Classic Boat – The legendary boats of the period 1967-1970

We told you about
Classic Boat
and presented you with the most significant ones, brilliant projects that deserve to be celebrated and considered for their value(HERE). Talking about these boats and comparing them only by signature and length overall, however, would rip the designs out of their time, decontextualizing them from the design period to which they belong. To explore the topic as it deserves, then, here is a series of in-depth articles, brief analyses of design canons, their evolutions and the Classic Boats themselves, period by period.

Classic Boats, the legendary boats of the 1967-1970 period

The late 1960s was an unrepeatable period, a pivotal phase in the history of sailing. With the economic recovery following World War II, the yachting world experienced a radical, perhaps unique transformation. Nearly gone, the elite’s large yachts are being joined by the increasing appearance of smaller, higher-performance boats that can be managed by smaller crews. Sailing, all of a sudden, took on a less elitist conception, opened up to the middle class, and launched into a great season of racing and technological innovation.

By the late 1960s this trend is at its peak, enriched on many fronts by the entry into the field of new design concepts and equally new technological innovations. It is a season poised between “classic” design and more radical innovation, in turn split between the binomials of traditional and mass production. The turning points are two: the resounding victory of the small
Rabbit
by Dick Carter at the 1965 Fastnet Race(HERE the story) and the beginning of large-scale industrial production, canonically represented by the

Arpège

by Michel Dufour, produced in 1,500 examples starting in ’67.

• Discover all Classic Boats of Historical Value by Giornale della Vela

Classic Boats 1967-’70 – New canons and new materials

The short period from ’67 to ’70 saw a profound change in the approach to design, although still in its infancy and not permeating the entire landscape. But the new concepts introduced by Carter’s Rabbit take hold, slowly being assimilated into subsequent projects.

Suddenly water lines and hull shapes change, maximum beams begin to grow, “fattening” and lengthening the live work at heeled boat, increasing its critical speed. In parallel, the appendages change, becoming more tapered, away from the traditional long keels, which still survive, however, as in the
Alpa A11
of Illingworth, incidentally still strong even with a relatively narrow beam. Lessons are learned, however, as is well demonstrated by the success of the Arpège, with its wide beam, less noticeable (though not indifferent, stern as well as bow) leaps and a more economical construction, crowning the entry of fiberglass.

The period is thus a lively one, charged with an atmosphere of great research, where innovation and classic style meet, as is evident in so many of the major projects that the yards, buoyed by the new production capacity, churn out in great succession. Boats such as the

Swan 43

and the

Alpa 12.70

by Sparkman & Stephens well represent this ability to hybridize, maximum examples, perhaps, of the marriage of classic deck lines and slips, with innovations hidden instead beneath the waterline, where fine daggerboards and rudders on skegs now appear. Solutions that we also find in many other Classic Boats of the time, such as the Alpa 9.50 e

11.50

, the
Freya 45
produced by Benello and the

Centurion 32

, by Holman.

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!

1967-’70 – The dawn of the “little ones”

It is not only a quest to improve on what tradition offers, however, that pervades these years, and it is not exclusively the “big” boats that are chasing innovations. Indeed, it is among the “little ones” that perhaps these catch on the most, strengthened by the example of Dufour. Comar (then Sipla), just at that time launched one of its bestsellers, a small miracle still produced today, the

Meteor

, a revolutionary 6-meter. Wide at maximum beam, with an almost truncated stern, devoid of momentum, and great performance, the small Meteor proved an immediate success, in part because of another great quality that was catching on: attention to ergonomics, comfort, and interior finishes. Not an isolated case, as also shown by the

Samourai

, the French counterpart (larger at 7.4 meters), produced in over 800 examples by CNSO, and later replicated, by them, in the 9-meter

Karate

.

1967-’70 – The Quest for Performance

In this seething of solutions and innovation, sports competition is the main driver, perhaps as it will still be only in the following decade. Thus, the regatta is a strong driver for the growing market, which looks to her and, in part, produces for her, supplying hulls to the growing ranks of cruiser-regatta sailors. Excellent examples of this are the
Ecume de Mer
and the

Impala 35

(S&S 34), respectively, a direct replica of the Finot-designed Quarter Tonner of the same name the first, and an ante-litteram fast-cruiser of excellence the other, overall winner of the ’69 Sydney Hobart. These cases include the large Alpa 12.70, designed in just 15 examples for consortium of 20 people interested in having a competitive hull to race with.

Overall, a unique period, a cauldron of research and powerful thrusts designed to improve design and construction standards. A fundamental thrust that, already from the early years of the next decade led to the birth of the Golden Age of Sailing, the early years of the IOR (

International Offshore Rule

), with progressive improvements in waterlines, materials, rigging and performance. A brief but milestone era, inescapable to sailing as we know it today.

Three “tidbits” about Classic Boats

• Want to learn more about the world of Classic Boats (1967-1998), the iconic boats of the period, the legendary designers, the stories and races of the “golden age” of sailing? Check out our section dedicated to Classic Boats!
• Do you have a Classic Boat to sell? Put it (for free) on our classifieds market!
• Do you have a Classic Boat? Participate in the SAIL CUP with your boat. There is a special ranking for you! Find out which stage is right for you!

Edited by D. De Luise