CLASSIC SIX METRE NEWSLETTER

years my junior, than by the frigate Belle-Poule which, as you well
know, had the honour to return the Emperor’s ashes to France. [The
repatriation of the ashes in 1840 is one of the defining moments of
French history. It was experienced as a resurrection. The mention
here of a frigate is a play on words since the French word for
tumblehome is “frigated”.]. I have always been an advocate of
tumblehome for racing yachts All the Sixes I’ve designed, beginning
with Madame Poulet [1907], have had hard chines and lean lines.”
Pierre Arbaut’s first Six was launched in
1911 and he went on to design 19 in all, his
last being Normand IV of 1930. All his
Sixes were built by yards in the Seine region,
mainly at Le Havre. Two of his Sixes exist
today. They are OE 13 Freya which is
thought to be in Switzerland and FRA 27
Normand III which will be competing in the
2008 European Championships. Arbaut’s
best known metre yacht is his Eight Aile with
which Virginie Hériot won the 1928
Olympics.
- 17-
Virginie Hériot’s F 42 Petite-Aile III (1930), one of Pierre
Arbaut’s last Sixes (photo: Le Yacht, courtesy of the Musée
National de la Marine, Paris)
Noël Gruet is editor of the Cahiers du Bassin, devoted to the maritime history of the
Arcachon basin.
Builder: Henry B. Nevins (1878 – 1950)
The principal builder of Sixes in the U.S., Henry Nevins built about forty of them between
1921 and 1948. He thus ranks 5 th overall, only exceeded by the Europeans Anker & Jensen,
Bjarn Aas, Abeking & Rasmussen and von Hacht.
His domination of the construction of U.S. Sixes is evidenced by fact that he built all but one
each of C.S. Hoyt’s and Clinton Crane’s designs and all but two of Olin Stephens U.S. built
designs.
Among the 19 Nevins-built Sixes that still exist today, one finds such illustrious boats as Bob
Kat II, Clytie II, Djinn, Fun, Goose, Llanoria, Lucie II and Nancy. Others such as Jill and
Madcap are being rebuilt or restored in preparation for next year’s World Cup.
The Nevins yard was located on City Island, part of the Bronx, constituting the most northeasterly
part of New York City. The island marks the end of Long Island Sound as it
becomes Eastchester Bay, which then becomes the East River which borders Manhattan.
Henry Nevins was born in New York in 1878, and wanted to be a doctor but was too frail, so
he decided to work at his hobby, shipbuilding. He apprenticed out to Charles L. Seabury, and
at 29 bought the existing Hansen yard on City Island, renaming it Henry B. Nevins, Inc.
When the yard finally closed in 1954, Time magazine wrote:
“The late, great yachtbuilder Henry B. Nevins was never a man to cut
corners. His City Island yard in New York City seasoned its own
lumber, designed and machined its own fittings, fastened its spars
together with glue made of sour cream, sometimes trimmed them to
the correct balance by weighing shavings. By such attention to detail,
Perfectionist Henry Nevins built more cup-winning yachts than
anyone else.
As his fame grew, boatbuilders came from Scandinavia and Scotland
to work for him. Nevins knew every employee by his first name. Even