the correspondence I received, though the boat planes and looks as though 

 she would move fast. Price, new, is $1195, kits $795. 



G. Gourley Gray is Secretary of the Inland Cat Class Sailing Association 

 (618 Miami Ave., Box 98, Terrace Park, Ohio). 



VITAL STATISTICS: L.O.A. i^'S"; watcrliue iiV'; beam $'4"; draft 

 without centerboard 5", with C.B. s's", ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^- ^^' (^^ spinnaker); 

 weight 385 lbs.; trailable. 



INLAND LAKE SCOW 



Long before the present rage about planing hulls and catamarans, the 

 Inland Lake Scows were planing at phenomenal speeds on the lakes of 

 Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, and points eastward. 

 Speeds of 20 to 25 knots are reliably reported for these scows and we have 

 heard a "rumor" that a Class A Scow has been timed at 28 knots. 



In the One-of-a-Kind Series conducted by Yachting magazine, the scows 

 have done extremely well boat for boat, though sometimes losing out on 

 corrected time. In the 1952 regatta a Class C Scow (20 feet over-all) was 

 first on corrected time (fourth, boat for boat), while a Class E Scow (28 

 feet) was first, boat for boat. In 1954, while the 5-0-5 won on corrected 

 time, the Class E Scow was again first, boat for boat. In the 1959 regatta, in 

 which catamarans ( led by the Tiger Cat ) excelled, the Class A Scow came 

 in first, boat for boat, in a fleet of forty, and sixth on corrected time. 



There are several classes of Inland Lake Scows, of which Classes A, E, C, 

 and M are said now to be the most active. Their lengths run from 38 feet 

 (A) to 16 feet (M and X). 



The scows have an early history.* In 1896 Nathanael Herreshoff of Bristol, 

 Rhode Island, built one of the earliest scows for Milton Griggs of Minne- 

 apolis, Minnesota; this was the Alfreda, which was sailed on Lake Minne- 

 tonka. Lucius Ordway, active in making the arrangements for this boat, 

 was one of the early promoters and sailors. By the end of the century more 

 of the scows began to appear. Some were fizzles. In fact, Kimberly reports 

 that he made better progress in a "deep-bellied" boat by moving the mast 

 toward the stern and sailing her backward. However, this wasn't typical 

 and the scows grew fast in number, on inland lakes, rivers, or sheltered 

 bays, where the seas are unlikely to build up to more than a sharp chop. 



" "The Inland Lake Scows," by James H. Kimberly, Yachting, March 1947. ( I owe much of the 

 historical material on the scows to Mi Kimberly. ) 



102 THE SAILBOAT CLASSES OF NORTH AMERICA 



