The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-08-15
SEA-WREN IS
SUGGESTED
Local Yachtsman Thinks DAYS
Design Suitable for SMALL
Racers.


bay is by no means dead. Several OF
the yachtsmen have been figuring OF
the subject and, if not lying awak,
thinking about it, at any rate falling
over the border into dreamland will
mental visions of lines, curves, lengths
and beams to give them subject fol
their dreams
The one, perhaps, to give the subjee
| the greatest attention and thought i:
| H. d. Bowen. He comes through witt
a suggestion that the Sea Wren'' ha:
a design most nearly adapted for the
| purpose and, with little alteration
! to fit it to conditions here. such a boat
would be ideal for small racing class
| The Sea Wren was designed, invented
| and fathered by Thomas Fleming Day
| the well-known editor of the Rudder .
and one of the most enthusiastic mill.
tant yachtsmen alive today. His idea
| IN designing this craft was not so much
| 10 start a one-desigp racing class, for
there were many of these classes in
the East at the time, but, as he saws
himself. In this design the main idea
was to produce boat that would be
simple and easily built, and one that
would appeal to the novice who had
little or no knowledge of the art or
science of boat building but who could
handle tools in a fair way
MR.. DAYS DESIGN.
With this object in view Mr.. Day de-
iOIu cd oan&ophrouI
feet long over all, extreme beam feet
in. and actual draft of / fit. 8 in. Her
single sail contains about 224 feet of
canvas, quite sufficient to drive her to
windward yet not enough to make her
top heavy. The bow is half modern
with slight overhang while the stern
is flush and has barn door rudder
working on the sternpost.
The boat is not really open, being
about quarter decked with fair out
board slope to throw the worst of the
water away to leeward when she is
listing heavily. With her great breadth
there is room for a nice curve up and
down and fore and aft and the first of
the new little sailers proved Mr.. Day 3
contentious that she would be very stiff
and vet with a fair turn of speed.
Mr. Bowen g idea is to take the same
monlds that are used for the Sea Wren
and increase each space by about three
inches. This would make the boat some
three feet longer with the same amount
of beam. Provided that the lines were
properly followed from mould to mould,
this would doubtless produce a craft
that would carry more sail, go quite a
little faster to windward and twice as
fast off the wind and yet be just as
seaworthv as the smaller boat, If not
more so.
The one objection to this boat is that
she would cost more than the average
Corinthian cares to spend for small
boat. But, by having half dozen of
them built at one time and reducing the
decking and other expensive parts as
much as possible. boat with these lines
fully equipped could probably be turn
ed ont by local builder for 800 at a
good profit.
ONLY ONE BUILDER.
In a one-design boat of this class
it is, of course, necessary that one man
should build all of them so as to insure
having exactly the lines on each one
The idea of these races Is that each man
starts with exactly the same conditions
as every other man in the race and so
it is up to him to win the race by
seamanship and cleverness.
When boats of this very small class
have been built by different men, it has
always turned out that there was some
difference in the lines and one of the
boats would prove the faster whoever
sailed her. In eases where they were
all built BY one man from the same
moulds, however, the opposite was the
case. In a series. recently mentioned
in the Advertiser. which took place in
San Pedro harbor. Walter Folsom. the
winner of the series, afterwards chang
ed over and raced each Of six boats at
different times He won four of the
races and was second and third in the
two others. This was conclusive proof
that it was his own ability that had
enabled him to win the series.
A boat of this description would
carry two men very comfortably, en-
abling her to carry a combination bal
loaner and spinnaker or both if neces-
sarv. The latter is preferable as, run
ming dead before the wind. the two
light sails are much better than one.
In a light breeze man who is clever
in handling light sails can walk right
away from opponents who are content
to sit and watch their kites.
GREAT KITE HANDLING.
There was a great example Of this in
one Of the Upton cup races held off San
Diego two years ago. The first leg Of
the course was off the wind, not quite
dead aft but about over the quarter.
The stake boat drifted and the yachts
were forced 10 jibe and take the wind
dead aft. The wind was very light and
three famous coast yachts, Mischief IL,
Aeolus and Monsoon were punched to-
gether with barely sufficient breeze to
move them. Then the Mischief. not
supposed to be a fast one under these
conditions. began 10 pull away from
the others. Nobody could understand
how il was until it was noticed thar the
ballooner Of the Mischief was being sys-
tematicalIy Stacked off and yanked in.
This made the sail catch what draft