Etchells
 | |
 | |
| Development | |
|---|---|
| Designer | E. W. Etchells |
| Location | United States |
| Year | 1966 |
| Builder(s) | Sydney Yachts in Australia Ontario Yachts Robertson and Sons Ltd. David Heritage Racing Yachts Petticrows Limited |
| Boat | |
| Displacement | 3,325 lb (1,508 kg) |
| Draft | 4.50 ft (1.37 m) |
| Hull | |
| Type | Monohull |
| Construction | Fiberglass |
| LOA | 30.50 ft (9.30 m) |
| LWL | 22.00 ft (6.71 m) |
| Beam | 7.00 ft (2.13 m) |
| Hull appendages | |
| Keel/board type | fin keel |
| Ballast | 2,175 lb (987 kg) |
| Rudder(s) | skeg-mounted rudder |
| Rig | |
| Rig type | Bermuda rig |
| I foretriangle height | 27.60 ft (8.41 m) |
| J foretriangle base | 8.00 ft (2.44 m) |
| P mainsail luff | 32.50 ft (9.91 m) |
| E mainsail foot | 11.50 ft (3.51 m) |
| Sails | |
| Sailplan | Fractional rigged sloop |
| Mainsail area | 186.88 sq ft (17.362 m2) |
| Jib/genoa area | 110.40 sq ft (10.256 m2) |
| Total sail area | 297.28 sq ft (27.618 m2) |
The International Etchells Class is a racing class of one-design sailing boats, designed by American Skip Etchells.[1]
Production
The boat has been built by Sydney Yachts in Australia, Ontario Yachts in Canada, as well as by Robertson and Sons Ltd., David Heritage Racing Yachts and Petticrows Limited, all in the United Kingdom.[1]
Mold 11 controversy
In March 2021 the International Etchells Class Association issued a decision that 24 boats built since 2011 were no longer eligible to compete in the class, as the mold used to produce them, mold #11, had never been approved by World Sailing.[2] The website Sail World described this as a "curious" decision, as the class rules state that "hulls, hull appendages, rigs and sails are measurement controlled"[3] and the designer himself was "very, very clear that his was a measurement class."[2] It emerged that the class association and World Sailing had no records of approval of molds #8, #9 and #10, thus calling into doubt the entitlement of other boats to compete in the class - boats from all current Etchells builders would be affected, including those from Ontario Yachts and David Heritage.[2] On 30 September, owners of mold #11 boats wrote to the International Etchells Class Association demanding they reverse their decision or apply it equally to the other boats.[2]
Design
In 1965, Yachting Magazine launched a competition to select a new three man Olympic keelboat. E. W. "Skip" Etchells, a boat designer, builder and sailor, was interested in the competition, but refrained from producing a design until the trials were announced. However, once the details became available, he built the wooden Shillalah, taking her to Kiel, Germany, where the trials were to be held in the fall of 1966.[4][5]
Shillalah performed well at the trials, winning eight of the ten races. Nevertheless, the judges were unable to agree on a winner, and thus a second set of trials were held in Travemünde the following year. For these trials Etchells rebuilt the boat in fiberglass, using the original Shillalah as a plug. As with the first trials, Shillalah II (as the new boat was named) dominated the races, winning ten out of the thirteen that were held, and only just missing out on an eleventh.[4]
At the completion of the trials the judges chose the Soling over Shillalah II, in spite of her success in the races. However, the boat's performance had won converts, and shortly thereafter the boat entered production with orders for an initial 12 boats. With the formation of a new association the class became known as the E22, and 32 boats were built by Etchells' company by the end of 1969.[4]
The Etchells is a racing keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass. It has a fractional sloop rig, a spooned raked stem, a raised counter reverse transom, a skeg-mounted rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed fin keel. It displaces 3,325 lb (1,508 kg) and carries 2,175 lb (987 kg) of lead ballast.[1]
The boat has a draft of 4.50 ft (1.37 m) with the standard keel.[1]
Designed for racer and day sailing, the boat has a small cuddy cabin without bunks, designed for stowage only.[6]
For sailing the boat has a central control console that gathers many of the sail controls. These include the 8:1 mechanical advantage jib halyard, 4:1 Cunningham, 4:1 mainsheet, foreguy and the topping lift. Other controls are led to the cuddy cabin's aft bulkhead, including the 2:1 course jib sheet, 6:1 fine jib tuner, 2:1 barber hauler and the spinnaker halyard. There is also a 6:1 adjustable backstay and a mainsheet traveler.[6]
Operational history
World Championship
Template:Etchells World Championship medallists
Famous Etchells sailors
- John Bertrand
- Dennis Conner
- Peter Coleman
- Russell Coutts
- Dave Curtis
- Gary Jobson
- Poul Richard Høj Jensen
- Timothea Larr
References
- ^ a b c d McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Etchells Class sailboat". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ a b c d John Curnow (8 October 2021). "Etchells – Just which one is the cheater boat now?". sail-world.com. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ International Etchells Class Association (8 November 2019). "International Etchells Class Rules" (PDF). etchells.org. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ a b c "A Brief History of the Etchells Class". Etchells (International Association). Retrieved 16 April 2010.
- ^ "Etchells Class in Australia". International Etchells Class Association of Australia Inc. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
- ^ a b Sherwood, Richard M.: A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition, pages 134-135. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. ISBN 0-395-65239-1
External links
Media related to Etchells at Wikimedia Commons
