^AN. 13, IpdO.j 
7 
LOTUS, HALF-RATER, DESIGNED BY LINTON HOPE, ESQ.. 1895. 
Except , when she split- her keel, as stated, she was per- 
feetly tight; and I often got. no, more than, three or four 
spongefuls of water out of her in a week while she was 
at moorings. 
Another light and strong form of construction consists 
of two or more skins, without any timbers, except the 
usual floors and one or two at the mast. 
Sira, built for the French two-ton class, and owned by 
the lateMr.Ogden Goelet,was an example of this method; 
but, in her case, in addition to the usual inner diagonal 
skin, and outer fore and aft skin, she had a third trans- 
verse skin, from gunwale to gunwale inside the diagonal 
skin. 
She was 32ft. iiin. over all, and 8ft. beam, with a steel 
fin and bulb of half a ton, drawing 5ft., and she had about 
S5osq. ft. of canvas. 
The outer fore and aft skin was S-32in., the middle 
diagonal skin i-i6in.,and the inner transverse skin S-32in. 
at the keel, tapered to i-i6in. at the deck. _ Both the 
diagonal and transverse skins were carried right across 
under the keel in one, from side to side, and all three were 
mahogany. 
The total thickness, including two layers of painted 
cotton between the second and third and first and sec- 
ond skins, was just over ^in. at the keel and under 
5-i6in. at the deck. 
Unfortunately the transverse skin was only carried 
from the fore side of the rudder tube to 3ft. forward of 
the mast, and as she was very powerful and heavily bal- 
lasted she bulged in the bow planking once or twice in 
heavy seas; and it had to be timbered in the ordinary 
way to strengthen it, as it was then impossible to con- 
tinue the transverse skin after the other planking was 
on. If, however, the inner skin had been carried right 
forward up to the stem head in the first place, I feel sure 
she would have stood any amount of punching in a sea, 
as the part where the three skins were was not strained in 
any way. I much doubt if this form of construction was 
as light and strong as the one previously described, and 
the cost is far greater. Sira cost over £230 for labor 
and materials only. 
The chief advantages in the three skins are greater 
security against leakage and holes, and also less liability 
to "blow" or lose her shape; but, as I said before, Kismet 
neither leaked nor went out of shape; so there is nothing 
much in it, unless the boat has to be hauled up or 
beached a good deal, when it is a very much better style 
of construction than that of Kismet. The latter should 
be kept afloat as much as possible to prevent the seams 
opening, and of course she would have been smashed up 
in a minute on a beach which wciuld not daniage the 
three-skinned boat at all. 
I may mention that Sira had 15,000 fastenings in her 
skin alone, mostly i8-gauge copper pins. So the cost 
is not so surprising, when one considers the time these 
would take to put in, and also the labor in tapering each 
plank from 5-.32in. to i-i6in. for the transverse skin. 
I am afraid all these details are a bit dry to most sail- 
ing men, but they may interest the fast-increasing class 
of amateur boat builders. 
Mr. Hope is responsible for the statement that after 
his wonderful record in Kismet he thought it prudent to 
withdraw from racing on the strength of it, and has since 
taken to "wholesome cruisers." The fact seems to be 
that while interested for a brief time in the fad of racing 
machines and the development of extreme speed through 
the reduction of displacement and weight of construction, 
he is' too good a j^achtsman to be permanently satisfied 
with this class of work. Within the last three years he has 
designed, built and cruised in the little schooner Induna, 
of but i8ft. l.w.l., practically a canoe-yacht; and he has 
also taken up again canoe racing in the Royal Canoe 
Club, being successful both in designing and sailing. 
Lotus is notable from the excessive crown of the. fore 
deck, a veritable turtle back, and from her broad: shoal 
rudder, very dififerent from the shape used in this country. 
Chicago Yachts. 
Chicago, 111., Jan. 6. — Columbia Y. C, of Chicago, holds 
its preliminary meeting to-night for election of officers. A 
nominating committee will be chosen to select candidates 
for the forthcoming . annual election, which will follow 
within a few weeks. Eager interest attends the election 
this year,' and the freinds of rival candidates are busy. 
They say that Mr. Burt H. Whiteley, of Chicago Y. C, 
has for some time been casting about for a bigger, boat 
than Josephine, the trial race competitor which was built 
at Muncie, Ind., to enter the lists for the cup ultimately 
won by Genesee. In this venture was associated Mr. D. D. 
Griffiths, of this city, and it was Mr. Griffiths who was 
commissioned to keep a weather eye for a good boat on his 
trip East last fall. After looking about for some time, Mr. 
Griffiths is said to have decided that the old Glorianna of 
1891 would nicely fill the bill for the purpose required, 
and it is not unlikely that this famous boat will find its 
home at Chicago at no late date. Kestral, the more 
modern Fife boat, is probably . second choice. There is 
also said to be a general .looking over of a number of 
Eastern boats by Western yachtsmen, and it is at least 
possible that a purchase or so may be made beside that 
above suggested. : It appears that' more than a dozen 
good Eastern boats are listed for examination by .Chicago 
yachtsmen. E. H. 
YACHTING NEWS NOTES. 
The Yachtsman's Winter Number for 1899 is specially 
rich in illustrations, the colored cover being supplemented 
by an excellent picture, also . in colors, from a painting 
by Mr. John Fraser. There are also two full-page half- 
tones of the yachts- Kommodore and Bona Fide, and a 
number of very good pictures of smaller size. The de- 
signs include a 37-ton cruising yawl, by Mr. H. Wheatley 
Ridsdale; a cruising yacht of 32ft. l.w.l. and gft. Sin. beam, 
and the winning design of the tenth designing competition, 
a promising looking design by Mr. John Morton James, 
of Glasgow, for the very ugly 23ft. l.w.l. and 30ft. over all 
Clyde class. There is a good deal of interesting reading 
matter, and the whole book is handsomely printed. 
The annual dinner of the Seawnahaka Corinthian Y. C. 
was held at Sherry's on Jan. 6, Com. Rouse presiding. 
Among the guests were Capt. J. R. Bartlett, U. St N. ; 
Lt. Thos. C. Wood, U. S. N.; Com. J. P. Morgan, 
N. Y. Y. C. ; Com. C. A. Postley, Larchmont Y. C. Dur- 
