The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-04-20
YACHTING is EXPENSIVE.
MUCH MONEY EXPENDED IN Eff
FORTS TO KEEP AMERICAS CUP.
Challenger and Defender Five
Yachts Being Fitted Out Now in
Preparation for the Final Races In

probably the least generally appreciated
factor in these historical matches, is the
fortune that will be involved in the fight
over the ancient trophy. When it IS
stated that over quarter of a million
dollars was expended on the building, fit
ting, and racing of the present champion.
Columbia, in her races against the Sham
rock, it win be understood that with the
present unprecedented preparations both
for the lifting" and the keeping of the
cup The fortune involved in the choosing
of the defender, in the challenger, and in
the races themselves will amount to be-
tween three-quarters and one million dol
lars.
There is perhaps not another living pro-
fessional who knows better than a yacht
designer what to do with carte blanche
In all fields of sports there is not another
in which men have been willing to spend
more, proportionately to the results OBJ
tanned, than in yachting. The average su-
periority of the Columbia over the De-
fender was but five or ten minutes over
course of thirty miles. In other words, for
an increase in sailing speed of from ten
to twenty seconds to the mile-a highly
satisfactory performance at that-the
owners of the Columbia were willing to
pay over quarter of million dollars.
With the Independence building in Bos-
ton, the Belmont boat building at Bris-
tol, and the Shamrock II, building abroad
and each of the three respective design
ers allowed a free hand in providing at
any cost any Improvement that may mean
so much as the saving of a second of
speed, and with three Of the foremost
designers of the world vying with eaen
other not only in the designing of the
models of the boat, but also in the in
PRODUCTION of new tangled devices and IN
ventions, an idea may be obtained of the
actual cost of each of the three yachts
now hoping to enter the lists. Aside
from this there come the expenses of
the Columbia in her tuning-up duties,
and, for the first time in the history of
the matches, the fitting out and coming
across of trial horse to sharpen UP the
challenger. The actual expenses of the
attempt to win and to hold the cup will
hardly ever be known except to the own
ers of the several yachts. But an idea
of which each of the boats will cost may
be obtained from what is known, In a
general way, the Columbia cost her own
ers. As to the races themselves it was
estimated that each of the races of the
Columbia with the Shamrock cost slight
ly over $4,000 to the members of the New
York Yacht Club. This estimate includes
the expenses of maintaining and operat-
ing the fleet of steam yachts and other
yachts that day for day, loyalty accom-
pany the racers over the course.
Contest of Designers.
The races will go to the designer who
can produce the lightest boat" prom
inent designer once said. 1t is in this
strife for lightness, unto the deadllne of
sacrificing strength, that the designers are
at ,Ara Rrr1,t = 4
In the hundreds of thousands of dollars
expended to produce lightness regardless
of any cost in the substitution of alunl-
mum for steel, for example, and in the
| substitution of a light, hollow steel mast
for wooden mast, additional expense is
incurred. Every portion of the vessel has
| been pared down so near the limit of
safety that accident must be expected.
Many of the parts therefore must be
duplicated, especially the spars, running
gear, rigging. and canvas
As is generally known, in order to save
weight in the Columbia, she was built
| from an expensive non-corrosive ALLOW
known as Tobin bronze. The thickness of
| the plating varied from one-uuarter to
| three-sixteenths of an inch-hardly thick
er than the cover of the ordinary book.
In the case of the Defender, which was
| built partly of aluminium (weighing half
|
as strong), this very attempt TO save
weight resulted practically in the ulti-
! mate destruction of the boat, so that she
was sold not long ago to a scrap-iron
| firm, 20 be knocked apart for the sa %,
OF the metal in her once so splendid hull.
The enormous lead bulb Of the Columbia
cost more than $4,000 for the metal alone.
| ADDING to the foregoing requisites of the
| lightest possible hull, the heaviest prac-
teal lead bulb and the further one of the
greatest possible sail area, and these are
the three essential ground bases on which
| the modern cup defenders are built,
The huge sails of the great racers are
| no less wonderful in their perfection than
the points already cited. Nor are they
less expensive proportionately. The hol-
low steel n1asts in themselves are worth
a small fortune. They are huge, mighty
affairs, great steel tubes made up OF
plates and braced inside with angle irons
| and riveted throughout. The highest tin
OF the Columbia, when carrying her top
mast and her club-topsail pole, was 17S
feet above the deck or 80 feet higher than
the Brooklyn bride. and 40 feet longer
than the length of the yacht itself.
Aside from these sky-scraping spars-
seemingly muchs higher even than they
are in reafty because of their proportion
to the length of the yacht itself-dupli-
| Gates of all of them must be made ard
| kept in reserve for use at the first mo-
ment the delicate mechanism gives ouI
under an unexpected strain. The yachts
rigging is made of wire rope not of ordi.
nary steel wire. but of an alloy These
ropes are spiced to manila rope at the
handling ends.
The steel boom off, cup defender is ar
immense affair, and measures from 1Oe tc
| 10 feet. In the case of the last champion
| the boom measured 10 feet. How much
longer the boom of the new boat will bt
is at present known only to her designers
and her owners. That the mainsail Of the
new Belmont yacht will exceed by far the
sail on the Columbia is almost certain ir
view of the tendency of continually in.
! creasing sail area which the designers
are obliged to provide to keep up with
each other More sail area. more lead
and a tighter and easier hull is the solu
tion.
Independence's Great Sails.
As far as the independence is concern
ed. II has been prophesed that when shs
hoists her sails she will carry more can
vas than was ever put on any cup defen
der or challenger. 1t is the expectation .
yachtsmen therefore that the Boston boa
will be canvased TO the very limit
What the sail area of a modern cup de
fender really is may best be understoo,
by a calculation as compared 10 that o
the older yachts. The mainsail OF thu
| Columbia t was found was enough e
furnish the material for the full suit o
sails used on the old America, and Their