What is the fastest "classic" pre WWII era yacht

Chris in Santa Cruz CA

Chris in Santa Cruz CA

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SF Woody Sailor

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The OP asked about a yacht, and that excludes all the commercial vessels like the clippers, no? The little experimental cats were a fascinating development platform, but I am not sure you could call them yachts within the OP's meaning. 

Reliance is certainly a sentimental favorite and an amazing achievement, but she had so many incompatible metals that she was a big battery that "fizzed like Alka- Seltzer" so had to be scrapped pretty much right after winning the Cup I thought.

So for any kind of buoy racing it would have to be Ranger. If you were racing boat for boat in SORC or Clipper Cup or Admirals Cup is there another yacht you would prefer to bring to the line?

For any kind of ocean racing it would have to be Atlantic wouldn't it it? The boats that were first to finish TransPac at that time were like the 67 footer Chubasco. Who was first to finish Bermuda in those days? It seems to me that Atlantic would have smoked them in TransPac or TransAt or Bermuda or Cape-Town Rio.

Straight line speed doesn't mean too much. Would you really consider kite boards or windsurfers or Sailrocket2 yachts? 

 
Santanasailor

Santanasailor

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While technically the difference between a boat and a yacht is the ability to have at least rudimentary arrangements to stay aboard after the days’ sailing or for crew off watch to have a place to eat and sleep.  However inland sailing often considered their larger sailing craft yachts.  Hence, the ILYA or Inland Lake Yachting Association.  So, consider the E-Scow and A-Scow.  Both were and still capable of speeds well over 25 mph and both can reliably pull water skiers or wakeboarders.  

So, pictures of a very early A-Scow and our familie’s E-Scow at speed after the war but sailed by the Brothers Kirste Will and Art as well as guest crew well before the war.  

5D9D98D9-640B-4191-A4B8-3AF311DEF874.jpeg

A3D697FA-C38E-47E8-B17D-2061BD5AE9C9.jpeg

 
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JMOD

JMOD

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Ester was a 50ft rocketship, well ahead of her time. many items you find on TP52's were put into place in this 1901 rocket ship. under deck turnbuckles for the shrouds to reduce windage, all halyards led to below deck for a lower center of gravity, aluminium truss rods for stiffness. deep fin keel with bulb. All screws and rivets were drilled out (in 1901) which would save another 17kg in total...

https://www.yachtingworld.com/extraordinary-boats/ester-classic-swedish-racing-yacht-125105

 
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Steam Flyer

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The "90 ft LWL" class of America's Cup racers... Reliant, Valkyrie II and III, Defender, Shamrock, Columbia... regularly ran 20 knots +. Independence, with most radical hull, was said to be the fastest but keeping it one piece and going in the right direction proved to be enough of a challenge that she did not sail for the Cup.

They were faster than the Js, awesome as RANGER was. They were just so much bigger than anything else, it would be a surprise if they weren't.

article-2713278-202C6C4000000578-568_962x723.jpg


King Edward VII's BRITANNIA may have been the fastest of all, because she was not designed/built to any rating rule. She was 177 ft as opposed to Reliance 148 ft. Her design priority was that Bertie could have a hot lunch while enjoying sailing.

When acting as a trial horse for Dunraven's and then Lipton's challengers, her skipper deliberately slowed her down so as to give the other a chance to show improvement; in summer racing against VIGILANT she ran away from the Cup winner dramatically.

Wilhelm-II-on-SMS-Meteor-IV.jpg


It's also likely that Meteor II, the Kaiser's racing yacht specifically built to show up his English cousin, was faster. Smaller but with more sail area, she beat Britannia upwind and another of the huge racing cutters, Satanita which was said to be the fastest sailboat in the world on a reach.

These boats were man-killing brutes, but they were as fast as anything due to sheer size and power.

FB- Doug

 
Black Jack

Black Jack

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Pre war is 1914 or eariler.

It was my understanding that a yacht was a vessel over 24 feet that sailed on its own bottom from race to race, had berths and a galley. Also most pre war yachts where commercial vessels fishing or from trade first then made into gentlemens cruisers and racers. The objection to the Cat of Herroshoff created was that it did not have any of those attributes to make it a fine well founded yacht. Hunt and Herreshoff made boats that did not comply with those understandings. The titans of industry who paid for those hot designs wanted to win regardless of the traditions or would not to comply with the rules of understanding of the race organizers and yacht club members who had interests in racing the boats they aleady had. Eventually the titans won as more orders came in for hot cheater boats as everyone who is someone wants to win at sailing in the big venues.

That would make RELIANCE the fastest prewar yacht beating Fifes' SHAMROCK III.

815457455_ScreenShot2021-06-10at10_23_46AM.png

 
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Chris in Santa Cruz CA

Chris in Santa Cruz CA

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Black Jack said:
Pre war is 1914 or eariler.

It was my understanding that a yacht was a vessel over 24 feet that sailed on its own bottom from race to race, had berths and a galley. Also most pre war yachts where commercial vessels fishing or from trade first then made into gentlemens cruisers and racers. The objection to the Cat of Herroshoff created was that it did not have any of those attributes to make it a fine well founded yacht. Hunt and Herreshoff made boats that did not comply with those understandings. The titans of industry who paid for those hot designs wanted to win regardless of the traditions or would not to comply with the rules of understanding of the race organizers and yacht club members who had interests in racing the boats they aleady had. Eventually the titans won as more orders came in for hot cheater boats as everyone who is someone wants to win at sailing in the big venues.

That would make RELIANCE the fastest prewar yacht beating Fifes' SHAMROCK III.

View attachment 445822
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this may be the single best photo of a yacht race ever

 
fastyacht

fastyacht

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Stebbins photos are absolute Gems. I think that one is also a Stebbins but I could be wrong

 
fastyacht

fastyacht

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At I thi k the Corinthian YC there are half models of those two on the wall.

 
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W

Wckoek

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quod umbra said:
No love for Nina??

Have some great books on Escapade. Grad Dad navigated her too.
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I like Nina, and always wondered why there isn't more staysail schooner like Nina build.

Speaking of schooner, I think Alden's Malabar did well for a time before S&S came with Dorade.

Never sail on one of these, are they considered slow these days?

 
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Squalamax

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Kevlar Edge said:
View attachment 445816
Was lucky enough to get a ride in a classic regatta on this beauty 

The big daddy to the 110 and 210

Any guesses

Ray Hunt was a genius 
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That's a 110 you have pictured. RH designed 110's, 210's 310's, 410's and I think even a 510(which I don't think was ever built.)

There's a Hunt 410 in Quisett harbor on Buzzards Bay called Huntress. 

 
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