Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-09


courses are in Eastern Block Island Sol
For the first time a match Is
required to be jibheaded.
It is the first match with the con
Of Class ].
It is the first match with scantlinl
1t Is the first match with an Ann
professional, Harold S. Vanderbilt to S;
Of Shamrock v.
It is the first match with movable
Take a look, first, at the American
= sloop which will resist Sir Thomas Lip
tons determined struggle to lift the
old mug.
First and foremost the Enterprise is
"a fine sailing vessel, and no matter what
the outcome of the America Cup match
she will give some future owner many
syears of fine racing and cruising.
She Is not racing machine. This
shas all been very much changed from
the yachts that raced for the cup %
wears or more ago. The universal rat
ing rule, to which both the defender
land challenger have been built, pro-
-duces wholesome craft instead OF q
tracing machine.
Restrictions Added.
Resolute of 1914, Defender in 1920
sand her contender, the Vanitie, the first
yachts of Americas Cup class under
this rating rule, have for many years
:been the leaders in the sport, and in
the early racing Of this season con-
:tested against the cup sloops. In re-
scent years added restrictions have been
written into the rule, limiting length to
"a percentage of the rating measure
.ment. establishing minimum Of free
board and limiting the height OF the
smast, according to the SAD area.
In the last year other limitations,
sscantling restrictions, have also been
sadded. Thus the defender, Enterprise,
sand the challenger. Shamrock v, are on
san even basis in regard to the con-
.struction of the hull. Both were built
Ito Lloyd's "Rules for the Construction
.of Yachts" These scantling restric-
-tions place minimum on area. thick
mess, weight or strength on structural
bmaterial that enters into the construc-
stion of the hulls.
! Enterprise, 100 feet inches in over
sAll length, is q steel skeleton plated with
bronze. This metal was chosen as it
sgives the smoothest racing surface
known. Above the waterline 1t is
painted white, but the underbody is
untouched by paint, kept smooth and
-clean by frequent polishing when the
-sloop is hauled out of water.
The method of plating is unusual In
q yacht OF this type, the lower edge Of
each plate being "joggled" or Offset in
q special press and forming an outside
LAP over the upper edge of the next
sstrake. The advantage Of this method
is the saving in the weight Of the
.-'liners" necessary with other methods
sof plating. The effect to the eye is q
.strip of bronze, about 2 inches wide.
running for the full length of the hull
salong the outside of each seas.
Centerboard Disappearing.
: The centerboard as material element
of lateral resistance, after doing much
ito keep the Americas Cup on the
sAmerican side Of the Atlantic for many
years, has almost disappeared from
racing. Enterprise Is fitted with a
comparatively small centerbcard as q
possible necessity In windward work,
eand has In addition a small Triangular,
no dagger" board, immediately abaft
sthe main board.
with the rule requiring much heavier
shulls, with the proportion Of weight Of
shull to lead keel greatly increased in
the construction Of the body of the
Eyacht, the designers were forced to re-
afine the cup sloops above deck. This
ahas certainly been accomplished.
record that has stood on the yacht
ling books for 20 years was bettered by
both Enterprise and Yankee In q trial
race August 81. Columbia, queen Of
aall the cup sloops, on Newport in Au-
sgust, 1901, established q 30-mile tri-
angular course record Of 2:51:40 First
1.-The Enterprise reduced this to 2:49:2O
sonly to have the Yankee q few minutes
slater set the record at 2:47:59.
This faster sailing ability largely can
.be accounted for by the jib-headed
slnainsail rig, or "leg O. mutton" sail,
Ecompetition is being used this year.
AS compared with rigs of the Sham
crock " and Resolute, the preceding
{ contenders for the cup, the modern
Nyacht Is o model of simplicity. Gone
.are the topmast, bowsprit, gan and
topsail yards, and in their places are
.only q long, tapering mast, q boom of
.grotesque shape, and q spinnaker boom.
Most Interesting Feature.
. BY no means the least important of
: the many changes above deck is found
in the proportion of the triangle that
sforms the total sail area. Until recent
years this approached the eQuilateral
form, the base, from the end of the long
sbowsprit to the end Of the equally long
boom, being In length about equal to
J the sides. At present the sail plane
z Is forced upward until the base Is only
.about half the height, the result being
q high, narrow triangle for the main
80 AOA
lib and forestaysail.
What holds the spread Of 1883 square
!. feet of canvas aloft?
The mast is one of the most inter-
testing features Of the defender. 1t con-
sists of two shells of duralumin and
. Is the first big mast of that metal ever
made in the world. More than 1907 0C
rivets were used in its construction
1t is much lighter than a wooden stick
!. of its length and is actually stronger
than q wooden one transversely. But
: 1t is not so strong fore and aft, and
: thus just the right strain on it in thi'
place has to be kept carefully.
BY far the most novel of all the In
novations on the Enterprise that have
/. been worked out by her designer, w
Startling Burgess, is the new boom. 4
. Is hollow in the center with ribs anc
planking just like hull Of boat, anC
is four feet across on the top. 1t haI
tracks running across, with pins anS
: slides, to which the foot Of the main
/. SAL Is attached by jack rope. Thii
!. allows the mainsail to take perfec