Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-09-09

Here the reader will observe that, as re-
CARDS length, there is but little difference
between the Galatea and the MaydOwer:
nor is there any practical difference IN re-
gard to the proportion of length over all
to length on the water line. The Galatea
has an overhang at the stern of 1512 feet,
the Mayflower one of Is feet. Such ex-
treme overhanging sterns are certainly a
novelty in this country, and have been
copied from cutter models. Their object
is to give greater stability in a reefing
breeze, and more deck room to handle the
immense mainsail.
When welcome to look at the next two
dimensions, beam and depth of hold, we
see the first sign of the radical differen &c
between the English cutter and the Amer
lean sloop. The extreme beam of the
former is not much more than one-seventh
of her length over all, while that of the
sloop is not much less than One-fourth.
The cutters depth of hold is not much
snort of her extreme breadth of beam,
while that of the Mayfower is much less
than One-half her beam. So also with the
draft of water, that of the Galatea being
Just four feet more than that of May
flower. The two styles of yachts which
are supposed to be represented by the
Mayfower and Galatea have been de-
veloped out of the character of the pleas
ure boats most suitable to the water of
the respective countries. In the British
islands, where the harbors are deep and
the seas frequently stormy, the deep-keel
boats have always been in favor and
center boards have been discouraged.
Here, with our shallower harbors and
smooth island waters, we have adopted
the center-board baat, broad and shallow
Or, as some irreverently, call it, skim
ming dish. Such yacht was the Mo
hawk, which capsized when at anchor
some years ago. When it is remembered
that this yacht, which was as long as the
Mayfower, drew but five feet of water,
our readers will see that the designer of
the latter vessel has made a wide depart
ure from the typical American sloop.
The Mayfower is much narrower and al
so much deeper than typical American
sloOp would be, these changes being iii
the direction of the deep and narrow cut
ter type. With her long and overhang
ing stern, decreased width and increased
depth, she is, in fact, compromise YES
sci, about half way between the pure
British type and the American, and, if
anything, rather more British than Ameri
can. The Mayfiower, with her nine and
a half feet draft of water and her deep
lead keel is very far from being a. skim
ming dish.
The lead keel is another cutter device
which has been adopted by the designers
of the Mayfower. Such things as lead
keels were utterly unknown in the old
skimming- fish days, which some innocent
minded people fancy still exist. They
were looked upon as British device, and
great many powerful arguments were
published for the purpose of proving
their absuridty. But Mr.. Burgess put
lead keel on the Puritan last year which
weighed twenty-seven tons. This year
he gave the Mayfower a lead keel weigh
ing thirty-seven tons and only eleven tons
of inside ballast. The Galatea has n DIN
side ballast but a lead keel weighing
eighty-one and one half tons. She there
fore, carries much more ballast than the
Mayfower, but that is because she deriv-
es all her stability from it, while that of
the Mayfower is partly derived from her
superior width and partly from her CEN
ter-board, which extends sixteen feet be-
low the keel. 1t is hardly necessary to
explain to the readers that the Galatea has
no center-board. The novelty in the
cases of the Puritan and Mayfower con-
sists in the fact that they have both
keel and a center-bOard.
With regard to the difference of rig
there is practically none between the
Galatea and Mayfower, at least none that
landsman would appreciate. Nearly all
the features of the cutter rig are to be
found in the Mayfower, including the
long bowsprit.