dimensions (such as the 33-foot over-all length) given here are approxi- 

 mate. For information about the rules and other matters consult Victor 

 Sheronas, class Secretary (1600 Hamilton St., Philadelphia 30, Pa.). 



The 5.5 Meter class, with its tall and narrow mainsail, is designed to a 

 rule very diflFerent from the International Rule used for the 6, 8, 10, and 

 12 Meter classes. While the 5.5 rule is too involved to be quoted here, it 

 includes length, girth, sail area, and displacement, which can be varied so 

 long as the result does not exceed 5.5 meters. Despite the apparent metrical 

 closeness, the 5.5s are much smaller and lighter than the 6 Meters and 

 carry much less sail. Genoas are not used, because the total sail area is 

 measured. 



The 5.5 is a high-quality day racer with long overhangs and a short keel. 

 Standards of construction and equipment are high. "The class came into 

 being," says the English Yachts and Yachting, "because the 6 Meter Class 

 was producing a yacht that was too heavy and expensive. The Skerry cruis- 

 ers or Square Meter Classes were considered too light and long, so that the 

 late C. E. Nicholson and Major Maldon Heckstall-Smith adopted the 1912 

 Boat Racing Association Formula with modified constants to evolve a new 

 class." 



Up to now the 5.5s in the United States have been so widely scattered 

 that there has been little regular racing on a regional basis, and large 

 fleets of 5.5s have raced only on such occasions as the U. S. Championships. 

 Despite this, the Olympic record of the class is exceptionally good. 



The first time the 5.5s were in the Olympics was at Helsinki in 1952. 

 That year the Gold Medal was won by Complex II (U.S. 1) owned and 

 sailed by Dr. Britton Chance of Philadelphia. In the next Olympics, at 

 Melbourne in 1956, the U.S. entry was Rush IV (U.S. 3), owned by Victor 

 Sheronas of Philadelphia and sailed by Andrew Schoettle. She placed 

 fourth out of ten, handicapped in one race by a jammed spinnaker halyard. 

 In i960 at Naples, Italy, the United States won again, our only Olympic 

 saihng victory that year. The Minotaur (U.S. 26), owned and sailed by 

 George O'Day of Marblehead, took the Gold Medal. C. Raymond Hunt 

 was the designer. The 5.5s were selected for the Seawanhaka Cup Races in 

 1962. 



Principal sailing activities are in Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, 

 Norway, Denmark, Canada, England, and the United States. The designers 

 are various, including, in the United States, Luders, Hunt, Sparkman and 

 Stephens, and others. Many of the boats owned in the United States were 

 built in Scandinavian countries, but conversely, many of the boats racing 

 abroad were built to U.S. designs. A number of 5.5s built ^by Bjarne Aas 



78 THE SAILBOAT CLASSES OF NORTH AMERICA 



