Old Quarter Tonners -Magic Bus

During lunch last week with the son of Bruce King I learned the Popeye was a sistership to the bilgeboard Two Tonner Aggressive. It might have been built of C-Flex, and King provided the plans but afterward had no real involvement in the project.

 

General Tapioca

Hi!
Tanks Paul B regarding Popeye. Winner of the half-ton cup this year is General Tapioca, a Berret design. See the site at my previous post regarding Wave-rider and King One. Some Google (I don't know if the links works):

forum.amicidellavela.it/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13110

"Questo invece. General Tapioca,un progetto di Berret del 1978(!) in legno,cui stata modificata la chiglia nel '98.Ha vinto la HT Cup nel 2003, arrivato 6� nel 2005 e 3� nel 2007 a Dublino.Non male per una vecchia signora!"

http://news.boatwizardwebsolutions.co.uk/cms/2002/10/scuttlebutt-europe-october-30/

"Undoubtedly the best known boats are ‘General Tapioca’ and ‘Wave-rider’. ‘General Tapioca’, a design of Frenchman Jean Berret from 1978, is a cold moulded wooden halftonner that in 1978 won the famous singlehanded Solitaire du Figaro as ‘Kelt-La Concorde’. ‘General Tapioca’ also regularly participates in international sailing regattas such as Ramsgate Week, the Commodore’s Cup, the Spi Ouest France and Marseilles Week. ‘Wave-rider’, the legendary ‘Kiwi’ designed by Laurie Davidson in 1977, is the only halftonner that won the Half Ton Cup twice in 1977 and 1978."

If I understand the Italian above correctly General Tapioca was modified in -98. Obviosly some modifications are allowed. Perhaps keel and rudder, according to a previous post regarding Barsaman's Blues. Compared to King One (which I believe was a Berret-design as well) the transom is not that wide.

Regards,
Booster

 

With much help from Paul B, I was able to finally track down the current owner of Magic Bus in the SF bay area. Spoke with him on the phone, seemed surprised to get a call out of the blue from someone wanting to buy the boat, but it is not for sale. Thank you for your help, Paul. Will start chasing down other leads you have generously provided. This has really turned into an interesting thread for following old IOR boat resurections/history.

 

Scampi

I agrre with woudaboy, thanks Paul B. In my previous post Wave-rider was mentioned as the sole winner twice of the HTC under IOR. Scampi -70 and -71 under IOR and -69 under RORC shall not be forgotten. Not the same boat, though.
Regards,
Booster

 

I've just had a good talk with Al Cairne, the owner of Kings "Terrorist". Apparently Al traveled down to San Diego to check it out, test sail and then buy the boat. Taken by the boat performance he would liked to have sailed it up coast to Seattle, however as with most of us time just wouldn't allow it. Al reported a power boat dealer was showing the boat, and while at some point in the bay Al popped the shoot and off they went, making the mid teens, 13knots. He loved it, yet spooked the dealer. I mentioned seeing "Hawk eye" up in the city (SF) Al, very knowledgeable of all this history, commented he herd the big 50 footer was quick yet a handful down wind.

About the condition of the aluminum hull. The gar board plates and floors were all replaced and beefed up for a center line keel that didn't happen. In general the exterior surface finish has been burned off by the sun, yet is surprisingly fair. The life line stanchions are solid aluminum welded in place and some are bent. The engine is out. And about the foils The rudder per my other snaps is under the boat. A fiberglass covered foam foil with a central alum. plate construction. Al described a similar construction for the two bilge boards, no carbon fiber, not yet in use out side aerospace. They are no longer a part of the picture. The lifting, ground tackle sounded primitive, chain to a winch arrangement.

Al Cairns, 360-385-9243, acairns@co.jefferson.wa.us if intrested he is into selling the boat. a reasonable asking price. for what you get. I well attempt attaching some inside snaps.
crm

 

As a Texas boy to an other Texan. I would like to contact WOUDABOY #348 post, concerning old quarter tonners. Laurie Davidson had a home up here in the NW,( Bellingham,) and had a following amoung us IOR types. A couple of his boats raced our area. Much like, FUN, However, Bruce Kirby's 25+ 1/4 tonner were better in our light airs of Puget Sound. If you live in north Texas, Dallas up to Denison also light to mid airs good boats. Yet if your in the Houston, Carpous, coastal area "Magic bus" boats are better types. Have you ever checked out the "Corby 25" a great 1/4 ton type, boat of this present day time period. It would rate closer to a mini 1/2 tonner. It's out of the UK. made in Poland. The Uk is the center of gravity for the 1/4 ton class. Races are on Utube.

craig montague.

 

Interesting info.

So are you saying the bilgeboards are missing, or have they and their cases been permenantly removed?

I wonder why someone would buy something like Terrorist if the plan was to remove the bilgeboards, the only thing that made it interesting. I mean, there are plenty of other boats available for a low price that would not require reconfiguring.


On a related note, Terrorist was origninally owned by Al Cassel, who I later sailed with on his last Chance-designed Warrior.

 

Al had a plan. I think he saw a very roomy boat hull cheap. A cruiser remake was his direction. I could see what the though was. BUT, AL freely admitted having a family, a developing career, and those wishes to do this are that became overwhelmed. The work on the hulls belly opened a picture of what he was in for, that may have given him pause.

I sounded him with the though, what about, just a rebuild of the original boat? He had though of it, as time has passed. "Me again", With the popularity of ocean boats in this type have come into there own!!! You may have some value setting there! Alas, Al is at a managers level in the Port Townsend public works and I feel he knows the hassles involved in executing a project of this size, money, time, etc. and now just wants to bail out.

Warrior came up here to Puget Sound. It impress many. John Buchan got Chance to do the first big "Glory". a beauty. it's gone from here now. William "Bill" Buchan also had Chance do a boat; The 3/4 ton Sachem most of us could not believe this beautiful boat was a Chance design??!! It's proportions were very pleasant, a board boat that carried it's lead ballast outside the hull port to starboard with the board window centered, wide stern, masthead rig.

I spaced out with all this other stuff. But, Warrior apparently was a victim of an alcohol stove fire and just sat around as a project boat for years. Also, Tom Wylie's 50 foot"Outrageous" just died on the vine setting in a pit here in Port Townsend.

crm

 

CRM!
Sad stories about Warrior and Outragous. What happened to Chocolate Chips?
Regards,
Booster

 

Sadly, I think your friend has it right. Any money thrown at Terrorist at this point is wasted. In reality the market for something like this, even with the history involved, is zero. There is no revival of the One Ton fleet in Europe like we have seen at Quarter Ton and to a lesser degree Half Ton. At least it is aluminum, and can be sold off for scrap value unlike an old glass or wood boat.

The Warrior that went up to Puget Sound was the prior Warrior to the one I sailed on.

Sachem (photo attached) was the only other daggerboarder at the Worlds in '78 when Pendragon won, so they ended up 1 and 2. She was along the development lines of the '76 One Ton Cup winner Resolute Salmon. While she was nice looking in bright wood, she was something other than a wide sterned boat.

Her near sister Eclipse had a keel instead of a board, and was not competitive at the NAs in Newport Beach before the Worlds. They were so trounced by Pendragon they didn't even go up for the Worlds after building the boat specifically to do it. Eclipse sat in the Long Beach Marina Shipyard for probably close to 10 years after that, not used and with no one interested in buying her. What a sad waste of money.

Back to one of your earlier posts, a Buccanner 335 (nee Chaser 33) finished in the top 5 in nearly every bouy race. One, Rhapsody, ended up 5th overall, beating all the newer production boats and all the customs except the two board boats, plus Chocolate Chips and the new Holland design Hagar. Another 335, Tyrone Shoelaces, dropped out of the long distance race after making only 10 miles in the first 12 hours or they might have ended up even higher up the results. Not bad for a 4 year old production design at the time, or maybe the fleet just wasn't that deep in talent.

 

Yes, the Sachem looks nice. Chance Jr. must have got some inspiration from his father's Olympic champion 5.5 Complex III, designed by Arvid Laurin. Later Laurie Davidson got information from Chance Jr. regarding the centerboard design, according to Gary B's book (Light Brigade). Davidson was told to reduce the area. As a result Fun, Wave-rider and perhaps Pendragon got indirectly influenced by Arvid Laurin. Paul B, I see you mention Chocolate Chips.
Regards,
Booster

 

Booster, that's almost correct .... about Laurie Davidson communicating with Britton Chance about appendage sizes - but Laurie was asking about Blitzkrieg's very raked KEEL (his earlier, heavy Half Ton design) .... and Chance said he thought the keel was too large from research he was at that time involved in; this was before Davidson designed Fun with her lifting daggerboard - but obviously he took this information into account when drawing the Quarter Ton design.

 

booster and gary B

If we are focused on these 3/4 ton boats for the moment, I can upload some interesting snaps of the worlds, up in Victoria back in 78. ?? If you'll are game? Besides this, after these Worlds, an interesting performance occurred with Sachem during the following springs Swiftsure race. Boats of this size 34 feet often sail the Niea Bay course, not the full Monte out to Swiftsure banks turning light ship mark.

As I recall the Buchans did the banks race. Usually light air at the start then a depression rolls in with westerlies and foul rainy weather. No rain this year 1979, however all the rest of it was on stage. the bright sunny saturday must have inspired the boys. They just flew down the straits, making an Easterly course under full main, blooper and spinner, hour after hour and on corrected time came close to winning it all. there class was an easy lock.

Remember Sachem was not a planning type boat as was the Dragon. If "Maclaurin," had left the Davidson up here, what a race that may have been! But what was interesting, I recall reading an interview with Buchan about the race where the interviewer ask, "Your performance during the race was helped by pulling up the board --etc." The reply, No not at all the board was needed for proper tracing of the boat. So, now after reading the above comments about Chances input concerning smalling up the centerboard clearly explains what I saw years later. Sachem out of the water, surprisingly the board at it's root was only about twenty, twenty four inches, fore and aft. maybe sixteen inches at its toe.

In addition to the narrow center board, the mast was deck stepped and held in place by way of a two inch axial pin, allowing the rig to rotate forward a god awful amount, possibly two feet at the mast head. The boat was full of engineering tricks. As I have mention earlier the ballast was outside the hull located in a port to starboard slot allowing the keel bolts do double duty as shroud attachments. all turnbuckles were below and at this lower position.

Alas, Mr Davidson's' simple straight forward boat from the Southern world, with those Green plastic head sails was just to much to Handel. I watched an afternoon light air race off the city front, and observe any thing said about inapfishent 3/4 rigs not having pull. Was, well not seeing this race. After making a leeward turning mark just a head are even with Sachem, the Dragon started flying that green plastic triangle, steady pulled ahead and held a 300 yard lead to make a first place. After all Lowell North was there as well as a great boat.

crm. Oh yes, how in the world could I buy a copy of "The light Brigade", by Gary B?

 

I would love to see all the photos you have.

I would especially like to see any photos of Riotous Assembly, the Whiting custom boat that ended up near the bottom of the fleet.

 

The daggerboard One Tonners from 1977 had boards about 2.5 feet chord length, and when Pendragon was modified to sail in the One Ton Cup in '79 she added 9" to the chord length.

A lot of boats were trying different types of rigs in those days. The Peterson One Ton B195 in 1977 had a similar deck stepped mast, with hydraulics on the headstay. They could rake the rig forward much more than 2 feet, probably more like 6 feet. The ITC soon closed a loophole to eliminate any rigging below 25% of "I" (needed to stabilize these rigs), so these deck stepped raking masts went away.