The Idem class dates back to 1899 - 1900 and is one of two surviving North American classes we can trace back to the Seawanhaka rating rule, (a waterline rule) that was popular before 1900. The Idem was designed by Clinton Crane as a one-design racer for the moneyed New York set that summered in the Adirondack Lakes, particularly St. Regis Lake. It is unique that the original fleet of twelve remains intact and racing (with the exception of the one that has been given to the Adirondack Museum, but the rest are serviceable). The class is to remain a "period" class (unlike the English Thames A-Raters of the same time frame) including a requirement that only cotton sails can be used. The fellow on the back deck is the mainsheet trimmer and from the photo's it doesn't look like he has a lot of mechanical advantage (i.e. multiple blocks) to ease his job with that huge mainsail. A true piece of Americana yachting history.
I have done another, November, 2014 post on the Idem.
3 comments:
1749These are really nice boats. The class was totally unknown to me, but it's understandable, as only 12 of them exist and they are all in the same place!
I went on google and found this site that explains and shows a bit more:http://adkguideboat.com/restorations/index.html
the 1749 thing on my earlier comment is a typo
Romain,
Clinton Crane was the top U.S designer for the Seawanhaka Cup, though he could never beat the incomparable Canadian designer, Herrick Duggan, representing the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club.
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