The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-30
COMES HIGH TO KEEP THE CUP.
Here's a Careful Estimate OF the Amount
Of the Bill the syndicate which Built
md Ran Reliance VIII Have TO Pay
Fonr Times Gostlicr Than I'm Vigil
lont's bay and Growing Every Year.

II has probably cost the members OF
1a Now York Yacht Club and the club
i,so,f considerably more than $6OO,0O to
Iorond the Americas Cup this year against
sir Thomas Ipton's challenger, Sham
.ock III. Yachting in the 9O-foot racing
class is sport in which only the very
woarhy can take part, and the cost Of
,crcpding the cup is growing each year.
When the Mischief. the Oracle and other
oats of that size were built, sac, 900 would
cover the cost Of building and running a
hoot for a season. That allowance was
,ors,dered liberal. Now, half a million
dollars vanishea in almost no time at all
+, building and running a defender for
the season.
The cost increased very much when
M, use Of bronze in the construction Of n
boat was introduced. The first Of the
more expensive boats to he built was the
yirllant in 1893. II was said then that
she cost about Sl5O,O 900, and the amount was
regarded as enormous.
The Defender was larger and even more
costly than the Vigilant. Then came the
Columbia, which in her first season cost
more than n quarter of million dollars.
Two wears ago the Constitution was built.
She cost more than S3OO,O00 and she was
practically failure. She was beaten by
tho Columbia and was not selected to de-
tend the Cup.
The Reliance is by far the most costly
mcnr that has ever been turned out.
More money has been spent on her than on
any other Yacht built in this country
She was built, of course, especially TO
~. r., al.
men furnished the money to defray the
cost Of building and running the boat
Just what the yacht cost to build is known
only to those directly Interested, but it is
estimated that the hill is not far short of
S-poo0o The hull is built Of bronze, an
expensive material, and nickel steel was
Sod extensively in the framing, in the
.pars and the topsides. No expense was
spared TO gct. the finest and fastest yacht
aAoar To TT her launched on time the
men who worked on the craft in the Herres-
lon shops received bonuses to encourage
rlam TO do the best work az well as the
quickest they could.
A. soon AS the vaclt was launched riggers
we're employed to, set up the rigging The
,fll on this contract is probably about
s. 800
Then came the sails The Reliance has
Xix complete suits OF sails. Some of these
lave been made by Herreshoff One suit
came from the lofts Of Ratsey One suit Of
-ails for Cup defender costs about $4,000,
30 hat the sails for the Reliance have cost at
least $40 0oo.
A mainSail for one of these big boats
costs $1,000. 1t is made of cotton duck
-pecially woven The sewing is al! done
hv hand. When it is known that one man
can sew only about fifteen yards n day,
and that there are about 5000 yards Of
duck, 20 inches Wide. in one of these pieces
Of canvas. an idea can be obtained of the
amount of work required to turn out such
big sail
spinnaker for a Cup defender costs
81 600, and light spinnaker about 81 700
Balloon jib topsails cost as much as the
spinnakers and are about the same size.
club ropsails cost about $500 or 5000 each,
and jihs cost from 5000 to $3.50 each. Fore
-taysals cost a. much as jibs, and jib top
sails vary in price from $500 for the babies"
to $50 for the larger sizes. A suit Of sails
consists Of a mansail, gan topsals club
'opsail, ibis two si2esl, forest aysails two
~IZesl. jib topsails five siHesl, a balloon
D,b topsail and spinnaker.
Even after these sails have been made
and used there is always lots Of work to be
done on them to keep them in shape. A
gang of sailmakers has been kept busy re-
Quitting and reftting sails ever since the
%acht was launched.
Then extra spars have been built The
Reliance has a spare topmast, extra gaffs,
Il spare boom. extra club topsail spars ard
howsprirs, and spinnaker poles, so that
,nould a spar be broken in any race an
other could be shipped in its place at once.
The blocks for the yacht probably cost
about $4,000. There are always lots OF
'nese on hand, and as soon as one shows
signs Of breaking it is thrown away and
another substituted.
To handle he Reliance there has been a
rev of ffty-'lve sailors in addition to Capt
Barr The skipper, when he undertook to
sail the yacht, was to receive $500 for his
seasons work He was to get 81 500 more
t the Reliance won in the trial races, and
$1,000 more if the yacht successfully de-
Tended the Cup.
There are two mates on board and they
get $3.50 for their work, with extra money
W. NlIlHIlb Id'''S ne OlIltI -lultt
men get S35 month, prize money, good
conduct money and their board. A few
OF them, such as masthead men and quar-
lermasters, get a little more than this,
20 that the monthly payroll for the sailors
amou ts to about 5000. The men have
been engaged for five montl This makes
the tota' amount paid in salaries, including
1 officer, SIS 900. Then each man gets
$40 month for God col duct money
his is paid when tie yacht goes out of
Commission The good conduct money will
amount to 81 $50
The prizA money also is quite Zig item.
Nhen'a yacht gees into race each sailor
Knows he will get IS if the yacht wins and !
90 30 if the YACHT loses. he Reliance |
started twenty-one races, of hich she |
lost three. This is exclusive of the races |
Tor the Americas Cup. Taking those races |
INTO nsderation each man this season !
receives Sll2.jO and the whole crew 5000
Feeding the men is another big item.
They have TO do lots of hard work and the
sailors are all well taken care of in the
matter of food. II is estimated that
Is cents day will about cover the cost of
The food Of each man. The total cost of
ms item for the season of five months is
therefore $3.50
Each sailor has to be furnished with