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The original Baybirds were designed by Starling
Burgess for the Corinthian Yacht Club sailing program in or
around 1920 and built by William Chamberlain in his shop on
Orne Street in Marblehead.
Camp Postcard 1930, Three Baybirds
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The fleet moved south to Duxbury then on to Chatham Yacht
Club where they remained as a racing fleet until newer
classes took over. The boats ended up at various sailing
camps on Pleasant Bay most notably Quanset Sailing Camp and
Pleasant Bay Sailing Camp. Over the years, the wood hulls
were fiberglassed which extended their sailing careers.
In the mid nineties, Merv Hammatt made a mold from one of
the old boats, and began production. When we took over in
2006, the mold was tired and due for retirement.
Our original plan was to build a new plug and molds. In the
meantime, the fleet has been expanding with older boats. The
fleet races out of Namequoit Sailing Association on Pleasant
Bay, and has grown to include 7 active boats. Some are
fiberglass. Some are wood. Some have questionable rigs. They
are all different, except for the shear excitement of
sailing them. The class is now officially registered as the
Baybird Class Association, which will oversee all design
parameters and class rules. We have our first order to build
a new Baybird, and we have opted to use the old molds for
the time being. In fact, the hull used as the original plug
showed up as a restoration project several years ago, and it
turned out to be a real surprise. As interest in the class
grows, we will make improvements along the way.
In the meantime, alumni from several of the sailing camps
that once flourished on Pleasant Bay are getting wind of
this resurgence and stopping by the shop to see what's going
on. Their stories are full of fond memories of sailing and
racing Baybirds on the bay. It's these stories that convince
us that this is a boat worth investing in.
| Baybird Specs
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Standard Equipment
Standard colors: White hull, cream deck and
Off-white All woodwork finished in Sikkens Cetol
Bench style seats- Cedar
Dynel deck
Mahogany coaming
Teak rails
Mahogany centerboard trunk enclosure
Hardware: Garhauer blocks and
bronze deck cleats
Hollow VG Douglas fir mast, solid boom and gaff
varnished and completely rigged
Dacron sail, ties and bag
Boom crutch
PVC centerboard
Antifouling bottom paint
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| Optional
Equipment
Teak woodwork:
Price upon request
Finish on trim
Varnish: $810.00
Cockpit cover: $550.00
Outboard Motor Bracket: $360.00
Track and slides boom and gaff: $525.00
Brass rub rail: $290.00
Spring line cleats: $95.00
Swivel mainsheet block: $175.00
Centerboard and rudder faired: $250.00
Kick up rudder: $590.00
Galvanized trailer to fit boat: Price upon request
Sail number: Price upon request
Name: Price upon request
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QII #30 Camp Quanset's second Baybird
Call if you would like more
specifics |
In the time that has passed since we became
involved with Baybirds, our focus has shifted from
fiberglass construction back to a more modern interpretation
of a wooden boat. It has been our plan to modify the way we
build our production boats so that the environmental impact
is reduced as much as possible. The Baybird is a unique
classic knockabout design that we felt would appeal to a
certain type of sailor. With that in mind, we feel confident
that building it in a wood composite construction would
allow us to adhere to our carbon footprint goal and at the
same time introduce sailors to an altogether different
sailing experience.
In the fall of 2008 we took the
lines off the last remaining wooden Baybird still sailing on
Pleasant Bay. We had replaced a dozen ribs, keelson and
centerboard trunk in hopes of regaining the original shape.
The boat, owned by Andrea Lobkowitz of Orleans, is now
approaching 80 years old and still actively participates in
weekly races. The outside of the hull has been sheathed in
fiberglass, and that is beginning to show its age as well.
The hull profile and body plan was drawn here and then the
offsets were sent to Steve Hollister at Newave Systems. We
will start a cold-molded hull this winter in time for the
season's boat shows, which will showcase the wonderful true
shape of the boat, and garner some admiration as well.
Five Baybirds |
CCY Race
c1921 |
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