VIII.
EVOLUTION OF THE RACER.
HOW TONNAGE AND MEASUREMENT RULES HAVE AFFECTED FORM IN AMERICA AND GREAT BRITAIN.
The growth of the English cutter
from its cradle, on the south and
east coasts, where the fantail
stern was created, is an interesting
study. From the Pearl, designed by
Sainty, the smuggler, for the Marquis of
Anglesey, down to the modern yacht of
1899, it is apparent that the evolution of
the craft was slow and gradual until
about 1880, since when strides of unprecedented
length have been taken. Up
to 1880 yacht designing advanced sluggishly,
both here and abroad, but the
progress of the art could be marked by
the intelligent student, even as a trained
forester can tell the age of an oak from
a section of the trunk. The more closely
you observe, the more clearly are you
convinced that the naval architects of
both countries have for some time been
converging to a common goal. This
goal they now seem to have attained.
In order to give an intelligent summary of the development of the racing yacht of to-day, it is necessary, as we
