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YANKEE: The Most Astonishing J by Earl Boebert The Classic Yacht Symposium 2010 YANKEE: The Most Astonishing J Earl Boebert U.S. Vintage Model Yacht Group Figure 1 - YANKEE, as designed in 1929/30. (Derived from Chevalier and Taglang). A BST R A C T This paper documents the technical and racing history of the J Class yacht YANKEE from her design in 1929 to when she was scrapped in 1940 IN T R O DU C T I O N The Universal Rule began as a “rating rule,” intended to facilitate the handicapping of yachts of different dimen- “Of all the J Boats,” said Chevalier and Taglang in sions so that races could be held with mixed fleets. It did their definitive work on the class, “YANKEE was the so by computing an artificial number called “rated i most astonishing.” She came within one second of being length,” measured in feet, which was intended to express the Defender in the 1934 America’s Cup, she was the the inherent performance of the yacht. Rated lengths were most modified J and she was the only American J Boat to divided into ranges and each range was assigned a letter cross the Atlantic. from I (the largest) through S (the smallest). In addition, an absolute limit of 108% of the rated length plus 5 feet T H E UNI V E RSA L RU L E was imposed on the actual Load Water Line length.ii In 1902 a committee of prominent yachtsmen was In 1929, Sir Thomas Lipton, acting through the Royal formed by the New York Yacht Club to investigate a re- Ulster Yacht Club, challenged the New York Yacht Club placement to the then-prevalent rule governing the design to race for the America’s Cup in 1930. After considerable of yachts, which had led to “extreme” or “unwholesome” negotiation, the two clubs agreed that the contending designs. A rule was proposed by Nathanael Herreshoff boats should conform to a rated length of 76 feet under which forced designers to trade off between waterline the Universal Rule, which then limited Load Water Line length, sail area, and displacement, with an additional length to 87 feet. This was the top of the range assigned provision that penalized excessive overhangs. This rule the letter “J,” and so the J Class came into existence; the was accepted almost immediately by the Club, and mod- two values of 76 feet rated and 87 feet measured remained ified in detail through 1927, during which period it be- constant for the life of the class. came known as the “Universal Rule.” The Classic Yacht Symposium 2010 2 2111 1 YANKEE: The Most Astonishing J by Earl Boebert F R A N K C A B O T PA IN E A N T E C E D E N TS Frank Paine, who designed YANKEE, was born to In 1924, while associated with Paine and Burgess, L. America’s Cup competition. He was the youngest son of Francis Herreshoff designed a highly successful boat to General Charles Jackson Paine, who gained fame in the the R Class of the Universal Rule also called YANKEE, Civil War and then went on to amass a large fortune in the shown in Figure 2. R Class boats, which had a rating of railroad business. Charles Paine successfully defended the 20 feet, generally ran about 36 feet overall with a water- America’s Cup three times in a row, with PURITAN, line length of 24. The R Class was the most popular class MAYFLOWER, and VOLUNTEER. These three boats within the Universal rule and actively sailed a Marbleead. were designed by Edward Burgess, with whom the elder The R Class YANKEE had rounded sections in her fore- Paine had a close working relationship, actively partici- body. This design approach straightens the buttock lines, pating in issues of design and construction beyond that which at the time many designers, such as Uffa Fox, ar- expected of a syndicate head.iii gued most accurately reflected the flow of water around the hull. The disadvantage is that both the sections and In 1921, Frank Paine joined Edward Burgess’ son Starling waterlines present a blunt shape to the water, which can and Nathanael Herreshoff’s son L. Francis in a design lead to pounding in a swell. If the swell is combined with bureau that was the start of a remarkable association be- light winds, a not uncommon circumstance in the waters tween second generation yacht designers centered around off Newport, the performance penalty can be significant. Marblehead Harbor. All three were self-taught, all their fathers were close friends, and all three designed J Class T H E 1930 H U L L yachts for the 1930 Cup: Paine did YANKEE, Herreshoff did WHIRLWIND, and Burgess did the eventual winner, The hull that Paine designed over the Winter of ENTERPRISE. Another associate was Norman Skene, 1929/30 and shown in Figure 1 bears a strong resem- iv author of the then-definitive book on yacht design. blance to L. Francis Herreshoff’s R Class design of 1924. This resemblance is shown in Figure 3, which compares Independently wealthy, Frank Paine considered himself a the three sections that govern the shape of the forebody, racing yachtsman first and a designer second, designing midships, and afterbody of the two boats. This should not many boats for his own use. If he was an amateur he was be interpreted to mean that Paine copied Herreshoff’s a highly talented one, and was responsible for many suc- design. We do not know the degree to which Paine colla- cessful schooners, including the Grand Banks racer GER- borated in the 1924 design; further, it could be that this TRUDE L. THEBAUD, which he designed at the same particular hull form represented the collective wisdom of time as YANKEE. He was known as a man of uncommon the “Marblehead School” of designers in dealing with the generosity and freely gave of his talents in collaborative Universal Rule. designs. He was also an expert in the design and handling of parachute spinnakers, which in the 1930s were both new and poorly understood by many yachtsmen.v Figure 2 - The R Class YANKEE by L. Francis Herreshoff. (Chapelle). The Classic Yacht Symposium 2010 2 212 1 2 YANKEE: The Most Astonishing J by Earl Boebert Figure 3 - Comparison of the master sections of the J Boat YANKEE and her R Boat namesake. T he principal difference between the two hull forms lies in the afterbody, which is proportionately narrower in the J Class YANKEE than in the R Class one. It is possible, but unlikely, that this shape was influenced by the some- what controversial theories of Alfred Turner, who at that time had just published his first papers on the so-called “Metacentric Shelf” method of designing a balanced hull, that is, one that does not yaw as a consequence of heeling. These papers were published in the model yachting pressvi, and both Norman Skene and L. Francis Herre- shoff were active model yachtsmen. In any case, by acci- dent or design, the hull of YANKEE conforms exactly to the criteria Turner laid down for a balanced hull. Figure 4 - YANKEE’s hull under construction at the Lawley yard. (American Brass and Copper). Figure 5 - The 1930 Rig (International News). 213 2 The Classic Yacht Symposium 2010 1 3 YANKEE: The Most Astonishing J by Earl Boebert YANKEE had the second highest displacement of the YANKEE’s first rig. The mast was hollow wood and fa- 1930 designs, and had the greatest beam. She was bricated in one 160 foot long piece. Figure 5, taken in equipped with a centerboard which was unusual in that it May of 1930 immediately after the launch of YANKEE, was designed to be used during the run rather than the shows the elaborate bracing and standing rigging required usual deployment during a beat.vii to hold the mast up and keep it from buckling. Her hull was constructed at the Lawley yard in Neponset, Of particular interest is the small jumper strut at the top of MA, of Tobin Bronze plates laid over a set of steel the mast. As shown, this was a single, forward-facing frames. The process of fabrication is shown in Figure 4. strut with two jumpers passing through it, and the forestay After shaping, the plates were temporarily fastened to the running between them. Almost immediately this arrange- frames with bolts, which were then in turn replaced with ment was changed to the more conventional “vee” strut in flush rivets. The result was a smooth underbody that was hopes of stiffening the upper mast, then quickly, and for very resistant to marine growth and which could be pre- unknown reasons, changed back again; the single strut pared to a fine finish by polishing. She was unique in that arrangement remained in her other two masts. This strut is her ballast was cast inside her hull shell rather than being significant because its failure was widely believed to have molded separately and bolted on.viii cost her the position of Defender in 1934. Figure 6 shows her original sail plan. For many years af- ter her launch, a flying jib foresail was called a “Yankee.” T H E 1930 D E F E ND E R T RI A LS Despite being helmed by Charles Francis Adams, who was one of the leading yachtsmen of his day (and serving as Secretary of the Navy — those were simpler times), YANKEE’s performance during the trials was at best indifferent.