Norwegian BB11

[Dean4140]

Does anyone know the sailing characteristics of the BB11 daysailer conceived and built in 1956 by Borge Bringsvaerd, Drobak, Norway.

20' 3" LOA decked keelboat with cockpit (no cabin) and 121 s/f of marconi rigged sail.

Has anyone ever owned or sailed one of these? Wondered how it would performed in rough bay water. Dean

[lagspiller]

Yeah, I know these boats. Well known classics over here. They are a bit on the beamy side for my taste, but they are good sailers. Stable. Handle wind well. Probably wet in choppy conditions, but what small boat isn't. They were a fairly large class all around the Norwegian coast, and the North sea isn't exactly pond water. They are still active as far as I know... I think they even have a national championship in the class.
Nice looking small classics.
Similar to Sunbeams or Brown Boats in England.
I don't know what to compare them to in the US.

[ 04-15-2005, 12:51 PM: Message edited by: lagspiller ]

[lagspiller]

The Norwegian National BB11 Club
I thought I remembered correctly. Here is a good link for you. Most is in Norwegian, but there are plenty of pictures. As you will see, it is a VERY active class.

I read a bit from the History section:
"It was used as sail-trainer at Haakonsvern - the Naval academy."
"The long keel and high freeboard makes it directionally stable and seaworthy even in relatively rough seas."
"All together 1300 boats were produced - of them 350 stayed in Norway. The rest were exported to USA, Canada, Asia, Africa and most countries in Europe."

Hope this answers some of your questions.

[Dean4140]

Lagspiller,

Thank you for the info. Not being an American made boat it is a little more difficult to find information on. That's a nice Norwegian web page with a number of good photos. It sounds like it would be a very good bay sailor. Dean

[lagspiller]

An English BB11 website
You know how it is... get started reading and it is hard to stop. The above is the website of an English guy who bought a BB11 in Norway and is restoring it. It may interest you too.

[Dean4140]

Thanks for the english site. That was a very nice restoration. The photos had some nice inside shots of the design and construction. Very helpful.

I couldn't find anything on a portsmouth rating. A 121 square feet of sail for a 20' LOA sailboat isn't that much sail area. With that hull design it probably moves along OK with good speed.

Another boat with the same LOA is Uffa Fox's Flying 15. Have you sailed one of those or know the sailing characteristics? I did find a web site on google with photo and specs of the F15.

Dean

[Dean4140]

Lagspillar,

I found out the original Flying 15's by Uffa Fox where made of wood. Since then they have been made of fiberglass, which I didn't know. So I'll pass on looking for an F15 and put more thought into the 20' BB11. Dean

[lagspiller]

The Flying 15 is a totally different concept. I thing Uffa made a design leap there. It was probably the first planing hull and first boat with a trapese. Fast, wet and difficult. Not the same sort of boat.
BB11 look nice and go well. Don't let the smaller sail area fool you. Planing hulls need lots of umph to plane. But they are not particularly fast when plowing through the water. A small keelboat is made to slip through the water with little effort. Too much sail for these hulls just knocks them flat or they dig a hole. Famous designs are famous for good reasons...

If you want something faster, the Norwegian 12.5 sq.meter is about the same length but less beamy. That was also a official Norwegian National Sail Association recruiting boat for juniors moving up from planing hulls to keelboats. They will probably be difficult to find in the states. Why not look for an old wooden Star? Or do you have a BB11 at hand?

The same idea is found in Yngling (olympic class), Etchel (a US boat type) or US 1. All of these modern keelboats in fiberglass at about the length you mention.

[ 04-16-2005, 02:47 PM: Message edited by: lagspiller ]

[Hwyl]

What Lagspiller says. I remember there was an official effort to introduce the BB into the U.K. as an "official class" in the late 70's. I seem to remember there were thee classes that were to be encouage. But the committee was always doomed to failure, that failure was accelerated when one of the claases they chose (A Jeremy Rogers about 34) was destroyed in Fastnet 79.

I wanted to reiterate that's a world of difference between the BB and the F fifteen. Almost like saying that Kiwi fruits are similar to Peas because they're both small and green.

[Dean4140]

Lagspiller and Hwyl,

That's a big help. I was a little cautious on the Flying 15, but a guy is giving one away in San Francisco. I wanted some input first. I'll pass on the F15 and leave that for the young athletic types.

Fox likes fast high performance boats like the 18' Jolly boat, so your comments on the F15 are not that big of a surprise. Uffa was one great boat designer with some innovative concepts. I really appreciate the input. Dean

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

No trapeze on the F15 - Honest.
20Ft LOA 15 LWL 150sqft of white sail and 150 of spi.
Two crew, fairly tolerant of crew weight variation - 320lbs to 420 is the ballpark.

Timber ones, where kept down to the class weight limits, are competitive in the classic fleets - quite cheap, and a real blast to sail. I have seen both cold moulded and strip-planked.

If you're not into racing - then junk that horrible rudder and replace with something better balanced. I can't help thinking that the keel and rig could do with updating, but the hull is one of the most beautiful shapes ever penned.
UK Class org

[ 04-16-2005, 07:05 PM: Message edited by: P.I. Stazzer-Newt ]

[bricology]

Lagspiller and Hwyl,

That's a big help. I was a little cautious on the Flying 15, but a guy is giving one away in San Francisco...Dean

I realize that this thread is 5 years old, and it doesn't look like Dean has posted here since then, but I was searching the web for anything about BB11s in the Bay Area and I happened upon this post. I wonder if this could be the same BB11 that I used to own in Sausalito almost 20 years ago? I'm hoping to track that boat down.

Dean, if you find this -- or if anyone else knows anything about a BB11 in the San Francisco Bay Area -- could you please e-mail me directly at rch427 a t yahoo d o t com?

Thanks!

[Andrew S/Y Rocquette]

Bump again. I own the BB17 N-20 "Bibsen". Any other BB11 or BB17 owners here on the Forum?

[wizbang 13]

I have a Kutter. 23' small sister to Knarr.

[BewareofDoug]

There is a BB11 listed in the Boats for Free section in the latest edition (Sept/Oct 2012) of WB, also listed online here. Sounds like an interesting boat but I have a Rebel 18 I'm working on and no space for it. :-(

BTW, is there a new link for the Norwegian Club site? The link from above appears to be dead.

Doug

[Bob Cleek]

I had a friend who had one on SF Bay many years ago. Beautiful lines and a really great sailing little boat.

[tprice]

Not to be confused with the glass BB 10 - which is a larger, lovelier boat (pictured in my avatar)