L boat
Encyclopedia
The L Boat is a type of sail
sloop
racing boat designed by the Luedtke Brothers in Toledo, Ohio
in May, 1931. The boats were of wood construction with low freeboard
. Most of the hulls were mahogany, but a few were redwood and cedar. They were 28 feet (8.5 m) long, 71/2 foot beam, and 31/2 foot draft. They also had an iron centerboard that could be lowered to increase the draft to six feet and assist in upwind sailing. They had a very large mainsail
with relatively small headsail
s and a 3/4s rig. The 40 feet (12.2 m) tall mast was sitka spruce
with stainless rigging.
The first 40 were built by Luedtke; Remi DeBlaere built the last 11. The last hulls were #50 and #51. They were raced One-Design
in Detroit from the 1930s thru the 1960s until the class fell apart in 1968 due to the rise of fiberglass
in ship construction. The Sally K (Hull #30) is the last remaining L Boat in Detroit. Her hull is redwood. She is docked at the Windmill Pointe Park marina where the Detroit River
meets Lake St. Clair.
The L Boats mostly raced out of The Bayview Yacht Club
and the Detroit Yacht Club
in the Detroit area, but also raced in Lake Erie
.
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
racing boat designed by the Luedtke Brothers in Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
in May, 1931. The boats were of wood construction with low freeboard
Freeboard (nautical)
In sailing and boating, freeboardmeans the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship...
. Most of the hulls were mahogany, but a few were redwood and cedar. They were 28 feet (8.5 m) long, 71/2 foot beam, and 31/2 foot draft. They also had an iron centerboard that could be lowered to increase the draft to six feet and assist in upwind sailing. They had a very large mainsail
Mainsail
A mainsail is a sail located behind the main mast of a sailing vessel.On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast....
with relatively small headsail
Headsail
A headsail of a sailing vessel is any sail set forward of the foremost mast. The most common headsails are staysails, a term that includes jibs and the larger genoa...
s and a 3/4s rig. The 40 feet (12.2 m) tall mast was sitka spruce
Sitka Spruce
Picea sitchensis, the Sitka Spruce, is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50–70 m tall, exceptionally to 95 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m, exceptionally to 6–7 m diameter...
with stainless rigging.
The first 40 were built by Luedtke; Remi DeBlaere built the last 11. The last hulls were #50 and #51. They were raced One-Design
One-design
One-Design is a racing method where all vehicles or boats have identical or very similar designs or models. It is also known as Spec series. It is heavily used in sailboat racing. All competitors in a race are then judged based on a single start time...
in Detroit from the 1930s thru the 1960s until the class fell apart in 1968 due to the rise of fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
in ship construction. The Sally K (Hull #30) is the last remaining L Boat in Detroit. Her hull is redwood. She is docked at the Windmill Pointe Park marina where the Detroit River
Detroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...
meets Lake St. Clair.
The L Boats mostly raced out of The Bayview Yacht Club
Bayview Yacht Club
Bayview Yacht Club is private, sailing-focused yacht club located in Detroit, Michigan. Bayview is famous for hosting the Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race as well as a number of other regional and local regattas....
and the Detroit Yacht Club
Detroit Yacht Club
The Detroit Yacht Club is a private marina and sailing club in Detroit, Michigan, located on its own island off of Belle Isle in the Detroit River between the MacArthur Bridge and the DTE generating plant...
in the Detroit area, but also raced in Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
.