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New Boat 4 Sled
- Thread starter sleddog
- Start date
BobJ
Alerion 38 "Surprise!"
It starts with "Imp..."
And correct with Bill Vaughn. Bill was largely responsible for re-activating the MMBA in 1965 and was its Commodore from 1965-1976. BILLIKEN was two docks east of us at Alameda Marina in those days. Lester Stone's SCAMP was on the same dock, closer to shore. Another Master Mariner on that dock was the yawl MARYBETH, on which my dad crewed. Some stories there.
MARYBETH has her own website.
And correct with Bill Vaughn. Bill was largely responsible for re-activating the MMBA in 1965 and was its Commodore from 1965-1976. BILLIKEN was two docks east of us at Alameda Marina in those days. Lester Stone's SCAMP was on the same dock, closer to shore. Another Master Mariner on that dock was the yawl MARYBETH, on which my dad crewed. Some stories there.
MARYBETH has her own website.
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David Allen loved schooners. And sailing with his family. Which he did in the 70's on his 53 foot schooner PRIVATEER, including racing the 1967 Transpac.
Dazzler
m/v PACIFIC LOON
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Bill Vaughn's boat was Evening Star, an Alden yawl I believe. I was docked next to Evening Star for years and heard many stories from Bill and his wife Sandra. Long story short, Bill and Sandra died and the boat sat abandoned on our pier for years. Was finally bought by a gentleman by the name of Peter Byrne who I believe is in the process of, or has completed, refurbishing the boat. Peter was active on the Wooden Boat forum although I haven't seen a new post is a number of years. http://forum.woodenboat.com/archive/index.php/t-141189.html
Back in the day before Bill Vaughn bought the 1937, 54' Alden yawl EVENING STAR, she was owned and raced by Gene Trepte of San Diego Yacht Club. With her large foretriangle and mizzen staysails, EVENING STAR was a force to be reckoned with, and won most every Southern CA race. She did the 1951 TransPac, with a young Bill Lapworth in the crew...
Trepte kept EVENING STAR looking beautiful. I always wondered how she would do in stiff SF Bay breezes, being so over-rigged and all. Designs of that era weren't meant for increased strains of modern cordage, sailcloth, and rigging.
I saw EVENING STAR at the berth in Alameda, but never out sailing. I fear rot and age has got the best of her. Restoration is likely to cost more than building a complete new boat. (But bottomless pockets has recently done a full restoration to SANTANA.)
Trepte kept EVENING STAR looking beautiful. I always wondered how she would do in stiff SF Bay breezes, being so over-rigged and all. Designs of that era weren't meant for increased strains of modern cordage, sailcloth, and rigging.
I saw EVENING STAR at the berth in Alameda, but never out sailing. I fear rot and age has got the best of her. Restoration is likely to cost more than building a complete new boat. (But bottomless pockets has recently done a full restoration to SANTANA.)
I'm sorry, Max, but the "Bird is not the word", nor is it this one design class of boat..Anyone else want to try?
Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
This game is so esoteric it can only be won by people who have sailed since they were 8 years old. I learn alot, and the photography is like National Marine Geographic. Which reminds me: Who learned to sail earliest? A cupcake to the winner of the earliest sailing experience. And not as a ride-along.
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Dazzler
m/v PACIFIC LOON
Interesting that two VERY similar boats were designed at just about the same time for the same reasons, but on opposite coasts. The history of the VICTORY CLASS is here:
http://classicsailboats.org/portfolio-view/william-gardner-victory-class/
And the San Francisco 'S' Class became (as Max stated) commonly known as a BIRD.
Read the story here: http://www.birdboat.com
http://classicsailboats.org/portfolio-view/william-gardner-victory-class/
And the San Francisco 'S' Class became (as Max stated) commonly known as a BIRD.
Read the story here: http://www.birdboat.com
Dazzler
m/v PACIFIC LOON
You might need to add some qualifiers to what counts as an "earliest sailing experience. And not as a ride-along."
Congrats to H.Spruit for his discernment of the Victory Class being the correct answer. Sure looks like an "S" Boat (Bird Boat) in profile, but the background in the photo sure doesn't look like SF Bay.. Victory Class, of which an original 20 were built, were East Coast boats, designed by William Gardner. They began life as a one design class only a year or two before the "S" class (Bird Boats.) out West, on SF Bay.
The Victory is (was) 31' 8" overall, about a foot and a half more than the Bird. Though similar in profile, there the difference ends. And a big difference it is. Fred Brewer, designer of the Bird, was intimate with knarly SF Bay conditions. His Bird Boat design is a friggin' LEAD MINE, no reefing, thank you, no matter how hard it blows.
The longer Victory displaced a svelte 2,900 pounds. The Bird Boat displaces an incredible 9,000 pounds, with a ballast/displacement ratio of 51.3 while carrying 4,600 pounds of ballast in the keel. The Bird is closer to being a submarine than a bird. More than a few wind against current waves have been brutalized by Birds. And more than a few famous SF Bay sailors began their careers as kids crewing aboard Birds. Their full time job? "Keeping pumping until we say stop."
Nothing esoteric about floorboards being continuously afloat on Bird Boats while racing. That's what it's all about.
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Back in the day of the IOR ("Invest or Retire") handicap rule, Santa Cruz was an anathema to the IOR rules makers. It appeared the lightweight designs coming from Santa Cruz were one-way boats, meant to go fast downwind and surf Pacific swells while paying zero attention to the IOR Rule, which encouraged unhealthy boats with pinched ends and bow down attitudes, and created a generation of designs that were often uncontrollable downwind in a breeze.
However, to race Transpac, you had to have an IOR rating.... so occasionally the IOR measurer, Ray Booth from San Diego, would venture to Santa Cruz to measure a Bill Lee creation.
PANACHE was Bill's first offshore racing 40 footer, and was to be entered in the 1973 TransPac. PANACHE was wide, flat, lightweight, and though so-so upwind, was very fast downwind in a breeze, certainly faster than IMPROBABLE in the right conditions. And PANACHE was candy apple red, a fast color indeed.
So Bill calls Ray Booth to come to Santa Cruz and measure PANACHE for her IOR rating. When Ray came to town he requested help to hold the other end of the measuring tape and Howard Spruit was chosen for the job. We'll let Howard pick up the story:
"As a result, I had several lunches with Ray, and he related many stories of his past. He was the guy that decided where the US military established it’s DEW line radar positions that surrounded Russia And China."
"As Ray Booth took the more than 300 measurements needed to complete PANACHE's rating, he volunteered to Bill and me that the rating would be better if the mast were 4.5 inches shorter."
"Ray was smirking about this oversight on Bill Lee's part, never dreaming what was to happen next. Bill Lee gave the order to heel the boat over until the masthead was at dock height. When Ray saw that we were really going to do it, he walked over to the bench next to the hoist, sat down, gulped down a couple tranquilizer pills and informed Bill and me that he was going to add $200 to the measuring fee on “General Principles!"
PANACHE's shrouds were below the cut line, but the head and backstay had to be jury rigged below the cut. We tied the bow to the end of a slip on D dock and the transom to a slip on E dock. We tied the top of the mast to the back of Bill’s flat bed truck and drove it across the parking lot until the boat was 30+ degrees tipped over…, And then..... Rough and Ready local Garbage Man, rock climber, and 'get it done now' boat builder Dave Wahle appeared on the scene."
Dave walked up the mast, and his 200 odd pounds put PANACHE horizontal so we could tie the masthead down for surgery. Then with a hack saw I cut off 4.5 inches from the top of the mast, the mast cap and stays were refitted, and Bob's your uncle."
I only mention this, because today, 43 years after cutting off PANACHE's mast, Howard Spruit came over to Capitola to help cut off the top of WILDFLOWER's mast. No hacksaw like on PANACHE, Howard brought over his electric chopsaw and we finished the job in minutes The right man for the job. But that's another story.
However, to race Transpac, you had to have an IOR rating.... so occasionally the IOR measurer, Ray Booth from San Diego, would venture to Santa Cruz to measure a Bill Lee creation.
PANACHE was Bill's first offshore racing 40 footer, and was to be entered in the 1973 TransPac. PANACHE was wide, flat, lightweight, and though so-so upwind, was very fast downwind in a breeze, certainly faster than IMPROBABLE in the right conditions. And PANACHE was candy apple red, a fast color indeed.
So Bill calls Ray Booth to come to Santa Cruz and measure PANACHE for her IOR rating. When Ray came to town he requested help to hold the other end of the measuring tape and Howard Spruit was chosen for the job. We'll let Howard pick up the story:
"As a result, I had several lunches with Ray, and he related many stories of his past. He was the guy that decided where the US military established it’s DEW line radar positions that surrounded Russia And China."
"As Ray Booth took the more than 300 measurements needed to complete PANACHE's rating, he volunteered to Bill and me that the rating would be better if the mast were 4.5 inches shorter."
"Ray was smirking about this oversight on Bill Lee's part, never dreaming what was to happen next. Bill Lee gave the order to heel the boat over until the masthead was at dock height. When Ray saw that we were really going to do it, he walked over to the bench next to the hoist, sat down, gulped down a couple tranquilizer pills and informed Bill and me that he was going to add $200 to the measuring fee on “General Principles!"
PANACHE's shrouds were below the cut line, but the head and backstay had to be jury rigged below the cut. We tied the bow to the end of a slip on D dock and the transom to a slip on E dock. We tied the top of the mast to the back of Bill’s flat bed truck and drove it across the parking lot until the boat was 30+ degrees tipped over…, And then..... Rough and Ready local Garbage Man, rock climber, and 'get it done now' boat builder Dave Wahle appeared on the scene."
Dave walked up the mast, and his 200 odd pounds put PANACHE horizontal so we could tie the masthead down for surgery. Then with a hack saw I cut off 4.5 inches from the top of the mast, the mast cap and stays were refitted, and Bob's your uncle."
I only mention this, because today, 43 years after cutting off PANACHE's mast, Howard Spruit came over to Capitola to help cut off the top of WILDFLOWER's mast. No hacksaw like on PANACHE, Howard brought over his electric chopsaw and we finished the job in minutes The right man for the job. But that's another story.
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BobJ
Alerion 38 "Surprise!"
Hey you "mast hackers" what's this? I don't remember seeing her before. Except for the wheel she looks like my kind of boat:
View attachment 1933
View attachment 1933