NEW BRITISH YACHT

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 171, 17 April 1934, Page 9

NEW BRITISH YACHT

Contest for America’s Cup

BUILDERS’ HIGH HOPES

London, April 15.

The Endeavour, the British challenger for the America’s Cup. is being launched at Gosport, on Monday. The builders have high hopes that she will prove the fastest ever. The yacht is mainly of steel, with mahogany rudder and pine and mahogany decks. She measures overall 128 ft. at the waterline 83ft.. and has a draught of loft. The mast, 170 ft high, consists of a hollow steel tube, strengthened at intervals internally with steel rings. The boom, 22ft. long, is made flexible. The keel contains 82 tons of lead, through which steel is Interlaced. The keel can be raised and lowered by means of a winch. The Endeavour will have a spread of 7550 square feet of canvas, of which -1859 square feet are in the manisail and the remainder in the foresails. There will be two mainsails, light and heavy. It is estimated that the head of the mainsail will be subject, to a strain of 10 tons. The mainsails follow the usual Bermudan pattern. Different shapes of foresails are being tried.

Mr. T. O. M. Sopwitli will be at the helm himself in the Cup races, but Ims engaged as skipper Captain George Williams, of Southampton, with a crew of 23.

Starting from Harwich, the Endeavour will sail in the principal coastal regattas until mid-July. when she will race on the t t under or an near as possible to (up conditions. After that she goes to America for the contest, beginning on September 15.

The new rules for this year’s races, as announced by New York Yacht Club, are designed to meet past criticism that British challengers have laboured under uufair handicaps. For the first time the challenger will have the right to substitute another yacht for the one originally named, provided that 60 days’ notice is given. Previously the defenders have had the advantage of building several boats and choosing the best after a series of summer trials, while the lone British boat was named ten months in advance. It is held that the change greatly improves tlie British chances of winning the cup this year.