U.S. One-Design # 269

I had just got off the phone with George Moffat, who had modified and raced USOD US 268 in the mid 1950's, when I turned back to the computer and found an email about the next 14 in the number sequence, USOD US 269, built by Pat Curtiss in Erie Pennsylvania, in 1947.

From Pat's email:

"Here are a couple of photographs of US 269 which a friend and I built in high school from a Douglass and McLeod kit in 1947 in Erie, PA . The kit came with the centerboard case installed, so the difficult carpentry was done. We did all the rest . It was quite a surprise to the local small boat sailors to see the impressive performance of this boat. We sold the boat in 1952 and I don't know its fate.

By the way, the picture on Mar 2 of the interior is not a Douglass and McLeod model which was very similar to the Thistle, with a number of lateral slats forward near the mast step, and a number of lateral slats aft near the transom. There were two flotation tanks, one forward of the mast and the other just forward of the transom.

US312 was also in Erie PA in 1948 but we were never able to get a larger class going. We did race the boat at Put-in-Bay, OH a number of times."

Interesting about Pat's comments on the standard interior layout of the Douglass and McLeod One-Design. I do know that finishing off the shells, as Pat and his friend did, was a common way to get into the International 14 class in the 1940's and 1950's, and with all the amateur completions, there may be a wide variety of interiors. The interior layout I featured in a previous post as being of a One-Design was typical of the Uffa 14's being built in the late 1930's and was carried over to the early Fairey Marine 14's in the late 1940's. Come to think of it, the photo in that previous post may be a early Fairey Marine 14 and not a US One-Design. Oops! (After some thought, I've corrected that previous post.)

The two pictures, Pat sent along:

USOD # 370 Re-emerges - Slightly worn but restorable

Yarrow Thorne from Providence R.I. emails:

"I just picked up hull 370 today and hope to have the boat ready for display at the worlds in Toronto 2013........ I am looking forward to bringing back a classic."

From the pics, looks like USOD # 370 has spent a lot of time propped up on the starboard gunwhale, a long enough time that gunwhale is completely gone and the veneer on the sheer has deteriorated. Also, the interior seems to have disappeared; the thwart looks to be a modern afterthought. It's obvious Yarrow is starting from a basic shell, but, all in all, looks like a good project.

USOD # 360 Sails Again

Paul and Yvonne Galvez got their newly purchased USOD # 360 on the water last weekend (not sure where in Southern California it was, but there are some spectacular cliffs in the background). Paul's email was bubbling over with enthusiasm at sailing this newly rediscovered gem:

"Finally had a chance to put the old girl through her paces... I'm impressed. The boat is lively and very responsive. Even though she is tame by today's standards, it is still an athletic boat and demands precise trim for optimum speed and height. Believe it or not, the sails are original Ratsey and Lapthorne from '47. They are a bit blown out compared to what I am used to but in extraordinary shape nonetheless, with very little wear. This boat does not have any weight in the centerboard. No jib sheet cleats either. We got it planing in about 15 knots true and relatively flat seas. The vang exploded on a power reach but everything else held up fine.

She is getting a makeover now and will be beefed up at the mast partner, bulkheads,  dagger board trunk, and of course the vang. We do not want anymore explosions... Plans are to also replace the hiking straps and buoyancy tanks, along with some aesthetics. She should hopefully be ready to go by Summer. There is already talk of shipping her to Toronto for a vintage regatta that may take place during the 14 Worlds next year. Stay tuned."

And the pics of USOD #360 bombing along, spray flying after spending decades in a garage:

US One-Design Classic International 14 (Part 2)

Southern California becomes the center of the USOD class

Somewhere in the late 1940's the nexus of U.S One-Design International 14 fleet activity (the one-design now switched from the R.I.P. design to the Douglass and McLeod hot molded Uffa Fox Alarm hull shape) moved from the Rochester fleet to the Southern Californian fleet. And as one dynamic mover-and-shaker exited (the founder of the US International 14 class, George Ford of Rochester, retired from 14's and started another successful yachting career on the Great Lakes in a Sparkman and Stephens designed yawl), another one emerged, a Southern Californian, Dick Fenton, the Commodore of Balboa Yacht Club, Commodore of Southern California Yachting Association, and by 1948, president of the nascent U.S. International Fourteen Association.

Details of the rise of the Southern Californian USOD fleet are somewhat sketchy; it would be best to first go back and reread the excellent early Southern California history as put down by Peter Gales. It is at the 1948 "International Championship Regatta", hosted by George Ford and the Rochester Yacht Club, that the Southern Californians demonstrated how strong a one-design International 14 fleet they had organized in three short years. Six Californian 14 teams made the cross-country trip out east and they left with the majority of the prizes.

What do we know about the USOD from the  1948 "International Championship Regatta"?

1. A one-design rule had already been hammered out by 1948, as the regatta was split into two series; a three race series for the US One-Designs and a three race series for the "Open" International 14 (the Canadians were having none of this one-design; led by Charlie Bourke, they were happily developing new designs - also being hot molded). The USOD fleet met the requirements for the 'Open" rule (the English 14 development rule) and sailed  for the "Open" series trophies as well.
2. The one-design rule allowed lighter 14's than the open rule as some of the USOD's had to carry correctors to meet the 225 lb. hull weight minimum when racing in the "Open" rule.
3. In the light air to drifter series, the 1935 Alarm hull of the USOD would prove as fast as anything designed up to that point; five of the USOD's scoring better in the "Open" series than Charlie Bourke's 1944 'Conneda". (This was nothing out-of-the-ordinary as, much later, a re-rigged USOD would win a light air regatta in the 1970's against the latest Kirbys and Proctors.)
4. Obviously Douglass and McLeod was selling the USOD, either as a hull or a complete 14, to anyone who wanted to front the money. Since the USOD was the only 14 game in town for the United States in the late 1940's, the Douglass and McLeod USOD filtered into the East Coast - besides the fleet in Rochester there was a small fleet in Essex Ct -,  though the majority of boats were going west to the burgeoning fleet in Southern California. The East Coast, like the Canadians, would never buy into the one-design rule, but (and this is where the confusion comes from) the Douglass and McLeod Alarm hulls would always be referred to as the U.S. One Design (USOD), or One-Design for short, even though, on the East Coast, they would never be raced as a one-design.

Below is the somewhat famous photo of the kingpin of the early Southern Californian USOD fleet, Dick Fenton, in his Douglass and McLeod number 116 (note the caret symbol under the 14 insignia - designating this 14 as a one-design), sailing with a reef in the main.

(To be continued.)

Davidson Ski Company; More Information Needed

When I went digging into this North American International 14 history, I thought that only Douglass and McLeod built the hot-molded Uffa Alarm hull. I did have a couple of measurement certificates from the Seattle fleet that listed "Davidson" as a builder of the "One-Design" (Alarm shapes), but I assumed that this was probably a boat builder that was finishing off molded hulls supplied by Douglass and McLeod.

It appears that I have been wrong, as there was a Davidson Ski Company that morphed into the Davidson Manufacturing Company in Vancouver, British Columbia, and it appears they were hot-molding canoes, small sailboats and also, from my records, their own version of the Alarm International 14.

I haven't a confirmation of this, but everything points to this. I came across Phillip Merchant who posted this history on a wooden canoe forum:

"I have been doing some research on the Davidson company(s) and this is the first that I have heard of them building canoes. It does not surprise me however, as they seemed to have had many interests over the years. What I have so far is that Hamish Davidson was a cabinet maker and early on developed an interest in building skis. He built wooden skis (and I'm sure many other things) through the late 1920's and into the 1940's. There is a pair of wooden skis in a museum in Quebec circa 1940 built by him. There is also a reference to him building some of the first fiberglass skis. 

In the 1940's Davidson and Charles Hourston worked for Boeing together building the Mosquito bombers. In 1948 Davidson (with Charles Hourston) started building small boats of wood and later fiberglass. There seems to be several different companies under variations of the name Davidson."

Davidson had experience with the hot-molded wood manufacturing in building the Mosquito bombers, there exists hot molded 12 foot and 17 foot Davidson daysailors, and I have measurement certificates for Davidson built US One-Design (Alarm) International 14's - the only proper conclusion is that we have another builder of the US One-Design hot-molded hulls.

Internet research and inquiries on Davidson Manufacturing have not yielded anything in response. Hence, if you are reading this and have more information, leave a comment or track down my email address in my "About Me" section.

1958 USIFA Roster

One of the first things Stuart Walker did when he started the class newsletter 'On The Plane' in 1958 was compile a class roster. Good thing he did, as his roster is the best historical snapshot we have at who owned what 14 in 1958. I've redone the roster as a PDF file.

US 408

Another D&M One-Design has been located, this one in Ithaca NY. Owned by John Greenly, he bought it in 1971 from the West Coast. He has replaced the wooden mast with a cut down 505 mast and added some buoyancy. I have this 14 being owned by R.J. Savage of Corona del Mar, California in 1958.

Hopefully, down the road, he will send some pics.

Pictures from the Peter Gale article

Here are two pictures that accompanied the Peter Gale article about the history of the International 14 in Southern California (again from the May 1992 issue of Planing On). Both pictures are of the molded-plywood, One-Design 'Alarm' shape. Pictures from the 1950's. (Again, click inside the picture to start a slideshow.)

Southern Californian One-Designs off the Long Beach waterfront.

I'm not sure if Sue Ficker is - or is not - related to Bill Ficker, skipper of Intrepid in the 1970's America's Cup.

Peter Gale on the History of the 14 in Southern California

From the May 1992 issue of U.S. International 14 newsletter "Planing ON".

From Carbon, Back to Hot Molded Wood

2011 U.S National Champ, Paul Galvez, (in the modern hi-tech International 14's) shot an email over to "Old 14er Central" about his surprising latest International 14 purchase.

"We just recently purchased a Douglas One Design, USA 360 built in '49. It's in surprisingly good shape and we intend to complete a restoration of her true to her era. If you have any info about this particular boat, please let me know. Any info about the Douglas One Design including photos of rigging and deck layout would be much appreciated. We are also consulting with our west coast elders for any info to make sure the restoration is accurate."

 Paul didn't detail who the "We" was in the team behind this purchase. I checked the records and US 360 isn't listed. The date of 1949 looks correct though (I have records on US 332 and US 390 as both being built in 1949). It does look like there is, on the West Coast, a considerable amount of restoration on International 14's that were built just post WW II. Perhaps a vintage gathering down the road?

Paul, two wire blasting in his modern International 14.................

US 360.... looks from the photo that Paul picked up a complete vintage 14 thats ready to go......

Two Pictures; US 116 and Sailing in Annapolis Harbor

Two pictures (click inside any picture for slideshow); The first picture Mark Woodard found on the Internet. US 116 is presumed to be a hot molded Sandy Douglass/Uffa Fox Alarm hull.

A picture in Annapolis Harbor. Looks to be frostbite sailing back when there were no drysuits or wetsuits. Skipper and crew unknown. Hull design unknown. Looks to be in the early 1960's.

Pics of US 112

All pictures by Mark Woodard. Click in one of the pictures to start a slideshow.

US 112 in Mukilteo Washington

Mark Woodard writes;

I bought #112 a little over a year ago and set out to maker 'er sail again. The boat was largely complete, but was in pretty worn shape. It was a basket, a double-planked hull with "oiled silk (think umbrella) between the layers to give it an hint of being water tight. She was a basket. When I grabbed hold of the transom and gave it a jerk you could see the entire boat flex this way and that.

I soon realized that to "restore" the boat to using its original construction methods - 7,500+ copper clinched nails into 83 steam-bend ribs - could never be accomplished in my life time. So, I decided "rebuild" the boat using West System epoxy and turn it into a practical, sailable boat for 1-2 people. BLAPHOMEY (sp?)! When I first broached the approach on a wooden boat blog I thought they'd hunt me down and crucify me!

Please feel free to use my photos. I'd love to know who built my boat and when. I suspect that it might have been built by Sandy Douglass before the much more cost-effective hot-molding process came along, but I can't be sure. Two distinguishing features on my boat: The next to the closest plank next to the rail was (and is) a contrasting, darker color. Also, the sail insignia doesn't have a straight line under the 14, it's more of a mushed "caret" - a shallow "V". Any and all information on the origins of "Maureen" - my departed Grandmother - would be greatly appreciated.

My reply;

I looked in my archives. US119 was built in 1940 by Sandy Douglas and was listed as a Uffa One Design (this was the Alarm hull design that would become the basis of the Jet 14 class). I would think your hull is close in age to those dates.

The latest Woodenboat has a continuing series on Uffa Fox. I didn't realize that Sandy Douglass beat Uffa to hot moulding hulls. Sandy Douglass wrote an autobiography "Sixty years before the mast". I haven't read it but I did check Wikipedia which has Sandy getting into boatbuilding in 1938. Int 14 US 112 was built in the pre-war Uffa Fox method, diagonal planking sandwiching a waterproof fabric inner layer so if you have a Sandy Douglass boat, it was one of the early ones that Sandy built.

The assumption is that Sandy used Uffa's building methods until he was able to utilize the WWII developed hot moulding techniques. I think there are probably some people out there that know Sandy's history better than I. I wonder where Sandy's archival history went?

Note from Steven Smith about Douglas and McLeod Int. 14's

Received this note from Steven Smith of California, who is looking for a Douglas and McLeod International 14 to restore.

"I've been trying to research the Fourteens of the 1940's and 1950's, those my Dad refers to as the Douglass one-design 14. I would just love to find one of Douglass' molded plywood 14's to restore and sail.

I grew up sailing the Thistle, crewing with my Dad starting at age 8. I sailed with him until I finished college and my sister took over my spot on the boat. We did plenty of restoration work on the old woodie Thistle, of course also built by D&M, including new rails and re-fitting the centerboard trunk. Its still one of the fastest Thistles around. Now at age 54, I find myself back in the middle spot on the Thistle again. I love the way the boat sails, but for my own boat, I can't muster a crew of 3, and the Thistle is just a tad too big and heavy to fit in my side yard.

So, my mind wanders to how wonderful it would be to have one of the old molded plywood 14's, perfect for me and my wife in light to medium air, and with a big friend in heavier wind. In a perfect world there would be enough of these beautiful old boats around to race each other, but I would be content with just the delight of an afternoon sail. Actually, I suspect the local Thistle fleet would be happy to have me race with them.

As I understand, D&M made 175 molded-hull 14's (?). They are no doubt mostly rotting under canvas tarps in barns -what a shame. I'll bring one back to life if I can find one. Do you have any ideas at all on where one could be found? How to even look? The current class seems so far removed from those boats that they hardly seem aware of them, and certainly don't appreciate them. What they call a 'classic' is still a modern fire-breathing beast compared to the non-trapeze boats. The vintage wood boat movement in the UK seems to do better, but of course they would not
have any of Douglass' boats.

Also, there is a book from England that is referenced but I can't find a hard copy, T.J. Vaughan's "History of the Fourteens, 1923-2003" or something like that. Any chance you might know where or how to get a copy of the book? The text is online, but apparently the book has pictures, drawings, figures.

I'm on the west coast, San Jose, CA. but I wouldn't mind traveling east if I needed to find a boat. Anyone local in the west you know of with a classic that I could meet and chat with?

Any help or suggestions you may have would be appreciated."

If you can help Steve, leave a comment to this post, or email me at the address found over in the "About Me" section

US390; For sale

A Douglas and McLeod Uffa Fox One Design. Built 1949. Owned by Jim Gallagher of Vermont. Up for sale on Craigslist.