YACHTS AND YACHTING. 103 



I 



Though cutter rigged she would make a fine yawl. These large yachts were found 

 to be slow in going about, and required considerable skill in handling amongst the crowded 

 traffic on the river, and it is scarcely to be wondered at that, excellent in every respect as 

 they were, they had to give way to a smaller and handier type of boat more suitable to the 

 river with its ever increasing volume of traffic. 



Moreover big boats like the Clutha and Romola required large native crews, while 

 their upkeep was decidedly costly. Further it was scarcely worth while to take these 

 boats out for only an occasional hour's sail, and they were consequently employed in week-, 

 end trips alone. These reasons led to the formation of the 2^ rater class, and a handy, 

 useful type of boat was introduced, fast sailers, whose working expenses were not too heavy 

 a drain upon the average purse. In a short time the bigger boats gradually disappeared or 

 were converted into sailing houseboats. 



Now, however, there is a reaction setting in in favour of the large yachts. The modern 

 yacht is practically a large boat on a short water line, having the deck room accommodation 

 and seaworthiness of a big vessel, but the waterline and length of keel of a small craft. 

 She can turn on pivot and can, as the saying is, "do almost anything but talk." She can 

 make a complete circle in considerably less time than her straight stemmed (bigger) sister 

 could have gone about in, and can dodge in and out of places quite closed to the older boats. 

 The more modern cruising yacht, therefore, even of fair size, is specially adapted to local 

 conditions. 



Mr. C. L. Seitz was one of the first local yachtsmen to prove this. In 1907 he 

 designed and built the Viola. This boat was a fifty-one foot schooner of 135^2 feet beam, a 

 4 foot draft, but with a water line of only 31 feet. This craft combined the accommodation 

 of a large houseboat, the speed of a racing yacht, and the handiness of a iVi rater. With 

 her two masts and light spars she only required a native crew of three men as against 

 the two men of the 2^ rater and the six of the old type yacht. Undoubtedly this type of 

 boat with but slight modifications is best suited for this river, the comfort, speed and 

 extra accommodation amply repaying the extra upkeep and first cost. 



As to the adaptability of yachts for shooting excursions and the best type for the 

 purpose one must choose between two distinct types, for it is not impossible that an attempt 

 to combine the qualities of each type might lead to failure. 



The best type of boat for river shooting and creek work must necessarily be a boat 

 of very shallow draft, say 2 feet to 2 feet 6 inches at the outside, and with mast stepped in 

 tabernacles to lower easily. And there are several of such boats here, of which the Gloty, the 

 Najadc. and the Corsair are the best known. These three boats are all very much of a size. 

 Each is extremely flat with no deadwood and very little keel. The Najade is 33 feet 3 inches 

 over all, 27 feet I inch on the water line 10 feet 9 inches beam. On account of their very 

 small hold on the water however, they are hard to steer and require the nicest handling. 



But for him who wants to go shooting outside among the islands at the mouth of the 

 Yangtze, where it is always a possibility that one may be caught by a bad blow when, saj', 

 twenty miles down the North or South Channel, this boat is not at all suitable. It would 

 not be advisable, considering the risk, to have a boat of less than four feet draft, and a good 

 weight of ballast on her keel. But such a boat would never do for creek work, though she 

 can follow the Whangpoo river up to Bingoo 65 miles distant on the Southern branch. 



