As part of the discussion around the Mystery Cruising Canoe and possible connection to the English B-class canoe, John Summers took some quick photos of plates from a Dixon Kemp book of Bubble, the prototype English RCC cruising canoe designed in 1896 by the iconic English designer, Linton Hope. As I mentioned before the English felt the Americans had gone too far with their wispy, sail-happy, sliding seat canoes and wanted to drag designs back to something more wholesome, without a sliding seat. Bubble was 16 feet long (4.87 meters), 13 feet on the waterline (3.96 meters), and had 140 sq. feet of sail (13 sq. meters) in a gunter rig.
The sections for Bubble look relatively roundish with some tumblehome aft.
The displacement was a relatively massive 400 lbs. (181 kg) by today's standards with 100 lbs in the centerboard.
Three years later, by 1899, Linton's latest cruising canoe design, Vanessa VII, had lengthened to 17 feet, had increased the sail area to just under 150 sq. feet, and the sections had flattened out considerably. These were the dimensions around which the B-class canoe would form. From a Forest and Stream article:
For a modern racing version of Linton Hope's Bubble canoe, click here to read a post on the German Taifun sailing canoe.
2 comments:
What a brilliant little boat - I want one.
Alden, As I have said many times, I have a soft spot for sailing canoes. This one would make a great vintage build (though quite a bit heavy for my tastes).
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