B$6 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
A Fin-Keel Raeeabout. 
For several years past the knockabout, originally a 
keel boat of moderate section, has been a fin-keel m all 
but construction, the newer raceabout being quite as 
extreme. The recent change of the rule has made it pos- 
sible to build a true fin-keel, a canoe hull with separate 
metal fin, and the first boat of this type, designed by 
Mr. B. B. Crowninshield, of Boston, will be seen this 
season- in the raceabout class. She is described as fol- 
lows by W. E. Robinson in the Boston Globe: 
Two very interesting additions to the raceabout fleet 
this season will be the boats which Crowninshield has de- 
signed, one of which is for C. H. W. Foster and the 
other for Crowninshield himself, to succeed his last year s 
Pirate, which captured the class championship from a 
fleet of half a dozen new and as many old boats. The 
Foster boat will be interesting from the fact that she 
will be the first fin-keel ever built for the class, while the 
Crowninshield boat will attract attention from the im- 
provements sought over last year's champion. Added 
interest to both will be given for the reason that they 
are designed under the new rule of the Knockabout As- 
sociation, which does away with the requirement of a 
definite amount of ballast and demands only that the 
boats do not fall below a specified minimum weight or 
displacement. 
It is, in fact, this new rule th.it allows the fin-keel to 
come into the class with a fair chance of winning, for the 
type was practically barred under the rule demanding 
3,Soolbs. of outside ballast. By the minimum displace- 
ment rule the designer may put his weight either in the 
hull or in the ballast, as he pleases, so long as his boat 
has the requisite s.goolbs. of displacement. He is pre- 
vented from building a boat of light construction by the 
same scantling restrictions that have been in force for 
several years past and that have produced boats of rea- 
sonable solidity and strength, but he is given a little more 
liberty in design than before, and can now vary to a cer- 
tain extent the factors that go to make up the total 
weight. 
Advantage of the new rule has been taken by Mr. Fos- 
ter to build a fin-keel for the reason that the type has 
always been a favorite with him, and because he likes to 
try experiments, particularly where he has a chance of 
success, as seems to be the case at present. 
The framers of the new rule desired that experiments 
should be made, with a view to securing the fastest pos- 
sible boat under the restrictions, and Mr. Foster is 
Iielping them out. They beheved, though, that nothing 
of safety or convenience would be sacrificed by changing 
the rule, and their expectations in this direction seem 
likely to be fulfilled, for there is nothing in the Foster 
design that indicates a lessening of the good qualities of 
the class, while at the same time there is promise of addi- 
tional speed. 
For his own use Crowninshield adheres to the_ type 
he has developed by successive seasons of experience, 
and it will be an added feature of interest to see how his 
own ideas compare with those he has worked out for 
Mr. Foster. The two boats will therefore be closely 
watched, not only for their sailing with the rest of the 
fleet, but for their sailing as against each other. 
The /Trowninshield boat is 31ft. loin. over all, 20ft. 
iiin. water line, 7ft. 7^in. extreme breadth, 7ft. 2j4in. 
water line breadth, and sft. 6in. draft. She will carry 
3,55olbs. of lead on her keel and will have the 600 sq. ft, 
of sail allowed under the restrictions. 
As compared with Pirate, last year's champion, she 
has lower and longer ends, about lin. more beam and 
2in. greater draft. She also shows a trifle more fullness 
in the water lines both forward and aft, and in general 
a further attempt to get the greatest length when heeled 
that is possible under the rules. There is also a slight 
difference in the lateral plane to secure a better disposi- 
tion of the lead and a little less wetted surface. 
The weight of the lead is carried to the lowest possible 
point by flaring the sides of the keel outward toward 
the bottom of it, so that the widest part is lowest down, 
as in Columbia and other fast boats, both large and small. 
The keel is about loin. thick at its widest point. The 
shape of the keel and of the lateral plane promise excel- 
lent power for holding on in turning to. windward. 
The hull of the boat shows the easy round of the 
bilge, the slight rise in the floor and the sharp turn at the 
garboard that have been characteristic of the fast boats 
in the class, and with the long and easy sweep of the 
fore and aft lines, promises easy driving at high speed 
as well as good lifting power and stability in a sea way. 
Unlike last year's boats this one will, have no cabin 
house, but simply a cockpit with a coam ng of the usual 
height. Her frames are of oak and her planking a single 
. thickness of mahogany, which will be finished bright. 
Her sail plan will be of the high and narrow type that 
has been proved to be the most elTective. . 
Altogether, she is a very promising successor to Pirate, 
and should be decidedly faster. 
The Foster boat is 31ft. itin. over all, 20ft. loj^in. 
water line, 7ft. 8^in. extreme breadth, 7ft. gin. water 
line breadth and 5ft. 6in. draft. Her fin is of S/gin. Tobin 
bronze, and is 4ft. long. The lead bulb at the bottom 
of the fin is Sft. 6in, long and ift. thick in its widest part. 
Its forward end is flush with the fin, but its after end 
projects ij^ft. beyond it._ This is done to secure the 
proper balance, while cutting away the fin to save wetted 
surface. There are 2,95olbs. of lead in the bulb, and the 
•shape is such as to offer the least possible resistance to 
forward motion. 
In model the boat shows a shoaler hull, harder bilge 
and flatter floor than the new Pirate, as well as a square 
instead of a curved garboard, all of which changes are 
necessary parts of the fin keel design, as against the 
semi-fin hitherto developed. The lines are very easy, 
though, and because of her form the boat should lose 
nothing in stabilitv by reason of less outside lead than 
her competitor. She will carry about soolbs. of inside 
lead for fore and aft trimming. 
A novel and interesting feature of the boat's design is 
one that permits her fin to be shifted forvyard and aft so 
that her best trim and balance may be obtained by care- 
ful experimenting. The fin is bolted to angle irons that 
in tura are bolted firmly to the oak keel. The bolts in 
the fin are 6in, apart, wliile in the angle irons are holes 
,3m. apart, so that the fin can be shifted 3in. at a time in 
either direction desired. Of course the boat must be 
hauled out to make the change, but a record of perform- 
ances with the fin in varying positions will in the end 
give the desired results. 
In hull construction the boat is the same as the other, 
except that she is double instead of single planked. 
There is practically no difference in the sail plans. 
A novel feature common to both boats is that their 
masts can be shifted 6in. either forward or aft to secure 
the best possible balance in saihng. The shift cannot, 
of course, be made under sail any more than can a shift 
of the fin in the Foster boat, but experiments can be 
made and the results noted. Both boats will be under 
sail long before the racing season opens, so that their 
owners will have time to experiment and to secure what 
seeftis to be the most satisfactory results. 
A French Sharpie. 
We copy from the French journal the Yachting 
Gazette the accompanying design of a little sharpie, 
which is very much superior in the matter of appearance 
at least to most of the scow type ; the sheer plan and top- 
itnkss she is sufficiently buoyant to support herself with 
her ballast and crew; and in all cases the garboards and 
keel must be the lowest part of the hull ; having once sailed 
as a yacht in any race, a boat is barred from the skiff 
races. The skiffs are measured by the Seawanhaka rule, 
except that the sails are measured by the Y. R. A. method, 
and the class limits are i8ft., i6ft. and isft. The first, or 
iSft., class, is limited to 25ft. over all, and a minimum 
breadth of 6ft., no limit of freeboard; the second class to 
2^ft. over all, a minimum breadth of 5ft. 2in., minimum 
freeboard of I2in. and a sail area of 330 sq. ftv; the third 
class to 17ft. over all, minimum breadth of 4ft., minimum 
freeboard of gin., and not over 250 sq. ft. of sail. In the 
larger classes the placing of the rudder is optional, but 
in the third class it must be hung outboard. 
This year a new "special ballasted class" has been estab- 
lished, the over all length being limited to 25ft. 6in., the 
l.w.l. to i6ft., the breadth to a minimum of 6ft., the free- 
board to a minimum of isin. and the sail area to 33 sq. ft. ; 
each boat carrying at least 6oolbs. of ballast either as a 
fixed keel, inside ballast or weighted centerboard. The 
draft with crew of three on board is limited to 4ft. in keel 
boats and 6ft. for centerboards of not more than 20olbs. 
weight, all heavier boards being limited to 4ft. 
The construction is also limited, the i8ft. class having 
J^in. planking and an average section of frames of i i-i6in. 
square to each foot ; the i6ft. class having 5^in. planking 
and lin. square; the iSft, ^in. planking and ^in. square, 
and the ballasted class J^in. planking and i%'m. square for 
the middle of the boat with a reduction at the ends. The 
18ft. class is allowed a crew of four and the other classes 
three all told. The present officers are: Pres.. F. E. 
Walker, Victoria Y. C. ; Vice-Pres., R. Thos. Cuff, R. T. 
S. S. C. ; Hon. Sec'y-Treas., Guy F. Judd, Royal Hamil- 
ton Y. C. ; Ex. Com., T. Riley. F. Birely, G. F. Craw- 
ford. E. K. M. Wedd, R. Slee, T. A. E. World and W. 
A. Watts. The Association has now- two perpetual chal- 
lenge cups, the Walker cup and the Kiteley cup, for the 
i6ft. and the isft. classes respectively. 
sides having a very shipshape look. The yacht was built 
at Angers for Mr. M. Marquis, her dimensions being: 
Over all iQ^t. Sin. 
L.W.L 14ft. gin. 
Beam 5ft. 71"- 
Draft- 
Hull Sin. 
With ^ board 2ft. gin. 
Sail area 190 sq. ft. 
The Lake Sailing Skiff Association* 
The sailing of small open boats has always been_ a 
favorite amusement of the yachtsmen of Lake Ontario, 
and the "skiff'" has long been a popular institution on 
Toronto Bay and Burlington Bay (Hamilton). The term 
itself has at times been subjected to pretty hard use, being 
made to cover almost any sort of small craft from the 
shapely St. Lawrence skiff to the most extreme form of 
scow and pumpkin-seed. At the present time the racing 
of the mosquito fleet along the west end of Ontario is 
YACHTING NEWS NOTES. 
Elsa IL, steam yacht, E. R. Dick, arrived at Havana 
on April 18. 
8^ 8^ 1^ 
The Mobile Y. C, of Mobile, Ala., has elected the fol- ■ 
lowing officers: Com., T. G. Bush; Vice-Com., Thomas 
L. Cook; Sec'y and Treas., William E. Mickle, Jr.; Gov- 
erning Committee. F. E. Overall, T. E. Hogg, T. A. 
Chamberlain; Meas., M. J. Parker. 
J? 
Mongoose, knockabout, has been sold by Simeon Ford 
to Mrs. Loiiise L. Starr, of Philadelphia, who will use 
her about Islesboro, Me. 
1^ 85 ^ 
Enterprise, steam yacht, Messrs. F. C, and Nelson 
Perin, of Baltimore, will sail shortly on a long cruise 
to the Mediterranean and through the Red Sea. 
1^ ^ 
Endymion, schr., George Lord Day, arrived at New 
York on April 18 after a cruise in the West Indies, hav- 
ing sailed from New York on Jan. 31. She will refit for 
a cruise in British waters and possibly as far as the 
Baltic. 
8^ 
A meeting of the Corinthian Y. C, of Marblehead, was 
held at the Parker House, Boston, on April 20, Com. 
Butler Ames being re-elected, with D. C. Percival, Jr., 
as Vice-Com. The following amendments to the racing 
rules were adopted: 
All races and yachts sailing therein shall be under the 
direction of the regatta committee of the club or of judges 
appointed by them. All matters shall be subject to their 
approval or control and all doubts, questions and dis- 
putes shall be subject to their decision. Their decisions 
shall be, based upon these rules so far as they will apply; 
but as no rules can be devised capable of meeting CA^ery 
incident and accident of sailing, the regatta committee 
shall keep, in view the ordinary customs of the sea and 
A FRENCH SHARPIE, 
under the care of the Lake Sailing Skiff Association, 
organized in 1893, and the boats are safeguarded by a 
number of salutary restrictions. The Association in- 
chides the Royal Canadian Y. C, Queen City Y. C, Royal 
Toronto Sailing Skiff Club and National Yacht and Skiff 
Club, all of Toronto; the Royal Hamilton Y. C. and 
Victoria Y, C, of Hamilton, and the Parkdale Sailing 
Club, of Parkdale, a stiburb of Toronto. According to the 
revised rules of the Association, a "skiff" shall not be over 
i8ft. corrected length, and shall carry no "hiking board" 
and no ballast except a centerboard. the weight being ■ 
limited to isolbs. fgr the first class and 100 for the second 
and third classes. No skif^ shall be allowed in the races 
discourage all attempts to win a race by other means 
than fair sailing and superior speed and skill. 
The decisions of the regatta committee shall be final. 
If any yacht be disqualified the prize shall be awarded 
to the next in order. The regatta committee shall decide 
on the prize winners as soon as possible after the con- 
clusion of the race, and they shall post their decisions in 
the club house as soon as made. 
Any yacht duly entered for a race, whether starting in 
the race or not, shall, in the event of the race being 
resailed, be entitled to a start; but no hew entry for a 
postponed race shall be received und^r any circumstances 
whatever. 
