Nautical Research Journal 17
1. Fred Martin’s drawings of the boat, from an 1895 Racine Yacht & Boat Works catalog.
A 16x30 decked canoe from 1895, Part 1 By Steve Wheeler
As readers of these pages probably know by now, I tend to model subjects that have a connection with Racine, Wisconsin, my hometown. T is sailing canoe was designed there by naval architect Fred W Martin in 1895. But what, really, is a canoe? One defi nition is: “Any of various slender, open boats, tapering to a point at both ends, propelled by paddles, or sometimes sails”, and Martin’s design certainly fi ts that description.
Canoes have been around for perhaps thousands of years and there have been many, many forms, from early dugouts used by native peoples and Pacifi c Islanders for transportation, to the large bark canoes sometimes used by early voyageurs to carry goods, to more conventional types used for recreation and sport. Recreational canoes were built in almost endless variation almost everywhere in this country. T e fi ve boat companies that operated in Racine around the turn of the twentieth century, for example, produced and marketed no less than twenty-six distinct designs.
Canoes formed a major part of the early transportation network in the United States as roads tended to be poor or non-existent before the advent of the 1920s. John MacGregor, a Scotsman, is generally credited with developing the fi rst decked sailing canoe. In the 1860s he designed a boat that he named Rob Roy; it had a sail and was set up so he could sleep aboard and in it he made extensive cruises on the waterways of Europe. In 1866, he published a book about his travels entitled A T ousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe, which popularized his design and canoeing in general as a sport both in Europe and the United States. Fred Martin’s canoe (just one of several he designed) is a direct descendent of that boat. Cruising canoes like MacGregor’s became extremely popular in all parts of the country and, as one would expect, when two canoeists met they oſt en raced one another to see who was fastest. Sailing canoes specifi cally designed for racing were one outcome of these early contests and serious competition began with designers and full- time naval architects vying with one another to see who could come up with the fastest boats. Distinct classes evolved and the “16 x 30” type was just one.
Fred W Martin was one of the few designers in those days who actually published hull lines for his work; the accompanying drawing of his boat, (Figure1), is
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