Source: NZ Dictionary of Biography |
He also happened to be a founding member of the Port Nicholson Yacht Club of Wellington. He had designs built in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. He began by radically changing existing boats, to designing yachts and rigs. He met with varying levels of success, but they were always somewhat experimetnal if not radical in concept. This piece discusses some of them.
Zephyr
The image below shows two versions of the same 36 foot (on deck) yacht, Zephyr. She was built by Green* in the 1870s and raced locally at Lyttelton and Akaroa. She was taken to Melbourne and then Hobart to race, with mixed results. The version left shows a somewhat unusual rig for the era, basically a bermudan rig on a sliding gunther, mast well raked. She was converted to gaff and external ballast added by the owner previous to Scott, which completely overpowered her.
When Scott purchased her some time around 1890 he completely changed her underwater profile by cutting away deadwood forward, and adding a 2 ton lead fin keel. The rudder as depicted here must have suffered tremendous strain. He returned the bermudan rig, but used a single pole mast fitted with a metal sail track for easy management. He used wire halyards to decrease windage and enable tighter luffs to his sails. This didn't become common until the 1950s. He called the racing mainsail a "batwing", referring to its extreme roach. His cruising mainsail was more conventional. In 1896 she beat the crack Logan-built Waitangi in the New Zealand championships at Lyttelton. By 1911 she had been converted to a motor launch.
Source: Progress. April 1911 |
Wellington Boats
Vixen
Vixen. Source: NZ Yachtsman 20 May 1916 |
Wylo
Source: Progress. April 1911 |
When launched, Wylo sat a little higher than anticipated, but internal ballast being added, she became a very stiff and successful boat which made hundreds of Cook Strait crossings and still in good service into the 1950s. If anyone knows where she is now, please let us know!
Wylo prior to lauch outside Bailey's shed at Clyde Quay. Source: NZ Yachtsman 30 November 1911. |
I'll write more on Robert Scott's work soon.
* Many yachts have been clamed to be NZ first bermudan rigs, but Green appears to have made a habit of it in the 1870s; 40-50 years prior to all of those claims in the 1920s!