March 5, 1891,] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



139 



A "MEAN LENGTH" RACING BOAT. 



THE "length and sail area" rule is now in such general use, and 

 the open saadbagger has in so many localities given place to 

 better types, that awful examples of the bad tendencies of the 

 various length rules under which such boats once flourished are 

 fortunately no longer necessary. As this Is the time, however, 

 when changes of rules are in order, the accompanying design is 

 of interest as showing the extreme tendencies of a rule that is 

 still fondly adhered to by a number of the smft.ller clubs 



The Charles Cohill was a Delaware River hiker, built at a time 

 when the racing in this type of bra'-, was at its height, and when 

 the tneasurement was of the simplest kind, without even a "plus" 

 in It, being the length from the rabbet at stem to the inside of 

 the sternpost, with no restrictions on beam or sail area, the al- 

 lowance being 2 minutes per foot in a 30 mile race. The Cohill 

 was built by Capt. R. G. Wilkins, of Philadelphia, to the limit of 

 length of her class, 17ft., and with no more beam than the boat 

 she was intended to beat, but with more depth and freeboard. As 

 the waterlme was entirely untaxed, it was lengthened as much as 

 possible by means of the projecting stem and absurdly wide stern- 

 post, the effort being to build a longer and bigger boat on the 

 same deck measurement. Her dimensions were: 



Length by club rule I7f t 



L-w.l .....20ft. 



Beam, extreme 6ft 10 iv 



T x.^-T-^- -^ 5ft- 5 in- 

 Least freeboard lOUin 



Sheer, bow "' 1ft . 



^ Stern :; " 3 in. 



Draft 2ft. 



Mast 33ft. 



Boo°^ 28fl. 



GafiE.. 16ft. 



In racing she carried a crew of 8 men, each with aSolb. sand bag, 

 the crew hiking'' out to windward by means of short lines, spliced 

 into eyebolts m the keel and with a toggle or handle in the outer 

 end of each, by which a man could throw his whole weight well 

 outside the boat, as on the sliding seat of a canoe. 



As a racer the Cohill was entirely successful, and effectually 

 served the purpose of her designer, to kill a bad rule. As the 

 result of her sailing the rule was abandoned in favor of one based 

 on length over all and beam, which is stiU used, though the "tuck- 

 up,' built, under a rule which limits length and sail, has driven 

 the hiker out of the racing. The lines were sent to France by 

 capt. WUkms, and a very successful boat was built there from 

 them. 



From the point of view of simplicity, which has been so often 

 urged, even by those who should know better, against the length 

 and sail area rule; that under which the Cohill was buUt was an 

 Ideal rule. It was absolutely free from cube root, square root, or 

 even addition, and the boats might be measured by a man who 

 could not add 3 and 3 together. From this standpoint it was even 

 better tban the common "mean length," which at least necessi- 

 tates a knowledge of addition and division. Though it placed a 

 still higher penalty on deck length than the latter rule, the ten- 

 dencies were the same, and in any club in which the racing was 

 keen under the mean-length rule, the boats being built solely for 

 racing, the ram stem and projecting stern of the Cohill would "soon 

 be developed. Just now there is not sufficient racing in any one 

 club using the mean-length rule to induce the building of a special 

 boat of this type, and the matter rests with the encouragement of 

 plumb-stemmed and square-sterned boats, and the exclusion of 

 all modern craft with some pretensions to grace and beauty. Even 

 m this form the rule is out of date, and is gradually giving wskV to 

 more modern ideas. 



THE FALL RIVER LINE. 



TT is becoming more and more apparent as the yachting season 

 approaches and no new keels are laid, that if New York yachts- 

 men wish to see any racing they will have to go to Marblehead for 

 it; a fact that is feelingly commented upon by the Boston Glohe as 

 follows: "It IS really about as convenient for a New York yacht 

 owner to keep his boat at Marblehead as at Bay Ridge. He could 

 take the night boat on, get a pleasant .sail and a good night's rest 

 breakfast in Boston, and take the train for Marblehead arriving 

 \^.^,''r°'^u^,''^^°°,^° ^° aboard his yacht and start her in the race. 

 At Marblehead he is right out to sea, and there is no need of get- 

 ting a tug to tow down the bay, or fighting with baffling winds or 

 tides early in the morning." 



Of tlie 8 yachts that will race in the IBft. class but three will be 

 owned about New York, and the bulk of the racing is certain to 

 gravitate to Marblehead, whose natural advantages certainly sur- 

 pass those of any other point on the coast. If, as the usual atorv 

 goes, the New York Y. C. is still hunting for an out-of-town site 

 ^t might be worth while to go further east than City Island or 

 New Haven, to Tinker's Island or Marblehead Rock, where mem- 

 bers could view the races from the club house piazza. 



DELAWARE CAT, "CHAS. COHILL." 



SIR RICHARD SUTTON. 



THE news has been received by cable of the death on Feb. 35 of 

 Sir Richard Sutton, the second British challenger for the 

 America's Cup. Sir Richard Francis Sutton was born on Dec 

 20, 185.i, and succeeded his father, an old yachtsman and owner of 

 the schooner Elmma, in 1878. In 1884 he built the cutter Genesta 

 trom designs by Mr. J. Beavor Webb, and in the fall of the same 

 year be sent a challenge to the New York Y, C. for a series of 

 races for the America's Cup. He was on board the yacht for 

 nearly two months m American waters, during which time the 

 races were sailed with Puritan, in b"th of which Genesta was 

 defeated, but her owner made many friends here by his courtesy 

 and sportsmanlike conduct. In 1888 he was married, and since 

 then has done no yacht racing, having sold Genesla. His action 

 m refusing to accept a sailover after his yacht had been fouled 

 and disabled by Puritan is one of the memorable incidents of the 

 contests for the Cup and will long be remembered by American 

 yachtsmen. 



LARCHMONT Y. O.-The Larchmont Y. C. will retain the 

 classification by corrected length, adopted last year, but with 

 some changes in the limits of the classps, which wi"ll give a better 

 division of the fleet, and will be specially advantageous in case of 

 new yachts being built to the rule at anv time. As we pointed 

 out last spring, it would have been possible to build a very much 

 larger boat than Titania or Katrina for the limit of the clas«, 81ft 

 and similarly the limit of Liris's class, 51ft., would permit ~a boat, 

 far larger than any of the existing forties. The new limits, 77 

 and 49ft., keeps existing boats just at the top of their classes, and 

 so are much fairer than the old. The amended rule reads: Cabin 

 yachts shall be classified accoraing to their racing length, and 

 open yachts according to their actual load waterline length, as 

 follows: Cabin yachts— Schooners— Class A. over 90ft.; Class B 

 90ft. and over 81ft.; Class C, 81ft. and over 71ft.; Class D. 71ft. and 

 over 60ft.; Class E, 60ft. and under. Sloops, cutters and ya.wls— 

 Class 1, over 77ft.; Class 2, 77ft. and over 69f L; Class 3, 69ft. and 

 over 60f c: Class 4, 60ft. and over 55ft.; Class 5, 65ft. and over 49ft ■ 

 Class 6, 49ft. and over 43ft.; Class 7, 43ft. and over 36ft.; Olass 8, 

 36ft. and over 30ft.; Class 11, mainsail yachts (yachts carrying 

 main and mizen sails only shall be entitled io enter in this class 

 and shall be rated as yawls). The other classes to remain as at 

 present. After Class 16 add the following: The regatta commit- 

 tee may, if the number of entries warrant, divide Class 11 into 

 two classes, dividing it at 35ft. The regatta committee, with the 

 approval of the commodore, may establish special classes for any 

 regatta. 



SING SING Y. C— Officers: Com., Ralph Brandreth; Vice-Com , 

 Francis Larkin, Jr.; Rear Com., Benjamin Jenks; Sec'y, Robert 

 T. Dennis; Treas., Joseph Thompson; Meas., William E. Haff- 

 Regatta Committee, Colonel B. S. Gibson, chairman, Pierre Rey- 

 nolds and Charles S. Gowen; House Committee, Joseph Thompson, 

 chairman; James Bedell, Robert T. Dennis, E. S,*Pelham and 

 Charles S. Raymond; Committee on Admission, Dr. E. B. Sherwood 

 chairman; W. 1. Townsend. Francis Larkin, Jr.; Edwin L Todd 

 and Joseph Thompson; Auditing Committee, Dr. E. B. Sherman, 

 chairman; W. I. Townsend and 8. Olin Washburn; Trustess, Ralph 

 Brandreth, Dr. E. B. Sherwood, Isaac B. Noxon, Gilbert M Todd 

 Edwin L. Todd, Francis Larkin, Jr.; S. Olin W'ashburn, Colonel 

 B. S. Gibson and Joseph Thompson. 



SEMIRAMIS.— Mr. Jos. Puliizer, of the New York World, has 

 lately chartered the fine steam yacht Semiramis in England for 

 use abroad. The Semirami.?, designed by Mr. A. H. Brown, is a 

 steel yacht, 19.5ft. 1 w.l., 27.3ft beam, 16ft. hold, with triple expan- 

 sion engines 18. 29 and 47X33. She is rigged as a two masted 

 schooner with yards on foremast. Mr. Brown is now engaged on a 

 design for a smaller yacht for Mr. John Lysaght, owner of Semi- 

 ramis. 



NEW ROCHELLE Y. C.-Offleers: Com., Leon Abbett; Vice- 

 Com., .John F. Black; Rear Com., F. M. Hausling; Sec'y. R. Condit 

 Eddy; Treas., F. T. Youngs; Meas., Charles T. Miller; Trustef s, 

 Walter Large and Frank S. Brady; Membership Committee, 

 Charles Chamberlain, Edward E. Lambden and H. Thompson* 

 Regatta Committee, Edward H. Sturges, F. W. Schoonmaker and 

 E. B. LoudeB; Law Committee, Martin J. Keogh and John F. 

 Lainbden. 



