New-York tribune., 1900-12-30
CENTREBOARD rs KEEL

The proposal to build centreboard craft for
the trial races has revived a supposedly dead
issue. The international discussion as to the
relative merits OF the American centreboard
and the English keel, which for so many wears
was able to break up a card party on the short
est notice began to lose some Of its acerbities
when the Cup defenders Puritan Mayhower
and volunteer grew gradually deeper in
the water as the American designers began
to recognize the merits of the English idea :
and when the Vigilant came out. in 1893. draw
ing nearly fourteen feet of water and the De-
fender was issued in 1895 as pure keel boat
on almost the same lines as her English rival.
the ancient argument seemed to be shelved
permanently. The success of the Herreshorp
Meet or special thirties-the Norota the Syce
the Mira, the Colonia, and hosts of other fast
I'm keels-seemed to leave no room for further
contention because these boats added to tba
stability OF the broad, shallow slimnine dish
the stiffness acquired through having heavy
lead ballast bolted on to the bottom of deem
keel
Inc advantages 10 be gained through a COM
olnation of the nationally opposed tvnes vara
dlseerned by practical yachtsmen long before
professional designers brought the two into ora
hull AS long ago as 1887 there was a bot
| newspaper discussion. in which on one stda u
was said that racer like the present Cartoon
would be the fastest possible craft but II was
not until more than ten years later that tbA
cartoon appeared as the embodiment of the
early ideas. To-day the Cartoon tvne ana the
modihcations Of 1t are accepted by a noaloritv n,
as the Iastest sailing model so far
n, HHo"" Anu no" comes to the front a Quincy
W NesisHer anu puts up an argument which
% certainly not without fact to back it. He
says; MY centreboard design. the Genesee
| was prepared nv IN
Cup on the Great Lakes. In winning it she de-
Ieated the fin keel yacht Beaver, of the same
| SIZE which in her defence trial races haa
oealen nVe other craft of the best English and
| Ndhaulan designs. among which was one b,.
MI. Duggan. whose models have for five src
| cesslVe years defeated the United States Co.
the seawanhaka Cup. The Beaver. with ber
| neaVily ballasted I'm, was therefore the hest ~
hsr KIND, and she was defeated in every rsna
oE my Genesee. Why, then, won't the CAnA.sa
MODEL win equally we'll In the 9O-foot U,n..
against the best I'm kees OF the Anber,Ss,s o..
szeF propose TO build a shallow venI,as
sloop on the general proportions Of thu GO
| see Why won't she win In one cla.a :. -,
as in another?"
Fntting aside preeoneeivsd opinion ana ann.
posed proof. this is question which - -
ful person will perhaps be willing "a dSc,ds ~,
hand. 1t is question in which all Ar,ar,.o :.
Interested ana largely among those who are
no' prae'ieai sailors The truth is that in The
Dig cup class the question never has haan 0a-
| D1o"use the last centreboard Gun racer
the Vigilant, was practically keo, ~.
IN order TO find the pure American tvne ~
ihhuehced by English deep keel suggestions !,
"ouia De necessary TO go back to the Nrisob,st
ana the Canadian Atalanta. which sailed %,
the cup in 1881. Since that time the America :
structure has got deeper ana deeper In N.