30 Comments
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Harold (Phil) Truitt's avatar

In the early days of boat use and ownership, I listened very hard to many folks who seemed to have a good grip on things like this. In more than 40 years on the water and having owned and used a very wide variety of boat end shapes, I think the current thinking that those shapes and their behavior are not as easy to categorize as once thought, is correct. A beautiful boat is in fact a work of art. Phil Bolger once wrote that those who owned and maintained beautiful boats should get a tax break. (I paraphrase). While there are many boats I do not wish to own, there are far fewer that I don't want to look at. The question is whether there is a good reason for what you see. I in fact am partial to every shape on your list under the right circumstances. No one else has to feel that way if they don't want to.

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Joshua Colvin's avatar

Well said.

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George Hume's avatar

Having started sailing in an Albacore, I am partial to a plumb bow and stern. About as much waterline length that is possible.

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Jerry Culik's avatar

Thinking of safety and performance, a plumb bow. Or even tumblehome, but the plumb is much easier to build. I recall nearly going for a swim when I got a little too far forward trying to snag a piling on a small Catalina with a pretty spoon bow. I'll take some rake in the stern -- makes it easy to add an auxiliary outboard. But since no one else mentioned it, I'll vote for the "rocket ship" stern -- provides an easy way to reboard from the water. And a split fantail stern (a la Dan Rogers' "Walkabout") that adds buoyancy and waterline is a viable mod on a trailer-sailer or power cruiser.

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Earl Hall's avatar

Preferences lean toward classic styles

Sail - Bow - spoon, lower chin

Sail -Stern - heart shaped

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Ben Fuller's avatar

Depends on the rest of the boat: what is between bow and stern.

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Jonathan Lewis's avatar

Nothing like a gin and tonic on a fan tail yacht.

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Jonathan Lewis's avatar

Just recalled a cruiser having a cigarette in my cockpit during cocktails, flicking his ashes off the stern. When I informed him of the lengthy reverse transom, he was slightly embarrassed about the mess.

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A. Haberland's avatar

My first boat that was not a sunfish was a Sea Sprite 23. I have always been partial to spoon bows and counter sterns. There is something about them that just looks so right.

The only other stern I like is a "north sea type." Canoe style with an outboard rudder. It is another design that seems right without the flash of a counter. Function over form while still being quite beautiful.

Oddly enough, I am soon to be building Reuel Parker Terrapin 21. It has a raked stern with outboard rudder and a raked bow with sprit. The exact opposite of what I usually find appealing in a fine sailing vessel.

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Bob Cornwell's avatar

Long stern overhangs are not my cup of tea. I suspect they came from early handicap rating systems (for racing), and have no real practical purpose. They tend to put the rudder under the boat where it is inaccessible and has less turning leverage. Some working boats had stern overhangs. But these were relatively modest in length and served the purpose of preventing working lines, such as fishing gear an hawse line from fouling the rudder.

Some racing sailboats had bow and stern overhangs that accounted for nearly half the boat length.

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David Bower's avatar

My buddy and I sailed a Kenner Privateer 26 ketch for 25 years, and I'm partial to its conventional clipper bow and heart-shaped stern. Sail it at 15-20 heel, and it gains a lot of waterline length, too.

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Rob O'Connor's avatar

My thoughts are that the majority of these bows and sterns are OK but more importantly the balance of bow, stern and coach house must be in harmony

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Dale Niemann's avatar

I like plumb bow and more vertical stearn.

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Eric Russell's avatar

Some rake to the transom is a feature that adds grace to a design. The new Whitehall has a 15 degree rake designed in. I have also had several of the bows and sterns shown here and have found that they are often more a matter of eye candy than function. The Universal rule boats, like the R and S classes and the J Boats had a reason for the long overhangs. When the wind piped up, the boats heeled and lengthened the effective waterline. Having sailed on a Herreshoff 30 boat, I can appreciate the beauty and utility of the concept. At the same time, I once considered a Herreshoff Boy's Boat, also known as a 12 1/2, which is a completely different design but also had a couple of feet of overhang.

Completely straight stems tend to make boats look somewhat brutal.

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Eric Russell's avatar

Permit me to correct myself. The boat I was referring to is the New York 30. They were built as a class for the New York Yacht Club. The boats were built by Nathaniel Herreshoff for intra-club racing and, for those who could tolerate the discomfort, cruising. Some of the boats are still active as of the last time I checked.

Part of the rationale was that you had to have a boat of a certain size to be a full member of the club.

You can find out more on line, via Wikipedia and from WoodenBoat Magazine.

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Paul Bargren's avatar

I don't like any of the clipper bows.

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AJBTC's avatar

Me too. I don't know why. I have an irrational dislike for the Stevenson weekender.

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Joshua Colvin's avatar

Never liked them either. Though I sort of fell for the performance and function of the Ranger 20 which—sort of unexpectedly—had a clipper bow. I got to sort of accepting it.

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Brad Cote's avatar

Spoon bow (no chins!). Long counter stern. Similar to my Tartan 36C (but bow was closer to raked) and exactly like my 42ft Colvin Gazelle Schooner.

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James F Thomas's avatar

On a sailboat I prefer a spoon bow, low chin. Nearly vertical raked transom.

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RonB.'s avatar

Anything resembling an Egret! Definitely a plumb bow and the long canoe stern. You can disagree but you’re still wrong. Haha.

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