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ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
26 reducing helming effort. The length of the spinnaker pole was reduced to 15 feet. This made gybing easier and improved the ability to control the boat when sailing under spinnaker. All of these advancements not only improved the performance and handling of the boats, it made them safer. In addition to these three changes,local sail makers gradually designed and built better shaped sails while the yachtsmen sailing the boats improved their knowledge of how best to sail the boats. This eventually led to the elimination of most of the negative handling characteristics that the original Stewarts suffered in over 25 knots of breeze. However, hair raising broaches can still be witnessed when fanatical Stewart racers fearlessly hoist a spinnaker in 25+ knots of breeze, but probably no more so than in any other local keelboat class. In spite of the fact that the Stewart’s have performed some of the most spectacular,or ugly broaches,depending on how you look at it, the boats are more or less bullet proof. Despite occasionally being laid virtually on their side with spreader tips touching the water, this very seldom results in any damage. The same may not necessarily apply to the flesh and nerves of the souls who happen to be on board. During a broach,the load on the spinnaker pole brace or after guy is enormous,but over the years amazingly few sheets or poles have broken. On the few occasions when the pole has broken,it is usually the result of poor crew work,where the boat has been allowed to go into a totally uncontrolled or“Chinese” gybe. Tremendous heeling of the boat can result in the last three feet of the pole being buried the water. With the boat still traveling at over 10 knots, the pole is unable to withstand the extreme loads induced by the water pulling it aft, so it breaks. With the improvement of the boats, skippers and crews, this seldom now happens, but many stories are still told, and perhaps slightly exaggerated by a few post-race rums, of the countless spectacular spinnaker“incidents”in the early years. In the early 1960’s the entire text of the Stewart class rules were probably written on the back of a beer mat. The two top boats were Princess sailed by Jim Davern and Patiko, sailed by Ron Neil, and the rivalry between these two was intense. Slowly but surely, in light winds the size of the No. 1 genoa, the largest upwind sail permitted, grew in size while the weight of the sail cloth became lighter. In less than 10 knots of breeze these light No.1’s had a distinct advantage over their smaller and weightier counterparts, improving the speed of the boats and of course doing the skipper’s reputation no harm at all. When Ron Neil stepped up to the Stewart 42 Carmen,he sold Patiko to Bert Christensen. Christensen reckoned that the there was a No.1 genoa on board which,when sheeted home,reached the cockpit. This meant that the foot of the sail would have had to have been nearly 30 feet long! It was made of 3 oz. Dacron, which is just a bit heavier than heavy spinnaker cloth. Since the Class Rule was amended in 1986,it states that the No.1 is to be 22 feet on the foot and to be built only from 6.5 ounce Dacron. This sort of mischievous behaviour, including smuggling in lightweight sails from Australia, forced the class to introduce some firm but sensible rules when the Patiki Owners Association was formed in 1964. While this helped to level the playing field as it relates to sails, nevertheless there was continued controversy about their design and measurement. For many years up until the mid 1970, when an owner ordered a Stewart 34 sail from his sailmaker of choice, it was the responsibility of the sailmaker to certify that the sail was in accordance with the Class Rules. One of a sailmaker’s prime motivations is to make winning sails, which on occasion has posed a conflict of interest with the Class Rules. This whole issue finally came to a head when Paprika hoisted a brand new spinnaker in a 10-knot southerly off of OrakeiWharf. Two-blocked at the masthead and beautifully set,it was apparent to all that this spinnaker was unbelievably oversized.The foot drooped well below the bow, nearly touching the water. Owner John Taylor’s face went as red as paprika with embarrassment and of course he immediately agreed to have it re-measured. According to the Class Rules, the maximum diagonal butt-seam measurement for the No. 1 spinnaker is 49 feet. Paprika’s measured 54 feet, 6 inches, about 5-1/2 feet oversize! The class decided it was not willing to permit these infringements any further and appointed their own measurers from amongst the ranks of the membership. Only sails that had been personally measured and indelibly autographed by the duly appointed measurers would be allowed for use in class racing. While the Class Rules do not specify a measurement fee, it is generally