The result is a heavily built, owner-finished voyager whose construction and ballast arrangement set it apart from conventional production cruisers.
Design and Construction
META supported the hulls on large wheels at the bow and stern, allowing each shell to be rotated slowly during assembly. The technique suited the welded, clinker-style rolled-steel construction that defines the type.
The overlap-rolled hull has 8 mm by 6 cm frames on 46 cm centers. Plating is 4 to 6 mm thick, with thinner material above the waterline. The deck is 4 mm steel plate. The overlaps are welded fully inside and out, and they’re arranged so that water cannot collect on the interior seams—a detail clearly intended to limit corrosion during years of hard use. The hull may see such use over an extended period.
As with many Damien IIs, the hulls were sold for completion by their owners. Interiors and systems therefore vary, though the structural shell remained the yard’s consistent product. The hull was shaped to rise under ice pressure rather than be crushed, helping to explain the design’s reputation as an expedition boat.
Ballast and Centerboard
Unusually, all ballast is carried in the centerboard or lifting keel. This arrangement keeps the hull shallow and protected when grounding or meeting ice, while maintaining a low center of gravity with the board down.
A 24-volt winch operates the centerboard. The boat also carries a Lofrans Falkon 24-volt anchor winch, both signs of an electrical layout built around heavy, deliberate handling of the rig and ground tackle.
Rig and Handling
The staysail schooner rig has two 15-meter aluminum masts stepped on deck. The after mast stands on the pilothouse, about 30 cm above the forward mast’s stepping point.
An outboard rudder serves the windvane self-steering gear, keeping manual steering separate from the auxiliary helm. One owner removed a 1.5-meter A-frame bowsprit because its bobstay transferred icebreaking loads into the rig. That practical modification shows how severely the forward rig geometry could be stressed during polar work.
Several hulls were lengthened by 1.5 meters to sharpen their steering response. The 95 cm liferails reflect the same emphasis on retaining crew aboard in cold waters.
Accommodations and Systems
One documented example has a galley fitted with a two-burner Force 10 propane stove and oven, plus fresh- and salt-water foot pumps at the sink.
Heat comes from a Dickinson Lofoten drip-pot diesel heater in the pilothouse and a woodstove forward. Both have stacks about 2.5 meters tall to improve draft, while the Lofoten also uses a barometric damper to reduce stack heat loss. An earlier Sig Marine 120 drip-pot heater proved too small for winter use. A refrigerator that never worked well was removed and replaced with drawers.
Fresh water is carried in nine tanks totaling about 450 liters. The electrical system is divided between the engine batteries and the house bank. Two engine batteries—or three in Arctic climates—are connected in parallel at 12 volts. The house bank consists of three pairs of 12-volt deep-cycle Group 27 cells, providing roughly 300 amp-hours at 24 volts. The engine batteries and house bank are arranged this way.
Known Issues
The heaters aren’t arranged to operate while sailing except in very light air. Normally, the chimneys are removed and the pipes capped before departure. That’s a meaningful limitation aboard a boat intended for cold-weather voyaging, as it generally confines diesel or solid-fuel heat to settled conditions.
The poorly performing refrigerator and undersized earlier heater were owner-reported shortcomings rather than structural faults. Even so, they illustrate the sort of systems work a buyer may face on an individually completed hull.
The Verdict
The Damien II is a purpose-driven steel expedition schooner. Its welded construction, ballast-in-keel arrangement, and hull shaped for ice are its defining strengths. It suits an owner prepared to finish, maintain, and modify a serious voyager—not a buyer looking for a turnkey coastal cruiser.
Pros
- Clinker-style steel hull with full inside-and-out welding and overlaps arranged to limit trapped water
- All ballast carried in the lifting keel, allowing a shallow, protected hull for grounding and ice contact
- Expedition-minded details, including an outboard windvane rudder, high liferails, and two heaters
Cons
- Sold for owner completion, so finish quality and systems vary from hull to hull
- Heating normally can’t be used under sail except in very light air
- Some equipment, including the refrigeration installation, proved inadequate in service
