[Ill.u.s.tration: River Waveney craft.]

A light-displacement boat is a necessity upon Norfolk waters. It is not only that the depth is small and that the draught of a boat should not exceed 4 ft. 6 in. if she is to get about comfortably, but the water displaced by her movement has but little room to disperse in the narrower channels. It is sufficient to watch the light-displacement sailing wherry going fast through the water with scarcely a ripple, and making but slight difference in the level of the water at the gra.s.sy margins, and then to see a heavy-displacement steam wherry going not so fast, yet piling up the water in front of her, filling and emptying the d.y.k.es and runlets as she pa.s.ses, to understand that the one thing essential for speed is light displacement. Again, in a heavy-displacement craft of my own which is sometimes brought upon the rivers, whenever the waterway is constricted she moves slowly and the river craft gain upon her. When the channel suddenly broadens she seems to leap forward and away in a striking manner.

Many yachts have come to try their speed with the Norfolk boats, but generally having greater displacement have come off second-best, although possibly better craft in more open waters. The old type is a flat-bottomed boat with a deep keel spiked on to it; the angle between the keel and the hull is filled in with more or less graceful curves, but the principle is the same in the most successful of the modern racing yachts, as it was in the older craft: a beamy, flat hull and a comparatively deep keel. Practically there is no change in the midship sections other than that which more skilled workmanship and more artistic design have evolved. The principle is only the same, however, so far as the midship section is concerned. Great advances, or at all events alterations, have gradually been made in the longitudinal design of the boats.

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 circ.u.mstances; 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 quant.i.ty 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 gra.s.ses, 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 sh.o.r.es 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 cla.s.ses 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: '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 cla.s.s 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 cla.s.s, 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'

pa.s.sage 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:--

Length L.W.L. 25.27 feet " over all 34.45 "

Beam 6 feet 8 inches Overhang forward 3.30 feet " aft 5.88 "

Rudder-head from taffrail 6.0 "

Draught amidships 5.0 "

Lead on keel 3 tons No inside ballast.

For sea-work her rating is 3.9 tons.

Boom 22.55 feet Gaff 17.15 "

Foresail 359.3 square feet Topsail 110.0 " "

Mainsail 452.2 " "

----- 921.5 " "

[Ill.u.s.tration: Lines of the 'Greyhound,' 1892, Norfolk Broads yacht.]

For river-work she spreads 1,014 sq. ft. sail-area, and her rating is about 4.5.

The boat is built entirely without caulking, with not a single b.u.t.t in deck or hull. The keel is Memel oak; skin of yellow pine 1-1/8 inch; sawn timbers 2 inches square, with steamed timbers 1-1/2 inch square.

She is in every respect beautifully finished, and some of her success may be attributable to the excellence of her workmanship.

The designer has refused us any dimensions of the 'Wanderer,' but we believe that practically she is an enlarged edition of the 'Greyhound.' She has been run close, if not excelled, by the 'Corona,'

a boat designed for both sea and river, and fairly good on each. She has greater draught and more rise of floor, with greater displacement.

At first she was fitted with a centreboard, which, however, was found as useless as it generally is in a boat of comparatively deep draught.

Its province is in shoal boats. I tried a centreboard in the 4-tonner 'Swan,' but discarded it after one season. None of the racing yachts over 3 tons have centreboards, and experience has shown that on these waters the centreboard is only of use for the smaller and flatter boats. It is true that Loynes, the boat-letter, has many yachts up to about 20 tons fitted with centreboards, but then his vessels are designed to navigate the shallowest Broads, and centreboards are a necessity in his case. He is, by the way, an adept at fitting centreboards with various devices to facilitate handling them, and his cranks and automatic brakes and other mechanical contrivances are most ingenious and effective.

The 'Corona' was designed and built by Peed of Oulton, who had built several fast-sailing boats. She is supposed to be a better boat in rough water than the 'Wanderer,' running her close also in the river reaches at Cantley, where the regattas are frequently held. She is also a comfortable cruising boat, having two cabins with good accommodation. Her chief measurements are:--

Length over all 50 feet " W. L. 33 feet 6 inches Beam 9 "

Draught 6 "

Ballast 6 tons

Mr. Mollett's boats have chiefly been of the open and half-decked cla.s.s. His first great success was the 'Cigarette,' a centreboard lugsail boat, which won a great number of prizes and was a perfect witch in going to windward. He followed this up by several similar boats, all fairly successful and betraying advances in cleverness of design and experiments upon well-thought-out principles.

In 1890 Mr. Mollett startled the boating fraternity by producing a kind of double-hulled boat called the 'Gossip,' which, to use his own words, is 'curious though fast.' Her deck appearance is that of an oblong raft, and the section of her hull is that of a flattened W.

There is no actual division between the hulls, but a hollow runs along the middle so that when the boat is on an even keel the top of the hollow is upon the water-line. When she heels over the windward hull is raised more or less out of the water, and the vessel sails on the support of the leeward portion, the windward portion acting as a kind of outrigger or windward ballast. The b.u.t.tock lines are, roughly speaking, segments of a circle of long radius with only the middle and lower part of the segment immersed. She had no keel, but a centreboard dropping between the hulls, and a deep rudder. Her dimensions are: Length over all, 28 ft.; length on L.W.L., 17-1/2 ft.; beam, 7-1/4 ft.; depth, 2-1/4 ft.; draught of hull, 10 in.; draught with plate down, 3-3/4 ft.; area of sail in foresail and lug mainsail, 460 ft.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 'Castanet.']

The 'Gossip' was extremely fast running and when sailed full, and won several races. Her mode of going to windward looked peculiar, as she was sailed broad full and rattled from side to side of the river at a rare pace, so that although neither sailing so close as the other competing craft nor shooting so far in stays, being so light, yet she would often make a point to windward quicker than any of them by reason of her speed; and, after all, as Mollett says, the object is to get to windward as quickly as possible, no matter how you do it.

The 'Gossip' had, however, one grave defect. She would turn turtle with astonishing suddenness. Her vanishing point was soon reached. She had to be sailed with the utmost skill and caution, and it is only by good luck that she has not yet drowned anyone. The only time I sailed in her, being unaware of this peculiarity, I as nearly as possible had her over in a sudden puff; which, as I had my children on board, might have been a serious matter. Her owner tells me that she has capsized five times, and has very frequently been on the verge of capsizing.

A design of this remarkable craft, and an interesting article upon her by Mr. Mollett, appears in the 'Field' of January 10, 1891. Mollett took the centreboard out and subst.i.tuted a fixed keel with 5 cwt. of lead on it, which he was sanguine enough to say rendered the boat practically uncapsizable. She has, however, capsized several times since then. He afterwards removed the keel and returned to the centreboard, with which he thought the boat was faster and handier.

Since then a succeeding owner has reverted to a sort of heavy fin-keel, but the boat has not done so well in racing as formerly. Her canvas is, however, worn and stretched, which may have something to do with it. We hope, for the sake of her owner and his companions, that she will disappear somehow or another before any fatal accident results from her use.

Noticing how cleanly our flat counters leave the water, Mollett thought--What is the use of having a sharp bow to divide the water?

Why not have a double-sterned boat, and let the bow slide over the water instead of through it? Something of this idea was present in the building of the 'Gossip,' but in the 'Castanet,' lately built for Mr.

Russell Colman, the idea has had full sway. There is a broad, flat, spoon bow, differing very slightly on deck from the stern, and not differing at all on the water-line, so that it is practically immaterial which end is selected to go first. There are the same segments of large circles for b.u.t.tock lines. The load-water-line is 17 ft. 3 in., and on deck 29 ft., the overhang being very nearly equal at each end. The beam is 7 ft., and the extreme draught of the short fixed keel, which is spiked to the bottom of the spoon, is 3 ft. 2 in., with 23 cwt. of lead. The latter is disposed at the bottom of the keel in a triangular bulb.

If you take an ordinary tablespoon and press it into a soft substance at different inclinations, the water-lines which it will mark are much the same. The principle is the same in the 'Castanet.' The water-lines lengthen and narrow as she heels over, and the length at which she is measured when upright is considerably exceeded at both ends. The spoon comparison is only to a certain extent applicable, as one end of a spoon is smaller than the other, while in the case of the 'Castanet'

both ends are large ends. There is no deadwood except what is necessary for the keel, and the rudder is a projecting one. Mollett's theory is that it is better to cut away every inch of deadwood which is not absolutely necessary for preventing leeway. He finds the boats so constructed sail faster in every way. As to whether a fin-keel or a weighted centreboard is the better, he has not yet made up his mind.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Hull of the 'Castanet.']

The 'Castanet,' although beaten in her first race by the 'Gladys,' a boat of conventional design, has subsequently proved herself the fastest of her cla.s.s. When sailing fast she lifts herself out of the water forward and slides very easily over it, although her flat bow makes a noisy brabble of the surface water, which is, however, not detrimental to her speed. Of course she would not do in rough water, but in smooth she is stiff, fast, and remarkably handy. In spite of her square ends, which are but little narrower than the rest of the boat, she is, owing to excellence of workmanship, rather a handsome boat than otherwise. It is not likely that another 'Gossip' will be built, but the 'Castanet' is a taking precedent which may be followed up with advantage.

There are other designers and builders of fast boats, which have, however, nothing peculiar in build or rig to justify especial notice.

They are simply well-designed boats of light displacement and large sail-area, very fast and very handy.

There are two boating clubs in existence which provide regattas for the encouragement of sailing. The senior and more select club is the Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club, which professedly holds races for the 9-and 10-tonners--the 'large yachts' of the Norfolk rivers. It has a club-house at Lowestoft which is a great convenience to yachtsmen using the harbour, but as a river club it has not much vitality. The junior club is the Yare Sailing Club, which welcomes all amateurs as members who can pay a 5_s._ subscription. It professedly encourages the sailing of open and half-decked boats, and the smaller cla.s.s of yachts of 4 tons or thereabouts. It has a large number of members, most of them keen boat-sailers, and its regattas are well attended and the races numerously and keenly contested.

The cla.s.ses in the Norfolk and Suffolk Club are: Not exceeding 2-rating, exceeding 2 and under 5-rating, and exceeding 5-rating; and those in the Yare Sailing Club as follows:--Cla.s.s I.--Exceeding 2-rating and not exceeding 5-rating. Cla.s.s II.--Exceeding 1-rating and not exceeding 2-rating. Cla.s.s III.--Not exceeding 1-rating. Any 'foreign' boats (all persons not natives of Norfolk are foreigners) which can sail in these cla.s.ses are welcome, and any wrinkle they can teach will be quickly taken up.

The 'Mystery,' a Thames open boat, is almost the only strange boat which has succeeded in showing the way to the local racers, and I think she would not be second to either 'Castanet' or 'Gladys.' It would be most interesting to see a match between the well-known Thames 'Ruby' and our Y.S.C. boats. Regattas are held at various points on the river, and there are, in addition, local regattas unconnected with clubs.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 'Mystery,' Thames boat ('foreign' boat).]

Once a year there is what is called an Ocean Match--that is, a match from Lowestoft to Harwich--on the Sat.u.r.day before the regatta of the Royal Harwich Yacht Club. This is looked upon as a great adventure by the river boats, which tackle the sea under the cloud of canvas which is enough on the rivers. The trip to Harwich and back, and the excitement of bringing up in wide water, after the safety of a gra.s.sy margin, furnish food for many tales for the rest of the year. The _crux_ of the thing is the pa.s.sage round the bleak Orfordness, where the tidal race raises a cruel sea if there is any wind; the great mainsails with their long booms cannot easily be reefed under way.

One necessary rule upon these rivers sometimes causes trouble to strangers who are unaware of it. In the narrow reaches it is almost impossible to pa.s.s a boat to leeward, so if the overtaking boat can but get a few inches of her bowsprit overlapping to windward of the slower boat, the latter must give way and let the other pa.s.s to windward of her.

Visitors often get nervous when they see a wherry bearing down upon them, but there is no occasion for them to do so. If the boat-sailer observes the rule of the road, he may be sure that the wherryman will do so. The latter are a very civil and obliging cla.s.s of men, taking a keen interest in the doings of smaller craft and yachts. It is usual, however, for the yachtsman to remember that he is on pleasure bent and the wherryman on business, and he therefore gives way sometimes when not compelled to do so, to save the wherryman from having to put his craft about. In return the wherryman will often, when tacking, keep his craft shooting in stays to let a yacht beat past him. The wherries are so long and take up so much of the river when beating to windward that it is often very difficult to pa.s.s them at all unless they make this concession. The rowing boats which are hired by inexperienced people in great numbers at Oulton Broad are great sources of danger.

The occupants generally go the wrong side of a sailing boat, and it is a wonder that accidents do not more often occur. Another source of difficulty are the anglers, who are very fond of mooring off the windward bank (where there is a quiet 'lee') well out in the channel, and perhaps at a 'scant' corner--that is, where the next reach being to windward the sailing vessels hug the corner as closely as possible in order to get a good shoot into the next reach and so save a tack.

It does not do, however, to hug the corner too closely, as if it is at all shallow the way of the boat is deadened, though she may not actually touch the mud. The 'putty,' as the black soft mud of the river bottom is locally termed, plays an important part in sailing on Norfolk rivers. It serves sometimes to help a vessel to windward. Thus a wherry might not be able to hug the weather sh.o.r.e or to lay close enough to sail along the middle of a reach, but if she drops to the leeward sh.o.r.e the pressure of water between her bows and the mud will 'shoulder' her off and stop her leeway, so that she can drag round a corner and save a tack. Some of the wherrymen will say that they could not put their craft aground if they would while sailing sideways along the mud. The deeper-draught yachts do not reap this advantage to any extent.

One of the things which make a yachtsman ask if life is worth living is to run hard on the putty. He gets out his quants and shoves; but the poles sink deep into the mud, and require more force to withdraw them than to drive them in. Those who know the river best seem to me to get oftenest aground, because they cut it too fine, and if their calculations are out by an inch or two they stick fast. The desperate struggles to get free are more amusing to other people than to the chief actors in the scene. How blessed is the sight under such circ.u.mstances of a friendly steam-launch! I remember well one heart-breaking experience of my own in a 4-ton yacht which I was sailing single-handed. I got aground in the Bure at Yarmouth in the awful place known as the North End, and with a falling tide. I got off at last, after exerting myself until my heart beat frantically, my mouth was parched, and my eyes dim; then seizing a bottle I supposed to contain beer, I tossed half a tumblerful down my throat ere I found it was _vinegar_!