The Crescent Sailboat was built exclusively in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
from 1953 to 1974. These boats were designed in 1953 by a
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
engineer, Dick Hill and friends, who were experimenting with
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
. 27 hulls were constructed and raced
One-Design. The class made a movement to become
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
class boats at some point. The molds still exist and the boats are still raced very regularly.
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.
Bayview is a member of the Det ...
and the
Detroit Sail Club are home to a great number of them.
The Crescent sloop was the first and currently oldest fiberglass racing One-Design class in the world. The boats are based at 95 St. Jean,
Detroit Sail Club in Detroit, Michigan.
Regattas
The Crescent Sloops race in the Detroit Regional Sailing Association series of races. These run from mid may thru the end of September. Other regattas include the Detroit NOOD (National Offshore One-Design) Regatta as well as the Bayview Yacht Club North Channel Race. The most significant is the ILYA Bayweek and GIYC Downriver and Deepwater. This series serves as the World Championship of Crescent Sloops.
Image:Crescent_fleet.jpg, Crescent Fleet under spinnaker
Image:Crescent Launch.jpg, 1953 First Launch
Specification
The Crescent is long with a beam of about . It is a fractionally rigged single spreader sloop with a combined sail area (Jib and Main) of .
Sail Measurements:
Mainsail
A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast of a sailing vessel.
* On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast.
* On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. The sail's foot i ...
:
Luff: -
Leech: -
Foot: - Sail area (main only) .
Jib
A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsail ...
:
Luff: - Foot: - Leech: - Sail are (jib only) .
For other Detroit designed and built boats: see the
L boat
References
{{Reflist}
Sailrite.comPicaroony.comCrescent Sloop Class Association
Keelboats