DUXBURY DUCK 



The Duxbury Ducks, a class of sloops, were designed by John G. Alden 

 in 1925 for the shoal waters of Duxbury Bay, Massachusetts. Twenty-four 

 boats were built in that year. By the late thirties about sixty boats made 

 up the fleet, with forty racing regularly. Nearby Plymouth, where the harbor 

 is also shoal, had a fleet of fifteen. Today a small fleet of eight or ten races 

 at Duxbury, as do some on Crystal Lake at Wakefield, Massachusetts. There 

 are said to be seventy still in existence, but none have been built for ten 

 years or more. 



"There never was a better 18-foot boat," writes one of the owners nos- 

 talgically, "for use in a shallow bay, which combined a comfortable family 

 sailboat with a good racing boat. Obviously, today, people want a tall 

 modern rig, parachute spinnaker, planing hull, and hence the class faded." 



The Chairman of the class at the Duxbury Yacht Club is Howard P. 

 Chandler (79 Ledgeways, Wellesley Hills, Mass.). 



Its heavy weight (750 pounds) makes the Duck difficult to trail and it 

 is obviously not a planing type. While the cost of a new boat would be 

 about $1800, old boats can be bought at from $100 to $600, perhaps a real 

 bargain if you want a good old-fashioned family boat. 



VITAL STATISTICS: L.O.A. i8'; waterline 15' 1''; beam 6'4"; draft 

 without centerboard 7", with C.B. down 2'6"; sail area 342 sq. ft. (spin- 

 nakers allowed); weight 750 lbs.; racing crews, two or three. 



DYER DHOW 



The 9-foot Dyer Dhow with cat rig is one of the more recent dinghies 

 designed and produced by the man who is generally regarded as the fore- 

 most manufacturer of sailing dinghies in the United States: William J. H. 

 Dyer, of The Anchorage, Inc. (Warren, R.I.). Dyer developed the Dhow 

 for the Bureau of Ships (U. S. Navy) during World War II for use on P.T. 

 boats and Aircraft Rescues. The idea was to obtain maximum carrying ca- 

 pacity and stability when loaded and minimum resistance when light and 

 towing. Because many of these Dhows were supplied with sailing rigs and 

 created considerable interest, they were continued after the war for civilian 

 activities, particularly for teaching youngsters how to sail. 



One of the earliest classes was formed at Mystic seaport, location of the 

 famous Museum. Prominent yacht clubs, including the Cruising Club of 

 America, New York Yacht Club, Off Soundings Club, Seawanhaka Cor- 

 inthian Yacht Club, Indian Harbor Yacht Club, and Edgartown Yacht Club 

 were among the original donors of boats to the seaport for this purpose. It 



RACING CLASSES 6l 



