ventnor moth sailboat

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Classic Moth Boats

Classic Moth Boats are a class of small fast singlehanded racing sailboats that originated in the US in 1929 by Joel Van Sant in Elizabeth City, NC. The Classic Moth is a monohull development class using a modified version of the International Moth rule in effect pre 1969. With an eleven foot over-all length, a maximum beam of 60 inches, a minimum hull weight of 75 pounds, 72 Sq Ft sail area, and very few other restrictions a Classic Moth can be a skiff, pram, scow, skinny tube, dinghy, or any combination thereof. The Classic Moth Boat is an ideal class for amateur designers builders and tinkerers, and can be easily built from inexpensive materials.

If you wake up in the middle of the night with a novel idea for hull shape, you can leap out of bed, race down to your garage, build it and then find out at the next regatta if your idea is hot or not. Freedom of design sets Moths apart from the clorox bottle (one-design) crowd. Instead of the one design controlling who sails successfully, we design and build Classic Moths that fit our size, ability, taste, skills, artistic expression, and pocketbook.

To broaden the appeal to race all types of Classic Moths, we have created three divisons within the class. At major regattas, all Classic Moths race together but are scored in three different divisions; a Gen 2 division for full on narrow waterline, low wetted surface designs, a Gen 1 division for more stable, higher wetted surface designs, and a Vintage division for restored Moths built before 1950.

Presently, Classic Mothboats race in many locations up and down the east coast of the United States. Regattas are currently held in Brigantine, NJ; Portsmouth, VA; Chestertown, MD; Cooper River, PA; Augusta, GA; Norfolk, VA; Elizabeth City, NC; Charleston, SC., and St. Petersburg, FL. Please refer to the regatta schedule on this site for dates and contact information.

Latest News

2022 mid winters results.

2021 Nationals Results

2020 Nationals Results

2019 race schedule..

We have quite a race schedule for 2019.   

Check it out under Schedule. 

Happy Sailing  

Europe Dinghy in FL

Europe dinghy with

carbon fiber mast, aluminum Proctor boom,

wood dagger board, fiberglass rudder,

Cunningham, vang.

2 sails - practice sail and North racing sail.

Asking $1500.

early Ventnor

This is an early Ventnor with an unknown registration number. 

Sun Fun Sailor built from plans in Science & Mechanics Oct 1962

Hi, I wish to advertise and sell my Moth built by my brother in the 1960’s   For Sale : Sun Fun Sailor built from plans in Science & Mechanics Oct 1962.   Includes trailer and 2 sails. Wood construction hull, mast and boom. Hull bottom was fiberglassed when built in the 1960’s.   Located in Appleton Wisconsin.   Asking $900.00.      Contact Ron Aavang @  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. document.getElementById('cloakab9e0536165f903203854bcd992dbfd5').innerHTML = ''; var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; var addyab9e0536165f903203854bcd992dbfd5 = 'raavang' + '@'; addyab9e0536165f903203854bcd992dbfd5 = addyab9e0536165f903203854bcd992dbfd5 + 'new' + '.' + 'rr' + '.' + 'com'; var addy_textab9e0536165f903203854bcd992dbfd5 = 'raavang' + '@' + 'new' + '.' + 'rr' + '.' + 'com';document.getElementById('cloakab9e0536165f903203854bcd992dbfd5').innerHTML += ' '+addy_textab9e0536165f903203854bcd992dbfd5+' ';  or call cell # (920)904-2167.

Member Links

• Mid-Atlantic Musings
• Europe Dinghy Moth
• John Shelley's Moth Boat
• Blackberry Boatworks
• Earwigoagin
• The Madmothist
• Classic Moth Boat Facebook Page

Upcoming Events

Earwigoagin

Saturday, march 20, 2010.

• Classic Moth plans
• Little Mae" PDF plans from magazine.
• Little Mae" Metric station offsets.
• French Vintage Classic Moth "Nantais" build - classique Moth voilier.
• French Fragniere Moth Classique - sections and offsets.
• Francois Vivier Classic Moth kit -conception classique Moth voilier.
• Some other posts with references to Classic Moth plans.
• Offsets for the Zippy design, a modified Proust - conception classique Moth voilier.
• Zippy sections in PDF format.
• Plans for Willam Crosby's vintage Skimmer scow design in PDF format.
• Plans for Len Morris's original Aussie scow, the MK II in PDF format.
• Duckworks Magazine offers a set of Classic Moth plans by Paolo Lodigiani.
• The Florida Cates offsets and partial plans.
• Mistral Hull Panel Offsets
• Mistral Y2K Section Offsets
• How to Bend Up the Mistral Hull Panels
• Plans for Benoit Duflos' flat-bottom Moth-Pop
• Drawing for RazMoth by Bertrand Warion
• Offsets for Bilbon by Christophe Couton
• Lines for the Swiss-Dunand
• Section drawing for the Duflos
• Brewsabee, another narrow waterline Moth
• Puriri, a 1962 New Zealand multichine design

• A discussion on the differences between a Mousetrap and a Mistral .
• A  short video of a a Mistral hull modified with a flatter Europe type transom .
• Mistral hull panel offsets can be found here .
• Mistral Y2K section offsets can be found here
• More Mistral images from Google .

• A Post about Tweezer.
• View the YouTube of Tweezer's construction.
• Tweezer's new owner.

"I know this is an old post but as for the Savannah Wedge not being competitive, I finished third in a Savannah Wedge in the '99 midwinters sailing one that I borrowed from Jerry Carter. The boat was amazingly quick I thought, It beat Mean Tangerine and Randall Swans Vanilla . in extremely light air conditions. I think the boat has suffered from sailors who didn't understand the boat." -Briggs Monteith

• Click here to view his restoration of a Fran Abbott Moth.
• Click here to view his restoration of a Fletcher/Cates Moth.
• And his latest restoration of a Ventnor copy.

• My answer to my first email inquiry about Classic Moths..... Classic Moth Designs Part 1 
• And also a good read....... Why a Classic Moth is Better than a Laser .

9 comments:

Excellent. I think I fell in love with the moths from that Youtube video of the two guys making one. Just the look of lacquered wood and .... love.

anyone have a plan for one thats not 400 dollars

I know this is an old post but as for the Savannah wedge not being competitive, I finished third in a Savannah wedge in the '99 midwinters sailing one that I borrowed from Jerry Carter. The boat was amazingly quick I thought, It beat Mean Tangerine and Randall Swans Vanilla. extremely light air conditions. I think the boat has suffered from sailors who didn't understand the boat. -Briggs Monteith

I was quite interested in your moth boat and i was wondering if u could tell me where i could get the plans for that dingy

Eric, Even the plans that are available expect you to have some boatbuilding experience, or at least be able to puzzle out the details. Contact our class secretary through www.mothboat.com if you would like to get some older plans. Probably the most complete plans are the Cates but I've put many of the images from those plans up on this blog. What sort of boat building experience do you have?

Hi, I find this site really interesting. There is so much information available, and would love to build a one off moth along the lines of moth-pop.

Hello, Love your blog. My first boat was a "moth nantais" which I finished in 1974 (me being 14 years old, the boat was begun by 2 of my dad's colleagues, who found out halfway that they were building a single person boat ;-) ). Unfortunately, I've lost the building plans of that boat, and am now very much looking for them. Can you help ?

Aubine, Unfortunately the only Nantais plans I was able to find online were the ones that are posted above. Louis Pillon may have plans but I don't have his address. Guimbert Alexis built a Nantais several years ago and may be another one to search for plans. You can also look at some of the material on boatbuilding on this blog .

Post a Comment

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Ventnor Moth Boat Restoration

Saturday, july 17, 2021.

I've got a few Ventnor mast hanging around.   You become a scrounger for old parts.   The original rules for boom height above the deck was 12 inches.  That was great when you were a kid of about 120 pounds and had a lot of flexability.    I'm way past that.  Original Ventnor masts had a notch in the heal that fit over a slot in the mast step.  For whatever reason this mast did not have that step.  If I cut one in it would then lower the boom height even more.  So here we are.  I had a chunk of sitka spruce from another project and it looks just right.  I scarfed both ends of the mast and then the sitka.  A little bit of shaping and bob's your uncle.  Going to add about 4 inches to the boom height too.

I'll get to the CB and rudder next.

And the mast in the boat.

Friday, July 16, 2021

Paint and varnish.

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Deck construction.

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

Deconstruction.

 This boat is in remarkable shape for its age.  The bottom just needed some glue and a layer of fiberglass.  I could have saved the deck but I have other ideas for this.

Found the boat.

I've got a few Ventnor mast hanging around.   You become a scrounger for old parts.   The original rules for boom height above the deck ...

• About Copyright
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The Ventnor Three-Pointers

By Fred Farley

The now-defunct Ventnor Boat Works of Ventnor, New Jersey, occupies a special place in hydroplane history. It was there that the modern three-point design concept had its genesis.

Ventnor engineers Adolph and Arno Apel , a father-and-son team, popularized the idea of a race boat that rode on two pontoon-like running surfaces called sponsons and a submerged propeller. The Apels didn't originate the three-point design, but they're the ones that made it work. And power boat racing hasn't been the same since.

At the 1936 President's Cup in Washington, D.C., the winner was a Gold Cup Class rig, the Ma-Ja II , owned by Jack Rutherfurd and powered by a 621 cubic inch Packard engine. Ma-Ja II was a step hydroplane, produced by Ventnor which had been building motor boats since 1902. Ma-Ja 's fastest heat was 57 miles per hour. That same weekend at Washington, the performance of another Ventnor craft, the Miss Manteo II , did not escape notice.

Miss Manteo II , owned by H.A. Greef and driven by L.D. Hassell, was a 225 Cubic Inch Class hull, powered by a Lycoming engine. She was one of the very first boats in the world with sponsons affixed to the sides and the first to win a race.

At the President's Cup Regatta, Miss Manteo II won both heats of the 225 Class National Championship Race over thirteen other boats. Driver Hassell pulled a remarkable 55.384 miles per hour out of her in the opening stanza. This speed was within two miles per hour of the speed posted by the larger, heavier, and more powerful Gold Cup boats in the race for the President's Cup. This was an amazing feat, considering the very rough water conditions prevailing at the time.

Likewise that weekend, Miss Manteo II entered the race for the John Charles Thomas Trophy for 225s at Washington. The craft again demonstrated its superiority over all other boats of this class by winning all three heats in the almost ocean-like Potomac River chop.

Miss Manteo II earned yet another distinction at the 1936 President's Cup when she entered the mile trials and set a 225 Class straightaway record of 69.215. This compared to the unsupercharged 625 cubic inch Gold Cup Class mark of 72.727 set the year before by El Lagarto .

The performance of Miss Manteo II at Washington could not be overlooked. The boat's three-point principle, as developed by the Apels, provided a hull that offered much less resistance to the water than was possible with the non-sponson boats.

One important object of the three-point design was to insure a maximum amount of air passing under the bottom of the boat, which in fact rode on a large compressed volume of air. This significantly reduced the coefficient of friction between the hull and the water.

A further object of the three-point concept was the use of the sponsons to help hold the boat in its correct planing attitude. The sponsons also increased stability and concentrated the air under the bottom of the boat, resulting in an air-lift to the hull proper.

Still another feature of the three-point design was a specifically designed bottom. This helped to further concentrate and entrap the flow of air gained by the momentum of the boat and also to help prevent the craft from skidding.

Not surprisingly, on the heels of the Miss Manteo II success, the tiny Ventnor Boat Works facility near Atlantic City found itself swamped with orders for three-point hydroplanes. These included S. Mortimer Auerbach's 135 Class Emancipator VI , Jack "Pop" Cooper's 225 Class Tops II (the future Slo-mo-shun I ), and George Cannon's 225 Class Gray Goose 2d . So successful were these and other Ventnor three-pointers of that era that the Apels applied for (in 1937) and were granted (in 1938) a patent on their ingenious design from the United States Patent Office.

Strangely, only one owner-Jack Rutherfurd-elected to exploit the Ventnor three-point breakthrough in the Gold Cup Class in 1937. Rutherfurd named the craft Juno , which used the same naturally aspirated Packard that had formerly powered Ma-Ja II . The hull of Juno was originally intended to go to China as one of the Chinese government's "Suicide Fleet" of torpedo-carrying motor war craft. But more about that later.

The Lycoming-powered Ventnor 225s were all the rage in 1937. The little 225s, which measured 16 feet in length, started catching up with their bigger brothers, the Gold Cup boats. This was especially the case with Tops II , owned and driven by the colorful "Pop" Cooper of Kansas City, Missouri.

Tops II won first prize in the National Sweepstakes Regatta at Red Bank, New Jersey, on August 15-16, 1937. Cooper finished first, second, and first and averaged 62.194 for the 45 miles. Tops II defeated a couple of Gold Cup Class rigs, the Ma-Ja II and the vintage Miss Palm Beach (formerly Miss Columbia ), handled by Jack and Maude Rutherfurd respectively. Ma-Ja II won the second heat, but Tops II sprinted to a course record of 64.424 for the 15-mile distance in the finale. (The previous high had been 63.114 set the year before by Mel Crook in the unlimited step hydroplane Betty V .)

Also at Red Bank, Tops II and Cooper raised the 225 Class mile straightaway record to 73.171, which eclipsed El Lagarto 's Gold Cup Class standard of 72.727.

The 1937 National Sweepstakes marked the first time that the Gold Cuppers and the 225s had ever met in competition. Tops II 's victory led to speculation that there would be much discussion when the members of the Gold Cup Contest Board met in the Fall of 1937 to discuss plans for the perpetuation of the Gold Cup Class. (The Board voted to retain the 600 to 732 cubic inch rule, much to the disappointment of the 225 Class proponents.)

Tops II 's performance at Red Bank served notice once again that the Ventnor three-point design could indeed hold its own in the acid test of competition. Still, as a group, the Gold Cup owners remained unconvinced. But not for long.

At the 1937 President's Cup, defending champion Jack Rutherfurd elected to fight it out not with the tried and proven Ma-Ja II but with the radical Juno . On the morning of the race, Rutherfurd pulled a remarkable 84.606 over the measured mile with the craft, which weighed just over a ton and used the Ma-Ja 's 360-horsepower Packard. This bettered El Lagarto 's mark by nearly 12 miles per hour! Truly, the era of the sponson boat had arrived.

The modern three-point concept had had its origin when representatives of the Chinese government contracted with Ventnor for a fleet of high speed suicide boats. The Chinese wanted a hull that would travel in the area of 50 to 60 miles per hour and carry a 500-pound bomb in the bow. The driver would take this, ram an enemy ship, and blow it up.

Over a dozen of these crafts were built by Ventnor, a company that secondarily manufactured a line of water skis.

As production of the suicide boats got underway, a serious problem was encountered. The 20-foot rigs proved to be terribly erratic. At high speeds and in the corners, they tended to dig in and plow on account of all that weight in the bow.

Perplexed, Adolph and Arno Apel took a pair of Ventnor water skis and juryrigged the skis with some two-by-fours on the sides of the boats with the hope of improving the riding characteristics. When they tested, they found that the skis came down, absorbed the weight, and greatly stabilized the boats.

The Apels then built these stabilizers right onto the outside of the hulls. This was the original basis for modern sponsons! The fact that Ventnor specialized not only in boats but also in water skis has to be one of the oddest quirks of the industry. It was these two elements coming together that created the three-point design that still dominates more than sixty years later.

Adolph Apel had experimented with the concept of two forward planing surfaces before. Tech, Jr. , a 1915 Ventnor hull, owned by Coleman DuPont, had been so equipped. But the boat had such difficulty in cornering that the idea was abandoned.

As for the suicide boats, thirteen or fourteen of them were sent over to China, and no one seems to know what ever happened to them. As far as is known, they were never used in a war situation for the purpose that they were intended.

With one suicide boat still remaining to be shipped overseas, the money from the Chinese government inexplicably stopped. So, this last boat wasn't sent but rather was placed in storage at the Ventnor plant. It was this craft that was acquired by Rutherfurd and became the trend-setting Juno . And it was the overnight success of this "suicide-boat-turned-racing-craft" that made believers out of a lot of people. Indeed many felt that only refinement of the Ventnor three-point concept was all that stood between the time-honored step hydroplane and obsolescence.

The Juno 's 84 mile an hour standard for 625 cubic inch unsupercharged Gold Cup Class boats was all the more remarkable considering that this was faster than the 625 cubic inch supercharged Gold Cup Class record of 82.298. (This was set by Clell Perry and the Notre Dame on the following day and on the same body of water.)

The old-style boats, nevertheless, still had a lot of life in them in 1937, the Juno 's success at Washington, D.C., not withstanding. The fast-steppers would continue to be a factor in Gold Cup and Unlimited Class racing for another two decades. On the same weekend as the Juno 's and the Notre Dame 's straightaway achievements, Count Theo Rossi's Alagi , an Italian step hydroplane, set an American 12-Litre Gold Cup Class record of 91.408 over the measured mile.

In the first heat of the 1937 President's Cup, the forces of new and old met head on. Juno the three-pointer and Notre Dame the fast-stepper battled on even terms the entire distance with the defending champion Rutherfurd taking it at 65.265. Perry did 64.516, while Rossi and Alagi checked in third at 63.069.

It was more of the same in Heat Two, which was run in much rougher water. But the action was to be short-lived. While duking it out with Notre Dame for the lead for three-quarters of the first lap, Juno took a wild leap into the air at full speed, landed upside down, and sank almost immediately. Later, it developed that the gas pedal had stuck down and Rutherfurd had been unable to slow his craft for the turn. He and riding mechanic Jack Lynch were thrown clear and uninjured, and Juno was not badly damaged.

But Rutherfurd-and the Apels-had proven a point. They demonstrated that sponson boats were indeed competitive with the step hydroplanes. As a result, big-time boat racing would never be the same.

The importance of the Ventnor three-pointer in hydroplane history is considerable. In the words of "Wild Bill" Cantrell, " Juno is the boat that started it all. When he (Rutherfurd) came out and did so well, the rest of us had to build sponsons on our boats to keep up with him."

The Ventnor Boat Works continued to crank out competitive three-point hydroplanes throughout the 1930s and '40s before going out of business in the 1950s.

The first three-pointer to win an APBA Gold Cup race was Ventnor's My Sin in 1939 with owner/driver Guy Simmons. My Sin repeated as Gold Cup champion in 1941 and also in 1946 (as Guy Lombardo's Tempo VI ).

After World War II, a number of the pre-war Ventnors were repowered with Allison engines when the Gold Cup Class changed over to the Unlimited Class. These included Tempo VI and the 1947 Gold Cup winner Miss Peps V .

The best of the post-war Ventnors was Jack Schafer's Such Crust I , which won the 1948 Unlimited Class National High Point Championship with Dan Arena driving.

The last Ventnor boat to win an unlimited race was Henry Kaiser's Scooter , a remodeled former pleasure craft with the sponsons located largely underneath the hull. The cockpit was located amidships, while the Allison engine was situated in the stern. With Jack Regas at the wheel, Scooter captured the Lake Tahoe Yacht Club Championship and the Lake Tahoe Mapes Trophy during the Summer of 1954.

A Look Back: Ventnor Boat Works

• By Cindy Fertsch
• July 25, 2019

Back in the early 1900’s, a small boat yard in Ventnor gained fame as the builder of the world’s fastest custom speed boats. Founded by Adolph Apel in 1902, Ventnor Boat Works developed a tradition of expert craftsmanship with high performance among the best builders in the world.

During much of the formidable years prior to World War II, Ventnor, with its advanced designs, concentrated on producing custom-built racing hulls for many famous individuals interested in winning races and establishing new world speed records. Ventnor dominated racing and high-speed boat designs. It’s watercraft won many domestic and international speed trials, races and regattas including the Gold Cup. They built Sir Malcolm Campbell’s “Bluebird”, the fastest boat in the world at that time.

With World War II beginning, Ventnor relocated and enlarged its facilities to the waterfront in West Atlantic City. It switched from building racing and pleasure craft to producing war ships. Ventnor was contracted to build air-sea rescue boats for the Army and sub-chasers for the Navy. The war taught Ventnor a great deal about light weight, strong, quality building techniques and time-saving methods using plywood construction.

From that time on, Ventnor built many types and sizes of watercraft including rowboats, skiffs, tenders, race boats, runabouts, cruisers and even sailboats. Various materials were used, such as mahogany plank, plywood and lapstrake construction. Propulsion varied from electric, steam, diesel, gasoline and wind power. Construction techniques and materials have changed through the years and Ventnor had always proven itself with the ability to change with the times, while maintaining its engineering, styling and construction leadership.

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Ventnor Boats

A Memory, A Reality

by Jim Aamodt.

The year 2002 will mark the 100th Anniversary of Ventnor Boats. Adolph E. Apel first established his company in Ventnor, New Jersey. His vision was to build boats that would successfully adapt the gasoline engine as the predominant source of lightweight, efficient, and fast power.

The Ventnor Company built a wide variety of custom launches, tenders, utilities, runabouts, and commercial small craft into the 1930’s. Their racing involvement remained strong, and the 1931 American Power Boat Association’s (APBA) creation of a 135 cubic inch displacement racing class was immediately dominated by Ventnor. The “Flying Eagle” set the 1931 speed record of 35.7 MPH, and in the succeeding years of the 1930’s, the 135 class records were held by Ventnor at 54.08 MPH lap speed, and 67.5 MPH flying mile.

In 1934, the APBA introduced the 225 class, and Ventnor set a record of 44.14 MPH. Later in the 1930’s, Ventnor set the record at 66.4 MPH lap speed, 87.5 MPH flying mile. Ventnor boats, privately owned and raced, held virtually all records in the 91, 135 and 225 cu. in. classes, as well as many divisional and national championships.

Their racing notoriety was recognized in 1937 with an order of 12, 20’ boats by the Chinese government. For use as “Suicide Boats,” they were powered by a Lycoming Engine, and designed to run at 64 MPH with a 500-pound bomb in the bow! Their intended use was in the on-going Sino-Japanese War. For political reasons, only 11 were delivered, and the 12th hull remained at the Ventnor factory.

Jack Rutherford purchased hull #12 and replaced the power plant with a Packard 621 cu. in. Gold Cup engine. In 1937, at the President’s Cup Race, it ran at 72.7 MPH, 1 MPH faster than the three-time Gold Cup winner, “El Lagarto.” This boat, named “Juno,” is still participating in boat shows and Race Boat Regattas.

Ventnor designed other fast boats. In 1938, Ventnor designed the hull for Malcolm Campbell’s “Bluebird,” which was clocked at 141.74 MPH in England. Likewise, Ventnor also designed, built and won the Gold Cup with “My Sin,” in 1939.

Ventnor built pleasure boats and custom race boats through 1939. With the advent of the war, Ventnor moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and built military vessels 23’ through 110’.

At the end of the war, the Apels added several experienced pleasure boat production people. They decided to focus on this wider base market. Their first new model in 1947 was an 18’ deluxe utility runabout. Sales were good and their racing knowledge helped produce a fast pleasure boat reaching 44 MPH.

The first year of a complete line was 1946. They offered models from 15’6” through 22’9”. The 15’6” was built of plywood, as were the boats extensively used during WWII. Planked boats were offered starting in a 16’ length, and considered to be standard construction through the 22’9” Custom Runabout style. Gray Marine engines were predominant, with the 22’9” having twin 150s for 55 MPH performance. In 1947, one cruiser, a 23’ Express, had options up to twin Gray 150’s. Most notable, beginning in 1945 (and about 9 years before the automobile industry styling) was the 20’ Sport Runabout and the 23’ Sport Runabout (22’9”) introducing the torpedo-style rear and sloping “dorsal fin.” As a major styling innovation, the “fin” models combined an oak frame, mahogany-varnished decks, and painted sides consisting of both planking and cold molded plywood. A few 19’, 20’ and 23’ Sport Runabout models were built with all varnished sides and two-tone decks.

In 1945, the 20’ model could also be ordered with a (then well-advertised) “Tucker Engine.” This was highly possible, as the Tucker was a Lycoming, and Ventnor had previously used many Lycoming marine engines. Like the finned 1955 Chris Craft Cobra, the 1945 finned Ventnor looked great as a contemporary design, but did not sell well to some because of the Art Deco design. However, it did define a unique model that has become a classic. The finned Ventnor was not renewed in the 1951 models.

Competition was fierce for the consumer spending boom, and Chris Craft, Century and Higgins, were masters at mass producing low cost, good quality boats. Others such as Hackercraft, Owens, Lyman, Correct Craft, Garwood, Larson etc. were competitors after the same market.

After moving to Egg Harbor, New Jersey, Ventnor continued to build 20’ to 40’ lapstrake and plywood cruisers until 1968. The company then faded away in the mass transition to fiberglass boats after their merger with Cruisalong Co.

Quality, as well as innovative design, was always an important factor for Ventnor. Their innovative design of the torpedo transom, however, exceeded the ability of plywood. In the late 40’s, although the best choice of the time, plywood was not competitve with the new fiberglass. It is ironic that the new material, fiberglass, which later Ventnor would not adapt to, could have enabled their designs to be built better, cheaper, and much more durable.

A “100 years of Ventnor Boats” will be featured at the Mt. Dora Boat Show, as well as others next year. I have only touched the historical surface, so why not have some research fun and seek out some Ventnors at boat shows. We are very pleased to have Dick Thede at our Rendezvous with a current 20’ Ventnor. Be sure to see him (and his boat.)

Dick, thanks for making memories come alive!

• Moth Records
• Rules and Documents
• Meetings and Reports
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Switzerland
• United Arab Emirates

The current International moth is a result of merging two separate but similar historical developments. The first occurred in Australia in 1928 when Len Morris built a cat rigged (single sail) flat bottomed scow to sail on Andersons’ Inlet at Inverloch, a seaside resort, 130km from Melbourne. She was hard chined, was eleven foot long, and carried 80 sq ft in single mainsail. The craft was named “Olive” after his wife. The construction was timber with an internal construction somewhat like Hargreave’s box kite. “Olive’s” performance was so outstanding, that a similar boat “Whoopee” was built. Len Morris then sold “Olive”, and built another boat called “Flutterby”, and with those three boats, the Inverloch Yacht Club was formed. Restrictions for the class known as the Inverloch Eleven Footer class were then drawn up, with the distinguishing characteristic that of being not a one-design boat but rather that of a boat permitting development within the set of design parameters. At much the same time, 1929 in fact, halfway around the world another development class, the American Moth Boat was started by Captain Van Sant of Atlantic City, New Jersey with his boat “Jumping Juniper” built of Atlantic White Cedar from the Great Dismal Swamp. The US development class was formally organized in 1932 as the “National Moth Boat Association” and in 1935, due to increasing overseas interest, changed its name to the “International Moth Class Association” or IMCA.

In October of 1933, an American magazine, The Rudder, published an article dealing with the Moth Boat scene in US. The Australians noted the similarities between the two groups of boats and intuitively realized that the name “Moth Boat” rolled more easily from the tongue than “Inverlock Eleven Footer Class”, so they changed the name of their class to Moth and adopted the “squashed bug” that was shown in the article as the class sail insignia.. The Australians also noted the differences, particularly in sail plan between the two boats, but since this was in the middle of the great depression, and the two groups were 13,000 miles apart, no attempt was made to reconcile these differences. The US fleet, and later the British and European moths, adopted a “circle M” for their sail insignia. Thus two large Moth classes developed separately for over 30 years.

Also, in the early 1930s a small group of sailors in Great Britain formed a “British Moth Class”. The British class was restricted to a particular hull shape of a 1930s Vintage American Moth Boat, and is thus not a development class. Meanwhile, in Australia, in 1936 the Victorian Moth Class Association was formed, but it was not until after WWII, that the NSW Moth Class Sailing Association was formed with foundation members coming from Seaforth Moth Club and Woolahra Sailing Club. During this time Australian Moths were using pre-bent and wing masts in the 1950s. From 1956 to 1961 all other states formed Moth Associations and in 1962 the Australian Yachting Federation (AYF) recognized the Australian Moth class as a national class, the FIRST small boat class in Australia to be granted national status.

After the Second World War, more and more European interest in the Moth Boat was expressed. The European Moth clubs subscribed, more or less, to the US class rules. One European Moth design from the early 1960s, the “Europa Moth”, broke away from the IMCA and formed the one-design Europe dinghy class and became the woman’s single-hander used in the Olympic games from 1992-2004. Also in the 1960s, the Australian Mothists began campaigning for rules changes that would permit the Australian Moths to compete in the IMCA’s “World Championships”. In 1971 the US-based IMCA completed a phase-in of new rules which attempted a “marriage” of the IMCA and the Australian Moth. This amalgamation process had started at the annual IMCA meeting in 1965. New rules embraced the more powerful high aspect, loose footed, fully battened rig of the Australian Moth and the squashed bug insignia. The new rules also permitted controversial hiking wings first seen on Moths from Switzerland. Finally, the rule change abolished the US centralized organization of the class in favor of an independent world body with equal-partner national associations. Each national association elected its own officers and world body representatives. The culmination of these changes was the recognition in 1972 of the IMCA by the International Yacht Racing Union (the forerunner of today’s ISAF) bound by the agreed upon new restrictions of the class (with metric measurement conversions) operating today. The moth class association that had originated in the US was now truly an international organization.

Being a development class, the moth has evolved from a hull in the 1930’s that could best be described as a heavy, narrow scow or a blunt nosed skiff, (weighing about 50 kg) to today’s remarkable foilers with hull weights of under 10 kg,. Designs have run the gamut from wide skiffs without wings, to lightweight scows, to wedge-shaped hulls characterized with narrow waterlines and hiking wings out to the maximum permitted beam. Likewise, the sail plan has evolved from cotton sails on wooden spars, through the fully battened Dacron sails on aluminum spars stage, to the windsurfer inspired sleeved film sails on carbon masts seen today.

The International Moth has fostered a number of remarkable achievements. For example, in 1966-67, The King of Siam was involved in the building of three Moths and sailed them on the pond at Chitrlada Palace. The King raced for almost 20 years on his second moth called ‘Super Mod’ until his design and construction efforts were cut short by the ‘press of royal duties’. In 1957 Patricia Duane became the first women to win the moth world championship in her Cates-Florida design and in 1968 Marie Claude Fauroux became the first woman skipper to win a World dinghy racing title from a IYRU sanctioned international class – in her Duflos designed moth. The International Moth was selected as an official training class for the Japanese Olympic sailing team, to hone their balance skills. And of course, the moth has become the standard of a successful hydrofoiling class, with most foils and control systems based on developments by John Ilett in Australia.

Classic Wooden Boats for Sale | Vintage Chris Craft | Antique Boats

History of Ventnor Boat Works

In a small boat yard in Ventnor, New Jersey, Ventnor Boat Works has gained fame as the builder of the world’s fastest custom speed boats since 1902. Founded by Adolph Apel, Ventnor has developed a tradition of expert craftsmanship incorporated with fine boat building.

During much of the formidable years prior to World War II, Ventnor, with its advanced designs plus a group of highly skilled employees, concentrated on producing custom-built racing hulls for many famous individuals interested in winning races and establishing new world speed records. Ventnor dominated racing and high speed boat designs, winning a multitude of domestic and international speed trials, races and regattas in most classes, including the Gold Cup as well as Sir Malcolm Campbell’s “Bluebird”, the fastest boat in the world at that time.

With World War II beginning, Ventnor relocated and enlarged its facilities in Atlantic City, New Jersey and switched from building racing and pleasure craft to producing war ships. Ventnor was contracted to build 83′ and 104′ air-sea rescue boats for the Army as well as 110′ sub-chasers for the Navy. Because of their outstanding work throughout the war years, Ventnor received the coveted Army-Navy “E” award in 1946. The war taught Ventnor a great deal about light weight, strong, quality building techniques and time-saving methods using plywood construction.

From that time on, Ventnor built many types and sizes of watercraft including rowboats, skiffs, tenders, race boats, runabouts, cruisers and even sailboats. Various materials were used, such as mahogany plank, plywood and lapstrake construction. Propulsion varied from electric, steam, diesel, gasoline and wind power -all were used at one time or another through Ventnor’s pioneering history in the marine industry. Construction techniques and materials have changed through the years and Ventnor has always proven itself with the ability to change with the times, while maintaining its engineering, styling and construction leadership.

YIPPEE, YIP YAP Is On Her Way Back!

T Parsons left, and Mike Lapinski, the seller feller! Holland Michigan 4PM

If you have been following this week with the entire spontaneous Daisy Chain story, today we reveal the boat and “trip 1, done by long time fellow Woody Boater T Parsons. We kept the boat a secret because we wanted to surprise our son Hank, Berlin Bureau, SURPRISE!

The day my son Hank found YIP YAP in Buffalo, never touched. Time capsule. I still have the old Johnsons. Thats Dan Dan the Mechanic Man. The trailer broke apart mid transit one day.

The boat is YIP YAP, a long time love of the Smith Family and my son Hank’s first boat. He went on the trip to Buffalo to get her with us, and learned to drive and blow up an old outboard on it. She was the poster child of the Whirlwind stories here, and even had Osama Bin Ladan at the helm.

The day after she was named. Our old pal Captain Crunch did the lettering – RIP Crunch!

Oh Yip Yap has a history here. There is deep love here. And after all this time, headed back home.

My two sons out having fun! I think this was the day we got the new engine.

One of my favorit images from summers gone by. It was lunch time at the river. The kids just all found there spots to eat.. It was only a year later that i read the back of one of my sons t shirts. This says it all for me. And that is Yip Yap in the boat house.

We put a new Nissan Engine on her back in 2004? and she is still making people happy for sure. This is one MUCHO LOVED BOAT for sure. And now on her way to Ohio. And then Maryland. This is insane, but somehow the universe is by our side.

Tucked away for the night in Toms Garage

Dang! thats some classy stuff Yip Yap is hanging with. Sorry Yip, your being picked up this morning by Steve and heading south.

Wow, this makes the story even greater. Congrats on finding a part of the family and bringing her home. Woohoo!

Congratulations Hank and all! Awesome to being a family member back home.

Dang even your boats have Dog names. YipYap

Just for fun, meet Daisey!

Great story and congratulations

Congrats Matt on finding and bringing back a key player in your boating family history!. Being a Whirlwind Guy, (as well as plenty of CC) I had printed and framed that YipYap photo. Theres nothing like bringing home a boat that brings great (and maybe not so great) memories. I am lucky to have retained or reacquired a few of my familys historical “artifacts” including the first sailboat my dad pushed me away from the dock in, a 1942 Ventnor Moth, which hangs in my “Boat Barn” awaiting refurbishment. I had to have a neighbor secretly purchase the family 1957 CC 17′ Sportsman Utility for me because my dad thought I already had “too many boats” (BWAH Hah hah…is there such a thing?) The problem with these boats are they got “smaller” and slower over time… 🙂

Fix those Whirlwind emblems and we”ll see what creative boat numbers you get when you register it back in Virginia!

Now you just have to find that wooden Sunfish!

Welcome Home Yip Yap!

oh now i see the emblems are just obscured by the padding! early morning eyes

Bring that Ventnor to the Moth Nats. in Elizabeth City in Sept.

Gary (not to hyjack Matts coming home story..) George Albaugh checks in with me periodically from the Classic Moth Boat Assn. Its a RedSpot Ventnor maybe one of the earliest still around according to George …. For others… the Boatsmiths at Ventnor Boatworks built one-design Moth Class sailboats after hours from scrap and excess from building PT and other boats. (or so I was told) Russell Post’s design for the open Moth class was called the Red Spot. A far design cry from current winged and foiled and spacey designs…. Was an easy to sail, but fast boat, plywood bottom, canvas covered cedar deck, fist boat I ever sailed…over 50 years ago! Memories!

Great find! Great story! I said not to under estimate the power and helpfulness woodyboaters. Fortunately boats never get out of our family. They are either kept or sold (sometimes given) to another family member. Nothing really high dollar, just cool old boats. Safe travels on the rest of the journey. I’m sure Hank is excited.

Seeing it this morning brought a tear to my eyes! Or maybe thats my allergies… Of all the boats we’ve had, I have the most vivid memories of Yip Yap. Hopefully now it says in VA!

Such a fun story!

Now there’s something I NEVER thought I’d ever see again! I’m more shocked it’s still got the name on it. Glad you all managed to get it safely, and thank you to everyone in the community that helped out. Last thing I needed to worry about was my dad zipping halfway across the country with Bruiser.

This boat means the world to me and I’m thrilled that you have it back at home. Now if only this pandemic would chill out and I could see it in person once again.

It was our pleasure to help. My wife and I enjoyed the adventure and the excuse to have a road trip. We all wore masks and social distanced to be safe and there were no issues at all.

While not in anyway discounting the seriousness of the pandemic we still have to proceed on with our lives – just practice good common sense safety precautions. I am still remaining very hopeful to be able to attend a classic boat show this summer!

Oh – while I got the boat across Michigan I’m not driving it to Berlin. Someone else is going to have to make that trip. That should be good for months of stories.

Wouldn’t that be something! It’d be a REAL change of scenery having anything besides tour boats here. Thanks for all your help! Gonna be a trip seeing it again after 15-17 years!

Great story! Seeing Yip Yap always made me want to find a Whirlwind for my son Will. But then I realized that he loved boating with me as well as my pledge to my wife to only have one woody.

Love the graphics and also love that you stripped the graphics off the new outboard. I’m a fan of of clean, reliable modern outboards (contriversial, I know) but wonder why more don’t do this when repowering vintage boats. It’s so easy. I follow the amazing work done by the guys at FasseCo restoring vintage Whalers and always think how much better they’d look without the modern Yamaha graphics on the outboards.

The engine it came with was very cool in general, it fit perfectly with the retro-futurism vibe. Maybe my dad has a picture of it somewhere.

However, despite work on it, one day it cut off and as I went to pull start it back up, the chord came off… with burnt ends. The rest of it started smoking and that was the end of that!

Great saga for sure! As a whirlwind guy I am going to enjoy seeing that boat in Va. waters again.

Agree with comments about using modern power…strip off the crappy graphics and run em. I tell my knuckle buster friends that are into “period power” that I am into “power PERIOD”…they all want to ride with me…wonder why? John in Va.

Old outboards are like women. Spend some time, and money on them, treat them right. They will look good and take care of you.

Great story! Yip Yap looks like a great boat. Great things come in small pkgs.

In my opinion, when you look at a “period” boat, the whole thing should be Period, including the motor. It takes you back in time and it represents a 100% view of history. Adding modern power is just like putting an LS motor in a ’62 Chevy. Now you have a restomod rather than a piece of history. That’s just my view……

Normally I would agree, however the original motor caught on fire with 14 year old me at the helm. Not worth going down with the ship yet. Bummer the original gas container isn’t there anymore either, it seems.

Boy, this really is like Santa bringing a present for Xmas! Schiess Dir nicht das Auge aus!

So wonderful that the boat is coming back home! Great story!

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Mid-Atlantic Musings

The accounts of misc. wanderings up and down the eastern seaboard.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

30th classic moth boat national regatta.

George, I have been trying to contact you with some information on people, boats in NJ. thanks, John Clark [email protected]