My research has uncovered three U.S. builders of the Uffa Fox inspired "bones" International 14's prior to WWII.
Rochester Boat Works- Volney Lacey and his boat-building business, Rochester Boat Works, would build the first 11 R.I.P. copies, 6 in 1935, and 5 in 1936. Volney Lacey's boat yard was in close proximity to the Rochester Yacht Club, and since 1917 had been building fast runabouts, and providing a full service yard for the yachting elite of Rochester. He was a natural choice when George Ford went looking for a builder of R.I.P. copies. Volney took a look at the exquisite construction of the Uffa built R.I.P. and decided he couldn't duplicate it and also make any money from building these new-fangled 14-footers. He changed the spec, putting in larger ribs at a greater spacing, and eliminating the small seats of the Uffa 14's, adding the stiffness back in by building a wide gunwhale plank where the crew sat (he got around the rule by cutting 3/4" slots to make it an "open" boat). The Rochester Boat Work's R.I.P. copies were not considered fast. Norm Cole called them "crude" and they were most likely heavy. Volney Lacey would not make any more R.I.P. copies after 1936, citing an inability to make a profit even at the reduced spec. But George Ford had already located another builder.
A.C.E. Boat Works - Starting in 1937, the Rochester fleet would get their R.I.P. copies from an obscure boat-builder in Syracuse, New York. George Ford selected Albert F. Englert, who, with his brother Clarence, had been building small runabouts since 1930. Albert also had a good reputation for building fast Snipes. It is unclear how many R.I.P. copies Albert and his brother produced (some estimates are 12-18) but it appears he built them from 1937 - 1941. He also supplied hulls to Cape Cod Shipbuilding, most likely starting in late 1939. (Cape Cod Shipbuilding was advertising their International 14 for the 1940 New York Boat Show.) Norm Cole remembers they were built to the "R.I.P. spec" but were also very flexible. He relates that you could grab the forestay on an Englert 14, wiggle it back and forth, and watch the transom dance. The Englert R.I.P. 14's were down to weight (225 lbs) and fast enough, George Ford would pilot the first one, US 11 Venture to an unbeaten season among the Rochester fleet in 1938.
Gordon Douglass Boat Works - George Ford had recruited Sandy Douglass to the class in 1938 when some of the Rochester Y.C. 14 fleet attended the Put-In-Bay regatta. Sandy would shortly begin building "bones" 14's in his shop at Vermilion Ohio, the "Fishhouse"; building them to the full Uffa spec. Again it is unclear how many he made but it is probable he only built them for three years. He, like Volney Lacey, found the Uffa building method too time consuming to make any money. Sandy estimated that, to build one "bones" 14, to hammer the double planking to the ribs and then clench the nails, took 70,000 hammer blows! Sandy's "bones" 14's were considered stiff and down to weight.
It is highly likely, (though I haven't confirmed it by measuring his boats) that Sandy was building his "bones" 14 to Uffa's Alarm lines and not to the older R.I.P lines. (See the comment by Stephen Smith to this post.) Sandy was a very good friend of Uffa from their time competing in the sailing canoes. In 1935, the same year George Ford was trying to get the Americans going with the R.I.P design, Stewart Morris had appeared on the English scene with the faster Uffa Alarm. It wouldn't surprise me if Uffa happily provided Sandy with the lines to Alarm when Sandy let him know that he intended to build International 14's.
[ed. note - I don't have a copy of Sandy Douglass's book, "Sixty Years Before the Mast" though I did peruse it some time ago. Some of the questions may be answered in his book.]
Existing known 14's of each builder -
- Rochester Boat Works - US 5 Eddystone Light - Mystic Seaport Museum, CT.
- ACE Boat Works - US 79 Chit - Mariners Museum, VA., US 34 - Restored Lake Wanaksink, N.Y. - bought from Cape Cod Shipbuilding -
- Douglass Boat Works - US 112 - Mark Woodard, WA.
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