100 YEARS OF THE S-CLASS

A century on and more than half of the original boats are still racing and sailing – we take a closer look at Herreshoff’s enduring design

- ALAN SILKEN

Every summer since 1920, spirited small yachts have given their sailors that special feeling, that contented smile that comes from crossing the bay, tiller in hand, at the helm of a wooden boat that cuts through the chop – wind in your hair, spray in your face – like no other boat you have ever sailed. With an immense main sail, tall spruce mast and steady, full-lead ballast keel, the Herreshoff S-boats drive confidently through gusty winds and sail circles around other boats in light zephyrs.

With 2019 marking the centennial anniversary of one of Nathanael Herreshoff’s most enduring and innovative yacht designs, his S-Class is still going strong. Large fleets of these one-design racers on Long Island Sound, Buzzards Bay and Narragansett Bay continue to inspire sailors with a thrilling ride that is not only competitive with contemporary classes, but does it with the mystique and aesthetic that only a traditional classic yacht can bestow. Nothing drives through waves like a wooden boat, and few wooden boats have the agility, speed and beauty of an oakframed, cedar-planked, mahogany- and teak-trimmed Herreshoff S-boat with LOA of 27ft 6in (8.4m); beam 7ft 2in (2.2m); draught 4ft 9in (1.4m); sail area 425sq ft (39.5m2); and displacement 6,750lb (3,062kg). The S-boat is comfortable to sail and has a large cockpit plus small cabin with two settees.