top & House Hardware

• Varnished mahogany cabin sides, front, back, eyebrows; marine plywood with FRP overlay, painted
• Large fixed portlights for main saloon (port/starboard); bronze opening and fixed portlights throughout cabin sides
• Varnished mahogany opening hatch forward and above main saloon
• Varnished mahogany dorade boxes with bronze cowls on cabin top (port/starboard)
• Bronze main mast partners; diamond pad eye (boom downhaul); fixed wood shell block and diamond pad eye (staysail sheet)
• Cabin heater chimney/charlie noble on port cabin top
• Varnished handrails on cabin top
• Varnished mahogany sliding companionway hatch with sea hood
• Varnished mahogany boat hook storage chocks with varnished teak and bronze boat hook

Cockpit

• Self-bailing cockpit with scupper drains (port/starboard/forward/aft)
• Laid teak overlay on FRP bridge deck, seat tops, and sole
• Varnished mahogany cabin back, cockpit coamings, and companionway drop boards (with screens)
• Edson steering pedestal with stainless steel binnacle guard and engine controls; stainless steel destroyer wheel with elk-hide covering
• Separate lever controls for throttle and transmission; bronze engine shut-off lever on aft face of cockpit well
• Primary sheet winches: Barient bronze 27-48, 2-speed, self-tailing (2); secondary: Barlow bronze single-speed (2); cast bronze sheet cleats outboard of coamings
• Bronze winch for centerboard up/down; main sheet blocks and cast bronze cleats on aft coaming
• Raymarine wheel autopilot, Standard Horizon AWI / depth / speed on cabin back, Garmin GPS on binnacle guard
• Bronze binnacle cover over Danforth Constellation helm compass
• Westerbeke engine ignition panel with gauges on seat locker front; bronze water-tight hatch in cockpit sole for engine access
• Access to emergency steering under aft cockpit seat

Interior Accommodations

The interior follows the Herreshoff style of white-painted hull interior, bulkheads and joinery fronts accented by varnished mahogany trim, cabin sole, doors, drawers and locker fronts. Well-served by fixed and opening ports plus overhead hatches; after dark, interior spaces are nicely illuminated with well-placed area and reading lamps along with gimbaled kerosene lamps. A Luke propane-fired soapstone cabin heater extends the cruising season into early spring and late fall.

Forward cabin: Vee-berth sleeping two, drawer and locker storage beneath, shelving above and outboard of berths, hanging locker aft of starboard berth. Chain locker forward, accessed via removable vented panel.

Passageway & head: Hanging locker and drawer storage to starboard; head to port with manually operated marine toilet plumbed for overboard and holding-tank discharge, porcelain sink with hot and cold pressure water, vanity mirror, stainless steel towel racks, extensive drawer and locker storage.

Main saloon: Settees and pilot berths port and starboard, separated by a varnished mahogany drop-leaf dining table on centerline with drawer and locker storage beneath each pilot berth. Additional storage forward. The Luke soapstone heater (forward of port settee) can slide inboard to create a comfortable double berth. Partial bulkheads aft of the settees separate the saloon from the galley.

Galley: Extends across both port and starboard in the aft area, with companionway ladder and engine access between (ladder offset slightly to starboard, engine access on centerline). Luke gimbaled 3-burner propane stove and oven (starboard), stainless steel sink basin with hot/cold pressure water on aft counter (port of centerline), well-insulated icebox (starboard).

Spars & Rigging

• Painted (cream) Sitka spruce main mast, hollow box construction, single spreader
• Varnished Sitka spruce mizzen mast, hollow box construction, single spreader
• Solid varnished Sitka spruce main and mizzen booms; spinnaker pole
• Standing rigging: stainless steel 1×19 wire shrouds and stays with bronze turnbuckle adjusters
• Running rigging: modern low-stretch yacht braid; halyards are wire, rope-to-wire spliced, or all rope depending on application
• Main boom was originally fitted with roller furling for infinite reefing; currently set up with lazy jacks as a standard non-roller-furling boom with single reef. Lazy jacks may be removed to restore roller furling capability if desired.

Sails

• Main sail with single reef (Center Harbor Sails)
• Roller-furling genoa, 130% (Aurora Sails, 2016)
• Mizzen (Mike Bartles, 2023)
• Storm trysail; roller-furling staysail; mizzen staysail; gennaker/light-weight cruising spinnaker
• Sail and cockpit canvas: main sail cover, mizzen cover, cockpit dodger (Sunbrella and isinglass, toast color)

Engine & Mechanical

• Westerbeke 44B diesel, 4-cylinder naturally aspirated, 44 HP, 989 engine hours (approx. Spring 2026)
• Westerbeke ignition panel with tachometer, hour meter, voltage meter, water temperature, oil pressure
• Edson pedestal lever controls for throttle and transmission; bronze cockpit shut-off
• Traditional flax-packing stuffing box; 1⅛” bronze shaft; bronze 3-blade fixed propeller
• Fuel: 20 gal total (2 × 10-gal aluminum tanks); Racor filter
• Fresh water: 100 gal total (2 × 50-gal stainless tanks); Jabsco pressure pump; engine heat-exchange hot water with Force 10 domestic hot water heater
• Sanitation: Wilcox and Crittenden manual head with varnished mahogany seat and lid; plumbed for overboard, holding tank discharge, and dockside pump-out; 20-gal holding tank; Dometic Sealand 4-tank watch system
• Dewatering: Whale Gusher manual bilge pump (starboard sail locker); Rule electric/automatic bilge pump with float switch

Electrical & Electronics

• 12-volt DC ship’s system with individual battery banks for ship’s lighting and engine start; Perko rotary main battery selector; Nova 14-circuit panel with battery condition meter
• Garmin GPSmap XSV chart plotter/radar display on swing-out bracket at companionway; Garmin GPS receiver/display on binnacle guard; Garmin radar dome antenna on mizzen mast
• Standard Horizon AWI / depth / knot meter; Raymarine wheel autopilot
• Standard Horizon Eclipse DSC+ VHF radio; Standard Horizon handheld VHF
• John E. Hand and Sons ship’s clock; Short and Mason barometer; Danforth Constellation helm compass

Ground Tackle & Safety

• Stainless steel bow roller; Simpson Lawrence 2-speed manual windlass; saltwater wash-down with Shurflo Blaster pump
• CQR-style primary anchor (on roller) with chain and rode; Danforth-style anchor and rode stored in port sail locker
• Navigation lighting (deck); masthead tri-color light with anchor light; handheld spotlight; radar reflector
• Type II PFDs (5), Type III PFDs (2), Type IV cushions (8); Lifesling on starboard stern pulpit; life ring buoy on port stern rail
• Flares kit; first-aid kits (2); Kidde ABC fire extinguishers in forward cabin and main saloon hanging locker; Fireboy engine room extinguisher
• Xintex carbon monoxide fume detector; Fireboy Xintex S-2A propane fume detector; engine room blower; emergency tiller