24' Oskust Sloop (1959) - ANNA BELLE

I discovered ANNA BELLE on the hard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, during an aimless night of scrolling through the wooden boat classified ads. A phone call revealed that the $1,000 asking price had been reduced to $0 for anyone willing to move the boat to a new home. Like most wooden boats offered with a low entrance fee, she ended up needing a fair amount of work after spending almost a decade out of the water. After quite a bit of new bottom planking, a fresh Dynel deck, and a refinished interior, she went back in the water last season.

At 24′ she’s just big enough to carry a small cabin without looking out of proportion. But it’s roomy and comfortable for a group of four on a weekend cruise, or weeks on end if you’re alone.

This boat is also small enough in footprint to be a very manageable boat both on the water and out, but big enough to feel like a real boat when moving through the water. A pickup truck can tow her from the boat yard and you can rig her over the course of a single lazy afternoon. While it’s usually more enjoyable to have the company of a few friends and a couple of dogs, sailing singlehanded is also very doable.

The boat is set up pretty sparsely in terms of systems. A single battery kept the bilge pump and a single cabin light going all season without a charge. A USB charger that runs off an 18V Makita drill battery is used to charge a cell phone and a bluetooth stereo.