Heyyyy Mr. Jeff H.

[29cascadefixer]

I have read many of your posts on different forums. Just wanted to give you some feedback. I have always found your opinions and input well thought out and knowlegable. I do pick up a SLIGHT bias in favor of the performance cruiser. Good on ya.Can't have to many of 'em.
I was wondering, just wondering now, of your opinion of the 'ol Herroshoff hull designs. To me, this guy toof( toof ?) took the materials available in his time period and created fast boats that even today look fast on the hard. Remind me a lot of the equivalvent XKE Jaguar. Old but sleek. Form follows purpose outlined by materials. Almost a statement in sculpture.Sorry. Sometimes get carried away.
Just wanting to let you know, give your opinion and DUCK.
Back to you , Sir.

[Jeff H]

I am a big fan of Nat Herreshoff's work. He was a brilliant engineer, inventor and artistic designer. He really pushed the limits of the materials and methods available to him. I think that his work really anticipates the design principles employed in the best modern designs of today.

L.Francis Herreshoff is another story. There is a lot to like about L. Francis's work visually but he was no where near the genius of Nat.

I also really like a lot of Halsey Herreshoff's work. His work tends to be simple, pragmatic and clever in its execution. He is not breaking any new ground but seems to be improving upon the paths already traveled. That's not a bad thing.

Jeff

[CSY Man]

Hi Mr. Jeff.

Since ya know a thing or two about desings and such, hwo would you rate the work of Bill Tripp Jr.?

The reason I ask is that my previous boat drawn by him:
a 44' centerboard yawl.
Double-planked Mahogney frames, teak deck, bronse board, aluminum main mast. Birdseye maple interior...Built by East Boothbay Maine by a well known yard.

Designed and built for just one purpose, to win the 1957 Bermuda race, and it did.


I owned the boat for 3 years, lived aboard and sailed her in the Virgin Islands...For a while it was the fastest mono-hull in the area with the shortest crossing between St. Thomas and St. Croix.
I saw 10.5 knots myself, but previous owner mentioned 12....?

Now she is rotting away on dry land after the damage suffered in 2 hurricanes and an owner that drank himself to death..

I see her sometimes and wonder if anybody can take on the project and have her sailing again.
The name is Katingo.

Say hello from me...

[Troubledour]

CSY Man, any further info on the 44' Centerboard ?

[CSY Man]

Sure, plenty of information on the boat.

She is on the dry at the St. Croix Yachtclub.
The brother of the guy that drank himself to death inherited the boat..

Call the yacht club and ask if they want to get read of the boat.
For any detailed info on Katingo, send me an e-mail and we can talk.

CSY33@attg.net

[Jeff H]

Bill Tripp Jr. (the designer from the 50's and 60's and not his son who I sometimes see referred to as Bill Tripp Jr) has always been hard for me to catgorize. In a lot of ways, he was one of the best designers of the CCA era. Some of his work was creative and innovative (the Galaxy 32's for example) and some were pretty strange. I think that some of his designs were absolutely beautiful and others were clucky and not all that well thought out. There was a real inconsistancy to his work. The other issue is the time frame in which he was designing. By and large, Tripp's work was largely intended as racers and racer/cruisers. Most of his designs were developed to do well under the CCA rating rule. Anyone who has read my prior comments on the CCA rule knows that I am not a fan of the boats produced to beat that rule. On any objective scale, CCA boats were slow, wet, and had pretty poor motion comfort. They tracked poorly and had limited accomodations and carrying capacities at least as compared to some of the better modern designs.

All of that said, I think that to judge Tripp fairly, he should be evaluated relative to his peers and in that sense he was a very good designer.

Respectfully,
Jeff

[bradbarrett]

Jeff...Have you heard of Brian Lello?

[Jeff H]

I am not sure that I do know who Brian Lello is. Was he a 1950/60's era South African designer.

Jeff

[bradbarrett]

Jeff- You are correct!

Few people know of him outside South Africa (and to a lesser degree England)...He designed some beautiful, fast (for there time)very strong seaworty and kindly boats...Especially his 10 meter boats...He Actually just died aged into his 90's, a couple years ago.... I actually ask the question hopeful you would be able to rattle off chapter and verse about him as I'd like to know more about him personally...

Thanks...

[29cascadefixer]

These threads meander worse than a bar conversation. Ask about a well known Boat Designer God and somehow a more learned fellow sooner or later asks about some obscure dude that just proves how little I know. My ego takes a REAL beating around here ! Ok-0k, I'll shut-up, buy the next round, and head ONCE more to the bathroom.

[speedoo]

He's a frenchman who designs many boats for Beneteau, among others.

He designed the Beneteau Idyle 11.5, which I like very much.

[SkiprJohn]

29Cascade,
Was your boat designed by Robert Smith, a former Sparkman Stephens designer from the 50's?
JohnL

[29cascadefixer]

Hi Dude- Yup.Good to hear from another genius that owns a Cascade. Up till a while ago I was the asst. manager on a Cascade 29 site. Things have gone nutso homewise here this year so I had to resign the position due to lack of time. They have just recently decided to include other sizes of Cascades in the mix on the site. Google Cascade 29 and look for the MSN group. I would link to it for you, but I deleted the link when I resigned.
There are some cool people on that board. Tell 'em howdy from the ol' cascade fixer, will ya ?