Chapter 40

International 210 Class

LENGTH: 29 FT. 95/8 IN. APPROXIMATE COST: $2,000.

The "Two-Ten" is a sleek, sporty, double-ended racing sloop with modern, long, low lines, an overlapping Genoa, and perfect balance; she's a roomy day sailer, simple to handle, unsinkable, and easy to maintain. Her most striking feature is the light, long, narrow hull made by gracefully double-curving four huge sheets of plywood to form a rigid structure that cannot hog out of shape. Homely slab-sided plywood boats are a thing of the past now that it's fully realized that double curvature in plywood is possible.

Her 3/8-in. plywood planking is bent over laminated oak frames. The 1,175-lb. fin keel is supported by steel-and-oak floors that are fastened to two 10-ft. longitudinal trusses located under the seats. The load is thus distributed over many frames. The hollow spruce mast has aluminum spreaders and jumper struts and is well stayed with stainless-steel rigging. The permanent backstay eliminates the need for bothersome running backstays. The fin keel has a swept-back leading edge to clear grass and obstructions and is bulbous in section to lower the center of gravity. All of the boats are equipped with such conveniences as bottom-action winches, cam-action mainsheet cleats, long Genoa-lead tracks, and many snap-action fittings.

To keep the boats inexpensive, the class rules are strict. No geared under deck winches, mechanical means of flexing the spars, or other special and expensive features may be added. Leeway is permitted in the location of sheets and leads; and, of course, the rig may be tuned, but before the race, not during it. Every reasonable effort is made to keep the boats truly one-design in spirit. The options that are permitted to satisfy the whims of the individual owner are limited to those items that cannot affect the inherent speed of the boat. Only a small number of builders are licensed to produce "Two-Tens." This has two benefits: the uniformity of the boats is easier to control and the price is lower due to the larger production runs. The vast majority of "Two-Tens" have been built by the Marblehead Yacht Yard. No "Two-Ten" may be built by an amateur.

The "Two-Ten" was designed to fill a definite need. At the close of World War II, many yachtsmen of Massachusetts Bay-felt that yacht racing in that area required rejuvenation for there were too many local classes and too few interclub races. It seems that in the 20 years between the wars, the type of boat was the first consideration. Everyone had his own idea of the perfect boat and so there were the "R" Class, "S" Class, Triangles, Manchester 17-footers, Internationals, Adams One Designs, Yankees, and so on. Some were planned to be faster than the others, some more modern, and some prettier, but they did not always prove to be so. The result of all these classes was that the best sailors were separated. Interclub racing seldom took place and good skippers belonging even to neighboring clubs seldom met in competition.

Had the skipper of No. 90 been sitting down to leeward, he would have seen No. 125. which has the right of way, in time to avoid this mix-up.
 
In a stiff wind, the Genoa back-winds the main, thus keeping the helm light but still providing enough power to make the knockabout foot fast.

A group of yachtsmen representing six of the leading Massachusetts Bay yacht clubs met in the fall of 1945 to determine what could be done. It was decided that what was wanted above all else was competition. The type of boat was secondary except that it should meet certain requirements that would attract the best men from all clubs. The boat had to be the largest that all of the clubs could afford. It had to be pleasant for day sailing as well as racing. It had to be uniform so as not to be outbuilt. It had to be modern.

No existing class fulfilled these requirements; most of the active one-designs were too expensive for their size. A proposed design by C. Raymond Hunt, the designer of the popular "One-Ten," did, however, meet all the requirements and looked as if it would be extremely interesting to sail, so it was adopted. By the summer of 1946, there were fleets all over Massachusetts Bay and 50 "Two-Tens" raced in Marble-head Race Week that year.

The class grew by leaps and bounds and spread into other areas. The International 210 Association was established, fleets were chartered, rules and regulations were drawn up to assure the maintenance of the one-design principle, and a few selected builders were licensed.

A "Two-Tenner" need never become bored with racing around the same old triangle. All of the fleets are active in the special-events department. Moonlight, chowder, middle-distance, and team races are very popular, especially the latter. The usual procedure is for two fleets to meet for a three-race series over a week end. One fleet supplies the boats and the hospitality and the visitors bring their own sails. Team racing is a thrill not to be missed and is a subject all its own.

Some of the special regattas and inter-fleet events might be mentioned. The Pacific Bowl is raced for by the Hawaiian and San Francisco Bay Fleets. The Wells Bowl is raced for at an open regatta held in a different locality each year. The well-known Manhasset Bay Challenge Cup, raced for by many classes since 1903, is hotly defended by "Two-Tens" each year. The largest gatherings of "Two-Tens" usually are at Marblehead Race Week and Larchmont Race Week. The Championships are, of course, the most important of all.

For the last few years, the North American Yacht Racing Union has chosen "Two-Tens" to race for both the Adams Cup, emblematic of the National Women's Sailing Championship, and the Sears Bowl, which goes to the National Junior Champion's club. Owners of "Two-Tens" have felt it an honor to lend their sails and boats for such important events and eagerly await the comments of the sailors, especially those who have never sailed a "Two-Ten" before.

Getting to and from distant races is not the problem one would think. A thirty-foot boat is not generally considered suitable for handling on a trailer behind the family car, but it is! "Two-Tens" are trailed quite often by their owners between Boston and New York. A number of boats have cruised between the same two points—some more than once. Sleeping and cooking aboard a "Two-Ten" is far pleasanter than camping out and a racing boat covers more ground in a day than a cruising boat.

All "Two-Tens" are potentially equal in speed, but they must be in the hands of skippers who know how to make them so. A foul bottom, poor sails, a slack jibstay, unevenly adjusted shrouds, a bent mast, improper sheet-lead locations, inept tiller handling—any number of things will make a boat look like a dud. An alert, thorough, and well-trained skipper will, one by one, remedy these ills and soon the boat will have a reputation for being "hot." A "Two-Ten" is what the skipper makes it. One-design means that the basic boat and equipment are the same. The skipper still must "tune" his boat to make it go as fast as this year's winner.

This is strikingly shown to be true by two of last year's events. A boat built in 1G51 won the Championships and then the following week end out of a field of 29 boats, including the newly crowned Champion, the Wells Bowl was won by "Two-Ten" No. 1.

A "Two-Ten" is a wonderful compromise in this day of smaller boats and greater costs. Responsive to a delicate touch at the helm and the minutest adjustment of sails, quick to accelerate, solid and sure in a blow, she has the simplicity of a small boat and the comfort of a big boat.

Richard F. Becker

Particulars

Over-all length: 29 ft. 95/8 in.
Water-line length: 21 ft. 0 in. Beam: 5 ft. 10 in.
Draft: 3 ft. 10 in.
Measured sail area: 257 sq. ft.
Actual sail area: 306 sq. ft.
Displacement: 2,400 lbs.
Ballast keel: 1,175 lbs.

International 210 Association Officers

President: Howard C. Dickinson
Peach's Point, Marblehead, Mass.
Vice President: Richard F. Becker
55 Morton St., New York, N. Y.
Vice President: Robert W. Sides
Hidden Field, Andover, Mass.
Secretary-Treasurer: Paul M. Jacobs
80 Federal St., Boston, Mass.

This spinnaker came out of a rubber bag on the bow. Known as a "turtle," this aid to quick tail handling is becoming increasingly popular.
 
Cruising is possible in a "Two-Ten." This boat, skippered by Bobby Coulson. has twice cruised between Marblehead, Mass., and Larchmont, N. Y.

Building a sail boat isn't easy and for those who already have bought an old boat or have an old car they no longer need, you can donate a used car to charity. You can also donate your boat or donate an RV and all the proceeds go to families that aren't as fortunate.

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