Little Dipper
1934, Starling Burgess Cutter, 41’
Little Dipper
Little Dipper is a 41’ LOA Starling Burgess cutter built by Joel Johnson in Bridgeport, CT in 1934. With her plumb bow, slack bilges and sweeping sheer, Little Dipper could easily be mistaken for a 19th century English cutter but her dynamic hull shape, beautifully tapered ballast keel, high ballast-displacement ratio and Bermudan rig identify her as a thoroughly modern, forward thinking 1930s yacht.
She was drawn at the height of Burgess’s career, during the downtime between the design of successful J-class America’s cup defenders Enterprise (1930) and Rainbow (1934). Burgess likely foresaw the eventual end of the big Universal Rule race boats on which he’d built his reputation and was already doing his homework, working on moderately sized, blue-water capable, cruiser-racers, when he was asked to draw Little Dipper.
The commission came from Buckminster Fuller, an eccentric 1930s futurist author, architect, designer, and inventor. The story goes that she was part of a ploy to get Burgess, one of the most talented aeronautical engineers of the era, to work on his revolutionary, aerodynamic Dymaxion concept car. Ploy or not Little Dipper was built and her owner and designer’s fascination with aeronautics is fully evident on close inspection.
Little Dipper is a rare package for yacht of her vintage: stately, pedigreed, exceptionally beautiful, but still comfortable, fast, seaworthy, and easily handled. She is offered for sale in excellent structural and aesthetic condition following an ’09-’10 refit with a new interior, a recently reconditioned Yanmar from Billings Diesel (2012), and a beautiful new set of Gambell and Hunter sails. A 2021 survey available on request.
Asking Price: $109,000
Location: Stonington, Maine
Hull and Deck Construction
Full keel with keel hung rudder underwater configuration
Lead ballast keel
White Oak hull structural members (stem, backbone, deadwood, sternpost, frames, floors, timbers, etc.)
Tight seam planking
Spanish Cedar planking above the waterline
Atlantic Cedar planking below the waterline
Bronze fasteners
New deck beams and 2-layer marine plywood deck over-laid with Dynel cloth set in Epoxy with painted (Awlgrip) finish.
Varnished Spanish Cedar cap rails, cabin sides, cabin back, bridge deck face, cockpit coamings steering chest hatch
companionway sliding hatch, butterfly hatch and forward cabin hatch.
Finishes: Topsides: White, Deck: Buff-Tan, Bottom: Red Anti-Fouling
Deck Hardware
All hardware cast or fabricated bronze
Bronze sheet and docking cleats
Bronze dock line chocks
Bronze fairleads
Bronze stem fittings, chain plates and back stay tang
Bronze self-tacking staysail traveler
Bronze main sheet traveler
Bronze and shell block turning blocks
Interior Accommodations
Galley area to port and starboard of companionway
Two-burner Luke stove to port.
Stainless steel sink basin with manually supplied with cold water from bronze hand pump
Settee seating / berths port and starboard with storage in shelves and lockers above and outboard of the
settee’s.
Cabin heater at foot of starboard berth.
Berths port and starboard in forward cabin
Marine toilet and holding tank on centerline forward between forward cabin berths.
Lighting, Heating and Ventilation
On-deck Navigational lighting
Gimbaled kerosene lamps (4ea)
Forward cabin opening hatch
Main cabin butterfly hatch
Companionway hatch
Bronze opening ports in cabin sides and front (3 ea.)
Bronze dorade vent cowl aft
Enameled wood stove / cabin heater with Charlie noble exhaust chimney
Propulsion & Steering
Yanmar 3GM 27HP, fresh water cooled, diesel engine – reconditioned by Billings Diesel, installed in 2012
Yanmar ignition panel with tachometer, kill switch and audible engine alarms
Racor water separator type fuel filter.
Separate control levers for throttle and transmission
Stainless steel propellor shaft
Two-bladed bronze folding propellor (offset to starboard)
Original Edson bronze worm gear steering system
Eight spoke bronze steering wheel with bare teak spoke handles
Sails and Canvas
Gamble and Hunter main sail (2018)
Gamble and Hunter Staysail (2018)
Gamble and Hunter Yankee (2018)
Above Gamble and Hunter sails in new condition
Older suit of Nat Wilson sails in fair condition
Mainsail cover
Interior cushions
Electronics and Navigation
Raymarine C80 chart plotter on companionway swing arm mount
Standard Horizon HX290 handheld VHF radio
Ritchie Power Damp helm compass
Tankage
1 x 15 gal. Polyethylene fuel tank under the cockpit
2 x (30-40 gal. estimated) Aluminum freshwater tanks under port and starboard berths
1 x 16 gal. Stainless steel black water tank in bow
Domestic Systems
P.E. Luke Heritage 2 burner propane stove
Columbia stove works solid fuel stove / cabin heater
Manually operated marine toilet with holding tank head
Ground Tackle
Fisherman style anchor
Appropriate chain and rode combination
Traditional, manually operated anchor windlass with cat heads port and starboard.
Dewatering Equipment
SPXFlow 220 GPH electric / automatic bilge pump
Bilge pump control switch by starboard companionway
Safety Equipment
Type 1 PFD’s (3 ea.)
Fire extinguisher, Type BC (1 ea.)
Handheld bugle type horn
2009-2010 Refit Details
Replaced all but two deck beams
New marine plywood deck
Deck overlaid with Dynel cloth set in epoxy with painted (Awlgrip) finish
New sheer strakes
New bulwarks
New mast partners
Re-planked below the waterline
Keel bolt inspections (found good)
Replaced frame ends and sistered where necessary (21 frames)
Replaced aft end of cockpit house
Replaced cockpit and cockpit coaming
Replaced Sampson posts
Replaced wheel box hatch and forward hatch
Restored the original galley aft interior layout
Replaced ceiling planking from the midships bulkhead aft
All spars stripped of hardware, stripped to bare wood and revarnished with 9 coats
New Douglas Fir bowsprit and associated standing rigging