Sailing Vessel Southern Cross, the first Dickerson 41 ketch, and only wood hull

The Tucker duck and mast step drawing are from the Ernie Tucker Collection, Calvert Marine Museum, Solomons, MD

The Southern Cross was designed by Ernest "Ernie" Tucker, for Dickerson Boatbuilders, owned at the time by Thomas Lucke.  She was launched in 1974 from the Trappe, Maryland yard on La Trappe Creek off the Choptank River, after having served as the buck for a fiberglass mold.  This was the last wood hull built by Dickerson, and the second Tucker design to be produced in wood for use as a buck for a mold.  The first was the Dickerson 36, sharing the distinctive clipper bow and ample transom of the 41.  The original buyer of our D41 was Neville Lewis, who with his wife Louise and son Chris took the Southern Cross around the world.  We believe that she is the only Dickerson to have circumnavigated.

Neville had Ted Reed Jr., son of the family doctor, who was a fellow Dickerson owner, for crew as far as Tahiti.  Ted Reed later became the third owner of Dickerson Boatbuilders, after having his own D41, Papillon, built for him.

The Southern Cross is strip planked in mahogany over oak frames, which means that there are no caulked seams.  Instead, each hull plank is edge nailed and glued to its neighbors, resulting in an immensely strong one piece wood hull.  She is fastened in bronze through each narrow plank in to steam bent white oak frames, and was fastened with iron internally.  Atypically, the original construction of our hull included a layer of fiberglass cloth on the hull exterior, wetted with polyester resin.  We speculate that this was done by the glass shop to provide a fair surface for the mold that they laid over this hull.  We have the optional teak decks, over plywood, with a layer of glass and polyester in between.

Masts are aluminum with stainless steel fittings, by Metalmast, the main being keel stepped on this boat and the mizzen deck stepped.  The standard boat had both masts stepped on deck.  Standing rigging is stainless steel wire with swaged fittings, one size larger than the standard boat.  Dickerson 41's were built with both Metalmast and Annapolis Spar masts.

Her keel is an external lead casting, through bolted with Everdure bronze 7/8 inch bolts.  Subsequent  fiberglass hulls have the ballast internal in the form of lead pigs and concrete, according to the drawings.

The boat has a shoal draft full keel with cut away forefoot, similar to the modern Cabo Rico and Island Packet keels.  The bilges are moderate, for an easy roll, and the beam is carried well aft for ample interior space.  This design is extremely sea kindly and stable, with a very comfortable motion.  The sail area is large enough to keep moving quite respectfully in light air, but the heavy stuff is where she really shines.  Alan Lucas pictures his ideal hull and keel configuration in his book Cruising Tropical Waters and Coral, and it is identical to the Southern Cross!

Original Design Specifications (12/10/73):

• Length Overall 41 feet 6 1/2 inches
• Waterline Length 32 feet 1 1/2 inches
• Beam 12 feet 6 inches
• Draft 4 feet 6 inches
• Displacement 23,000 pounds
• Sail Area 791 square feet

Actual boats varied a great deal in displacement and draft, being generally heavier.  Later sales specifications put the displacement at 24,000 pounds and draft at 4 feet 9 inches.  The Southern Cross weighed 24,000 pounds empty, and with no rig, in December 2001.  The draft at that displacement appears to be about 4 feet 9 inches in fresh water.  At our 2003 loaded cruising weight of around 30,000 pounds, our draft is close to five feet.

Accommodations are typical for a center cockpit design.  There is a double V berth forward, one head aft of that to starboard and a hanging locker and drawers to port.  Our main salon has a pull out single berth/settee to port with storage behind and above, and an L shaped dinette to starboard, again with storage above and behind.  Settees have space for storage under as well, as the two water tanks are below the main cabin sole.  There is a nav station with a forward facing seat to port, and a U shaped galley to starboard, with a double sink and large icebox.  Many later boats were built with double lounge chairs to starboard, and a stand up nav station with an icebox under it.

The aft cabin is accessible via a walk through past the engine compartment, with a workbench to port, over one of the two fuel tanks, or from its own companionway to the cockpit.  Our aft cabin has storage to port and starboard, forward of a large U shaped berth.  The berth can be used as two singles fore and aft, or as a double lying athwartships.  Many boats were built with an aft head.  We constructed a large hanging locker in the forward starboard corner of the aft cabin, and enlarged cabinet areas on the forward bulkhead, as part of our 2002 engine room remodeling project.

Our interior finish is more similar to the earlier wooden Dickerson boats than it is to later 41's.  We have lots of white painted plywood and press board, with varnished mahogany trim.  Locker and cabin doors are plain flat mahogany plywood.  The cabin soles are teak and holly veneered plywood.  Overall, our interior is simple, bright, airy, and easy to care for.

As of February 2004 {Items on the current project list}

Engine and Systems:

• Westerbeke 4-230 70HP fresh water cooled diesel (British Leyland 4-98 block), original, rebuilt by Trans Atlantic Diesels of White Marsh, VA in 2001
• Centek Vernalift exhaust, new 2002, to replace the original partly dry system
• Paragon transmission, 1.5:1, left hand rotation, original, rebuilt 2001
• Bronze shaft with conventional packing, driving a 3 blade 18 inch diameter 14 inch pitch feathering Max Prop, new 1993(?)
• Fuel capacity 120 gallons in two aluminum tanks, starboard new 2001 by Best Products and port new 2002 by Atlantic Coastal welding (increased from 100 gallons in the original iron tanks) 
• Edson bulkhead roller chain and cable steering in a teak binnacle, fiberglass rudder, stainless steel destroyer wheel; the chain, cable, cable sheave bushings and axles replaced 2002
• Two Concord Lifeline 8D AGM house batteries, parallel connected for one 510 amp hour bank, new 2002
• Starting battery Optima Marine "Blue top," new 2002
• Heart Interface Link 2000R alternator regulator, inverter remote, and battery monitor, new 2002
• Balmar alternator, new 1993
• Air Marine Air-X wind generator mounted on top of the mizzen mast, new 2002
• {Two Kyocera 120 watt solar panels with Trace C40 charge controller, new 2001}
• Shore power 120 VAC 30 amperes with Guest galvanic isolator, new 2002
• Bass Products custom main electrical panel, and forward and aft branch panels, 2002
• Dual 1750 gph Rule electric bilge pumps, one set for higher water level and wired with an alarm bell, 1984 and 2001
• Edson 30 gpm hand lever operated diaphragm bilge pump mounted at the helm, new 1991

Electronics:

• Apelco fixed and Icom hand held VHF marine radios, 1993(?) and 1985
• Icom M802 Marine and HAM single side band transceiver, new 2003
• Raytheon RL70 radar, new 2002
• Garmin GPS 48, new 2001
• Autohelm 4000 wheel pilot, too small for this boat, but affordable and sufficient for the present, new 1991
• Datamarine International Offshore series knot log and depth sounder with Corinthian cockpit displays, 1984
• West Marine Interceptor "UFO" TV/FM antenna, used, purchased 2003

Ground Tackle:

• Muir Cougar horizontal electric windlass, cockpit and hand pendant controls, with 300 feet of 3/8 HT chain rode, all new 2002
• Fortress FX-23, Bruce 44, CQR 45, fisherman 75 pound, and one small Danforth anchors, ages various
• Rope rodes 200 feet 5/8 nylon with 3/8 chain at bow and stern, in addition to the all chain rode, both original
• Shurflo Blaster sea water wash down pump, new 2003

Sails, Sail Handling and Deck Gear:

• North Dacron radial cut 135 percent Genoa on North (Harken) roller furling, new 1989
• Beirig Camberspar jib staysail on an inner forestay, 1989
• Beirig full batten mainsail, three single line reefs and a cunningham reef, 1989
• Hall Quick Vang Model C with shorter B tubes, on the main boom, new 1990
• Lazy jacks on the main, by owner, adjustable from the cockpit, 1990
• All halyards and controls for the main and jibs led aft through two triple stoppers to dual Barient Model 22-39 self tailing winches in the cockpit, 1990
• Striess 26 stainless steel two speed primary winches, original, with "Wincher" blue rubber self tailing add ons
• Beirig full batten mizzen sail, one reef, new 1989
• Lewmar self tailing winch (and a triple stopper to come) on the mizzen mast, for halyard, outhaul, and reef, new 1997
• Main and mizzen sheeted via simple four part tackles, with no travelers, 1988
• Light weight whisker pole (part of the old twin jib arrangement) for the genoa
• Storm sails, and a mizzen staysail for light air, original
• Running backstays main and mizzen, new 1984
• Standing rigging replaced 1989 and 1990, main back stay split moved up to the mast truck for independent dual stays, new chain plates 1997
• Ronstan cast stainless steel mast steps on the mizzen mast, new 2003

Safety:

• Zodiac Class Ocean 6 man life raft, new 2003
• ACR Class 1 403 mhz GPIRB, RLB-35 Category II, new 2003
• Comet SOLAS approved flares, 6 parachute, 6 handheld, and one large orange smoke, new 2003
• Paines Wessex SOLAS approved flares, 3 hand held, new 1992
• Olin USCG approved orange smoke, 3 hand held new 1988
• Orion USCG approved flares, 3 hand held new 2002
• Olin 25 mm flare launcher with white collision avoidance flares, new ?
• ACR Rapid Ditch bag with water, food and supplies for four people for two weeks, new 2003

Amenities:

• Heart Interface Freedom Marine 1500 watt inverter, new 2001
• Fresh water capacity 116 gallons in two original stainless steel tanks
• Pressure water via Par pump, {and foot operated Whale pump}
• Allcraft 13 gallon, 120 VAC and engine exchange, stainless steel water heater, new 1984
• Two fresh water showers, one in the head and one on deck, 1984 and 2002
• One head, original, 15 gallon holding tank and Y valve capability, once we leave the lakes
• Fourteen Sea Fit (ABI?) 5 by 12 inch bronze, self draining port lights, new 2001, up from five originals!
• Four Bomar deck hatches, new 1984 and repainted and polished 2001
• Tasco three burner propane stove with oven, new 1984, plus small 120 volt microwave oven
• Fiberglass lined Dickerson 37 ice box, new 1984, no refrigeration at present
• Main companionway cockpit dodger by Lesch Canvas, Norwalk, Ohio, 1991

Owner deck projects:

• Teak topped lazarette locker for two 25 pound propane tanks, plus storage, completed 1988, and known as the "Three Winter Box"

• Dodger coaming of laminated western red cedar, 1991

• Rebuilt both cockpit coaming boxes, as epoxy and glass over plywood sub assemblies, 1998 and 1999

• Added epoxy and glass over ply and mahogany sea hoods, 2003

Coatings and cosmetics, all beautifully done by Brands' Marina in Port Clinton, Ohio:

• Hull below the waterline taken to wood, including removal of the ballast keel, West System epoxy coated and reglassed, final epoxy coat copper powder filled, bottom painted with Pettit ACP50 black, 1995

• Hull above the waterline wooded, new chain plates installed, West and reglassed, painted with Awlgrip in 1997

• Cabin tops glassed, new bronze port lights installed, painted with Awlgrip 2001

1973 Sales Drawing    Back to the Top