In 1908, the Square Metre Boat, also known as Skärgårdskryssare was invented for racing in the sheltered waters of the skerries around Stockholm. The original idea for this type of boat was straightforward and simple: Only the propulsion by the sail area was limited.
Here you find a closer look at how sail area is measured on m2 boats. Apart from that, the development of the fastest possible boat was more or less free. This was soon exploited with the rapid development of ever longer, slimmer, and lighter square metre boats in the 1920s. An ideal playground for ambitious sailors.
A remarkable chapter in offshore sailing
In the thirties, the eager racing sailor, boat builder and publisher Uffa Fox of Cowes/Isle of Wight made the Anglo-Saxon yachting world familiar with the seagoing virtues of the square metre boat. He went with a 22 sqm named Vigilant from the Channel via the North and Baltic Sea to Stockholm for a race and returned to England.
In the late fourties H. G. “Blondie” Hasler proved the offshore qualities of the long and lightweight boat aboard Tre Sang with bold cruises around the exposed Cornwall coast and across the Irish Sea. Besides being easily driven and fun to sail, he found the light displacement boat remarkably seaworthy.
From Uffa Fox to H. G. “Blondie” Hasler
The reserve buoyancy of the long forebody helped the boat to climb across the swell, instead of smashing through it. With their 22 and 30 square metre boats, Fox and Hasler inaugurated new thinking and a fresh concept to offshore sailing. It would soon put through in the racing scene.
Besides Uffa Fox’s publications — his books were read worldwide — the successes of Fidelis and Siska in Australian waters helped to spread the light displacement gospel. Siska measured 50’6” x 8’6” (15.40 × 2.60 m).
A lightweight, long and easily driven boat needs less sail area to go faster than the conventional wide bodied and heavy boat as was common. This concept was converted to an up-to-date GRP construction of the elegant 52-foot Swede 55, for instance with a balsa cored deck. Here you find out more about the development of Swede 55.
Sources
Douglas Phillips-Birt: British Ocean Racing, Adlard Coles Ltd. 1960 (English), Page 160 ff.
Carlo Sciarrelli: Lo yacht. Origine ed evoluzione del veliero da diporto. Ugo Mursia Editore, 1970. German Editon: Die Yacht: Herkunft und Entwicklung, Delius, Klasing & Co, Bielefeld 1973, ↑ Chapter Das Leichtdeplacement, Page 287 ff. Easily accessible secondhand book
Sven Nylander, Sonja Herlin, Björn Forslund: Trendbrott. Med fem båtkonstruktörer genom 100 år, Museiföreningen Sveriges Fritidsbåtar Dokumentation Nr. 2, Förlaget Båt & Skärgård, Förlaget Båt & Skärgård AB 1993, ISBN: 91-970902-3-9, ↑ Chapter Harry Becker. Båtautodidaktnernas “tusenkonstnär”, Page 83 ff.
Per Thelander: Alla våra Skärgårdskryssare, Svenska Skärgårdskryssareförbundet (SSKF), Stockholm 1991, 160 pages (Swedish), secondhand book, ISBN: 91-970902-1-2, ↑ Page 88
Ewen Southby-Tailyour: Blondie. A life of Lieutenant-Colonel H.G. Hasler. Founder of the SBS and modern single-handed ocean racing. Leo Cooper 1998, ↑ Page 167 ff.
The world of Square Metres. The Square Metre Rule – 100 years. Facts, History, and Reports from all over the Globe. Svenska Skärgårdskryssareförbundet (SSKF), Stockholm 2008, ISBN 978-91-633-3069-8 (English), ↑ Chapter Square Metres in the United Kingdom, Pages 236 ff.
