^ CATALOGUE OF THE WATERCRAFT COLLECTION. 19 



were as good seagoing boats of their size as could be found. The 

 success of the Maria^ however, which was wide and shallow, re- 

 sembling in many particulars the sloops employed on the Hudson 

 River, doubtless had a marked influence on designers and led to the 

 building of wide, shallow, centerboard vessels for j^achting purposes, 

 most of which were schooner rigged, though the sloop rig gradually 

 came into favor for small and medium sized yachts. The measure- 

 ment rules also had much to do with this development, since beam 

 and sail area were not taxed, and with these advantages in its favor 

 the " skimming dish " was believed by many to be superior to any 

 other type in the matter of speed. 



About 1880 many Americans interested in yachting advocated a 

 change in the style of our sailing vessels. Some extremists urged the 

 adoption of the deep, narrow, lead-keeled cutter of the British type, 

 and several vessels of this kind were purchased by Americans in 

 England or were built in the United States. In 1885, however, 

 Edward Burgess, in designing the Puritan to defend the America's 

 cup against the British cutter yacht, Genesta, produced a compro- 

 mise type which was so successful that its advent ultimately led to 

 a material modification of American racing yachts. In designing 

 the Volunteer, to defend the America's cup two years after the 

 Puritan was built, Mr. Burgess departed considerably from his de- 

 sign of 1885 by making a deeper vessel with less beam, lower out- 

 side ballast, and a moderately overhanging bow. The Volunteer 

 was phenomenally fast, and for some years remained the queen of 

 racers. 



In 1890, however, Nathanael G. Herreshoff built the Gloriana from 

 his own designs. She was a marked innovation on anything previ- 

 ously produced in this country. This yacht quickly demonstrated 

 her superiority over any vessels in her class. She was followed the 

 next year by the Wasp, built by Herreshoff, which proved faster 

 than the Gloriana. 



In 1892 another challenge for the America's cup was given by 

 British yachtsmen and Mr. Herrshoff designed and built the Vigilant 

 to defend it. This vessel was in most particulars an enlarged Wasp, 

 and in the autumn of 1893 she won in each of the three races sailed. 

 The Vigilant was a beamy vessel with long overhangs fore and aft, 

 deep lead keel and centerboard. 



In 1894 she crossed the Atlantic and in a number of races sailed 

 in British waters she was defeated oftener than she won by the 

 Prince of Wales's cutter, Britannia. 



In the meanwhile Herreshoff and others had been experimenting 

 extensively in building small fin-keeled racing yachts — these little 

 vessels having for ballast a fish-shaped bulb of lead secured to the 



