Water Wag

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Notation
Character does not exist
Boat dimensions
Length above : 4.34 (13'0 ") m
Width above sea level : 1.58 (4'10 ") m
Mast height : 4.34 m
Sail area
Sail area close to the wind : 10.22 m²
Mainsail : 6.96 m²
Jib : 3.26 m²
Spinnaker : 5.57 m²
Others
Rigging type: Sloop
Class : One-size-fits- all , one-design

A water wag is a dinghy for sailing and rowing that was developed in 1886 and made compulsory in Ireland in 1887 as the oldest unit class in the world .

The design was modified in 1900 and is still sailed unchanged today. The initiative for the construction of the boat came from Thomas B. Middleton, a lawyer from Dublin . He was an avid sailor and vice commodore of the Royal Irish Yacht Club .

At that time, sailing was dominated by boats that were constructed according to remuneration rules and operated according to handicap . Yachts that were built at the beginning of the season could already be rejected by the end of summer. Middleton put it: “Because all boats are the same, the races will be very entertaining. A competition between sailors, not designers and sailmakers ... "

A dinghy that a club member of the Shankill Corinthian Sailing Club had seen in Scotland was the inspiration for the construction of the new boat . It already had a steel middle sword (boiler plate design), a novelty for small boats in the middle of the 19th century, when stones were used as ballast . In 1878 he built a boat with a middle sword and named it Cemiostomia . With this dinghy you could cruise much more effectively against the wind . Thomas B. Middleton, who was also a member of the Shankill Corinthian Sailing Club and knew about the boat, advertised in the Irish Times to invite interested sailors to found a new sailing club with him in Kingstown (today: Dún Laoghaire ) dedicated to regatta sailing in a device class (ger .: one design Racing) made the goal. In the absence of any response to this ad, he distributed flyers to sailors in Kingstown's Royal Yacht Clubs. After this call, the interested sailors met and decided on October 27, 1886 the construction parameters for the new unit class including the new steel middle sword.

The boats should then be light enough to be carried by two people. But they should also be seaworthy to avoid swelling in the waves. The naming for the new boat was made democratically on the basis of 15 proposals submitted. The term Water Wag ("wag" as a noun means "rogue" or "joke" or as a verb "wag the tail") won, because of the many dogs on Killiney Beach and probably also based on the nature of some club members, that's what tradition says.

Thirteen of the new Water Wag unit class boats were built in 1887 at a cost of £ 13 each.

Water Wag Club

The Water Wag class is managed by the Water Wag Club (Engl .: The Water Wag Club), consisting of a President, Vice-President, Secretary (Hon. Secretary), treasurer (Hon. Treasurer), Captain (Captain) and Committee members. There is no clubhouse, committee meetings take place on Monday evenings at the Royal Irish Yacht Club .

The current captain of the Water Wags is Mr. Sisk.

Association chairperson

President:

  • 1887- WB Caldebeck.
  • 1888- TC Burrows.

King:

  • 1889–1890 - HV Yeo.
  • 1890-1892 - Louis Meldon.

Captain:

  • 1893-1894 - Thomas B. Middleton.

President:

  • 1895-1931 - Thomas B. Middleton.
  • 1932-1933 - George A. Newsom.
  • 1934-1951 - Joseph T. Wigham.
  • 1952-1964 - EH Walpole.
  • 1965-1973 - WR Mc.Ferran.
  • 1974-1991 - R. Seymour Cresswell.
  • 1992-2006 - Alfred Delany.
  • 2007-2015 - George Henry.
  • 2016-present Geoff Sarratt.

Construction of the Water Wag

In 1886, Thomas B. Middleton, a member of the Shankill Corinthinan Sailing Club in Ireland, designed the Dingi Water Wag as a one-size-fits-all sailboat and rowboat. A Water Wag has a hull made of silver spruce planks in clinker and as sloop rigged with a 6.96 m² mainsail and a large 5.57 m² spinnaker, but without jib. The dinghy is open without a deck and has a mast close to the bow .

Middleton was not a professional yacht designer and so he ordered the first boat from Robert McAllister's shipyard in Dunbarton, Scotland. The famous designer George Lennox Watson checked the plans and contributed the sail plan . This first boat, named Eva , was officially launched on January 1st, 1887. This was followed by three more copies, which then contested the first regatta on April 12, 1887 in front of Dún Laoghaire . The 12:30 p.m. bell from the church tower served as the start signal. By the end of the decade, the fleet had grown to 50 units. More than 24 boats never took part in regattas.

Over time, the Water Wag class also attracted big names. The most important was William Fife III. who also built some of these dinghies, which promptly presented themselves as winning boats. In 1890, the Rose boat won 25 out of 39 races, an unprecedented rate. It was only surpassed by Ella , also from the pen of William Fife III. Prominent owner of a Water Wags were Robert Erskine Childers , author of espionage novel "The Riddle of the Sands" (Eng .: The Riddle of the Sands ) and the famous yachting journalist Dixon Kemp, who emphasized the brilliant idea of the unit class over again. In the Water Wag class, Thomas B. Middleton focused on the fun of the regatta sail and less on the speed of the boats. Regatta sailing was not a deadly serious sport for him, but a friendly encounter between the athletes.

20th century: innovations related to the hull

At the turn of the century it became clear that adjustments to the rules were necessary, as boats were increasingly being built from lightweight cedar wood. This made them faster but also more expensive. The price of a Water Wag had doubled from 15 to 30 pounds (around 1980 or 3960 euros today). One had to rethink, because the higher the price, the fewer ships were built.

The boat builder JE Doyle from Kingstown was commissioned to make a design adjustment. The new boat was to be lengthened by 15 inches (new length over all 4.34 m) and equipped with a flat stern (transom) and a gaff rig with mainsail, jib and spinnaker. His design was deceptively similar to a design that his daughter Maimie had submitted in a design competition. To date, it has not been clarified who is to be considered the creator of the new Water Wag.

The cost estimate per boat was 18 pounds and 10 shillings (today: approx. 3600 euros). The first four new Water Wags were built by James McKeown from Belfast , who could make the dinghies for 14 pounds and 10 shillings (around 2800 euros today), plus 2 pounds of 10 shillings (around 400 euros today) for the sails. The specifications were stricter, but the boats were also heavier and therefore more robust. The hull was planked with pine , which was also used for the rig and floorboards. For other components, teak or oak were used, as well as ash for the tiller . The cost was capped at £ 16 for the boat and £ 3 for the sails.

The design changes led to success, as 12 new Water Wags were built in the first year. The new design received a few minor adjustments, in particular more sheeting and a little more sail area (now with jib) in the years 1901–1902, a new rudder came in 1908. The Water Wag class had always prescribed wood as a building material. Traditionally, the sails were made of cotton and silk. In the course of time, synthetic canvas and ropes were approved, as well as floor bailers, floats and epoxy for shoring load-bearing parts.

Water Wag: Variants

A variation of the original design with the Spitzgatter body In (ger .: double-ended hull) are found in Kent in Herne Bay Sailing Club . In the period from 1920 to 1930, various boats were manufactured by local boat builders and the boat class was very active in regattas from 1930 to 1940. These boats did not strictly follow the one-size-fits-all principle of the originals from Ireland. And since they differed slightly from one another in various points (foredeck, bowsprit , mast position) and otherwise, they sailed the regattas with remuneration (handicap fleet). In the early 1950s most of the boats were sold by the club and the regattas stopped. One of the last boats built in Kent by E. and B. Gammon shipyards in 1947 , the Zander , is now on display at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall .

A variant of the 1900 design has been adopted by many sailing clubs in Singapore , Malaysia , India and Sri Lanka . The main difference is the teak planking with the effect that these boats require more freeboard due to the heavier wood . A small foredeck was added to allow the boat to sail more dryly.

Todays situation

The oldest boats sailing regattas today are around 97 years old and the newest dinghies have just been launched this season. Today is the port of Dun Laoghaire, a fleet of 28 Water Wags the Water Wag Club , which is every Wednesday during the summer months from May to September 18:30 to 20:00 in a regatta from the piers can watch.

Identification, fleet list and boat builder

Water wags do not show any class symbols in the sail and no individual marks except for a sail number in the main sail and different colored spinnaker colors .

No. Surname Construction year Boat builder / shipyard (location)
1 Ethna 1968 Skee Gray ( Dún Laoghaire )
2 Tomboy III 1908 John Gray ( Kingstown )
3 Pansy 1906 John Gray (Kingstown)
4th Vela 1910 Kelly ( Portrush )
5 Mollie lost
6th Mary kate ii 1915 John Gray (Kingstown)
7th Blue bird lost
8th Barbara 1915 John Gray (Kingstown)
08 Eros II 1908
9 Marie Louise 1927 Anon
10 Sprite 1904 Doyle (Kingstown)
11 Anne II 1936 Michael Mahony (Dún Laoghaire)
12 Alfa 1931 Michael Mahony (Dún Laoghaire)
13 Lady Ursula lost
14th Phyllis 1907 John Gray (Kingstown)
15th Mossy 1910 Doyle (Kingstown)
16 Penelope 1933 Michael Mahony (Dún Laoghaire)
17th Coquette 1909 John Gray (Kingstown)
18th Good hope 1976 Tweedy (Portaferry)
19th Shindilla 1932 Michael Mahony (Dún Laoghaire)
20th Badger 1932 Michael Mahony (Dún Laoghaire)
21st Jacqueline 1935 Michael Mahony (Dún Laoghaire)
22nd Saryalis 1936 Michael Mahony (Dún Laoghaire)
23 Maureen 1936 Stapleton
24 gavotte 1937 John Gray (Kingstown)
25th Vega 1934 Walter Levinge ( Athlone )
26th Nandor 1937 kennedy
27 Glanora lost
28 Kittiwake lost
29 Patricia 1962 Skee Gray (Dún Laoghaire)
30th Sara 1970 Skee Gray (Dún Laoghaire)
31 Polly 1984 Jimmy Furey (Lecarrow, Co. Roscommon )
32 Skee 1985 Derek Paine (Greystones, Co. Wicklow )
33 Eva II 1986 Derek Paine (Greystones, Co. Wicklow)
34 Chloe 1991 Derek Paine (Greystones, Co. Wicklow)
35 Beaver Year of construction unknown Anon
36 Little Tern 1995 Derek Paine (Greystones, Co. Wicklow)
37 Marcia circa 1910 John Gray (Kingstown)
38 Swift 2001 John Jones ( Bangor, Wales )
39 Susan Jane 1982 Mallon ( Oughterard )
40 Swallow after 2000 John Jones (Bangor, Wales)
41 Mollie II after 2000 Jimmy Furey (Lecarrow, Co. Roscommon)
42 Tortoise after 2000 John Jones (Bangor, Wales)
43 Tortoise after 2000 John Jones (Bangor, Wales)
44 Scallywag after 2000 Jimmy Furey (Lecarrow, Co. Roscommon)
45 Mariposa 2014–15 Cathy MacAleavey with Jimmy Furey
46 Mademoiselle 2015 Skol Ar Mor ( Brittany , France)
47 Peggy 2016 John Jones (Bangor, Wales)

Although each dinghy in the Water Wag class has a distinctive name, none of these names is affixed to the hull, neither painted nor carved. All boats are distinguished by their names and not their sail or build numbers.

Traditionally, at the end of a regatta, the winning boat is greeted by the participants and a triple hurray (Hip Horray) is offered to the team. For example: "Moosmie Ahoy - Hip Horray, Hip Horray, Hip Horray." The winning boat must then respond by greeting the calling boat as follows: "Swift Ahoy - Hip Horray, Hip Horray, Hip Horray."

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b yacht classic, issue 1, 2017, p. 66
  2. ^ A b Vincent Delaney: History of the Water Wags , Dún Laoghaire Harbor Company, English, accessed December 22, 2016.
  3. ↑ Rules of the Water Wags, as of February 15, 2016 , in English, accessed on December 22, 2016
  4. ↑ a b c d A Short History of the Water Wags , The Water Wags, English, accessed December 22, 2016.
  5. ↑ yacht classic, issue 1, 2017, p. 66f
  6. ↑ yacht classic, issue 1, 2017, p. 69
  7. ^ Dictionary.sensagent.com: Development of the dinghy: Early beginnings , English, accessed December 22, 2016.