29' Knutsen Custom Cruiser (2008) - RAVEN

Start with an expanded hard-chined hull shape gleaned from the lines of a Chincoteague skiff, work with a naval architect who loves messing about with developable surfaces, add a little Washington State ferry DNA, a dash of tugboat brio, season with Pacific Northwest wooden boatbuilding skills, and you get the one-of-a-kind Raven, a 29-foot shallow-draft cruiser that sips fuel, turns heads, and hosts a ridiculous number of party guests.

Raven’s deceptively simple design hides the fact that many of her spaces and shaped wooden doo-dads have multiple purposes. For example, her fish-cleaning station converts into a bar. Her back deck is great for dinghy stowage until it becomes a lounging and dining area for six. Her tailgate becomes a launch ramp, then a private fishing dock, then a sunbathing-and-cocktails deck. Down below, bunks convert to settees and tables, and tables convert to workspaces with storage underneath. There are multiple configurations for the wheelhouse to accommodate tall and short people. Leif Knutsen, co-founder of Port Townsend’s Shipwright’s Co-op, designed her to make things easy to disassemble and take home for refinishing in your garage, if desired.

To be honest, owning Raven has been a little like being able to go play in a floating, take-apart dollhouse that moves along smartly and can gunkhole into tiny coves where big boats can’t go. We’ve taken her from Port Townsend, Washington to Glacier Bay, Alaska, and though she’s not an offshore boat, we’ve made carefully-planned open-water crossings safely. And we’ve made long cruises economically. Now it’s your turn. There is a short Off Center Harbor video aboard Raven called “Going Slow, Small and Simple Through the Inside Passage to Alaska”.

Selling Raven is an unexpected development, so here’s a link to a blog post with the story of why it’s happening, along with a very complete description, more photos, and a comprehensive list of her equipment and characteristics. http://karenandjimsexcellentadventure.blogspot.com/2024/01/raven-our-bigfoot-29-trawler-is-for-sale.html