The Great Debate

When building a classic boat, there is a question that comes up frequently. 

“Do we build her exactly as she would have been built in the day of the designer, or do we take some liberties and modernize her, albeit slightly?”

This question can be the catalyst for hours of discussion among boatbuilders. The designers and builders that make up the team behind Whirlwind II are no exception. 

The latest discussions regarding Whirlwind have been around her sail, the mast and boom. Would Gil Smith have used modern day materials, or did he build her perfectly back then?

Questions of using carbon fiber instead of a wooden gaff.  How many and what kind of reefs should she have? Should the leech be reduced? 

These are all questions that have been discussed among the team, with varying opinions and responses. 

 “I generally believe that if you truly want to sail a boat in its original form, then you build it to its original form,” says Eben Wilson of Nathaniel S. Wilson Sailmaker in Boothbay, Maine. Eben is heading up the production of Whirlwind II’s sails. 

Eben admits he is a bit of a purist when it comes to classic yacht design, however, he does understand why the Whirlwind II team want to modernize some aspects of it. 

The current idea is to build a carbon gaff for the boat, which will be constructed at Oliver Moore Brothers Company in Bristol, Rhode Island.

“Carbon has a knack for being much stiffer,” says Eben.  “Twist is really important in a sail, especially in a gaff sail, because that's how you create draft in a sail,” He continues.  

According to Alec Brainerd of Artisan Boatworks in Rockport, Maine, the bend characteristics of the carbon gaff will be engineered to match those of wood as closely as possible.  

While Eben has faith in Alec and the rest of the team’s skills and experience, he does truly believe that modern technology does not necessarily mean better.

“It's very easy to discredit the old way of doing something in a modern era, where we believe that computers and motor building techniques are better.” He says.

Alec has a slightly different view about mixing classic design with a modern twist. 

“Getting into the head of an entirely different designer and builder, it leads to a lot of new discoveries and learning.” He says.

He believes that if Gil Smith were alive today, he too would be experimenting with cutting edge technologies, although he does recognize that there is a point where you have to draw the line.

“The boat is gonna be closely critiqued by people out there who really do appreciate this stuff. And you do want to get it right.” He says. “There are certain things that would just be totally inappropriate.” He continues. 

Alec has worked with Ezra Smith, the designer and project manager behind Whirlwind 2, on several other projects. They reconnected at the Newport Boat Show a couple of years ago and Ezra told him that he had to talk with Yarrow Thorne about building a Gil Smith boat. 

 “It's just a lot of fun for me to sort of put myself in the shoes of a different designer and a different builder and try to build something that they would be respectful of.” He says. 

Alec has seen the classic boat building world change over the years.

“When I started 20 years ago, a lot of our customers were in their 70’s, and even early 80’s,” he says.  “They were very passionate about their boats, but there was some concern that they would age out, and there wouldn't be another generation to sort of step up and replace them.” He continues. 

Luckily, there is a new generation interested in these older designs.  “In the last five years, we've had a handful of clients, like Yarrow, who are in their 30s, who are super passionate about this stuff.” He says. 

Other details regarding the rig are still being discussed, but Eben now has enough of an idea to start making the sails. They will be made out of dacron, a material that is as close as anyone can come to the cotton sails that Gil Smith used. He has taken a foot off of the leech and her boom will be higher to allow for more space for cruising thanks to a special type of reef, which Ezra designed. When the reef is taken out, she will convert back to racing mode.

The other details are still being ironed out, but one thing for sure is the discussions around this Gil Smith boat ensure that this classic design is being given new life.