State of the Art - Mid 1970s

The following photos illustrate pretty much the state of the art in Cherub design in the mid 70s. They are of Queenie SJB 2 (KZ1982), the boat that came 3rd in the 1974 worlds, fitted with an original Bethwaite wooden wingmast as described in Frank Bethwaite's "High Performance Sailing" section 17.11. The mast is believed to be from Nicola Bethwaite's boat, Slithy Tove, which was runner up in 1974. The pictures are of the boat as restored to sailing condition in 1989. The mix of New Zealand hull and Australian rig is most unauthentic!

The Farr hull shape.

More rocker than modern boats, and definitely quicker in non-planing conditions, especially upwind in choppy conditions. However the modern hulls plane earlier and faster, and so would win the vast majority of races. The contemporary Australian designs were somewhat flatter and boxier, and the Bethwaite shape bore a family resemblance to Mark Bethwaite's NS14s, from which the Tasar was developed.
In the picture below its just possible to make out the full width radiused traveller. This boat was sailed almost entirely with the traveller..

The "Paddle Pop Stick" mast.

The mainsail shown is a Mylar UK 1984 rules main and has significantly more roach than the original Elvstrom sail has. The light stripe at the front of the mast is balsa, and the dark stripe is the structural part of the mast, which is solid Oregon Pine. The mast measures 4 inches by about 1.75" at the foot, and the pine is heavily tapered. Sideways bend is controlled by long diamond shrouds with no sweepback. The rig is much more flexible than is currently fashionable and the hounds are much lower. The spinnaker halyard is external to the mast. I believe it always was external, which can't have done the aerodynamics of the mast any good at all.

(photos - Alison Wilde)

In 2001 I restored this boat and it was shown at the UK Sailboat Exhibition in 2002. There are some photos and details of the restoration here.