, 1891-09-17
DESIGNERS OF YACHTS.

The Men Who Make Plan, for Gran
That Break Records
The public knows little about the men
who design the fast yachts TO whose ex.
ploits the newspapers devote columns, yet
more is u to the designer OF a yacht by
half than to the sailor who handles It in a
race. This observation has been called
forth by what ! have read in the last few
days about the work of the late Edward
Burgess, the designer of the Puritan, the
Mayfiower and the Volunteer and half a
hundred other notable pleasure boats. i
Mr.. Burgess was without question a
skillful designer OF fast boats, which were
at the same time pretty safe sea boats. He
was probably more successful than any
other designer we have had. Allthis should
be accorded to him without stint. But for
several years past 1t has been the fashion
for the newspapers to speak OF him as hav-
ing originated a newstype Of pleasure boat
and as being first in the race for supremacy
with the other boat designers and builders
as nowhere This Is not only unfair to Mr..
Burgess. for he never made any such claim.
but extremely unjust to the other gentle
men who make boat designing their pro-
fession- The shallow, fat bottomed center
board yacht has often been spoken OF as
the sole American type previous to the
time the Puritan came out, and the deep
keel boat or cutter" as the New York
newspaper reporters lave called another
type. as the real English pattern. The fiat
bottomed centerboard had unquestionably
ten years or SO ago become very ashton
able, for it is tremendously fast Il smooth
water. and indeed nothing has ever been
designed even yet to beat the Swimming
dish" pattern when the waters are quiet.
Only h other day, when the new 40
footers were entering a race, they protested
successfully against having to compete
against such boats. But these vessels are
not safe in a sea, and frequent accidents
have made them even too dangerous for
sport. Long before Mr.. Burgess appeared
as a designer there was a demand for a
compromise between the fiat bottomed boat
with a centerboard and the deep keeled
boat, sometimes called a cutter" The first
boat of this pattern, l am told, was de-
signed by Mr.. A Cary Smith, the naval
architect, of New York 1t was this com
promise pattern Of Mr.. Smiths which Mr..
Burgess in his designs brought to such
great perfection. The deep keeied boat, or
cutter" as the English type has been de-
nominated, is not distinctively English at
all, and has been used by b~oatbuilders Of
other nationalities without prejudice. And
cutter" by the way, does not properly re-
fer to the keel at all, but to the rig.
The Herreshoffs of Bristol, r. l., have
been building all kinds OF boats for more
than half a century. Before Mr.. Burgess
WAS born the Herreshof yachts were fam
Gus of Newport and in Long Island sound.
Until recently we had heard much more of
them az the builders of marvelously fast
steam launches and torpedo boats. But
this season comes from their works the
Gloriana, which has proved herself not
only s~eaworthy but phenomenally fast
under all conditions. The eldest of the
Herreshoff brothers, John, designed most
of the earlier boats, and 1t is of him that
we have heard the stories of his caressing,
in his blindness, the model OF a boat he was
designing and determining her lines by
feeling alone. 1t was a pretty picture,
this OF the old man feeling his way with
unerring nicely and turning out craft
which peat the best that younger men
could fashion. Blu the trouble abou the
story is that it is not true. Mr.. Herreshoff
does not see as well as some other men, but
he is not blind by a long shot.
There is another story told of his cropping
his way along with extended hands look
ing for a doorway, but carefully stepping
over a box which stood in his path. There
is probably as much truth in this as in the
other yarn. Mr.. Nat Herreshof, the de-
blkhC Va WIZ a. II JOoL6too u
the brothers, and he is thought by many
yachtsmen to be the cleverest of them all.
Indeed, II one should ask the best informed
men who would probably design the mex
boat to defend the Americas CUP, proba-
bly, nine out of ten would say Nat Her
reshof.
Mr.. Beaver Webb, the designer of the
Genesis and the Galatea, the English boats
which were beaten by two of Mr.. Burgess
best known champions, has married an
American wife and established himself in
business in New York. He is, however,
giving more attention to the building OF
steam yachts than sailing craft. Probably
now that his successful Boston competitor
Is dead, he will, to an extent at least, re-
sumo his old profession. Mr.. Webb has
produced one marked effect on American
yachting. 1t was he who caused the adop-
ton by the New York newspapers of
the custom of emitting the article "the"
before the name Of a yacht and speaking
of a boat as Puritan instead of the Puri-
tan. This has a wide vogue just now, and
is an indication that yachting writer's
are selected for some other qualities thar
those of the head.
Mr.. A. Cary Smith, of whom mention
has already been made, has designed many
famous boats, and Is still lard at work max
ing plans for pleasure craft. Mr.. William
Gilbert is also a yacht designer of note,
and there are many amateur sailors who
believe his boats ave qualities superior to
all others. tErnkttNH
No article about yacht designers would
be complete without mentioning Joe Ellis
worth. l don't know whether he calls
himself a naval architect or not. He has
been at the business for a great many
years and has designed some Of the best
boats ever launched He Is an "old timer"
and makes his designs by what the scien-
tifc gentlemen call. with a superior tone,
''the rule of thumb" But when the re-
gattas take place these rule of thumb"
yachts of old Joe Ellsworth usually hold
their own with the best, and therefore he
has the genuine respect of all the real sailor
men of the various fleets which, with their
white wings, max picturesque the blue
waters of the eastern coast.
JNo. GrLMER SPEED.