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Thread: New Boat 4 Sled

  1. #1731
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    Darn. Great song anyway.

  2. #1732
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    SF Bay Area
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    S Class, boat name LOON.

  3. #1733
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dazzler View Post
    S Class, boat name LOON.
    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.

  4. #1734
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    [QUOTE=sleddog;16090]Can anyone identify this one design class, originated shortly after the end of WW I, meant to revive the sport of yachting and attract returning war vets to sailing at low cost?

    That is a Victory class by Gardner, first one built in 1920 they were around 32 feet+/- long
    As a neophyte I was always attracted to flush deck boats like the Victory, Bird, Cal 20,etc.etc.
    Aging has caused me to become more attracted to large houses to keep me dry in the cockpit!
    Last edited by H Spruit; 11-04-2016 at 11:31 AM. Reason: spelling!

  5. #1735
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    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/portfoli...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

  6. #1736
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    Quote Originally Posted by Philpott View Post
    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.
    You might need to add some qualifiers to what counts as an "earliest sailing experience. And not as a ride-along."

  7. #1737
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    Sep 2007
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    Capitola,CA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dazzler View Post
    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/portfoli...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
    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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    Last edited by sleddog; 11-04-2016 at 01:21 PM.

  8. #1738
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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.
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    Last edited by sleddog; 11-06-2016 at 07:31 PM.

  9. #1739
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    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:

    Attachment 1933

  10. #1740
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    [QUOTE=[I]BobJ[/I];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:

    Without a couple of clues to rub together for a spark of recognition, will hazard a guess it is the well-traveled Hunter 54 TUESDAY'S CHILD, designed by John Cherubini and built by Warren Luhrs for the 1980 OSTAR and DH Around Britain Race.

    TUESDAY'S CHILD ultimately had many owners and names. At some point her bow was shortened 3.5 feet to qualify for the Under 50 Foot Class in the 1986 BOC Around-the-World Race, thus the snubbed nose look.

    What is/was TUESDAY'S CHILD doing in Monterey hauled at Monterey Bay Boat Works? You might have to ask Jackie. She's reported recently walking the docks at Monterey Harbor.
    Last edited by sleddog; 11-06-2016 at 09:24 PM.

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