Re: [bolger] Sharpie reminiscences

>He told me that when he was young he sailed 35 ft sharpies in
>Westport, CT. These were cat-ketch rigged and the mizzen hung well
>out over the stern, in contrast to the Pearson. Draft was very light
>and he said they were the fastest thing on the water going downwind.
>The centerboards were so heavily weighted that it took two young and
>strong men to raise them.
>
>All very interesting. Bodes well for the I60's, I'd say.

I think anyone who's sailed a Light Scooner (23', 1500lbs, 260ft^2
sail area) knows the I60 (60', 8-10Klbs, 1000 ft^2 sail area) will be
very fast. The only question now is how fast.

Anyone who has any doubt about a sharpies ability to sail fast should
pick up a copy of Parker's "Sharpie Book." In it you'll find accounts
of old time sharpies doing thing that most modern sloops would envy.
Parker singles out the New Haven type as the real rocket ship of the
bunch. He also wonders what a sharpie that took advantage of modern
materials might be capable of.

YIBB,

C.E.P.
415 W.46th Street
New York, New York 10036
http://www.crumblingempire.com
(212) 247-0296

I was talking to a friend today, who is an older man. We were on the
dock at the local marina looking over a Pearson 35. I commented that
in pictures the rig on this particular boat looks far forward.

He told me that when he was young he sailed 35 ft sharpies in
Westport, CT. These were cat-ketch rigged and the mizzen hung well
out over the stern, in contrast to the Pearson. Draft was very light
and he said they were the fastest thing on the water going downwind.
The centerboards were so heavily weighted that it took two young and
strong men to raise them.

All very interesting. Bodes well for the I60's, I'd say.

Peter