Question:
I have a chance to get an old wooden Blue Jay.
When I was younger, these were used extensively by
my Yacht club in Long Island. I remember these being used by
all ages and also for frostbiting. My questions are:
1. This boat is in poor condition and will require alot of work.
Is it worth doing the work, and if so, should I pay for the boat?
I was thinking that I would offer 0$ to 100$, depending upon the
amount of equipment he has (sail, blocks ....). Any ideas on
the intrinsic value of these boats?
2. If I do decide to do this, what resources do I have? I live in Boston and
I wonder if there is a Blue Jay Association around here. Any clubs that do
sail these?
3. Does anybody have a better idea? As in a better old wooden boat that
I could pay very little for and do the work myself. I have done this
twice before, but with 8' sailing dinks. I don't have experience with
much bigger. I also want to trailer this boat with my little mazda, i.e.
I have a class 1 hitch on a 2000 pound car that has very little horsepower
and a little tiny clutch that would go up in smoke at the first hint of
a big boat in tow.
Answer:
- if all else fails, you could try writing to Sparkman & Stevens in New
York City. I'm sure they could point you at the association, which probably
still exists.
The Blue Jay was designed by Robert (?) Sparkman. According to an article
I read years ago he essentially took the Lightning which he also designed
and shrunk it.
It might be easier to take the hardware and build something new underneath it.
I towed my Blue Jay for many miles with a `71 Toyota Mk II station wagon
without any problem. I bought a used trailer which was a lot heavier than
the Blue Jay required. With a suitable trailer you should have no problem.
Seems like I remember someone with and Austin-Healy 3000 towing one.
-This comment brought to mind another "shrunk boat". I think the
original International 14 was a shrunken Thistle. Of course the modern
I-14s are high speed dinghys with a bowsprit and trapeeze, but the one I
saw back in about 1982 was made of wood and looked exactly like a
Thistle, right down to the wooden grating around the mast and at the
stern. An older couple at our yacht club owned the boat, didn't sail it
much, and I only saw it once. Are there still versions of the old I-14
out there? Are they raced anywhere? I always had a hard time keeping a
regular crew on my Thistle and we started having babies, so I downsized
to a Lido and now I get one of my older "babies" to crew from time to time,
but every once in awhile I think about the "mini-Thistle". If anyone knows
where one is available for sale, please let me know
-I'm currently restoring a wooden Blue Jay and noticed that the Blue Jay
is quite similar to the Lightning. The Blue Jay is a Sparkman and Stephens
design from 1948 that was still being manufactured by Formula Yachts in CT
as of 1991 (from the Sailing World 1992 buying guide). According to the
same source over 6,700 boats were built. I'm not sure if the Lightning is
still being produced but I wouldn't be suprised if it was. The recent
June '92 Wood regatta in Newport, Rhode Island sponsored by Wooden Boat had
boats of both types racing.
I have only seen drawings of the Lightning but I'm sure that the boats are
related. The Lightning has speaders and jumper struts where the Blue Jay
is stayed without speaders. The Lightning has cockpit seat where the
Blue Jay does not. Other than the obvious length, beam, and sail area
differences they could be the same boat.
