Walrus — Herreshoff Motorsailer Ketch

Judges Choice For Best In Show 2025, WoodenBoat Show, Mystic CT

As taken from L. Francis Herreshoff’s Sensible Cruising Designs with some slight editing and updating.

Here is a design (Walrus) for a twin-engine power vessel with enough sail area and lateral plane to get where she wants to go under sail alone if that is her owner’s need or wish. She is a 50 / 50 cruiser or motorsailer, but she really seems to be a power craft with auxiliary sails. This makes a fine type of cruising vessel, for she will make good passages in any ordinary weather and her rig will keep her steady, add to her speed on many runs and make her far more interesting and fun to handle than is the out-and-out power craft.

Her hull lines are easy throughout, and she is an excellent sea boat with a smooth motion. The rig is versatile and easy to handle. Her power is a pair of 85 hp. Perkins diesels turning Luke feathering propellors and these send her along at a comfortable cruising speed of 7.5-8 knots which when combined with her easily managed sail plan should provide excellent fuel economy.

Walrus’s cabin plan shows a sensible interior arrangement with private (double berth with ensuite facilities) sleeping cabins fore and aft separated by galley / dining areas and pilot house. Even more  berthing space can be had (if needed) by making use of settees located in the forward cabin and pilothouse or by converting the galley dinette into another double berth allowing for sizable family gatherings / cruises made all the more sweet a memory when the added crew has gone back home or to school and serenity returns onboard.

Walrus seems clearly to be the type of boat most suited to sailors (men and women) who have mostly “seen and done it all” and are now content and perfectly satisfied to use their time comfortably cruising without schedules or agendas.

We now have more complete information as regards systems and equipment (see below). Pictures (as they say) are worth a million words and we hope you’ll enjoy these photos of Walrus and especially so the recent photos of her interior so generously offered for our use by Onne van der Wal.

Hull Construction

• Wood/epoxy/fiberglass composite. Laminated Douglas Fir centerline and frames, with Sitka Spruce strip planking covered by three layers of bi-axial fiberglass and epoxy.  The interior is heavily coated with epoxy and the frames are filleted to the planking.  Paint is Quantum two-part compoundable polyurethane.

Deck, Cabin and Pilothouse Construction

• Decks and houses are fir marine plywood covered in fiberglass cloth and epoxy. All exterior trim (cap rails, eyebrows, hatches, benches, Dorade boxes) are teak.

Interior Accommodations

• All accommodation bulkheads show v-grooved staves or raised panels painted white. Trim is varnished mahogany. Doors have mahogany frames with caned centers or white painted raised panels. Pilothouse sole is cherry, stateroom soles are Sapele. Deck beams are painted white with varnished mahogany bottom laminated.
• Furthest forward is a large, lined chain locker, aft side forms a watertight bulkhead.
• Forward head, has a composting toilet, mahogany vanity with sink and a separate and spacious stall shower with teak seat and floor grating.
• Three opening bronze ports plus an overhead teak hatch provide abundant ventilation.
• Forward stateroom with large double berth, ample lockers, shelves, drawers, hanging locker, and settee.
• Four bronze opening ports, two bronze opening hatches.
• Pilothouse (with engine room under). 360-degree visibility with a ship-like feel. Cozy when it’s cold or wet, and extremely well ventilated in the heat, it really will spoil you!
• The helm is a cast bronze fisherman style wheel from Lunenburg Foundry in NS. The port after end forms an L shaped dinette around a beautiful mahogany table, while the starboard side houses a Luke soapstone and brass woodstove.
• Engine Room- The engine room is well laid out with a central work area beneath the wheelhouse.
• Dining area and galley- open space to the top of the wheelhouse gives the U-shaped dining area a spacious feel. The table can be replaced with an insert to form a third double berth if needed. The U-shaped galley has a custom stainless countertop and backsplash, a three burner Force 10 propane stove with oven, new in 2021. The Sea frost fridge and freezer systems were new in 2023. There is ample ventilation including opening ports and overhead hatch.
• Aft stateroom and head- A second cabin with total privacy has a large double berth and it’s own enclosed head with vanity, sink and composting toilet. An aft companionway ladder leads to the seating area on the afterdeck. There is a small dressing settee opposite the berth. Large, caned lockers flank the ladder.
• Lazarette- a second watertight bulkhead forms the large full width Lazarette, capable of holding fenders, buckets and mops, spare lines, diving gear, folding bikes or whatever!

Spars and Rigging

• Tapered aluminum masts, aluminum booms, all spars were AwlGripped white in 2023.
• All standing rigging, turnbuckles and some running rigging replaced in 2023.
• Harken sail tracks and a Pro Furl Genoa furler.

Sails and Canvas

• All sails in very good condition.
• Cream colored Dacron working sails by Port Townsend (WA) sailmakers.
• Main and mizzen have full length battens on low friction Harken “Batt cars” and lazy jacks.
• Main has 2024 Doyle stack pack cover.
• 135% masthead Genoa on Schaefer furler.
• Asymmetrical cruising spinnaker hoists in a sock for easily controlled deployment and retrieval.
• Full winter cover.
• Covers for cap rails, Dorade boxes, and hatches.
• Easily set sun awning with side panels for after deck.
• Sunbrella shades for all 16 pilothouse windows.
• Mosquito nets for doors and hatches.

Electronics and Navigational Equipment

• All electronics are Raymarine Axiom, new in 2021.
• 12” Axiom pro MFD with GPS.
• Depth, speed, water temperature.
• Wind speed and direction.
• AIS class B transponder.
• Doppler Radar (color).
• Evolution “smart” autopilot with new pump and ram.
• VHF (Standard Horizon “Eclipse” with GPS)

Auxiliary Propulsion

• (2) Perkins 4.236 naturally aspirated diesel engines with ZF mechanical transmissions.
• CV joints mounted on heavy duty stainless steel brackets take the thrust from the twin Luke 3-blade feathering propellers.

Fuel Systems and Equipment

• 480 gallons of diesel fuel in two 240 gallon tanks.
• Each tank feeds one of its own two Racor filters.
• Dipsticks are used for reliable metering.

Electrical Systems and Equipment

• 680 Watts of walkable solar panels on pilothouse rooftop.
• Individual controllers for each panel in engine room.
• Two (P&S) 200 amp AGM engine starting batteries.
• Three parallel 2023 LFP 300 amp each (900AH total) house batteries.
• 2024 30 amp shore power cord.
• Xantrex 3000 watt inverter/charger.

Freshwater Plumbing and Sanitation Systems

• Groco heavy duty bronze freshwater pump And Whale PEX water lines.
• Engine or 115V water heater.
• Composting toilets.

Ground Tackle Systems and Equipment

• 100lb.Manson (NZ) bower anchor.
• 300’ of 7/16 type 4 hot dipped galvanized chain. (New 2021)
• Bruce secondary anchor.
• Nylon webbing style drogue.
• Powerful Maxwell windlass with chain gypsy and rope drum.
• Spare rope rode.
• Recessed salt water washdown hose.

Dewatering Equipment

• Three electric bilge pumps.

Safety Equipment

• Eight life jackets
• Flares
• Bell
• Horn
• Anchor light and ball