Design and Construction
META built these hulls supported by large wheels at the bow and stern so the shell could be rotated slowly during assembly anchor, a method suited to the welded clinker-style rolled steel that defines the type. The hull is overlap-rolled steel with 8 mm by 6 cm frames on 46 cm centers, and plate thickness runs 4 to 6 mm with thinner material above the waterline anchor. The deck is 4 mm steel plate. Welds are made fully inside and out with the overlaps arranged so water cannot sit on interior seams, a detail clearly aimed at limiting corrosion in a steel hull that may see years of hard use. As with many of these boats, they were sold for completion by the owner anchor, so finished interiors vary, but the structural shell is the yard’s consistent product. The hull shape itself is conceived to be lifted by ice pressure rather than crushed anchor, which explains the type’s reputation as an expedition boat.
Ballast and Keel
What is unusual about the Damien II, and much of the reason it performs as a blue-water expedition platform, is that all ballast resides in the centerboard or lifting keel anchor. That configuration keeps the hull form shallow and protected for grounding or ice contact while preserving a low center of gravity when the board is down. A 24-volt winch operates the centerboard anchor, and the boat also carries a Lofrans Falkon 24-volt anchor winch anchor, both signs of an electrical layout built around heavy, deliberate ground-tackle and rig handling.
Rig and Handling
The schooner is a staysail rig with two 15-meter aluminum masts stepped on deck; the after mast stands on the pilothouse, about 30 cm above the forward stepping point anchor. An outboard rudder serves the windvane self-steering gear anchor, separating manual steering from the auxiliary helm. One owner removed a 1.5-meter A-frame bowsprit because the bobstay was taking icebreaking loads into the rig anchor, a practical modification that shows how the forward geometry was stressed in polar work. Several hulls were lengthened 1.5 meters to sharpen steering response anchor, and the high 95 cm liferails reflect the same cold-water, crew-retention priority anchor.
Accommodations and Systems
A documented example shows a galley with a two-burner Force 10 propane stove and oven, fed by fresh and salt-water foot pumps at the sink anchor. Heat comes from a Dickinson Lofoten drip-pot diesel heater in the pilothouse and a woodstove forward, with both stacks about 2.5 meters tall to aid draft anchor; the Lofoten also uses a barometric damper to cut stack heat loss. An earlier Sig Marine 120 drip-pot heater proved too small for winter use anchor, and a refrigerator that never performed well was removed in favor of drawers anchor. Freshwater is carried in about 450 liters across nine tanks anchor, and the electrical plant splits into engine batteries (two, or three in Arctic climates, in parallel at 12 volts) and a house bank of three pairs of 12-volt deep-cycle Group 27 cells giving roughly 300 amp-hours at 24 volts anchor.
Known Issues
The heaters are not arranged to run while sailing except in very light air; normally the chimneys are pulled and the pipes capped before departure anchor. That limitation matters on a boat whose appeal is cold-weather voyaging, since it confines solid or diesel heat to settled conditions. The failed refrigerator and undersized earlier heater are owner-reported shortcomings rather than structural faults, but they mark the kind of system rework a buyer should expect on an individual completed hull.
The Verdict
The Damien II is a purpose-driven steel expedition schooner whose construction, ballast-in-keel philosophy, and ice-shaped hull form are its core strengths. It rewards an owner willing to finish, maintain, and modify a voyager rather than a buyer seeking a turnkey coastal cruiser.
Pros
- Steel clinker hull with full inside-and-out welding and corrosion-aware overlaps
- All ballast in lifting keel for shallow, protected, ice-resistant cruising
- Purpose-built expedition details: windvane outboard rudder, high liferails, dual heater layout
Cons
- Sold for owner completion, so finish quality and systems vary hull to hull
- Heating cannot normally run under sail except in very light wind
- Some factory-intended equipment (refrigeration) proved inadequate in service
