22' Swedish Inspired Double-Ended Sloop (1961) - SJOGIN

Sjogin is a small traditional Scandinavian workboat (I assume that she’s a koster type) that we sail on the north end of Barnegat Bay in New Jersey. We keep her in an old fashioned boat yard, David Beaton and Sons in West Mantoloking, near our home.

She seems to be modeled on a typical clinker (lapstrake) Swedish inshore fishing boat and not one of the more refined carvel types. Sjogin is 22’ LOA, 8’ 6″ Beam and draws about 2’9’’. She has a long shallow keel. Also she’s never had an engine. I carry a sweep to scull when needed but otherwise use whatever wind’s available to get in and out of her slip. You can see lots of photos at my Flickr page.

As far as we know, Sjogin was built in Southern NJ in 1961 by a gentlemen named Gullen. We have no further details of her builder or designer. While she has workboat roots, her proportions and details suggest she was drawn by a well practiced eye. If any of you can help identify the designer I’d be most grateful. I thought she might be designed by Murray Peterson but his son Bill thought not.

I don’t sail very far from the boat yard, mostly content to sail near the local marshes and heave to and read. Sjogin has a great ability to heave to. When on the wind you can remove the tiller, leaving the jib sheet set, and she will come about and settle on the opposite tack for as long as you wish. Or until you run out of Bay!

I keep her in commission all year long as the off season sailing is a lot better with the absence of Cigarette boats and jet skis which have ruined sailing on Summer weekends in these parts. Some of my favorite sailing is in the off-Season when the only company on the bay are Buffleheads and Mergansers. She has a small woodstove on board that came from Navigator Stove Works. There are some photos on their web site here: http://www.marinestove.com/installation_views.htm Scroll down to #10. She was also featured in the November 2004 issue of Classic Boat on marine solid fuel stoves and the January 2008 issue of WoodenBoat.

The first two photos were taken by Jay Fleming for SJOGINS’s 2015 WoodenBoat article.