2000 Custom 33'schooner33ft

Drago, a pocket-size classic

schooner for ocean cruising

Robust, heavy displacement, a low deck house, external chainplates, tiller steering, a 3.49m beam and a two masted bermuda rig. These are the defining features of the 10m on deck Drago, ( 12 m over all) launched in the year 2000 in Chioggia by Massimo Perinetti Casoni’s yard. Today Drago is waiting for a new owner who’s dreaming of long off-shore passages with the safety that only a boat like Drago can assure. 

Drago is a Pacific Dream design, a name that recalls sailing in far-off seas. She was designed by the Belgian architect Luc Honsia, once part of the design team for Tencara, the builders of the Moro di Venezia Italian Americas cupper. 

Drago is built of ferrocement, more specifically, in ferro-emaco. Emaco S88C is a special cement malt commonly used in concrete construction, bringing together construction economy, flexibility in building, strength, and low maintenance costs. TheItalian Naval Register has tested ferro-emaco for compression and distortion. In a nutshell, just as resin ties to glass fiber in fiberglass construction, with ferro-emaco the entire structure of the hull, made of interlaced iron rods and grids, is completely covered by the malt. The deck is made of straight 15mm teak planking, laid over 20mm marine grade plywood, all on top of mahogany deck beams. The deck assembly is tied to the hull by laminated mahogany beams, glued by epoxy resin and through fastened to the hull by stainless steel screws. The deckhouse, set on hardwood beams to give even more strength to the coachroof, is made of two layers of mahogany marine grade plywood.

The result is a heavy displacement hull weighing 10 tons, of which 3.5 tons are in internal lead ballast, completely emerged in ferro-emaco. This is about twice the displacement of a fiberglass yacht of similar length. This is evident when sailing in light airs, but also when beating into 30 knots of wind, making Drago the safest boat one could wish for when sailing in these conditions. With a low center of gravity, her form stability and schooner rig make her a marvelous little ship that will cleanly fend the wavesin heavy winds. 

We’ve estimated that Drago has sailed 1,500 miles a year, from the north Adriatic sea to the Greek islands, to give us a total of 30,000 miles sailed over twenty years. And in all these miles, there has never been an accident, nor any breakages. The rig lets you set five sails on the two box-laminated wooden masts: the mainsail, the foresail (full battened with an ample roach), a boomed staysail, a roller-furling genoa set from the end of the 2m bowsprit, and a gennaker (with a dowsing sock) for downwind speed. The 42 hp Vetus engine will push Drago at a dignified 5 ½ to 6 knots @ 2,000 rpm – this low number assures little effort for the powerplant and great milage. Onboard systems include the autopilot, GPS, radar, a fixed mount VHF, sun awnings, 70 meters of high quality anchor chain.

INTERIORS

The slight camber of the deck helps increase the available space below decks, and Drago offers two double cabins (with a double bed forward and two single beds aft), standing room in the head, a “C” shaped dinette to port and the galley to starboard, next to the chart table).. The lockers are all in Vienna straw to help keep their contents dry.