Ragtime – the 60-year-old yacht that launched a genre is back on the water

The restoration of an iconic racer, one which was so ground-breaking it helped create an entire style of yachts, is not any small endeavor. However that’s precisely what inadvertent proprietor Tina Roberts ploughed into headfirst with the two-year refit of Ragtime, the unique ultra-light displacement boat from the land of the lengthy white cloud.

Designed and constructed single-handedly by New Zealander John Spencer for industrialist and racing driver Sir Tom Clark in 1963/64, Ragtime was launched as Infidel and was seemingly the most important arduous chine plywood keelboat on the planet.

Infidel instantly upset the racing institution, beating the Tercel brothers’ 60-footer Ranger, which had received almost each race it sailed over three a long time.

So complete had been Infidel’s victories that it was reportedly banned from competing in regattas in New Zealand. It was additionally barred from getting into the 1967 Sydney-Hobart Race as a result of it was deemed too gentle and never seaworthy sufficient for the notoriously treacherous 630-mile race.

California dreaming

With nowhere to show Infidel wound up the place many wayward souls are welcomed: California. A pair of businessmen in Newport Seashore bought the yacht for $25,000 in 1969 and renamed it Ragtime.

The yacht modified homeowners once more in 1971 and, 10 years after her launch, benchmarked the efficiency of the ultra-light displacement style by defeating the 73-footer Windward Passage within the epic 1973 Transpac Race, successful the Barn Door Trophy for first-to-finish by a mere 4m 31s over the two,225-mile course. “I keep in mind considering, ‘Wow, that’s an fascinating boat. That’s cool,’” remembers California yacht designer Alan Andrews of his first sighting of Ragtime within the early Seventies.

“Ragtime was an enormous boat, many of the racing on the time was in 30- to 40-footers. She was clearly very quick, at the least downwind, with the arduous chines as properly.”

The plywood-built hull options arduous chines that run its complete size. Picture: Steve Jost Pictures

Ragtime is a straightforward however eye-catching yacht design, with a sheerline that drops noticeably from bow to stern. The hull is constructed from marine plywood; the cabin home, which stands tall of the sheerline, of kauri wooden, and when launched it displaced 10 tons. The unique LOA of 61ft 8in was decided largely as a result of that was the quantity of flooring house in Spencer’s store, but nonetheless the bow and stern hung exterior the sliding doorways on both finish of the shed.

The boat hull options arduous chines working the waterline size of 50ft 8in. In its authentic type Ragtime lacked an engine and was tiller steered, two options that had been modified after she reached American shores.

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A reluctant refit

Since arriving within the US, Ragtime has had no fewer than 10 homeowners (people, syndicates and universities). Tina Roberts grew to become the present proprietor in 2021, upon the passing of her companion Chris Welsh who was truly Ragtime’s longest proprietor.

Welsh was a part of a bunch that purchased the yacht at public sale for $125,000 in 2003 earlier than turning into sole proprietor two years later. Welsh and Roberts met in 2009, as kindred spirits and adrenaline junkies. When Welsh handed unexpectedly in March 2021, aged 58, he left Ragtime to Roberts.

Welsh had amassed components that he supposed to make use of in a refit of Ragtime. He bought a spare TP52 offshore mast in Europe and had it shipped to California. He discovered a marinised Sensible automotive engine in Germany and likewise shipped it house.

Welsh supposed to lighten Ragtime and make her simpler to sail in his deliberate refit, however Roberts had nice apprehension about endeavor the challenge on her personal. “My first thought shortly after he handed away was: this isn’t my challenge.

Tina Roberts has spent round $1.5m on Ragtime. Picture: Steve Jost Pictures

This was his challenge, and I don’t know what to do,” says the 54-year-old Roberts. “I had some actually good buddies who mentioned I ought to promote the boat, eliminate it, promote the items and components and transfer on. And I assumed that was most likely a good suggestion, however i wished to attend and discover out the place life landed.”

Roberts spent the higher a part of a yr clearing up Welsh’s property, which moreover tidying up his enterprise affairs additionally included offloading vehicles and planes and submersibles. As she was going by his private recordsdata she discovered a trove of Ragtime memorabilia that Welsh had collected, together with clippings of Infidel’s launch from the New Zealand Herald and Seaspray journal. She grew to become extra endeared to the yacht as she began to grasp the life that Ragtime had led.

In 2022 Tina Roberts referred to as designer Alan Andrews, who has drawn a slew of light-displacement boats, and requested if he’d be excited about taking up the challenge. Andrews had labored on Ragtime for earlier homeowners and likewise knew Chris Welsh properly, having been a crusing teacher to him in his youth.

Roberts had a imaginative and prescient of Andrews being the challenge supervisor, however Andrews didn’t wish to be concerned if Roberts wasn’t main the best way. “I hung up the decision with Alan very pissed off,” says Roberts.

“Then I considered it a bit bit and determined that I knew what Chris’s imaginative and prescient was and I started to essentially perceive who Ragtime was. I grew to become actually within the historic facet of it. So, I referred to as Alan again and mentioned ‘Let’s do the challenge’.”

The rebuilt cockpit retains its earlier woodwork and coamings, to protect its historic look, although gentle weight, high-speed winches have been added. Picture: Steve Jost Pictures

20-year challenge

Roberts, who beforehand owned meals processing firms within the Pacific Northwest, set a funds of $1 million to $1.2 million, a sum that she didn’t anticipate to succeed in.

However after fully stripping and rebuilding the inside, rebuilding the centre cockpit, wrapping the hull in carbon fibre and fabricating new chainplates to help the brand new mast, which additionally wanted modifications to suit the hull and new carbon-fibre rigging, she estimates that she spent greater than $1.5 million.

“All through a challenge like this you could have many selections to make,” Roberts says. “My mantra for the decision-making course of was, is that this for the following two years or subsequent 20 years?

“Should you make choices for the following two years, the boat won’t ever survive; it’s a 60-year-old boat constructed of plywood. So, I needed to make choices about what the following 20 years for the boat would appear to be as a result of each time it’s important to return and modify one thing else, it’s very costly. So, I wished to do it proper the primary time and guarantee she has longevity.”

Bow locker with its authentic showgirl decal. The stem-fitting and deck had been rebuilt through the refit to strengthen the load-bearing areas. Picture: Steve Jost Pictures

“Chris had a dream and a imaginative and prescient of what he wished to do with the boat, and largely, the refit has been alongside these traces, besides that it’s most likely a bit extra elegant,” says Andrews. “Tina didn’t take shortcuts. When she was offered with choices for a way issues may very well be executed, in almost each case she did what was finest for the boat.”

Andrews’ participation was essential as a result of he’d been concerned in earlier modifications to the yacht, together with keel tasks within the Nineteen Eighties and dealing with Welsh within the 2000s. He famous how Ragtime’s hull development was two layers of three/8in marine plywood with the joints butted – not scarfed – over the center span of the panel they lay upon. The inside construction included bulkheads, frames and longitudinal stringers.

“The fascinating factor was the unique bulkheads within the boat are hole bulkheads with wooden truss construction inside. So, there was fairly some thought that went within the boat,” Andrews says. “Tina wished to maintain the spirit of Ragtime going, so once we added a couple of ring frames up ahead they had been executed with plywood frames and laminated carbon and mahogany caps on them.”

Ragtime’s keel stays unchanged, although new rudder bearings and a brand new steering quadrant had been put in. Picture: Steve Jost Pictures

Carbon wrap

Maybe the largest modernisation was wrapping the hull in two layers of carbon-fibre, a choice made squarely with the boat’s life expectancy in thoughts. Whereas the plywood hull confirmed little or no degradation given its 60-year age, there have been some areas close to the bow the place a few veneers had deteriorated and there was some rot round a few of the authentic chainplate fasteners.

Earlier keel modifications had added carbon-fibre across the backside within the keel space, however wrapping the hull in carbon stiffened the boat (it all the time had an issue with headstay sag) and helped to distribute the hundreds extra evenly throughout the sections of plywood. “We selected to make use of carbon-fibre as a substitute of glassfibre as a result of carbon works significantly better with wooden,” explains Andrews.

Shroud chainplates are high-strength duplex 2205 chrome steel and permit the thickness exterior the hull to be minimised. Customized fasteners with out slots and fairing ‘ramps’ minimise dragwhen heeled. Picture: Steve Jost Pictures

“One other factor that occurred with the boat over time was on the chine log, the place the underside panel meets the topsides. There’s an overlap there, a bit of wooden and the glue joint on that’s what retains the topsides from separating from the underside. “Crack repairs below earlier possession had been evidenced by wider items of wooden laminated inside,” Andrews continues.

“By wrapping carbon over the boat, we had been successfully in a position to overlap on the skin of this joint, rising the bonding space by patching over the joint and higher distributing the hundreds.”

This part of the boat wanted to take extra load focus due to the brand new TP52 mast. The peak of the TP52 mast was just like Ragtime’s earlier mast, at the least when measured from the spinnaker peak to the deck.

However the earlier mast had inline spreaders and a cap shroud with fore and aft lowers, that means three attachment factors for the shrouds, spreading their load over about 4½ft. The brand new TP52 rig has swept again spreaders with all shrouds attaching on the identical level, however some extent that’s wider than Ragtime. The TP52 rig was designed for a 14ft beam whereas Ragtime’s beam is 11ft 8.5in.

Preserving the chainplates within the authentic location, simply inboard of the hull and stringers, would’ve led to a lot narrower spreaders and elevated compression hundreds. So, the chainplates had been moved aft to match the spreader sweep angle and connected on the skin of the hull slightly below the sheerline.

The mast step was rebuilt to suit the brand new mast, whereas the up to date nav station now consists of B&G devices and Starlink communication. Picture: Steve Jost Pictures

The brand new rig makes the boat simpler to deal with, as it could possibly now sail upwind with a 100% jib and full, square-head mainsail as a substitute of the earlier massive overlapping genoa with a Nineteen Sixties-era triangular mainsail.

The up to date cockpit permits extra room for the crew, but in addition entry to the engine compartment, which was required to suit the engine Welsh had sourced – a Mercedes Benz OM660, a 0.8lt turbocharged diesel made to be used in Sensible vehicles. It weighs roughly 250lb/113kg, which is about 300lb/136kg lighter than the earlier Yanmar engine that produced comparable horsepower.

Lasting legacy

“The refit’s incredible for the boat and an ode to all of the sailors who’ve raced on her,” says Roberts. “We run into folks on a regular basis in California, Hawaii, Australia or New Zealand the place in case you carry up the boat’s identify there’s a reply, ‘Oh, I sailed on Ragtime as soon as.’ “That’s the custom that we wish to proceed.

We wish the boat to proceed to be related, as a result of she has a lot historical past and so many tales to inform. It’s actually essential to proceed that legacy.”

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