News & Views for Southern Sailors - Southwinds Magazine

SMALL BOAT REVIEWThe HamptonBy Jabbo GordonWhen we wrote about the Blue Jay class this pastJanuary, many folks referred to the vessel as a“Baby Lightning” because the designer was thesame person and the lines were similar. Now comes theHampton One-Design, which some people say looks like anovergrown Snipe.Hampton sailors dispute that suggestion and claimthat designer Vincent Serio was looking hard at a Star in1934 when he sat down at his drawing board in Hampton,VA. In fact, says Eddie Wolcott of Norfolk, some Hamptonsailors used to wear T-shirts that read: Little Star RacingTeam.Serio belonged to the Hampton Yacht Club, which wantedto race Stars, but the water around the Hampton flats wasnot deep enough. So the club asked him to design and builda club boat. He came up with an 18-foot boat, which is fourfeet shorter than a Star. While the Star has a keel, theHampton comes with a metal centerboard that swings downonly 40 inches below the hull. And with the board up, aHampton—complete with a pop-up rudder—can scootacross a sandbar that is only eight inches under the water.Other dimensions include waterline length, 14 feet, andthe beam, five feet and nine inches. A Hampton does have asmooth round bow of a Snipe and Comet, instead of a straightbow like a Star, but its sail plan definitely favors the Star.Serio also had an eye toward the light air often found inthe Hampton Roads area and the southern end of theChesapeake Bay. So, he stuck an unusually large main on it.Like the Star, a Hampton has only a main and a jib, but nospinnaker. Total sail area is 210 square feet, of which 150.3square feet is main. But this is less than the original designbecause the class has raised the boom not once but twice tomake the boat more comfortable.An average regatta may attract 10 to15 boats, according to the class commodore,but the nationals may find asmany as 30 boats on the starting line.Length: 18 feetBeam: 5’ 9 1/2 inchesDraft (CB down): 3’ 6 1/2 inchesWeight: 500 poundsSail Area: 195 square feetNews & Views for Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS May 2012 31