184 



FOREST AND STREAM, 



[March 21, 1889.. 



THE CRUISE OF THE ORINDA. 



BY W. H. WTNSEOW, M.D. 



EUREKA! I've done it! I have made the cruise that I have 

 longed to make ever since I was a boy. All along the coast, 

 closely, in and out, straight ahead, zig-zag and sinuous from 

 glorious Boston to fair Eastport and Campo Bello; the border of 

 Maine, the bulwark of New Brunswick. I have carried the flag 

 of the South Boston Yacht Club further east than any other 

 member, and snapped its swallow-tail signal under the ramparts 

 of colonial authority, the mighty cliffs of Grand Menan, and I 

 am proud of it. Now, with blizzard and snow outside, toasting 

 my shins before a natural gas lire in my library, away so far from 

 the sea I leu' o so well, I will try and tell the small-yacht sailors 

 all about it, so that they maybe inspired to give their maritime 

 experiences in return through our common log-book, the Forest 

 AND Stkea-m. What should we do these long winters without it? 



The Pilgrim was not large enough for such a lover of deep 

 water as I am, and I sold her in '87, after making two seasons' 

 cruises from Boston to Mt. Desert, which were duly chronicled in 

 this journal. The sale was made just as I was get ting ready for 

 another cruise, and, as I had not time to build, 1 made a trip upon 

 the lakes with others at the helm. 



Last winter was devoted to correspondence about and prepara- 

 tion of plans; the keel of the Orinda was laid in May, and I 

 hoisted my flags and put her iu commission on Aug. 15, 1888, my 

 birthday. There was a race of our club on that date. Wo left the 

 club float at 3 P. M., sailed around Commodore Fuller on the flag- 

 ship Frolic, dipped our colors, and were greeted by loud cheers 

 from friends on board and a gun fired by the fair hands of Mrs. 

 Fuller. Thus was my new craft introduced to the fleet and 

 warmly welcomed by kind and sympathetic yachtsmen. Williams, 

 the builder, was as pleased as a monkey with a stick of candy, 

 and I felt repaid by one hour's sail for all the worries and vexa- 

 tious delays consequent upon getting a new yacht ready for sea. 



The Orinda, the incomparable, was designed and built to meet 

 certain requirements; I wished the greatest, speed compatible 

 with perfect safety, thorough sea-going qualities and the maxi- 

 mum of comfort on deck and below, and 1 got them. 



The designs, published in the Forest and Stream of Jan 17 and 

 24, were made by E. L. Williams, of South Boston, but other ex- 

 pert brains were mixed with his to insure perfection in minor 

 details. The length over all is 37ft.; l.w.l., 28ft.; extreme beam, 

 9ft. 3in.; beam at l.w.l., 8ft. 9m.; draft, 6ft. 6in.; least freeboard. 

 2ft. 4tn.; long overhang; clipper bow; steering well, 2ft. Din. bv 

 2ft. lin., and 1ft. deep; cabin, 13ft. long, 5ft. 3in high under beams, 

 and 6ft. 6in to 7ft. under skylight and companionway; widest 

 floor, 2£in.; forecastle. 10ft. long and roomy, and skylight and com- 

 panionway, 10ft. long and 2ft. 6in. wide. The deck is flush, with 

 ample space lor a fourteen step promenade from bitts and wind- 

 lass to quarter bitts, and the handling of sails between the sky- 

 light and the 4in. high bulwarks and rail. The bulwarks run to 

 nothiug aft and the oak rail crosses upon the timber. The clipper 

 bow runs in a graceful curve and terminates in a gilded ea k '- 

 head. It gives large and useful space forward of the bitts for the 

 handling of anchors and sails and adds much to the chic appear- 

 ance of the yacht, while it is of inestimable advantage, support- 

 ing the bowsprit, clearing the seas, lossening the pitching, and 

 chiseling the eye out of the wind. The long graceful overhang 

 aft and the artistic line9 of the run support the stern, hinder 

 boarding seas, drag no dead water, leave a mark as of a knife 

 blade astern, and furnish safe standing room for handling the 

 mainsail. 



The iron keel weighs 9 ,8701bs., and 2,0001bs. of pig lead are stowed 

 away under the floor. The keel is well rockered, the sternpost 

 rakes strongly, the frame is oak, strengthened each side bv three 

 stringers of hard pine running the whole length, and a dozen iron 

 floor plates bolted through keel and timbers in the usual manner. 

 The planking is of equal width and runs the whole length with- 

 out a butt. It is smooth as a smelt, and certainly no prettier job 

 was ever seen anywhere. The planksheer, in two strips bolted 

 together, is hard pine* as are the bulwarks, surmounted by au 

 oiled and polished oak rail. The pine deck was laid st raight; the 

 skylight, companionway and forward hatch are of stained cherry. 



The parts above the planksheer are left bright and oil finished; 

 the bottom and about two plauks above the waterline are covered 

 with Estes copper paint; the sides are painted black, and a gold 

 band is gilded in a groove cut in a graceful curve considerably 

 below the planksheer. This breaks up the high sides into several 

 bands and makes the yacht look very long and rakish. 



The mast is 23ft. from the deck to the hounds; masthead, 5ft.; 

 housing topmast, 21ft ; boom, bltt.; gaff, 21ft ; bowsprit outboard, 

 13ft.bin.; spinaker boom, 301 1., and topsail yard, 15ft. The rig is 

 full American cutter; the jib is set flying. 



The caoin transoms form seats and lockers; there is a partial 

 bulkhead dividing cabiu into two parts, separated amidships by 

 a portiere; tne forward part has two built-in berths with drawer's 

 and an open locker beneath each; the after part is the sitting 

 room and has two.iron hammock neds, which turn up against the 

 aide during the day and leave some locker room below them. A 

 bulkhead separates the cabin from the run, having a door behind 

 the steps. A door in forward bulkhead leads to the forecastle. 

 This has a dish closet, storage closet, water tank, ice chest, gaso- 

 line stove and a bunk with drawer and locker beneath. A little 

 hatch opens upon tbe port side forward of the stove. The water 

 tank and gasoline tank are tilled from openings in the deck. The 

 bilge pump is upon port side, near the companionway, and the 

 steering is done by tiller. A 10ft. cedar tender proved large 

 enough for five men and was towed astern, davits not being per- 

 missible. 



There were suitable and comfortable accommodations for five 

 persons, and power in the rig and sail area to go where we wished 

 in anv weather, so i engaged a good all-round man, invited three 

 friends to make the cruise, and began the work of outfitting. Oh, 

 the trouble of getting every little thing finished just right in a 

 new yacht; sheet brass under windlass levers, anchors and crotch 

 feet, mousings upon the hooks, kinks out of ropes, all gear rove 

 clear and properly, chafing gear fitted, squeezed out putty scraped 

 off and paint retouched, light-boards for the shrouds, ringbolts 

 and staples for lashing things, the topmast so it will house easily, 

 the spinaker boom secured from swaying, saying nothing about 

 the thousand and one tilings necessary for the comfort and pleas- 

 ure of those who are to live entirely on board for weeks together. 

 But the personal luggage was all distributed in racks, lockers and 

 drawers, the supplies packed in handy places, the tanks tilled 

 with water at the club house, and we believed we were in con- 

 dition to go to the uttermost parts of the world if there was any 

 necessity for it. 



By night on August 17 Orinda lay off City Point, surrounded by 

 a flotilla of more than a hundred yachts; the night was calm, 

 clear and pleasant; the lights of vessels and the great citv 

 sparkled across the inky tide that was heaving like the breast o'f 

 a hysterical woman, and shouts, laughter, song and instrumental 

 music were in the air till after midnight. Occasionally a grav 

 sail would cross the bow or sweep past the beam, the helmsman 

 silent and alert, a man getting the anchor ready, or standing with 

 aboathook to grasp the buoy of a private mooring. We talked 

 and smoked and enjoyed the summer night till the dew fell 

 heavily and warned us of our next day's duty. At 5 o'clock there 

 was a shout and bustle aboard the Prince Karl, and she was soon 

 underway for Marblehead, where a great race was announced for 

 I P. M., Aug. 18. Then Optic, Breeze, Raven, Good Luck and 

 others went by us like birds along the surface of the water, aud I 

 took off my big coat, called my sailor man Meringue to get break- 

 fast, and made such a racket with broom, water and ropes, wash- 

 ing down, that my three landsmen awoke, smelt the coffee and 

 turned out together. 



They were individuals of rare qualities, as different in charac- 

 ter as possible, and we represented commerce, journalism, law 

 and medicine, a pretty tolerable combination of talents for mu- 

 tual instruction and occasional contention. Jerry represented 

 commerce, Noir journalism, Olie law, and myself aquatics and 

 medicine. There were inquiries below for Ihe wash basin, soap, 

 towels and water, and one by one my friends appeared in desha- 

 bille, loaded with toilet appurtenances, and made elaborate 

 toilets that would have disgusted Mr. Kunhardt, and even made 

 me. smile. This ante-prandial business was kept up pretty well all 

 the trip, but 1 noticed that there was less and less attention paid 

 to the looking-glass and soap, and it was asserted by the obser- 

 vant advocate that breakfast was partaken of on several occa- 

 sions by one member of the mess without any morning ablutions 

 or arrangement of his bangs. 



After vve had cleared away the table, folded its legs and tucked 

 it up beneath the deck and buttons, movables were secured and 

 all hands turned to and made sail. The 1001b. anchor stuck 

 strongly in the Boston mud, but our little windlaBS broke it out, 

 it was soon stowed on deck and we started down the bay under 

 mainsail, gafftopsail, staysail and large jib. Here 1 wish to 

 remark that a little windlass on a yachtis not much in the way, 

 and when it is wanted it is wanted badly. I was advised not 

 to get one, but to rely upon the throat halliards to pull up a 



refractory anchor, but I remembered the times we had strained 

 our backs and been greatly delayed trying to break out the 

 Pilgrim's fluke9, and 1 was obstinate enough to disregard advice 

 and dollai'9 and cents, when such an unseamanlike proposi- 

 tion was made to unhook gear to start an anchor out, and drift at 

 the. mercy of the sea and wind until the halliards had been hooked 

 again and the mainsail hoisted. Away with such folly and foolish 

 advisers. Such work may do in light weather with plenty of 

 room, but never on board of a vessel that is to take her chances 

 anywhere along the coast of New England. Had Orinda depended 

 upon such a method she would have been crippled in collisions or 

 smashed upon the rocks a dozen times during the past season. 

 Nothing is more important aboard a cruising yacht than to keep 

 all the gear in proper shape at all times, ready to make sail stid- 

 denly by day or night. 



We ran down to Marblehead in two hours, and met the racers 

 coming out around the point. There were forty or more white- 

 winged beauties flying along over the courses, some upon one 

 tack, some upon the other, and some reaching and running for 

 marks and stakeboats, and we came by the wind and sped along 

 Mill the leaders toward Egg Rock. It was a lovely dayfor a race, 

 the sea moderate, the sun shining, the wind westerly and strong 

 enough to make us take in the gafftopsail, while some craft 

 dragged their rails under over the course, and others flew under 

 single reefs. None of our crew were seasick, as I had expected 

 they might be, and the exhibition of so many beautiful yachts 

 exemplifying every point of sailing, the exquisite scenery along 

 the shore from Nahant to Marblehead, the champagny wind, the 

 flying spray and the graceful heel and dainty dashing of the 

 waves away from Orinda's bow, excited the liveliest interest and 

 enthusiasm of my inland friends, aud gave them an insight into 

 genuine yachting. 



While in the midst of the race a large sloop worked along our 

 lee, and 1 heard a shout from her: "Keep a good full; I am going 

 to shoot you!" I recognized Stebbins, the great yacht photog- 

 rapher of Boston, standing with lock-string in hand behind his 

 single-gun battery, and responded: "All right." Iu a minute he 

 shouted: "I've got you!" and the deed was done. Olie had taken 

 a commanding position by the lee shrouds as if he were about to 

 launch a torrent of forensic eloquence at au unsympathetic jury; 

 Noir seated himself upon the cable coil behind him in the shadow, 

 as if to report the speech; Jerry twisted his neck to look under 

 the boom from his prone position on the windward side, a dispo- 

 sition of his massive frame which I had confidentially informed 

 him was en rcole, proper form, for racing yachtsmen, particu- 

 larly Harvard students In penitentiary striped undergarments 

 and nakedness; Meringue was braced against the quarter bitts 

 holding the. main sheet by one turn to let it go in the squalls, a 

 cowardly trick he bad learned iu the centerboards and skim- 

 ming dishes from which I could not argue him, because he had 

 never been shipmate on a cutter before, and knew not her gentle 

 and playful careenings and her staunch uprisings in the heaviest 

 weather, and I— well, I had business on hand to watch the yacht 

 and work the tiller, and could not smirk at the camera, and had 

 to submit to its detective accuracy in delineating my suspenders 

 over my old flannel shirt. 



The ingenuity of Stebbins is remarkable, and the faithfulness 

 of our photograph of Orinda, flying along in considerable sea at 

 the rate of eight knots an hour, is attested by minor details, the 

 flags standing out like boards with their emblems as distinct as 

 if lithographed, and the boat caught half out of the water as it 

 made a big jump after the taff rail. One thing puzzled me. There 

 were legs of trousers behind the staysail. I knew there were no 

 clothes drying forward, all our crew were accounted for, no one 

 could have boarded us over the bow for a picture and then hidden 

 his trunk behind the sail. But there were legs that could not be 

 accounted for by any paraphernalia of the ship or any shadows. 

 Had a ghost taken charge of the forecastle for a time? I had not 

 se'en one, but then ghosts may be invisible to the eye and yet visi- 

 ble to Stebbins's camera. I grew nervous in reflecting upon the 

 phenomenon, and annoyed that 1 could not account for it, but I 

 was so oppressed by my labors in seething Boston while outfitting, 

 and so busy a fterward on the cruise that I did not clothe the 

 ghost till lately. The pants were on a man, Captain Hutchinson, 

 of the Optic, whose yacht had preceded him, and whom I had in- 

 vited to go down with us instead of by train, as he had intended. 

 He is a very modest fellow, and when he found our pictures were 

 to be taken he had considerately placed himself behind the stay- 

 sail and forgotten all about his legs. I shall cherish those legs as 

 a souvenir of him, because I feel greatly relieved that they did not 

 belong to an uncanny body. 



There were several heavy puffs and the sky looked wild, but the 

 race went on beautifully and soon every craft, was heading for 

 port, where the judge's boat lay off the Corinthian Y. C. house. 

 We ran to the right of the fleet and anchored in midchaunel to 

 be handy to the stores, and watched the finish with keen delight. 

 The harbor was crowded with pleasure boats and real yachts; a 

 great multllude of people occupied the two club houses and their 

 lawns and landings aud every available place along shore; a 

 band was playing at one of the hotels, and the sky was flecked by 

 rainbows of bunting upon the vessels and buildings. The row- 

 boats, sailboats, steamers small and large, and arriving racers 

 loaded with joyous and noisy excursionists, or quiet yachtsmen 

 attending strictly to business, made the pretty harbor full of 

 sights and scenes as varied as a kaleidoscope, and equal in point 

 of interest to anything short of an international contest. The 

 racers and followers were soon at anchor, the great fleet folded up 

 its wings, supper was disposed of, and then the decks were cov- 

 ered with the happy yachtsmen and their friends to listen and 

 contribute to the songs and instrumental music, the stories, shouts 

 and general joyfulness of the occasion, while the fireworks on 

 shore paled the moonlight and added numerous and brilliaut 

 hued stars to the constellations in the heavens. 



The fun, noi e and splendor were kept up till midnight, when 

 Bedlam broke loose as the clock was striking; horns, bells, 

 whistles, bugles and drums made a din that awoke early sleep- 

 ers; this was followed by a sharp contest of baseball, to judge 

 by the language used upon a dozen craft, in which every direct- 

 ing, warning, urging, approving and victorious expression used 

 in the national game was shouted in the quick tone of the ball 

 field, and peals of laughter greeted the invisible make-believes 

 frequently. Then it became quieter, as the idea of it being Sab- 

 bath Day came to one and another, or they ceased from exhaus- 

 tion or sleepinees, but for awhile occasional shouts, horn blasts 

 and laughter broke the quiet into periods and pierced the ears of 

 the lighter sleepers. Such was the finish of the gala day and the 

 end ot one of the most successful races of the Corinthian Y. C. of 

 Marblehead. 



[to be continued.] 



THE NEW YORK Y. R. A. 



THOSE who were reallv interested in the success of the latest 

 effort to unite the smaller clubs about New York will be dis- 

 appointed to learn that the organization just formed has already 

 come to an untimely end so far as yachting at large is concerned, 

 being wrecked at its second meeting on the shoals and sandspits 

 of mean length. With dozens of clubs and hundreds of small 

 vachts about New York, there is every need for a strong associa- 

 tion, and every chance to make it a success under an intelligent 

 and progressive management that should look to the improve- 

 ment and extension of yachting rather than to the protection of 

 an obsolete style of boat. Unfortunately this view has not pre- 

 vailed in the new organization, but it has gone backward some 

 twenty years or so and adopted the obsolete and exploded rule of 

 mean length. The originators of the scheme, as well as many of 

 the principal clubs interested, were in favor of modern ideas and 

 rules that would allow the entry of modern boats, but unfortun- 

 ately the crv for "simplicity 11 was too loud, the men who did not 

 know what plus means and did not want to know, were in the 

 majority, and the result is that the failure of the scheme is only 

 a matter of time. As an insignificant local union of sandbag 

 clubs it may struggle, along for a time, but no permanent success 

 can be hoped for with such an adherence to old-time methods. It 

 would seem that a look at any of the modern yachts, at Volun- 

 teer, Thistle, Katrina, Baboon, Sea Fox, Chiquita, Chispa, or 

 many beautiful new craft beside which the old boats look so boxy, 

 would be enough to prove the impossibility of setting up a rule 

 directly opposed to these boats. The efforts of designers and 

 owners the world over have for some time been directed toward 

 the production of beautiful as well as fast yachts, but now this 

 ambitious young organization steps in with its little measure and 

 says that the clipper stem, graceful sheer and shapely counter 

 must go, and that designers must take for their models the gar- 

 bage scow, the car float and the canal boat. It is easy t o say what 

 the result will be, that no man who owns a modern boat or who 

 cares in the least for appearance will have any use for such an 

 association. After adopting a rule in which length from forward 

 side of stem to after side of stern is added to length on water- 

 line and the sum divided by two, a sop was thrown to the opposi- 

 tion by a rule which allowed shifting ballast only in open boats. 

 The allowance of crow is one man to every 3ft. iu open boats and 

 one to every 5ft. in cabin boats. A burgee, blue ground with a 

 white star in center, with three radiating red bars was also 

 adopted. A meeting will be held on March 29 at which the sub- 

 ject of classification will be considered. 



MEASUREMENT AND CLASSIFICATION, 



IN commenting on the article in the Forest and Stream of 

 Jan. 81, the Field speaks as follows, after quoting a part of the 

 article in question: 



"On this side of the Atlantic we are satisfied with the Y. R. A. 

 version of the length and sail area rule, and although we have not 

 ascertained what the full development under it will be like, it is 

 satisfactory to know that the new boats building this year for 

 any given rating have a little more length and a little more dis- 

 placement lhan those of last year had. Thus, while the leugth 

 and weight have been added to, the sail area ba.s been .diminished, 

 the tendency clearly being to drive a maximum of weight with a 

 minimum of power. This simply means that a better Sea-going 

 craft, with superior accommodation, is being produced; and no 

 one will deny that the present 10-rater, the outcome of the new 

 rule, is a more desirable sort of craft than the old 5-tonner; and 

 so is the 20-rater than the 10-tonuer. 



"But the effect of the new rule also reveals the important fact 

 that the naval architect can proceed in a more intelligent manner 

 in designing. Under the present rule, in making a design he 

 could never separate the three factors of success, and say how 

 much was due to superior model, to superior length and to supe- 

 rior sail area. Under the present rule, the model or design is 

 necessarily the all-important factor, and it is, above all thing, 

 gratifying to know that designers are already discovering, by the 

 aid of improvements in modeling, that greater displacements 

 are possible for any given sail spread. 



"The writer in Forest and Stream, in recommending the 

 change in the New York rule, appears to overlook the fact that 

 the Seawanhaka Yacht Club rule is much harder on sail. The 

 rules compare as follows for a given rating: 



* * * * * * 



"In the table just given, the effect of the proposed reversal of 

 the New York Y. C. rule is shown by No. 4 example. The effect 

 of the change would be to make the rule operate on relative in- 

 crease or decrease in length or sail pretty much as the Y. R. A. 

 rule does, but the rule would be a trifle easier on length. The 

 'sailing le ngth' rule, w hich would be identical with the Y. R. A. 

 rule, is 3 yLength X sail area, as shown by No. 5 example. This 

 is a very much simpler form than any of the length and sail area 

 rules yet. proposed or in use in this country or in America, and 

 should the Y. R. A. time scale undergo revision when the allotted 

 seven years have expired, it would be perhaps well to adopt a - 

 'sailing length' in place of the rather awkward 10 rating, 15 rat- 

 ing, etc., which is variously rendered as '10 sail tons,' '10 tons 

 rating,' '10 tons sail area rule,' etc. The rule in principle, in its 

 effects and tendencies, would bo exactly the same, only instead 

 of dividing the product of L X S, the cube root would be taken 

 from a table of cubes. In place of the 2J£ rater we should have 

 25ft. (sailing length) class; for 5 rater, 30ft; for 10 rater, 40ft.; for 

 20 rater, 50tt.; for 10 rater, 6. r )ft.; and for 60 rater, Sftft. or 80ft. 

 However, so far as British yachtsmen are concerned, they can go 

 on with the 'rater' and 'rating' nomenclature, and perhaps by the 

 time 1894 arrives we may have become used to the terms, and 

 even regard them with as much affection as we did "tons' for so 

 many years." 



We do not reproduce the table, as it would be of little Interest 

 to our readers; the American rules are compared under the 

 British system, and the result is of little value, as it would be im- 

 possible ao to combine the two in practice. For instance, no one 

 would build a 10-footer with but 625ft. of sail, or even 1,200ft., so 

 it, is of little use considering such suppositious craft. What the 

 Field says as to the influence of the'Y. R. A. rule and the advan- 

 tages it offers to the designer is of more importance. In criticis- 

 ing the New York rule we alluded to the fact that the S. C. Y. C. 

 rule was heavier on sail; but even the latter rule, as now applied, 

 would permit au exaggerated sail plan, and at the same time 

 would encourage but one type of boat. 



The system of measurement and classification in one, as u?ed by 

 the Y. ft. A., has lately attracted a good deal of attention here, 

 and yachtsmen are inclined to look on it with greater favor than 

 at first. Of course, the awkward term "rat ing 1 ' is not well under- 

 stood and would never become popular here; but, asshownabove, 

 the same system can easily be adapted to American customs. 

 The Y. R. A. rule is Lgngth X.Sail R ti the y tt b j j 

 6,000 



way equivalent to the old tonnage, the 20 rating class including 

 the old 10-tonners, the 10 rating the old 5-touners, etc. To apply 

 the s ame id ea to American yachts the formula would be changed 

 to 3 ^L x S= corrected length. In the present 40-foot class t iu 

 which the extreme length on l.w.l. must not exceed 40ft., time 



is allowed on corrected length by the formula 



V2L + S 



= cor- 

 rected length. By the other method the limit of the class, instead 

 of being 40ft. l.w.l., would be, for instance, 19ft. corrected length. 

 This would give a choice of the following lengths, with a lessened 

 sail area as the length increased. The sail area for the same 

 lengths under the present Y. R. A. rule for 20 rating class is given 

 in the third column. 



Sail in Square Feet. 



L.W.L. 



40 /, 



41.... 



42 



43 



44.... 



43 



46 



47.: 



48 



Proposed Rule. Y.R.A. Rule. 



2941 3000 



2869 2925 



2801 2854 



2736 2790 



2674 2727 



2 14 2666 



2557 2608 



2503 2553 ' 



2450 2500 * 



In this way the existing 40-footers would be allowed to carry 

 more sail than they now carry; Chiquita's measurement is 2900ft. 

 by E. Y. C. rule; but a large choice of dimensions would be 

 allowed, and on such as 45ft. l.w.l. and 2,614ft. of sail a very fine 

 boat could be had at a cost but little if any in excess of such craft 

 as the new ones of this year, the best boat yet built under the 

 Y. R. A. rule, the 20-rater Vreda, is 46ft. l.w.l.. 10ft. beam, 8ft. 

 draft, and carried 2,6(!()sq. ft. Such a yacht can be built in England 

 under £6,000, or, allowiug for difference in cost between the two 

 countries, she would cost no more than Chispa, Mariquita or the 

 other now ones, and would bo of better material, fastenings and 

 finish. The objection that is so often urged against complicated 

 rules would entirely disappear in this case, a table similar to the 

 above being prepared for each class. It may be calculated in 

 twenty minutes, and then, the leugth being known, the owner 

 can adapt his sail plan to the limit allowed in the table, thu? 

 avoiding all calculation on his part. 



There has not yet been sufficient racing and building under this 

 rule to afford a final conclusion as to its merits, but it is at least 

 worthy of a careful observation during the coming season, 

 together with the leading American rules, as there will be plenty 

 of racing and many new boats on both sides of the water. 



In a private letter on the subject Mr. G. L. Watson writes as 

 follows: "I feel, along with many others, both on this and the 

 other side, that your present rule is leading into a most undesira- 

 ble type of boat, very like our Solent length classes; probably the 

 very worst type of yacht that ever floated on these or any other 

 waters. In my evidence before the Y. R. A. Council some two 

 years ago, when examined as to the advisability of adopting the 

 American rule, I then pointed out its tendency, and was afraid, 

 indeed, that the proposed rule (which has now been adopted) 

 would lead to too broad a type of boat. I do not know now, how- 

 ever, that my fears have been, or are likely to be, realized in this 

 respect, unless, perhaps, in the large classes. Whatever rule is 

 adopted it must be a rating rule, •/. «., the yachts must be claais&l 

 by their ultimate rating, not by length. This is really the only 

 safe check on sail, as, were our rule not a rating rule, it would pay, 

 a nd pay splendidly, to build a boat the extreme length of the class, 

 and then overspar her, allowing time for the extra sail. As it is 

 just now, however, wo can only get sail at the expense of length, 

 and this keeps our sail plans in moderation, Wc have had only 

 two years' experience with this rule, but the successful boats 

 carry a sail area equal to the square of 110 to 120 per cent, of load 

 line." 



There has been some apprehension among yachtsmen that the 

 present active discussion of the measurement question boded a 

 change of the rules at once, but such a course would be so obvi- 

 ously unwise at this late date that there is no danger of its being 

 followed. It is possible that in the New York Y. C. some changes 

 of detail may yet be made, but no radical disturbance of the rule, 

 such as would seriously interfere with boats now building, is at 

 all probable. At the same time the matter cannot be too fully 

 ventilated and kept alive during the racing season, with a view 

 to some intelligent action, if any change at all shall be proved 

 necessary, at the close of the season. 



BOSTON YACHT AGENCY.— We have received the new cata- 

 logue and sail list of the Boston Yacht Agency, containing a full 

 list of yachts of all kinds for sale. The firm has every facility 

 for their yacht building and brokerage business, being associated 

 with the building yard of Mr. W. K. Pryor. They are prepared to 

 furnish designs or to build to order, aud also to supply all yaohtj 

 ing requisites. 



