American & British Yacht Designs Livre

Format: 45x31,5 cm, 329+349 pages, 10,5 kilos. Text in English and French.

To the student of the evolution of American and British yacht design, there is perhaps no period more extraordinary than the latter half of the 19th century. To be sure, there have been many exciting designs produced in this century, but their evolution has been much more subtle, as designers seemed to create within fundamentally common themes. They were not, for the most part, inventing whole new forms, although they were certainly refining basic forms in exquisitely delicate ways. As a field of study, the history of the 20th century yacht design deserves deep and focused research, but it cannot possibly be understood without a complete comprehension of its foundations in the 19th century. It is the two most intense decades of experimentation and development in that period—1870-1887—that the authors of 1870-1887 American and British Yacht Designs have turned their attention, through research, writing, and the creation of measured drawings. In fact, so focused is their attention that I wondered, as I examined their work, whether we at WoodenBoat would have been as determined to produce the book and magazine material we have on early yacht design if these books had been in print in 1980 or '81. For these authors have provided readers with a fairly broad look at some of the finest products of the period’s naval architecture practices, primarily through the fine drawings (labeled in English) of François Chevalier. But, of course, we would have published. After all, our editorial mission has always been to provide a broader context for appreciating the evolution of the yacht design during that and other periods. We were not always successful in finding good—or any—plans drawings, however, and it is here that these books surpass anything before them. For many yacht designers, and for historians who understand the principles of naval architecture clearly, 1870-1887 American and British Yacht Designs is a complete study, especially with the narrative work (published in both French and English) of Jacques Taglang which leads each chapter, and which accompanies each yacht’s plans. Drawn from a variety of sources, the text is necessarily brief and does not attempt to do more than place the type or design in the context of the others in the collection. The deeper understanding of individual yachts, or their place in time, would require more thorough scholarship, and the reference notes and bibliography offer an abundance of accessible resources. But this is not, I think, designed to be an intellectual experience. Rather, it is an emotional and romantic one, a celebration of the art and science of the yacht design at the very time when rule-of-thumb principles were being displaced by more scientific ones. And many of the great examples are here. There are yachts included whose hull lines I’ve never seen, including most of the schooners, from the majestic Ambassadress to the lovely Gitana; a few sloops and cutters, notably A. Cary Smith’s Priscilla and Cinderella, and William Fife’s exquisite Ulidia. There are also many more for which no sail plans have ever been published. In these respects, there is much that is new here; some truly historic events, and certainly some drafting “firsts.”...