…and Two More Tradition-Inspired Cutters
Issue 146: Sept/Oct 2022
The Bristol Channel Cutter (BCC) is a classic example of the cutter type, which traditionally referred to the whole boat, not just the rig. This description harkened back to the late 19th century, when the British cutter and the American sloop vied for design supremacy.
When the George Lennox Watson-designed Madge arrived on Long Island Sound in 1881, she defeated every American sloop she encountered, confounding U.S. yachtsmen and establishing a new respect for the cutter type.
Illustration by Rob Mazza
The cutter hull possessed a narrow beam, heavy displacement, deep draft, external ballast, and plumb stem. The rig was characterized by a mast stepped further aft to allow multiple headsails (a staysail, jib, and flying jib), a retractable bowsprit and topmast, and a smaller main combined with a gigantic jack yard topsail above the gaff. Sloops, on the other hand, were wider and shallower, with internal ballast and centerboard, and a mast stepped well forward carrying a large main, small topsail, and a single jib mounted on the end of a long bowsprit.
The two extremes eventually merged in the 1880s and 1890s with the development of the “compromise” cutter by Edward Burgess, with wider beam and less draft (often incorporating a centerboard), and lighter displacement, but generally retaining the cutter rig. The British cutter was an exceptional sea boat, incorporating a large range of positive stability, with the heavy-air performance of British pilot cutters and revenue cutters of particular note.
In recreational fiberglass sailing, the continuing evolution of the cutter concept is well displayed with the 1970s, Lyle Hess-designed BCC, the Bob Perry-designed Tashiba 31 of the 1980s, and Bob Johnson’s Island Packet 29 of the 1990s. (My thanks to readers who responded to Dan Spurr’s request for comparison boats, from which the Island Packet 29 was chosen. The other popular recommendation was the Pacific Seacraft 34, but that boat was deemed less suitable due to its separate keel and rudder configuration.)
All three retain the cutter characteristics of bowsprit with fixed staysail stay, full keels, and heavier displacement. All three are within 7 inches of each other in waterline length, but vary in displacement. The BCC is the heaviest at 14,000 pounds, resulting in a displacement/ length waterline ratio of 346. The Tashiba 31 is slightly lighter at 13,790 pounds, but due to its shorter waterline produces a very hefty displacement/length waterline ratio of 375. The Island Packet 29 is the lightest at 10,900 pounds, with the lightest displacement/length waterline ratio of 291.
When it comes to sail area, I have opted not to include the area of the staysail, but instead use only the measured sail area based on I, J, P, and E. (In my mind, for the sake of consistency, the staysail area should be treated the same as the area of the mainsail roach or the genoa overlap; that is, not included in the comparison of sail areas.) This reduces the BCC’s sail area from the published figure of 691 square feet to 592 square feet, and produces sail area/displacement ratios in the low 16s for the BCC and the Island Packet, with the Tashiba coming in the lowest at 15.3.
Beams also expand with each decade, ranging from 10 feet 1 inch for the BCC to 10 feet 8 inches for the Tashiba, and 10 feet 10 inches for the Island Packet. This trend is also reflected in the beam/length waterline ratios, with the BCC at a relatively narrow .38, and the Tashiba and Island Packet both coming in at .42.
This narrower beam measurement, combined with the heaviest displacement, gives the BCC the lowest capsize number of 1.68 and the highest comfort ratio of 37.2, compared to the Tashiba 31 at 1.78 and 33.5, and the Island Packet at 1.96 and 26.5, respectively. In that regard, the BCC is certainly the better sea boat, as evidenced by its long-range cruising accomplishments.
Steering should also be noted; the BCC has a transom- hung rudder with tiller steering, while the Tashiba and Island Packet carry inboard rudders with wheel steering. The Tashiba’s canoe stern also differs with the transom sterns on the BCC and the Island Packet. The canoe stern represents another element of classic British design harkening back to the work of Albert Strange and his canoe yawls. The Tashiba also has the more cutaway forefoot, which should result in a more maneuverable boat than the others with longer keels and deeper forefoots.
All three of these boats are based on a long cutter tradition, but to my eye it’s hard to improve on the classic good looks of the BCC. That is truly a boat that would generate a fierce pride of ownership.
Good Old Boat Technical Editor Rob Mazza is a mechanical engineer and naval architect. He began his career in the 1960s as a yacht designer with C&C Yachts and Mark Ellis Design in Canada, and later Hunter Marine in the U.S. He also worked in sales and marketing of structural cores and bonding compounds with ATC Chemicals in Ontario and Baltek in New Jersey.
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