Quick turning has always been a necessity with the yachts of the Broads, and this has been attained by the help of three peculiarities—a keel short for the length of the boat, a rudder so large as to be in reality a movable keel or leeboard, and an enormous jib, which is the only head-sail. The size of the jib is also influenced by the fact that it has to balance the equally enormous mainsail. In order partly to carry as much sail as is required for these smooth waters the mast is always well forward, and with a large mainsail and boom projecting far over the counter great head-sail is a necessity.
The old measurement of racing craft used simply to be length on the 'ram' or keel, which as long as all boats were of the same type in other respects was fair enough. But a boat, say, 20 ft. over all would have a counter of 9 ft. or 9 ft. 6 in.; practically half her length would be counter. I do not think this great counter was altogether the result of an attempt to cheat the tonnage measurement, although no doubt this may have had some influence. It was more the result of circumstances; the yacht with a short keel, well forward, and great rudder, turned more quickly than a boat of similar size with longer keel and smaller rudder. About half this great counter was permanently immersed, and when a boat laid over, almost the whole of it came into bearing. It was popularly supposed that the broad, flat counter peculiar to the old boats bore the weight of the boom; the yachts, though very quick and handy, carried tremendous weather helm and were very hard to steer, sometimes taking the strength of two men to prevent them shooting into the wind. When the helm is let go, the little vessel shoots so quickly into the wind that she might be put about on the other tack by backing the jib, without further touch of the tiller. In fact, so powerful is the great overhang of mainsail and jib in controlling the balance pivoted on the short keel that I have many times tacked a 4-ton boat up a narrow reach without touching the tiller at all, simply by manipulating the sheets, and this, too, while sailing single-handed. This was by way of experiment only. The usual way of sailing a 4-ton, or, for the matter of that, a 10-ton yacht single-handed, is while going to windward to make the mainsheet fast, steer with your back, and work the jibsheet with your hands. Reaching or going free you work the mainsheet and jibsheet alternately as best you can. All the boats have large open wells, the jibsheets lead aft through a couple of blocks shackled to the clew of the sail, with the standing part fast to eyes on each plankway, and leading blocks further aft. Thus there is just sufficient purchase to enable a strong man to control the jibsheet of a 10-ton boat. In sailing these boats there is no making the jibsheet fast if you wish to get the best speed out of the vessel. They are trimmed to an inch, and every bend of the river means a careful and anxious adjustment of the jibsheet. The same remarks apply to the mainsheet, and where two or three equally capable amateurs are engaged in sailing there will be keen differences of opinion as to the proper quantity of sheet to be allowed out, and hot arguments as to the advisability of an inch more or less, when to the man accustomed to sailing in more open water the difference would appear immaterial.
In tacking, the stern of the boat swings upon the pivot of the forefoot, and it frequently happens that in sailing close to the bank of the river before putting about, although the bowsprit bends the grasses, and the stem is clear of the bank, yet the counter cannons against the bank or shaves the mud.
Whether it was found that advantage was taken of the keel measurement to get larger boats by means of immersed counters, or whether it was simply to give more scope to designers, is a matter of controversy; but it was ordained that half the length of the counter had to be added to the length of keel to form the factor of length, the rest of the measurement being according to the Thames rule. This rule of measurement prevailed for many years without any particular alteration in the type of boat supervening. Then, and only recently, length on the load-water-line was taken, and presently the Y.R.A. rules of measurement and rating were adopted.
The effect of the alteration has been to lengthen the keel, and perhaps to round up the forefoot a little. It has been suggested that it would be as easy to attain the quick turning by rounding the forefoot and having the greatest draught aft as it is by the present method of keeping the draught well forward and shortening the keel; but there is this objection—the shores next the banks are frequently shoal and muddy. When the boat swings round on her deep forefoot, if that is free from mud the lighter draught stern is sure to follow; but when a light draught forefoot is still free from the mud, the deeper draught stern swings on to it and is caught, and the boat's head pays off to leeward before she releases herself. Experience goes to show that in the larger classes the boat with much drag aft is not suitable for these shallow-margined rivers, and that to succeed in racing it is necessary to be able to perform the feat of waltzing a boat round and round in little more than her own extreme length, as the writer has done by way of experiment. A boat which will only handle when she has steerage way does not stand much chance.
'Greyhound,' midship section.
The yachts used generally to be built by that rule-of-thumb method, the result of long and slow experience, which has often proved more sure than the experiments of science; but of late years two boat-builders have studied intelligently the principles of design, and have applied them with great success to the building of the most successful craft yet seen upon these waters. These two are Mr. Brighton of Yarmouth, and Mr. Mollett of Brundall. The former has confined his attention to the larger class of craft in use here, and the latter to the smaller vessels. First of Mr. Brighton's boats to attract attention was the 3-tonner 'Trixie,' then the 9-tonner 'Wanderer,' and then the 4-tonner 'Greyhound,' all in their time the best boats of their class, although run hard by those of other designers. The 'Trixie' is a boat 27 ft. 6 in. over all, 20 ft. 6 in. stem to sternpost, 24 ft. on the water-line, 6 ft. 6 in. beam, and 3 ft. 9 in. draught of water; boom 25 ft., gaff 20 ft., bowsprit outboard 22 ft. She carried about 4 tons of lead ballast. The 'Greyhound' was designed by William Brighton, but built by workmen of the owner, Mr. John Hall, of Yarmouth. In design she is undoubtedly the best produced by Brighton, and therefore the best boat of her size on the rivers. Proportionately to size, she is a better boat than the 'Wanderer.' Since she was built, in 1889, she has won 175 first prizes and 30 second, in addition to several challenge cups, and is also a good little boat at sea, thinking nothing of making the 'outside' passage direct from Lowestoft to Dover in fair weather. The design we give is traced from the moulds off which the yacht was built. The dimensions are as follows:—