Great Dane 28 / 1972 / Hull no. 165
Aurora
My boat since 2026
After Rassvet, I was looking for a boat for longer passages and life aboard. Aurora brought together the Great Dane 28's long-keel hull, the equipment I wanted and an interior where I could live and work. Her story is taking shape here, from Katinka II to my first passages and the work ahead.
Photos21 photos
One hull / different chapters
The boat's history
- 1972 — June 2022
Katinka II
Lene & John Mathiesen
Copenhagen, Denmark - June 2022 — July 2026
Aurora
Jørn & Alena Kragh
Copenhagen, Denmark
Great Dane 28
Specifications
- Hull length
- 8.50 m
- Waterline length
- 6.45–6.50 m
- Beam
- 2.49–2.50 m
- Draught
- ≈ 1.40–1.45 m
- Displacement
- ≈ 4.0 t
- Ballast
- 1.8 t of lead
- Rig
- Masthead sloop
- Original sail area
- ≈ 33–34 m²
- Kiel
- Long
- Rudder
- Transom-hung
- Hull material
- Fiberglass
- Headroom
- ≈ 1.80 m
Great Dane 28 sources disagree on some dimensions and displacement figures. The ranges and approximate values from these sources are retained here.
Equipment by her first passages in 2026
Equipment
Engine and propulsion
- Yanmar 3GM30, installed in 2003
- Indirect cooling with a heat exchanger and expansion tank
- Engine mounts, shaft, propeller and shaft seal renewed in 2026
- Diesel-tank inspection hatch and fuel-level gauge
Sails and sail handling
- Standing and running rigging renewed in 2025
- In-boom mainsail furling, Andersen self-tailing winches and genoa tracks
- At purchase in 2026, the mainsail was about two years old and the headsail about seven
- Mast steps
Steering
- Tiller and windvane self-steering installed in 2024
Navigation and communications
- Garmin ECHOMAP Plus 72sv with transducer, installed in 2026
- em-trak B954 AIS transponder, moved from Rassvet in 2026
Electrical systems and power
- Solar panel with regulator and LED lighting
- Electrical distribution panel
Deck and through-hull fittings
- Bronze seacocks renewed in 2025
- Drained anchor locker and midship cleats
- Folding ladder in the bow platform and steel forehatch with external protection
- Teak decking in the cockpit working area
Life aboard
- Refrigerator with a 2025 compressor and a new freshwater pump
- New mattresses in 2024, a large table and a galley along the side
- Interior woodwork and natural light in the forecabin
- Sprayhood and full boat cover renewed in 2025
Where the boat is now
Open the AIS position or satellite track.
- Call sign
- DJ2996
- MMSI
- 218032280
- ATIS
- 9211102996
The call sign and MMSI are moving from Rassvet to Aurora. Public AIS databases may show the previous boat name for a while.
Maintenance and changes
Maintenance history
Completed work, previous owners' records and plans retain their dates and sources. Links lead to the full stories where a publication is available.
2027
- Plans Andrei IatsukNavigation Electrical
Install the Nexus NX2500 VHF radio taken from Rassvet, an NMEA 2000 network, a B&G WS310 wind sensor and Starlink.
2026
- Completed Andrei IatsukNavigation
Replaced the Garmin GPSMAP 521s with an ECHOMAP Plus 72sv with transducer and installed the em-trak B954 AIS transponder taken from Rassvet.
- Completed Andrei IatsukEngine
Grisha and I worked through the engine together and found the fuel leaks.
- Completed Jørn & Alena KraghEngine
New engine mounts, propeller shaft, propeller and shaft seal. The seller's record states that the engine was serviced on schedule.
2025
- Completed Jørn & Alena KraghRigging
Standing and running rigging renewed, and mast steps installed.
- Completed Jørn & Alena KraghHull Engine Water and bilge systems Inside The deck
All seacocks replaced with bronze fittings. New refrigerator compressor, freshwater pump, sprayhood, full boat cover and diesel-tank inspection hatch.
2024
- Completed Jørn & Alena KraghSteering Inside
Windvane self-steering installed and cabin mattresses replaced.
- Completed Jørn & Alena KraghHull
Hull stripped and protected with new epoxy primer.
Year not recorded
- Completed Jørn & Alena KraghElectrical Rigging
Solar panel with regulator, LED lighting and renewed sails. The seller's record does not give an exact year for this work.
Work before my ownership comes from the seller's record. The 2027 entries are plans, not installed equipment.
My chapter on the water
Voyages on Aurora
- nautical miles
- 157
- days on the water
- 4
- night hours
- 6
- kn average
- 4.4
These figures cover my recorded passages. Other owners' sailing is not included.
A closer look
Aboard
Overview
2
Photos2 photos
Underway
2
Photos2 photos
Deck and cockpit
5
Photos5 photos
Interior
5
Photos5 photos
Storage and service spaces
2
Photos2 photos
Machinery and systems
1
Photos1 photo
Hull and underwater
4
Photos4 photos
More in the journal
Latest journal entries
Design and origins
The Great Dane 28 design
The origins of the Great Dane 28
How the Great Dane 28 came about, who designed her and how she differs from her Scandinavian contemporaries. Unlike the voyages and refit work, this part of the story does not change from season to season.
Klaus Baess
A Danish Dragon sailor and 1948 Olympic bronze medallist who exported Folkboats, understood the international small-yacht market and drove the production, deck, cockpit, interior and commercial concept of the Great Dane 28.
Aage Utzon
Ship engineer and designer of Denmark’s celebrated spidsgatter yachts. According to his grandson Jan Utzon, Aage was responsible for the Great Dane’s hull, freeboard, keel and rudder: the part of the boat that meets the sea.
Folkboat + Sisu
The Nordic Folkboat contributed compact simplicity and fine lines; Utzon’s heavier Sisu spidsgatter contributed ballast, stability and security in rough weather. Great Dane kept the philosophy but adopted a transom stern.
Weight instead of twitchiness
About four tonnes on 28 ft means slower acceleration in light air, but less abrupt response to short sea and more retained momentum.
Ballast instead of beam
At only about 2.5 m wide, Great Dane does not get its character from maximum beam. Roughly 1.8 tonnes of lead sit low in the long keel.
Course-keeping over agility
The long keel and protected rudder geometry favour directional stability. The cost is more turning radius and less enthusiasm in reverse.
Sea room over showroom
The narrow hull limits interior volume. That space was not forgotten; it simply was not the first design objective.
Familiar ideas, unusually concentrated.
Laurin 28 is probably the closest technical relative; Storfidra shares the pocket-offshore philosophy; Vindö 32 and Hallberg-Rassy Monsun show how unusual it is to put nearly four tonnes into only 28 feet.
| Boat | LOA | LWL | Beam | Displ. | Ballast | Draught | Kiel | What it explains |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Dane 28 | 8.50 | 6.45 | 2.50 | ≈ 4.0 t | 1.80 t | 1.45 | Long | Very heavy and narrow for its length. |
| Laurin 28 | 8.34 | 7.32 | 2.50 | 3.30 t | 1.60 t | 1.35 | Long | Closest geometry and philosophy, but lighter with a longer waterline. |
| Storfidra 25 | 7.60 | 6.30 | 2.40 | 3.10 t | 1.30 t | 1.29 | Long | The Swedish “small boat, big sea” idea in a shorter hull. |
| Vindö 32 | 8.95 | 6.90 | 2.75 | 3.95 t | 1.60 t | 1.30 | Long | Almost the same mass, but in a larger and wider hull. |
| HR Monsun 31 | 9.36 | 7.50 | 2.87 | 4.20 t | 1.90 t | 1.40 | Long | A famous larger heavy cruiser with similar total mass and ballast. |
| Albin Vega | 8.25 | 7.00 | 2.46 | 2.30 t | 0.92 t | 1.17 | Long | Similar length and beam, but a dramatically lighter interpretation. |
Sources and archive
- Great Dane 28 Owners’ Club — design history
- Great Dane 28 Owners’ Club — Aurora
- YachtDatabase — hull 165
- Yachting Monthly — Great Dane 28