Dick Carter - Pivot Keel

Some years ago I sailed briefly on a Carter 36 or 40 footer with a pivoting keel that was a full size trim tab!

She was called "Stay Loose " at the time and we raced her short handed at Burnham week!

I would be interested if anyone knows more about the boat, its current location and recent history.

I believe she also had a sister ship at the time!

 

I know nothing of "Stay Loose", but Carter used pivoting keels on the big 33' half tonner Crocodile and the one tonners Optimist B and Wai Aniwa.

The reports of the time noted that the pivot on Crocodile failed, jamming the keel at right angles to the boat - something that must have meant a nightmare tow in and an equally difficult slipping.

The pivoting keels were thought by legendary yachting journo Jack Knights to possibly work in some wind strengths and angles. They were soon ruled out and Wai Aniwa (which had failed in the '71 One Ton worlds with the swivel in the hands of the defending champ) went on to win the next One Ton worlds with her keel fixed in position.

Optimist B and Wai Aniwa were "jumbo" one tonners of over 39' LOA - did Optimist perhaps end up as Stay Loose?

 

Thank you for the note. I remember the One Tonners but forgot that they also tried the pivot keel. Crocodile rings a bell. I believe she also had a sister ship. One of them was blue and the other green back in the day. This for sure was the period of Stay Loose.

 

I sailed Stay Loose with the late Bill Green who was Dick Carters agent in the UK before he joined Jeremy Rogers and later formed Green Marine. Also on board was Bills then partner Elsa and Jim Pugh a long time friend of mine and part of Riechel Pugh Yacht Design.

 

Jim Young had a pivoting keel/board on his One Ton design Heatwave in 1977 - before the rule came out outlawing the innovation. The keel/board (they called the appendage centreboards then but they were really daggers) pivoted/gybed automatically 3 degrees to weather when right down and gave a definite advantage sailing to windward.

 

Carter Pivot Keel Stay Loose

John, I had the pleasure of sailing on Stay Loose for one day in the very same Burnham Week of 1970, what a coincidence!. I was 18 at the time and quite inexperienced but I met a young lad called Martin, with his mid Atlantic accent and he said they were very short handed and would have me on board. I think he must have been a boat apprentice because when I climbed on board he was busy finishing off the joinery in the cockpit, the boat was that new. The sailing systems were in a bit of a muddle too but we soon caught up with the other yachts and sailed past Ted Heath on Morning Cloud, an S&S 34, with our large pale blue spinnaker.

Bill Green kept cursing the flat featureless seascape of the mud flats and channels out of Burnham saying he's sailed from the Virgin Islands to some other exotic place but no where was as difficult to navigate as Burnham. It was a big novelty for me to be sailing among so many American accents.

I think Wai Aniwa was the sistership to Stay Loose. I never heard of Stay Loose after that other than to read in the magazines how amazing it was for a 40 footer to rate one ton. But she was beautiful and fast. White hull by the way. I also think the Carter 40 was the production version of these two boats.
John Hannah