114 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Feb.I9.|1895. 
hand it over, should^it be won, the Royal Yacht Squadron will not 
bother about it.. In any case„.it will be.the.New York Yacht Club 
that will have .to lfight..the .question .in. a, law court, . should the 
affair develop into that stage., Thus, as far as this matter is con- 
cerned, we can view any course that events may take with 
equanimity." 
'Enthusiasm still reigns in press circles on both sides of the At- 
lantic with regard to the forthcoming matches for the America 
Cup. We limit the enthusiasm to the press advisedly, for in Eng- 
land the majority of yachtsmen feel much regret at the Royal 
Yacht Squadron's abandonment of its dignity. But, with the ex- 
ception of this journal, the action of the.R. Y. S. was greeted with 
the approval of the whole British press, and since the club swal- 
lowed the bitter pill the America Cup has once more assumed the 
importance of a topic of the day — sometimes disguised, indeed, as 
the 'Queen's Cup,' a mistake so long since corrected as to show 
how little the press generally understands a subject with which it 
has not hesitated to deal. , But one must not take the words of the 
daily papers as indicating the general opinion of yachtsmen on 
this subject; they are the conventional press tribute to each and 
every act of such a distinguished club as the Squadron. 
' But the influence of yachting opinion seems in one short week to 
have completely altered the attitude of our marvellously acrobatic 
contemporary, the .Field. That journal heralded the 'knuckling- 
down' of the R. Y. S.. with a joy that was somewhat inconsistent 
with its former utterances as to the 'New Deed.' But now we find 
it becoming dubious as to the palatability of its jubilation, and ex- 
pressing its displeasure oh reading that the N. Y. Y. C. has "succ- 
eeded in obtaining from the R. Y. S. a definite assurance that the 
Cup would be held according to the deed of gift.' In spite of the 
Field's denial that such is the case, the statement is by no means 
wide of the truth. In consenting to sign the receipt clause the R.Y. 
S. undertakes to hold the cup, if won, under the terms of the 
New Deed.' It may salve its amour propre by saying that tne con- 
ditions of the forthcoming races will govern the Cup when in its 
possession, but it seems difficult to see how, after honoring the 
receipt cluase, the club could say that it does not recognize the 
legality of the 'New Deed' from its inception. The significant 
persistence with which the N. Y. Y. C. has continued to attach the 
receipt clause to every communication dealing with the acceptanec 
of the Squadron's challenge completely estops the latter body from 
denying its complete recognition of the 'New Deed.' 
"We have already pointed out the exceedingly f alseposition which 
the Squadron will, and does, hold in relation to foreign yacht clubs 
with regard to the Cup. Nothing can alter this now that it has 
done exactly the same thing that has brought so much obloquy 
upon the New York Y. C. — arrogating to itself the right to hold 
the Cup in defiance of the terms of the original and valid deed of 
gift. This is the position in which the Squadron is placed, and even 
from its own point of view its action cannot be easily justified, for 
after signing an agreement to observe tne terms of the New Deed, 
in accordance with the receipt clause, may the club Dut any con- 
struction on the New Deed save such as it can strictly bear? That 
it has been induced to sign such an agreement by the concessions 
of the N. Y. Y. C, and that its intention is to hold the Cup under 
similar conditions as those agreed upon with Lord Dunraven, does 
not alter the fact that after signing a formal adoption of the New 
Deed the club must put a proper construction upon it Deeds can- 
not be varied at the sweet will of trustees, and therefore, even 
from the most agreeable point of view, the Squadron's faux pas is 
fraught witn unpleasant consequences." 
After the charges of Anglomania which some of our American 
contemporaries have made against the Forest and Stream, it is 
refreshing to be charged by an English journal with spread- 
eagleism, as it is quite evident that both charges cannot be true; 
and attempts to prove them so must naturally tend to prove them 
equally false. We cannot reproduce in full the Yachting World's 
editorials of Jan. 11 and 18; the above specimen must suffice, but 
there is nothing in them to suggest that careful and thorough 
study of the subject which is essential to a fair judgment, on one 
side or the other. On the contrary, as in the case of some of our 
opponents 'nearer home, there is every evidence of a hurried at- 
tempt to' fill space with something, whether right or wnrong, that 
will attract temporary attention. 
We would remind the Yachting World that the whole effect of 
the latest discussion of the new deed is to prove that British 
yachtsmen, as well as the yachting world at large, have no rights 
whatever in challenging for the America's Cup; but must present 
themselves humbly before the present holders with a polite re- 
quest that they be obliged to race. 
The fact that in this case, as in LS93, a race has been arranged on 
fair terms, has nothing to do with the principle involved. As soon 
as the New York Y. C. is tired of Cup racing for the time, it may 
fall back on the full text of the new deed and put a positive bar 
to all challenges. That fair conditions are being made to-day is 
only due to the absolute necessity on the part of the New York 
Yacht Club to obtain a challenge for the Cup; so far as the rights 
of British yachtsmen to demand a mutual agreement in which 
they shall be on the same plane as the holder, they are less to-day 
than in the days of Mr. Ashbury. 
The New Thames " One Design " Class- 
We are indebted to the Field for the accompanying design, 
made by Mr. Linton Hope, for the newly established Thames 
class, designed for racing and general knockabout work .on the 
Lower Thames. The boats, of which a dozen have already been 
ordered of Forrest & Sons, will be 20 ft. over all, 15 ft. 1. wl„ 6 ft. 
beam and 5 ft. draft with board down. The sail area will be 200 
sq. ft., giving a rating of 0.5; the jib, of the roller type used on the 
Solent, being comparatively large, though coming inside of the 
stemhead. The centerboard is of b-16 in steel and the rudder of 
1-8 in.; the latter housing in a well in the counter when in very 
shoal water. The comparatively small well and the bulkheads 
should make the boats very safe. They will be of ribband carvel 
build, planked with 3-8 in. stuff, and will cost, with sails of Union 
silk, oars, rowlocks, boat-hook, anchor and cable, but S215.00. It 
is hardly necessary to say that the idea of the promoters of the 
class is not to produce the fastest possible sailing machine on 15 ft. 
1. w. 1., but to promote racing for sometime at least, and in boats 
of moderate cost and of general utility. 
Minocqua— A Shoal Draft Cruiser. 
The accompanying drawings, for which we are indebted to Mr. 
G. Griffith Clapham, illustrate a specially serviceable type of 
cruiser, designed and'built by his father, Mr. Thomas Clapham, 
of Roslyn, Long Island.* 1 ; The Iboat.is^saf e, being practically non- 
capsizeable and unsinkable; she ,is of very light draft, moderate 
cost, and offers excellent accommodation. Rigged ,as shown, she 
is practically la single-hander;.she ;is, weatherly and speedy ;as a 
cruiser, and still faster with a racing [rig, as has been proved in a 
sister boat sent,Jout to;Buenos Ayres and successfully raced there. 
The dimensions, of Minocqua are;as.follows, additional particulars 
being given in Mr.'.Clapham's letter: 
Length over all 36ft.' 
l.w.1 28ft. 
B9am, extreme 8ft. 9in. 
Tw.l 7ft. 
Freeboard, lowest 1ft. 9in. 
Sheer, bow ™ 1ft. 6in. 
stern lin. 
Depth, rabbet to planksheer 3ft. 
Draft 1 2ft. 2in. 
with centerboard "5ft. 
Mainsail, area , 346sq. ft. 
Jib 192sq. ft. 
Mizen 118sq. ft 
Total 656 
Editor Forest and Stream: : The building of J the new 3d lit. 
class of racing yachts, which has been started by the progressive 
Larchmont Y. C, is evidently designed to encourage a class of 
more sensible cruising racers than have been seen in the last few 
years. While commending their action in a general way, I want 
to call your attention to the fact of what is really the most sensi- 
ble class of cruiser being barred out. It strikes me that in the 
first xfiace the class is a trifle too large and costly, as, after all, it 
will be mainly in the nature of an experiment. The second mis- 
take is made in encouraging such a heavy draft as is called for in 
a boat built in accordance with the rules in regard to depth under 
deck beams and cabin carlins. However, as the men who framed 
the rules know what they are after much better than I do, I will 
leave the subject of their rules and give you a description of a 
little yacht in which I did considerable cruising last summer, and 
whiehlis, to^ my mind, the embodiment of aRthat is essential in a 
cruiser. « 
The little"vacht Minoequa,Iowned°,hsC William. J. Starr,, and 
designed by Thomas Clapham,.was in^my hands last, season, and 
a brief description of one of my tripslin.her will show„ what,, she is. 
The yacht is yawl-rigged— and right "here I would like to.come.put 
strong in favor of this rig as being the best.I have ever used f or 
cruising purposes. About the middle of . last July I concluded 
to take a sail to Milford, Conn., and .though my wife is timid on 
the water, I prevailed upon her to accompany me with my little 
three-year-old girl. The main reasons! she .consented were that 
this yacht was uncapsizeable, unsinkable and comfortable, and 
so easily handled. All this^she had seen proven, as we had been 
on many a short ^sail in .the little craft, and had found that we 
could trust her in any weather. 
We made a late start from Glen ; Cove at 9:30 A. M., but there 
was no wind, and it wasjmerely.a drift until nearly 2 P. M. Then 
we had only gone about four miles, when a breeze came up from 
S. W., and we flew down |the Sound with an ever-increasing wind 
gathering f orce,in our. wake. ' -*> 
When off Bridgeport, it began to be rough, and the wind came 
in bunches, so I concluded that a reef would make it more com- 
fortable in rounding Stratford Point. Now, on a sloop yacht this 
would be a mean job, for I was sailing single-handed, so far as 
male help went, and that is the way to sail if you want to have the 
most genuine enjoyment; it is on a par with driving a spirited 
team and handling the ribbons yourself, as compared to sitting on 
a back seat and having a coachman do it for you. With my yawl 
rig, reefing was a very simple trick, and leaving the little girl in 
the cabin, where she was safe, my wife took the tiller, while 
I lowered the mainsail, a triangular one, light and easily handled. 
This was just what was needed, and without apparently diminish- 
ing our speed (for it was now blowing very- hard), we went along 
in as dry and comfortable a manner as could be wished for. At 
6:30 P. M. we had cast anchor way up in Milford Harbor, and all 
sails were furled. 
Though Minocqua only carries some 600 sq. ft. of sail, I would 
have very much enjoyed having some cutter of her size trying to 
keep in company with her on that run. The distance was about 
38 miles, so you can see she is a smart boat. 
On the way back, going out of Milford, another phase of the 
boat's handiness was shown. The channel is only some 60 ft. 
wide, with mud flats On each side. With a head wind, and not 
over-strong, I worked her out of this narrow way with only a 
little piece of the board down, and in several places the water was 
less than four feet deep. Minocqua draws 26 inches. Rounding 
Stratford on the way home, it was a beat to windward, and quite 
a sea on, with head tide. If I had been forced to go round outside 
the buoy, in the full sweep of the tide, it would have made a deal 
of difference in time. Knowing there was over five feet on the 
shoals, and secure in my light draft, I was able to keep well inside 
the buoy, and reached Bridgeport and was anchored with every- 
thing snug long before dark. Another and deeper craft, much 
larger and of greater draft, with which I had had it nip-and-tuck 
off the Point, kept outside, and when I lost sight of her in the 
darkness, was still bucking the tide and sailing a losing race with 
the red buoy, as a rule, I am not in favor of going inshore of the 
buoys; but when you are sure of your ground and have a light 
draft boat, it will often make a vast deal of difference, an advan- 
tage which a deeper craft would lose. 
Despite her light draft, I have never sailed on a dryer, more sea- 
» 'MINOCQUA "—Sail Flan. 
" MINOCQUA "-28FT. CRiSING YAWL— Designed by Thos. Clapham. 
