Design and Construction
What distinguishes the Donella Class from its contemporaries is not merely the timber hull but the reasoning behind her fuller waterlines and slightly higher freeboard than usual. Those proportions trace to the class leader DONELLA's first owner, who wanted more berths and the ability to pass below deck from stem to stern without a central cockpit interrupting the accommodation. The result is a yacht whose interior volume reads larger than her narrow 10-foot-9 beam would suggest, and whose deckhouse-open-aft arrangement keeps the full length of the hull usable living space. Construction is honest carvel teak on hardwood, with a raw teak caprail, bronze fairleads, and a teak-planked lazarette hatch on centreline — details that reward the eye but demand the maintenance discipline of any cold-moulded or planked wooden hull. A 1994–95 restoration addressed the structure thoroughly: the hull was completely re-caulked, epoxied and repainted, the deck re-caulked and Sikaflexed, and the silicon bronze keel bolts removed and inspected.
Rig and Handling
The Donella was conceived with two different rigs — a ketch best described as a motor sailer and a cutter carrying a large auxiliary engine — and the surviving example is cutter rigged with a mast carrying four spreaders and stainless steel standing rigging renewed in 1996, when the spruce spars were also rebuilt. Laurent Giles settled the balance of the sail plan with evident care, which he considered essential for serious sailing, and the working rig reflects that: a Harken roller furling jib on the forestay, a Furlex roller furling staysail on the inner forestay, and a mainsail with three slab-reefing points worked by a Lewmar reefing winch on the boom. Halyards are handled by four Lewmar mast-mounted wire winches, sheet loads by two electric-and-manual Antal W 525 ST winches on pedestals, and the main sheet by a Lewmar 44 three-speed winch forward to port with a track and blocks aft. Steering is by a helm wheel with Mathway Marine cardan transmission to the rudder, and an emergency tiller boss is fitted.
Accommodations
Light was the Donella's published innovation. Large skylights and port lights fill the interior, an emphasis well covered in the yachting press of the period as a real new direction in pleasure-yacht design, and the effect is reinforced by elegant varnished teak joinery set against white panels and deck head. She sleeps six in two cabins and the saloon: a forecabin with Vee single berths and prism deckhead lights, an aft owner's cabin with a single berth each side plus a commode-style Baby Blake and ceramic basin, and a saloon with two Chesterfield leather settee berths wrapping fore and aft around a hinged fiddled centreline table. The galley carries a stainless double sink, a three-burner gas hob and oven, and a 12-volt fridge-freezer; the head has a Baby Blake manual WC, ceramic basin with shower taps, and a teak-grated sole. A Webasto heater, all-LED lighting, and a pressurised hot and cold water system round out the living systems.
Known Issues
As a planked wooden yacht of 1961 vintage, the Donella's known vulnerabilities are those of her construction type rather than of a flawed design. The carvel teak planking on hardwood frames requires periodic re-caulking, and the 1994–95 restoration shows the deck and hull being re-caulked and Sikaflexed in 1995 and 2020 with a full hull re-caulk, epoxy and repaint. Teak decks and superstructure need continuous varnish upkeep, renewed in 1997 and maintained since. The electrical system was completely replaced in 1995 with new wiring and panel, and the Perkins 4.216 engine — a 1974 unit — was overhauled 2003–2010 and again removed and thoroughly rebuilt in 2020 with new bearings, injectors, heat exchanger and exhaust. A buyer should read these not as defects but as the normal cyclical care a wooden Giles demands.
Refits and Ownership
The refit genealogy of the class leader's sisters is extensive and reassuring where recorded. Beyond the structural and systems work already noted, the 1994–95 restoration rebuilt the forecabin peak, head and galley entirely, fitted new doors, replaced engine-room insulation, and installed new Blakes seacocks. Tankage was modernised with a 250-litre stainless fuel tank in 1995 and 450 litres of stainless water tanks in 1998. The cockpit sole was replanked on stainless bolts, and a new pressurised water system in rigid plastic casing and heater were installed in 1995. Navigation and communications kit is thoroughly modernised: radar from 1998, chart plotter from 2015, autopilot and DSC VHF from 2020, and echo sounder from 2019, sitting atop the original B&G log and wind instruments.
The Verdict
The Laurent Giles 43 Donella Class is a serious wooden cruiser from the mature hand of Jack Laurent Giles, built by a reputable yard and conceived around liveability below rather than speed alone. Her fuller hull and unbroken below-deck passage reflect a brief set by an owner who wanted a yacht to be lived aboard, and the light-filled interior still reads as a deliberate step forward. She is not a low-maintenance boat, but the refit history shows the type responds well to disciplined cyclical care.
Pros
- Full-length below-deck accommodation without a central cockpit
- Light-filled interior with large skylights and port lights, a period innovation
- Carefully balanced cutter rig with modern roller furling and rebuilt spars and rigging
- Thoroughly documented structural and systems restoration through the 1990s and 2020
Cons
- Carvel teak planking demands regular re-caulking and epoxy maintenance
- Teak decks and varnished superstructure require continuous upkeep
- Perkins diesel needed two major overhauls in service
