1S4 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Ato. H 1897. 
SEAWANHAKA INTERNATIONAL CHAL- 
LENGE CUP. 
Trial Races for Defense. 
{DOBVAL-LAKB ST. LOUIS. 
Aug. S, 3 and 5. 
The third contest for the Seawanhaka International cup 
has transferred the racing to entirely new waters, compara- 
tively unknown to the yachtsmen of "the Atlantic coast. As 
a strictly international contest, these races between the 
yachtsmen of the St. Lawrence and those of Long Island 
Sound are on quite a different footing from those of 1895, 
when one of the participants was a representative of the 
Thames and Solent racing; but if anything is lost in this re- 
spect, it is fully made up by the competition between the 
sailors on salt and those on fresh water. In water sports, at 
lease, political lines are very lightly drawn on the Lakes and 
the St. Lawrence; neither shore can boast of a distinctive 
national type in yachts, sailing boats or canoes; in both 
yachting and canoeing, as in the Lake Y. R. A. and the 
American Canoe Association, perfect harmony and commu- 
nity of interests exist, the two national ensigns always fly 
side by side, and when differences arise at times, the discus- 
sions are always on other than political lines. 
? The interest in the present races lies only to a limited ex- 
tent in the fact that the defender of the cup is a Canadian 
club. What is of much more importance is that this club is 
a purely local one, completely shut off by distance and 
natural ba.rriers from the yachting centers of both salt and 
freshwater, with no renowned designers, builders or sail- 
makers, to whom it could look for aid, and thrown com- 
pletelj;^ upon its own resources in every way. That under 
such circumstances it challenged the Seawanhaka Corin thian 
Y. C, created a fine trial fleet of 15-footers, and won the cup 
in a most creditable manner, is enough of itself to attract 
universal attention to the defense which it is now making of 
the international trophy. 
The Royal St. Lawrence Y. C. was organized as the St. 
Lawrence Y. C. in 1888 by a few residents of Montreal, who 
were interested in yachting, and accustomed to sailing on 
Lake St. Louis and the adjacent waters. Among the leaders 
were Messrs. Duggan, Hamilton, Greene, Clouston and 
Davidson, still active in the club. In 1891 the club was in- 
corporated, and in 1894 it was granted an Admiralty war- 
rant, authorizing it to prefix the word "Royal" to its name, 
and to fly the blue ensign over its fleet. 
Starting under many difficulties, with a mixed fleet of 
old yachts, no racing rules, and strong prejudices in favor 
of the old length rules and sandbag methods that prevailed 
in New York twenty years ago, the club from the first 
adopted a high standard and a progressive policy, and it has 
ever since lived up to them. The racing rules first adopted 
as a compromise were by degrees improved, until the rules of 
the Lake Y. R. A., identical with those of the Seawanhaka 
and other coast clubs, were adopted in toto. The fleet was 
gradually divided into systematized classes, which were 
strengthened by new yachts. 
As in many Canadian organizations, the question of fin- 
ances has always been an important one, and the building 
up of the fleet has been slow as compared with some of the 
younger coast clubs. 
At the same time the work, both in designing and sailing, 
has been purely Corinthian, and the club has proved an ex- 
cellent trainiiig-school for the young yachtsmen of Montreal. 
At first the young club had no station of its own, and ac- 
cepted the hospitality of the Valois Boat Club; the races 
were held at Yalois, Dorval, Lachine, Pointe Claire and 
other places on the north shore of Lake St. Louis, the mem- 
bers of the yacht club at that time belonging also to one or 
the other of the boating clubs of these localities, which clubs 
were, ten years ago, in a very prosperous condition. 
Finally the club secured a permanent location and house 
on the shore at Dorval, just above the island of that name. 
Here it has gone on from year to year, with a fairly good 
fleet of yachts from 80ft. downward, the older yachts being 
improved from time to time and new ones added. 
Its isolated position has protected it from the invasion of 
costly racing machines, and, though a few Burgess boats 
were built for its members at the time when Mr. Burgess 
first became known abroad, there has never been such com- 
petition as to induce the introduction of the modern racing 
machine. 
If the development has been slow under these conditions, 
on the other hand the club has suffered nothing from rapid 
outbuilding, and it has enjoyed regular and sustained racing 
of a popular sort for years. 
At the present time it has a membership of over 400, vnth a 
handsome property at Dorval, its winter headquarters being 
at Montreal. The question of a better club house has been 
discussed for several years, and this year, of necessity, in 
view of the international races, it has been settled by the 
erection of a large and well appointed house at the edge 
of the lake. Owing to various delays — in particular the wet 
weather of last spring— the house is now barely completed , 
and will be by no means in exhibition order, but the club 
has spared no effort to entertain the expected visitors from 
the States. 
Beautiful as it is, with its picturesque green shores and 
blue waters, Lake St. Louis is by no means an ideal yacht- 
ing ground, the bottom is too painfully near the top, and 
also is far too liberally strewn with boulders, rolled about 
into new positions by the ice each winter. While the lake 
is in the main but an expansion of the great St. Lawrence 
River, it is at the same time the point of junction of the 
Ottawa River, whose two mouths come in above and below 
Isle Perrot, the latter just above Pointe Claire. The double 
result is a swift and variable current and various sand bars 
of more or less permanent shape. While deep water can be 
found in the channels and good courses can be laid out, the 
entire north shore of the lake, off Pointe Claire, Valois and 
Dorval, is very shoal. This is the case immediately in front 
of the club house, where a pier runs out for several hundred 
feet with a depth of little over a fathom at the end. As a 
matter of convenience, the regular club races are started off 
this pier, the buoy forming one angle of a triangle, but this 
course is by no means free from shoals and rocks, especially 
just about the starting line. 
The anchorage of the fleet is directly off the club house, 
the shoaler boats lying inshore under the lee of this pier, but 
many of the boats are kept by their owners at different 
points about the lake. A railway leads from the water into 
a very large shed with a high arched roof, built several 
years ago for the storage of yachts and for building. The 
lawn between the road and the house is laid off in tennis 
courts, and there are stables for teams. The shore on either 
side of the club property is covered with summer houses, the 
summer homes of residents of Montreal, twelve miles distant 
by train. 
At the time of the Spruce-Ethelwynn races the Royal St. 
Lawrence Y. C. had nothing of the half-rater type in its 
fleet; the racing was mainljr in the 35ft., 30ft. and "A" Class 
(over 30ft.). There was a I6£t. class, with some centerboard 
and some fin-keel boats, but all of these were of the cruiser 
rather than the racer type, and in model, construction, fit- 
tings and rig very; far below the standard of Spruce IIII., 
JLthelwynn and Trilby. 
When the club came to look at the cold, hard facts before 
it after the very prompt acceptance of its hasty if not rash 
•challenge to the Seawanhaka Corinthian Y. C, the outlook 
was rather discouraging. The successful defenders of the 
<;up were at least a season ahead in experience, and they had, 
In a,ddition to the Herreshoffs, competent designers, both 
amateur and professional, many skillful builders and sail- 
makers, and almost everything needed in the way of fittings. 
In addition to this, while the challenger was practically lim- 
ited by circumstances to such boats as the club itself could 
produce, the defender was sure of a large outside attendance 
at its trial races. 
There was in all Canada no professional designer, no con- 
cern similar to the Herreshoffs, to- turn out a complete chal- 
lenger, and there was not about Montreal one competent 
boat builder or sailmaker, while the canvas, wire, cordage 
and fittings for the modern racing machines were not to be 
had short of the States, which national pride forbade, or of 
England, with delay and inconvenience in importing the in- 
numerable small trifles needed on a racing 15-footer. 
In what at first appeared to be a serious emergency, the 
club had only itself to rely on, but the members came to the 
front in a most spirited manner. The main work of design- 
ing fell naturally upon Mr. Duggan, a particularly clever 
amateur designer, a very skillful boat handler, posted in a 
general way, as far as distance admitted, with the general 
current of designing work in the States and England; and 
with an experience in designing which, if limited in scope to 
pretty much one local type, such as Valda and Xania, cov- 
ered many years of comoiHEd work at the drawing board in 
winter and the helm in summer. Closely associated with 
Mr. Duggan, was his first mate, Mr. Shearwood, the two 
being mechanical engineers and in the same firm, mates in 
numerous canoe races about the lake for years, swinging the 
single blade in tandem races and winning many prizes; and 
also shipmates in Valda, Xania and other racing yachts. 
Mr. Shearwood's work, as lieutenant to Mr. Duggan, began 
as calculator and assistant draftsman in the winter, and 
continued as "crew" through the races, both on Lake St. 
Mr. Duggan, Mr. Shearwood making all the calculations, a 
very extensive task, as it was carried out in eight or ten de- 
signs, some merely studies. He also helped with the draft- 
ing. Mr. Poe took charge of the blocks and fittings in the 
Montreal shop, with the business part of the Dorval shop, 
and the practical management of the latter was in Mr, 
Wicksteed's hands. All details of design, construction and 
fitting up were constantly discussed by the four throughout 
the fall, winter and spring. Mr. Wicksteed gave his entire 
time to his part of the work, but the other thi'ee were also 
engaged very fully by their regular occupations, with which 
cups, challenges and yacht races have nothing whatever to 
do. The work of designing was carried on with the utmost 
thoroughness and system; every set of lines was carefully 
drawn, not only in the usual upright position, but the 
necessary level and diagonal lines were plotted with the hull 
inclined to the average sailing angle, and calculations of dis- 
placement and centers made for this position. Stability cal- 
culations were also made, and every design which was built 
from was studied as thoroughly as possible on paper and by 
figures. When it came to the question of materials, every 
block, shackle and fastening was tested to the breaking 
point at the shops of the Dominion Bridge Co., of which Mr. 
Duggan is superintendent. In connection with the actual 
building of the hulls, it is interesting to note that the small 
but efl^cient force of the shop did not include one profes- 
sional boat builder, the best mechanic of the lot being a pat- 
tern-maker and millwright, who was taught to build boats 
by Mr. Wicksteed, The company was fortunate in securing 
the services of an excellent rigger and all-around man, a 
Norwegian sailor. 
The new boats built in the club for the 20ft. class are as 
follows: 
aOjTT. FLEET, ROYAL ST. LAWRENCE Y. C, 1897. 
Name. Owner, 
Gleneairn II Com. James Ross, , , 
Avoca ...G. H. Duggan 
...G, 
Designer. 
H. DuRga 
H. Dusrera 
Rogue Allun, Almon and Riddell G. H. Duggan 
Islander A. Hamilton et al... G. H. Duggan 
Maida , Young & Wallace... G. H. Duggan 
Millie ., Rev, Hy. Kittson Geo. A. Kittson,.,. 
LalagS.., J. B.Abbott 1 Cuthbert 
Bonshaw Emilias Jarvis jEmilius Jarvis, . .. 
Length 
Overhang, 
Builder. 
over all. 
L.W.L. 
Bow. 
Stern. Beam 
Yacht Co. of Canada. 
...3'3.2 
17.4 
7.9 
7 
8.1 
Yacht Co. ot Canada, 
...tz.\y, 
16.9 
8.6 
7.10 
8.4 
Yacht Co. of Canada. 
...3S.8 
17.1 
8.a 
8.6 
Yacht Co. of Canada. 
,,.31.1 
17.7 
7.1 
6.5 
9" 
Yacht Co. of Canada. 
..,33.8 
18.2 
7.7 
C.ll 
7 
Yacht Co. of Canada, 
i7'.5 
5",3 
6.ii 
Cuthbert 
■ • • • 
t • t ■ 
s"' 
■ • • • 
7 
Draft. 
5^in. 
6Hin. 
3ft. 
4iu. 
S.A. 
473 
483 
488 
416 
498 
496 
Louis and Long Island Sound. With these two was Mr. 
Poe, an old member of the club, a canoeist and yachtsman, 
and ma,nager of a machine shop, that of the Linotype Co., 
engaged in a high class of work, the construction of type- 
setting machines. While the questions of design and con- 
struction were regularly debated by the three from the start 
Mr. Poe's special task was the designing and construction 
of the metal work and fittings. 
While the practical details of the work were mainly in the 
hands of these three gentlemen, the other members of the 
club were not idle; a fleet of sixteen of the new yachts were 
ordered, crews selected, and all possible arrangements were 
made for the thorough working up and trial of the fleet. 
The details of the construction and racing of the 15ft. class 
were given last year in the FOREST AND STREAM, and need 
not be repeated now; as every yachtsman knows, the efforts 
of the club and its members met with that success which 
they so well deserved; the result being that this year the 
club was placed in a defensive po.sition, and under the neces- 
sity of creating an entirely new fleet of larger yachts. 
While the conditions were much less trying than in 1895-6, 
there were, nevertheless, serious difficulties. In the matter 
of design, both in construction as well as form, Mr. Duggan 
had shown himself, in Gleneairn, decidedly the master of his 
opponents in the States, but there was still no one to build 
the boats or to make the sails. The IS footers were either 
built at a distance — in Toronto or Brockville — or by work- 
men sent to Montreal from the former place, both methods 
being unsatisfactory when extreme light construction was 
desired. The club had for several years tried, without suc- 
cess, to find a good builder who would lease its ways and 
shop and build on the premises. Most of our readers are 
familiar with the designs and writings of Mr. H. K. Wick- 
steed, of Cobourg, Canada, an old canoeist, cruiser, single- 
hander and a very skillful designer of cruising craft, Mr. 
Wicksteed, by profession a civil engineer and an expert in 
railway work, was idle last summer, and, besides attending 
the international races at Oyster Bay, he gratified his pm- 
ehant for amateur work by building several small yachts at 
Cobourg. Being intimately acquainted with Mr, Poe, who 
originally hailed from Cobourg, and with the other Dorval 
men, he finally decided to undertake the building of the new 
fleet, he and Mr. Poe, under the name of the Yacht Company 
of Canada, taking a lease of the grounds and shed, and start- 
ing in to build yachts and make the fittings. 
Under this new arrangement the four— all purely amateurs 
— worked together in the production of the 20-footers, with 
results that would show, creditably beside the output of any 
concern on either side of the Atlantic, when the use, quality 
and cost are all considered. 
The main work of the designing or planning, was left to 
With differences in dimensions, as shown in the above 
table, and the accompanying differences in model, the new 
boats may all be classed as of the type of Gleneairn I., Mr. 
Duggan's final 15-footer of last year, the winner of the cup.v 
With a range of beam of from 7ft. in Islander to 9ft. in 
Rogue, the difference in midship section was necessarily very 
great, and with the experience of last season and the differ- 
ences necessitated by the change to a larger class, with less 
sail and a crew of three, many changes were made from the 
original Gleneairn, but still the leading characteristics were 
retained. 
The general appearance of the two leading boats of the 
Duggan fleet, Gleneairn II. and Avoca, is well shown in the 
photos. The underwater body shows a flat and wide floor, 
the flat carried fore and aft from bow to transom, this flat 
floor being joined to a strongly flaring topside by a round 
bilge that is approximately a quarter of a circle. This gen- 
eral form of section, carried as far fore and aft as possible, 
the round of the bUge being plainly visible in Gleneairn II 
within a couple of feet of the stemhead, is the leading 
motive of the design; but as the result of careful drawings 
and calculations in the first place, backed by trial of the pre- 
vious boats in the case of Gleneairn II., each design has a 
distinct individuality of its own, and one is in no way a mere 
chance change from another. Naturally the most interest- 
ing of the fleet is the new Gleneairn, and a description of her 
will answer nearly enough for the others. 
Her sheer plan above water is well shown in the photos, 
the stem is carried out to a good length, thus avoiding a 
bowsprit and giving a better chance to work in shifting 
headsails; the line of keel runs down quite straight, with no 
indication of a hollow about the fore end of the L.W.L. to 
"cheat the rule," and it sweeps into a slight curve under the 
middle of the boat, rising again in a straight line to the 
transom. The height of deck at the stemhead is 1ft. 7in.; at 
the lowest point 1ft. Sin., and at the transom 1ft. 4in., thus 
giving a rather high side and a handsome and shipshape 
sheer. 
The transom in Gleneairn is sguare and vertical, made 
thus because the time did not admit of the working out of 
something more elaborate. In Avoca, the transom has a 
slight round, but so slight as to be unnoticed at a short dis- 
tance, and it is really no more sightly than that of Gleneairn. 
Glenowen has the best transom of the lot, tucked in on deck 
and with a good sweep and on a rake; Islander is similarly 
finished. The very peculiar counter seen an Gleneairn I, last 
year has not been repeated on any of the new boats. 
One marked feature of the fleet is the turtleback deck, 
Gleneairn and Avoca having each a crown of Tin. at the mast. 
In the former boat some care has been taken to disguise this, 
and with good results; though extreme, it is not unsightly. 
Vlf-- 
Cma/^t or Cou^e. j^'. 
