Controversial Topic of the Week

Seems that with out the N12 things would be a little different.....

OBITUARY

Beecher Moore, 1908-1996
LONDON--Beecher Moore, the last surviving crewmember of Sir Thomas
Sopwith's 1934 America's Cup challenger Endeavour, died last Sunday. He
was 88.

As business partner of Jack Holt, Moore was as much a part of the sailing
industry as the sport, and changed the commercial face of sailing in
Britain, where he lived, and died, in the heart of London's legal world, the
Middle Temple.

Born in Rochester, N.Y., Moore was taken to England when 11 months
old, and his sailing began on the Thames River in the years between
World War I and II.

He was always competitive. His first boat was an National 12 , a
reward from his father for passing an entrance exam to an English school.
"I would sail this boat from early morning to late at night," Moore said.

When he returned to England after attending Harvard University, he
bought the 26-foot Thames 'A' Rater Vagabond. Moore added nine feet to
its mast and supported the extra power developed from the rig by having
his crew hang from a device he called "The Bellrope" which was attached
to the mast so the crew could stand on the gunwale. In doing so, he
invented the trapeze that is nearly standard on every sailing dinghy.

Two years later, Sir Peter Scott (a past president of the IYRU) stood in as
one of Moore's crew at Bourne End Week and was so impressed with The
Bellrope that he introduced it to the International 14 class. Scott won the
championship race for the Prince of Wales Cup, and the class immediately
banned the trapeze and stifled its development elsewhere.

Moore raced dinghies with considerable success, four times winning the
Merlin-Rocket National Championship and the Hornet World
Championship. He continued competing into his 60s, then devoted
himself to the administration of the sport. Moore always rated the work
he did on the Women's Committee -- ensuring separate racing for women
in the Olympics -- to be one of his most important projects.

National 12National 12

Edited by Jack Sparrow

Firefly History

During 1938 sailors connected to Oxford and Cambridge Universities
asked Uffa Fox to design a dinghy similar to the National 12, but one
design and more suitable for team racing. Uffa completed this design in
1939 and called it the Sea Swallow.

No N12... No comment.

Originally posted by Jack Sparrow Firefly History During 1938 sailors connected to Oxford and Cambridge Universities asked Uffa Fox to design a dinghy similar to the National 12, but one design and more suitable for team racing. Uffa completed this design in 1939 and called it the Sea Swallow. No N12... No comment.

Wasn't the Lark a development of the N12? Sea Swallow didn't become the Lark by any chance?

Lark is a streched N12 designed by Mike Jackson in 1966.

Originally posted by Matt Jackson Originally posted by Jack Sparrow Firefly History During 1938 sailors connected to Oxford and Cambridge Universities asked Uffa Fox to design a dinghy similar to the National 12, but one design and more suitable for team racing. Uffa completed this design in 1939 and called it the Sea Swallow. No N12... No comment. Wasn't the Lark a development of the N12? Sea Swallow didn't become the Lark by any chance?

I'm not saying that the N12 hasn't contributed to the sailing scene we now have, or that they are bad boats.  But the niche they appeal to must be very small (and shrinking).  You have to be very light, quite rich (or dedictaed) and willing to go slower than most. Also, most people entering the sport today will expect and demand (albeit misguidedly) an asymmetric.