16' Pirate Class Sailing Dinghy (1954) - ST. GALLEN

Saint Gallen is a classic wooden Pirate Class Sailing Dingy that was built in East Germany sometime around the early to mid 1950’s. The exact construction date is unknown as the original build records were lost during the GDR reunification . She is 5 meters in length and fractional sloop rigged.

This Pirate was a barn-find at an estate sale located in eastern Long Island, NY. Her condition was very poor and she was about to be scrapped for firewood but was fortunately saved by the present owner, who saw the potential in her restoration. She was just a bare hull and nothing else! Unfortunately, all provenance had been lost and how she arrived in the USA is still a mystery (it is thought to be by a US military service person).

The Pirate Class Youth Sailing Dingy is still one of the most active race classes in Germany. The classic pirates were built of solid wood until the 1960’s at which time they switched entirely to fiberglass manufacturing.

This pirate has been fully restored over a three year period by the Bayles Boat Shop, a small non-profit organization, located in Port Jefferson, NY.
The original solid Gabon Mahogany decking and topside strakes were removed and reused however the bottom hull planking was too badly damaged and was replaced with 2 layers of 5mm okoume plywood. Also rebuilt were the ribs, transom, centerboard trunk and forward stem/keel section. New spars were fabricated from Sitka Spruce along with a new steel centerboard and rudder. The wishbone tiller, an interesting characteristic of these early classic pirates, was fabricated from mahogany & black walnut laminations. She was outfitted entirely with bronze fittings except for the new Harken jib roller furling and rigging hardware. A new lazzarette was fashioned for secure storage in lieu of the typical open under-deck storage.

Saint Gallen was launched in June 2020 and is a very nimble sailor. It is hoped that her recent restoration will keep her sailing for several more generations to come.