Attachment 6281
This photo of POLARIS shows the "Mitchell Zap" sailmakers logo near the clews. Punky Mitchell was a very good Star sailor of the 60's and made his own sails. His small sail loft was upstairs where the Hood Loft is now in Sausalito. Commodore Tompkins had rigged a test mast on the roof, and mid morning, before the breeze made up, you could often see spinnakers being tested on the roof.
Punky ended up selling his loft to Tom Blackaller and Steve Taft and it became a North Sails branch loft. John Berry Marine Hardware was downstairs and next door.
Punky Mitchell, and Star class friends who gathered at his loft, revolutionized the Star when they discovered, in the big breeze of SF Bay, a Star was fastest with extreme rake in the mast, so much so the tip of the boom lay nearly on deck.
This changed crewing a Star, as the skipper, when tacking, could no longer slide over the top of the tiller but had to go under on a tack.
All modern Stars now sail with max rake, so the boom tip is just inches above the deck at the transom.
Attachment 6282
Can anyone tell me what is older: The Starboat, or POLARIS?. They are both older than a century. But there are now over 6,000 Stars built and only one POLARIS.