The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1913-10-31
Common-Sense Construction and Sporting Chance
For Upton in Next Race for the Americas Cup

Great Britain and the United states
will clash again In navel conflict next
year-when Sir Thomas Upton comes
ads,oss the Atlantic with Shamrock
IVto win the Americas cup, wnlch
he has failed to do upon three occa'
sidns.
The 1914 contest will be between
common sense, modern racing yachts
of approximately rs feet water-iine
length. That is, they Will measure
not more than IS feet at the surface,
in racing trim.
In the past the racers were limited
TO 80 feet water-line length. The de-
signer could build HE craft as wide
as he wished, as deep as he desired
end pile as much canvas upon the
huIl as he saw fit.
During the past 80 years eight races
have been sailed for the cup. And
now, waiting III years, Upton Is re-
turning for another try. The races
TO date we're as follows, the chal-
lengers being named first: Genesta-
puritan, 1885; Galatea-Mayfiower
1886: Thistle-Volunteer, 1917; Valky-
RE lY..vigilant, 1893; Valkyrie Hide
fender, 1895; Shamrock columbia,
1899: Shamrock lI-Columbia. 1901;
Shamrock IIl-Reliance, 1903.
During 80 years the water-line-and-
sail.area rule gradually produced an
extreme type of yacht, with great
beam and length on deck, extreme
dranght. carrying an enormous spread
OF sail. necessitating large crew.
The effort to carry the largest pos
sible sail spread showed In hull and
material Reliance, on water-line
length of SO feet s inches, measured
on deck l45 feet. 81 feet beam ana
2O%feet draught A cross section OF
the hull resembled shallow cham
pagne glass with fat floor and
hard bigles carried well into bow and
stern sections. The result was That
Reliance immersed fully los feet when
heeling at 20 degrees, giving her
tremendous advantage In windward
work.
The use OF special steel and Tobin.
bronze enabled the designer to reduce
hull weight and proportionately IN
crease the lead at the bottom OF tho
keel. Herreshoff hung 95 tons OF lead
in the keel Of Reliance an spread
1921 sarare feet OF canvas on her.
Reliance cost approximately $780,
600 and the running expenses were
proportionately heavy. 1t required so
men to handle her and when the race
NJ. oI&a
A 75-foot modern yacht such as the
next race calls for carries sail area
approximately equal to that OF the
IS or 90-footer Of 20 years ago and
is large enough to provide o thor
ough test OF the designers skill and
the racing crews ability.
Construction cost Is cut In half and
so IA operating cost. Moreover, un-
der the new rule yacht is built,
which, when the race Is over, can be
used, az fast and -seryiceable cruiser.
The accompanying drawing, repro
duced from the Scientific American.
shows at a glance the general reduc-
,ioy, I'm size and increase In hardness
OF the 75-footer.
The 75footer deck length Is about
90 feet and draught about IL feet 3
inches, while the lead Is cut from 20
10 "a tons. The boom is shortened
from 115 feet to "a feet and the spar
from boom to topmast drops from
I55 feet to III feet. Cost drops to
$4,000 and running cost one-half.
At present yHerreshoff Is supposed
TO be designing two defender candi-
dates and athird may be built in Boz
ton. II must be admitted that the
prospect of keeping the cup In this
country Ia not 80 favorable az II would
be were the race between 90-footers,