Jan. 5, 1895.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
15 
increase of power for the purpose, the Ardent's engine having 
about 5,0ai horse power on the last pair of runs. 
"The absence of vibration, which has been so happy a char- 
acteristic oi the later vessels of this class, was als» notieeab e in 
the Ardent W iile ano her inipiovement was the very small 
amount oi fliime to b' seen at the tops of the chimneys, even 
when running at highest speed. 
■ A Restricted Racing Class. 
The extreme development of purely racing features, and the 
rapid outc assiDg of new boats by others a little newer and of 
more extreme type, has resulted in the production in England, 
Scotland and j reland of many special classes, independent of 
the recognized raiing ruleol the is R. A., and governed by cer- 
tain arbitrary an< I often stringent limitations, intended at least 
to secure to a boat a longer racing life than one or two seaso s ; 
and also, in many cases, to produce a generally useful boat at a 
moderate cost. Among these classes are the Kingstown "Mer- 
maids " and "Waterwags," the boats oi the Munsier Model Y. 
C, the 18 footers of the Mersey, the 19 and 23ft. classes on the 
Clyde, and a new class of centerboard boat just establis ed in 
the latter locality. In many cases the rule is " one class, one 
design," all the boats being built to a standard design, both in 
model and construction, thus lessening the cost and making the 
racing purely a test oi individual skill in handling. In other 
ca^es different designs are allowed, but under such general re- 
strictions as shall prevent the production of a boat of much 
greater power or sail area than the average of the class. 
The boat* here illustrated are intended for such a limited 
class, of sailing dingh es, which exists in the vicinity of Dart- 
mouth, England ; used for regular racing through the season, 
and also lor pleasure sailing. The limitations of the class are: 
the boats to be unsinKable, length over ah not to exceed 14ft. 
1. w. 1. not to exceed 13it., draft not to exceed 1ft., no outside 
ballast, but metal centerplate, the trunk of which shall not rise 
above the gunwale, no limit of sail area, but nil spars must stow 
inside the boat on the thwarts. he two designs were made b 
Capt. Henry Hi. Bayly, of Exmouth, an amateur whose work i 
well known to our readers ; the first one, No. 53. having been 
mad" last year and t he boat built and raced with success. The 
second, No 55, is now building, by Wm. Hodge, of Dartmouth, 
for A. F. Wood, Esq., with a third, No. 56, for the Earl of 
Drogheda. The dimensions are as follows: 
No. 53. No. 55. No. 56. 
Length over all 14ft. 14ft. 14ft. 
l.w.l .13ft. 131 1. 13ft. 
Beam, extreme 5ft. 3in. 6ft. 3in. 6ft. 2in. 
l.w.l 5ft. %in. 5 t. lOin. 5ft. 7in. 
Draft, hull 8%in. 4in. 4in. 
with plate 3lt. 10%in. 4lt 3in. 4ft. 3in. 
Freeboard, least 1ft. l%in. 1ft. 2%in. 1ft. 2%in. 
Sheer, bow 6in. ' 6in. 6in. 
stern lin. l%i Q . l/£in. 
Displacement 896lbs. 
Ceiiterplate, weight 601bs. 
thickness. 3-16in. 
Ballast, inside 1921Ls.' 
Mast, gunwale to truck,12lt. lift. 6in. 
Boo u. 13ft. 6in. 13ft. 4in. 
Yard 13 t, 13ft. 4in. 
Mainsail, luff 6ft. 9in. * 5ft. 
leech 21ft. 10m. 21ft. 4in. 
Jib, foot 6ft. 
luff 10ft. lOin. 
leech 9ff. 6in. 
Areas, mainsail 139sq. ft. 120sq. ft. 
jib 28.5 
Total 148.5 
The weights of No. 53 are : construction and equipment, 336 
lbs., centerplate, 60 lb ., crew, 308 lbs., ballast, inside, 192 lbs., 
total, 896 lbs. The centarplates are of the new knife pattern, 
very narrow and deep, a° in Mr. Linton Hope's Sorceress, lift- 
ing by a t»ckle on the inner projecting arm. In the first design 
the mast is set rather high, and supported by a thick partner 
piece or upper thwart on top of the gunwales, with an iron hasp 
on the after side to permit of easy stepping. We believe that 
this piece and nil forms of tabernacles and telescoping masts 
are now prohibited. The sails are really leg-o-muttons, though 
set as lugs, the yards being up and down the musts. The yard 
is set up by flexible wire tye, a single part, with a tackle on the 
lower end, the fall U ading to the middle of the boat. A heelrope' 
is also u-ed, by which the yard may be jammed close to the mast 
when the sail is reefed. 
The boats are fitted with long cylinders of painted canvas 
stuffed with cork, one lashed fust in each bilge; they are 10ft. 
long and 10 in diameter, taperingto 4 in at ends, and make good 
seats for the crew in sailing. The large design shows No. 53, the 
body p an and sail plan ol No. 55 being also -iven. The latter 
is quite an extreme of beam and lipht dra<t; No 56 being more 
cutaway, and easier in torm. The boats are. entirely open, as 
required by the rules, but movable washstrakes are fitted above 
the gunwales in bad weather. 
Captain Bayly has just completed for his own use next season 
a 1 rater of extreme proportions, 28ft. overa.1,18 ft. l.w.l. 7ft. 
lOin. beam, 5in. draft, with a knife plate we.ghing 10' lbs and 
giving a total draft of 6ft. 8in. The rudder, of the fishtail form, 
will house, through a long well in the counter. Her name will 
be Boucanier, a new spelling of an old word. 1 
The Valkyrie-Satanita Collision. 
The suit of Lo> d Dunraven against Mr. A D.Clarke for the 
loss of the former's yacht Valkyrie II by collision with Satanita 
was tried befoie the Admiralty Court, in London, on Dec. 17-18, 
beiDg decided in Mr. Clarke's favor. The Field discusses the 
main question involved as follows: 
It will be remembered that the Satanita sailed into and sank 
the Valkyrie yacht at the regatta of the Mudhook Yacht Club on 
the Clyde in July last. The underwriters of Valkyrie treated the 
case as one oi total loss and paid up the insurance. An action 
was then commenced against the underwriters ai'd owner of 
Satanita to recover the money paid for the loss of Valkyrie. 
The statement of defence of the ow>er of Satanita (Mr. A. D. 
Clarke) has now been delivered, and the case, we understand, is 
Bet down for hearing on Dec. 18. He admits the collision and 
damage was due to the faulty handling or navigation of Satan- 
ita, but denies that he himself is blamable for it, and claims to 
have the case settled under the provisions of the Merchant Ship- 
ping Act, where collisions take place without the fau t or privity 
of the owner of the vessel to blame. Under this provision the 
amount recoverable would be only £8 per registered ton. 
For the representatives of Valkyrie, on the otherhand.it is 
claimed that the owner of Satanita contracted himself out of the 
provisions of the Merchant Shipping act by the declaration in 
theY.R. A. ru'es. as follows: "I undertake th it while sailing 
under this entry I will obey and be bound by the sailing rules of 
the Yacht Raoing Association." 
The Merchant Shipping Act contains no clause siving permis- 
sion for the owner of a yacht or other vessel to contract himself 
out of its provisions, and this point will have to be settled by the 
Court before the case oomes on for hearing on its merits. 
In the Oimara vs. Fiona ease (see the Field, Oct. 2 and Nov. 13, 
1875), Mr. Commissioner Kerr, in giving judgment, said he was 
obliged to decide the case under the regulations for the preven- 
tion of collisions at sea, as the parties would not agree to have 
the case decided by the yacht club sai'ing rules. I he Fiona was 
held to blame, and the Commissioner concluded by saying '* he 
hoped before any yachts were allowed to enter a race there would 
be a distinct pledge insisted upon that any dispute shou d be 
sett'ed by the yacht club committee." Of course this pledge is 
given, and its observance is a question of honor among the par- 
ties concerned, but it can scarcely be expected that underwriters, 
where their interests are involved, will allow them to be sacri- 
ficed on account ol a convenient and honorable agreement w hich 
other parties have entered upon, However, it is a question of 
14-FOOT SAILING DINGHY, DESIGNED BY CAPT. HENRY BAYLY, 1894. 
great importance to yacht owners, and we trust the point will 
be ably argued. It is of special importance to those who insure 
against racing risks, and we ought to know beyond all doubt to 
What extent a yacht owner contracts himsel out of the provis- 
ions of the M rchant Shipping Act when he signs the yacht 
racing declaration we have quoted. The owne'- ol the Satanita 
admits his vessel to be in the wrong — presumably whether under 
the provisions of the regulations for the prevention of collision 
at sea or under the yacht racing rules; but what we want to 
know definitely is whether by entering his vessel under the yacht 
racing rules he legally abrogated all rights he or others (by un- 
derwriting or otherwise) had under the provisions of the Mer- 
chant Shipping Act? As we before said, it is a matter of great 
importance to yacht owners, and we hope the case will be well 
threshed out and an authoritative decision given. 
Changes of the Rating Rule. 
A circular has been sent out by the Y. II. A., worded as fol- 
lows : 
The ratinsr rule committee are of opinion the present rule 
tends to produce in yachts undulv large circumscribing dimen- 
sions relative to displacement and useful living room onboard ; 
they consequently consider it advisable to alter or modify the 
