#Industry News
Blue water boat: Schooner PRIMROSE IV
John Alden’s schooner used extensively in northern waters was PRIMROSE IV, design number 111. She became for a time one of the designer’s most talked about boats, because in 1927 she won for her young master, Frederick I. Ames, the Cruising Club of America’s Blue Water Medal, that has been described as sailing’s most coveted award.
PRIMROSE IV was built in 1923 by Rufus Condon at Friendship, ME, for Walter H. Huggins of Boston. She was the second, or “B” boat, built to the 111 design, that was created in 1920. In a sense she was a forerunner to the early Malabars. Like the Malabars, PRIMROSE IV has a gradually curving keel profile with a fair amount of drag. Her beam at the deck is generous forward and aft, while her waterlines are fairly fine forward but full aft.
PRIMROSE IV was built in 1923 by Rufus Condon at Friendship, ME, for Walter H. Huggins of Boston. She was the second, or "B" boat, built to the 111 design, that was created in 1920. In a sense she was a forerunner to the early Malabars. Like the Malabars, PRIMROSE IV has a gradually curving keel profile with a fair amount of drag. Her beam at the deck is generous forward and aft, while her waterlines are fairly fine forward but full aft. Like the Malabars, she is quite short ended, has a generous sheer, and in general, has the look of a fisherman. Her dimensions are 50.2-ft, by 39 feet 11 inches, by 13-ft x 7.2-ft. Her construction is sturdy, with sawn frames and 1.5-inch planking. She carries about eight tons of ballast, half inside and half outside.
While under the command of Huggins, PRIMROSE IV sailed in the 1924 Bermuda Race and took second in her class.
Then she was sold to Frederick Ames, who cruised in the schooner to Labrador a year later and in 1927 sailed her across to England for the Fastnet Race. She was the first American yacht to compete in this rugged event, and she did well, finishing second on corrected time. The heavy weather during that race forced many contestants, including the hard-driven British cutter JOLIE BRISE, to heave-to, but PRIMROSE IV carried on under reduced canvas. Her crew discussed heaving-to, but as yachting reporter Alfred R. Loomis put it, "their discussion outlasted the gale." Ames sailed the schooner back home by way of Iceland, Labrador, and Cape Breton Island, and it was for this 58-day passage, carefully prepared and competently carried out, that he was awarded the Blue Water Medal.
The bald-headed rig permits easy handling, although one might be concerned about lack of sail area when racing in light airs. Of course, the schooner was not designed for typical round-the-buoys racing; she was intended for rough waters and strong winds. In contrast with some of Alden's later gaff-rigged schooners, PRIMROSE IV's foresail is fairly small, which facilitates lying to in very heavy weather. During her worst mid-Atlantic gale, the schooner lay-to very successfully under reefed foresail and backed jumbo.
The arrangements below follows the typical plan used during the days of professional crew, when it was customary to place the galley between the fo'c's'le and the saloon. The owner's cabin aft has its own toilet room, and there is another at the after end of the saloon, with a head for the crew forward. The companionways are off-center on the starboard side, so it might be desirable to heave to on the starboard tack.
Yachting historian John Parkinson, Jr., has written that Frederick Ames was not only a fearless sailor but also a daring stunt flier whose life was cut short by an airplane accident. No doubt Ame's cruising exploits were considered daring too, but they were carried out with careful seamanship and in almost the safest boat that a yachtsman of that day could ask for."
