84 
FOREST AND STREAM 
f Jmor 11, 1896,. 
Cold Sprmg, 
CHART OF LONG ISLAND SOUND YACHTING COURSES. 
The 15ft. Class of 1896. 
The new 15ft. class of 1896,88 represented by the starters in the 
recent trial races of the Seawanbaba Corinthian Y. C. to select a de- 
fender for its international challenge cnp, is not only the largest in 
point of numbers ever known in this country, but is one of the most 
unique and interesting. It is impossible to eRtimate closely the true 
number of boats built for it this year in all parts of the country, but 
the 27 entries for the trial races represent probably not over 20 per 
cent, of the total. Many of these small craft are of a class distinct 
from the racers, designed and built for general use, cruising, galling 
and for racing in local classes, the main consideration in most of 
them being cost, with a limit of 8175 up to $350. the former for such 
"one design" boats as those of the Tappan Zee Y. 0., the Winthrop 
Y. C. and the New York C. C; the latter for boats of superior desien 
and construction, such as the smaller size of Scarecrow and La Gloria, 
built bv the Spalding-St. Lawrence Boat Co, from a standard and not, 
a special design, but in which a low cott is not the first desideratum. 
Outside of these are many boats built from special designs and nom- 
inally at least of racing build and fitting. 
There are two plain fac's about this class which are not fully recog- 
nized by the generality of yachtsmen and writers: that the class is 
purely English In its origin and as purely American in its present com- 
position. It had its beginning last year in the construction of Echel- 
wynn. Trilby, Olita, Indienne and Question to meet the English yacht 
Spruce IIIL The latter was designed under the then existing rating 
rule of the British Y. R. A. to a rating of 0 5, and raced in England 
during the early part of the season in the half rating class. Under 
the terms of the agreement between the Seawanhaka C. Y. C. and the 
Minima Y. C, the races in this couDtry were to be sailed under the 8. 
O. Y. C. rule, with a limit of 15ft. racmg length in place of 0 5 rating. 
This agreement was to the advantage of Spruce lUl., as it enabled her 
to increase her sail plan for the lighter cocdiUons of Long Island 
Sound as compared with the Solent. It was also advantageous in that 
It encouraped a rather larger hull than would have been possible here 
under the Y. R. A. rule, as lo keep withiu ihe measurement of 0.5 and 
yet have sail enough it would have been necessary to reduce the 
Vaterline to under 14ti. Tnis agreement as to the use of the Seawan- 
haka measurement and class resulted in the production of a shorter 
and more powerful yacht than the true half-rater. Prior to last sea- 
son there were in this country no regular racing 15-footers (though 
there were a few cruising boats of about that measurement), and only 
two half-raters. One of these was the handsome little fln-keel de- 
signed and built by A. E. Payne for the steam yacht Sagamore ; the 
other, Trust Me, was built by the Herreshoffs, not for racing, but 
merely as a handy craft for afternoon sailing on the Hudson, the 
moulds of the half- rater Wee Winn, designed in 1892 for the Solent 
class, being tised. 
At the present time the half rating class is extinct in Great Britain, 
not only nominally, but actually. When the rating rule was abolished 
last fall to make way for what is called the "linear rating," the classes 
were so rearranged as to produce a larger boat, both in length and sail 
area. From the measurements published of the new boats of the 
18ft. linear rating class they will measure 16 to 17ft. by the Seawan- 
haka rule, and at the same time they would in all probability require 
a larger sail plan for American waters, thus far outclassing the pres- 
ent 15ft. fleet The same is true of the new 24ft. linear rating class, as 
compared with the corresponding American class of 20ft. racing 
length. This reversal is ratner to be regretted, as it must operate to 
a certain extent against such international racing as that inaugurated 
by the challenge or Spruce lUI. If, as we hope, the cup may again be 
successfully defendeu this year, a challenge from Mr. Linton Hope 
may be looned for in 1897; but it will be necessary for him to build a 
special boat for the purpose, and he cannot test her fully in the home 
racing, as she will inevitably be too small for even racing in the 18rt. 
class. It is a mattpr for regret, that when the Y. R. A. rule was 
amended last year the work could not have been done in some connec 
tlon with the American clubs, in order that the rules of the two 
countries might be brought closer together rather than being moved 
further apart. ,« ^ 
The Americon 15-footer of this year stands between the old half-rater 
and the new 18-footer, but is distinctly different from both, and there 
is no valid reason for the Anglomaniacal affection of misnaming it a 
"half- rater." 
There was material for at least a week's study in the fleet anchored 
in Seawanhaka Harbor en the morning of June 28; in fact so great a 
variety of features in design, construction, rig and fittings has never 
been brought together in the history of yachting. The small class on 
the Clyde and the Solent is more or less stereotyped in design, rig 
and corstructlon; and the best built-up of American classes, the 40- 
footers, was much siuaHer in numbers and more uniform in detail 
.than this fleet of midgets. In the hurry of the racing but little op- 
portunity was afiPorded to study the various boats closely and to as 
certain their correct dimensions, 'but still very much could be gleaned 
by the careful observer. The dimensions were difHcult to obtain in 
many cases; but few of the boats had been measured, so that bo^h 
sail area and waterline were unknown even to their owners. In 
nearly all the nominal dimensions were about 14ft. 6in. l.w.l., with 
240?q ft. of sail. The two notable exceptions were Kittie nil. and 
Knot In It, whose nominal waterlines were about lOf r., with sail areas 
of nearly 400sq. ft. Just what the true figures are will not be knowii 
until the boats are meaf^ured for some future race. 
It is by no means an easy matter to sort out and classify such a 
mixed fleet; but we shall venture to do it on an original basis, as fol- 
lows: Bulb fin type, centerboard type, scow type, one-design classes, 
freaki-, Manowtasquok. This classification may be objected to as not 
strictly scientific, but any one who thinks that he can improve on it 
under the circumstances is quite at liberty to rearrange the names. 
The yachts themselves we shall group as follows: 
Bulb- fin type: Riverside, Trilby. Saghaya. Microbe. 
Centerboard ivpe: Ideal, Two Step, Die Hexe, Maudeen, Yola, Ul- 
mec, TerrapiD. Vesper, Nit. 
Scow type: El Heirie, Paprika, Quf stion, Hope. Willada, Columbia. 
One-design yachts: Florence, Nike, Isabel, Tornado, Cyclone. 
Freaks: Kittie IIIII,, Knot In It. 
Manowtaequok: Manatasquok. 
BULB-FIN TTPB. 
Taking first the bulb-fins. Riverside, the new Olmstead boat, was 
described last week. Mr. ( Imstead'n fln-beel of last year, Trilby, has 
been much improved this season, and under the handling of Mr. P. B. 
Jones has made a very good showing in the fleet. The new boat is to 
all appearances an improved Trilby of moderate proportions, with no 
extreme or freak features and like Trilby a very shapely boat to the 
eye Mr. Olcn stead has declined to accept the popular verdict, with 
which we have fully concurred, that the bulb-fin had no chance of 
success In this small class, and has done much to prove the correct- 
ness of the other view. He certainly deserves great credit for the at- 
tempt to test this question thornughly, and for the manner In which 
it has been carriea out; the yacht was constructed urder his personal 
supervision and he steered her in all the races. In fitting she has no 
bulkheads, but is all open belcw; the well is oblong, with square cor- 
ners and straight sides, and Is ju t large enough for the two men In 
bad weather it can be completely cohered by a watertight hatch 
leaving the men to sit on deck ins de or outside of the coaming. The 
rig is a simple boom and gaff mainsail and a "Wilson jib without a clul). 
The gear is very simple. The mainsail Is of Union silk. Trilby has al- 
ready been described, aiin-keel of normal type with boom and gafi" rig. 
Saghaya was designed and built by Seabury & Co. at Nyack, and is a 
well-shaped boat, with no freak or extreme features. She is of double 
skin construction, with bright topsides of pine or cedar and a green 
bottom. The two skins are united by a great many fastenings which 
show when under way, as in the old Herald canoes. This method 
does hold the two skins thorouebly, but is not pleasing tothe^ye. 
The boat had a boom and gaff rig and a very long open well from the 
mast aft, a bad feature in a sea. Microbe was not eligible for.the 
trial races and did not start, but as she is one of the class and saila ih 
the regular Sound races she may properly be raentioned hei-e. She 
is ore of the handsomest boats in the class, having that finish peculiar 
to English boats, seen here twenty-five years ago in the first canoes 
imported from the Thames. She is now brand new, having been in 
the water only a couple of weeks, and looks better than she will 
after a thorough baking by a July sun, but as she stands she is well 
worth looking at. She was designed and built by Sibbick, of Cowes, 
for Herbert B. Seeley, of the Larchmont Y. C , and apparently is of 
the last year's type of half-rater, with a very small sail plan and a lug 
mainsail, so miscalled, as the British lug sail of the past few years is 
nothing more nor less than a modified sliding Gunter sail, TheVard 
is vertical, up and down the mast, the resultlaeing a sail very similar 
in appearance to the Scarecrow rig of Ethelwynn, Ideal and Bogie, 
but with greater weight aloft and less effectiveness and convenience 
of handling. The fin rakes aft and the bulb overhangs, as in Wave 
and May, the Sibbick one-raters. The planking and decking are of 
Spanish cedar in single thickness and apparently ribband cai'vel con- 
struction. The wire ty^ of the yard leads down through the deck to a 
tackle fast to the keel at the heel of the mast. The spars are of b/am- 
bOO. _ • • - : . ■ 'il-v. 
CENTKRBOARD TYPE, I . , 
The winning yanht of last year was absent from these races, but was 
represented by two younger sisters, one being an exact duplicate and 
the other practically the same with an increase of Sin. in the beam. 
Two Step, the handsome boat exhibited by the Spaldlng-St, Lawrence 
Boat Co. at the Sportsmen's Exhibition, was built fro^ the same 
moulds as Ethelwynn, and rigged in the same manner with a little 
more sail. She has been under sail longer than- any others of the new 
boats, but has not been tried with the others, havinig sailed entirely 
alone except in three races. Not being satisfted y?ltli the, leg p'muijton 
Hope. Trilby. Kittle. 
Paprika. Vesper. - EI Heirie.. 
AT THE FIRST MABK— PIHST' RACE. 
Copyright, 1896, J&y Jv^. ' Johnston N, Y. 
Wlllada. 
lu U, 
