Zygote

Lyle C. Hess

Lyle C. Hess and Renegade

In the 1970s, Sea magazine carried a column 'Boat & Owner'. In the June 1976 edition of Sea (Inland edition), the owner featured was Hale Field, who had commissioned Lyle C. Hess to design and build Renegade. That column was written by Cris Caswell.

The text of Caswell's column, without graphics, is available here. Note that this version preserves Caswell's orthography representing the family name of Lyle C. Hess's partner. Other writers have written that family name as 'Barteaux' or 'Barteau'.

Bristol Channel Cutter

Down the ways: Bristol Channel Cutter

Cruising world magazine included a column, 'Down the ways', in its 1970 issues. The column was an advertorial, edited by Danny T. Greene, a naval architect, and Betsy Hitz. Boat builders submitted text, diagrams, and photographs and paid for an edited version of their submission to be published.

The Sam L. Morse Co. submitted material to promote the Bristol Channel Cutter. The subsequent advertorial was published in the February 1977 issue of Cruising world. That issue also carried Chuck Malseed's article about Lyle C. Hess, the designer of the Bristol Channel Cutter.

The text of Chuck Malseed, 'Lyle Hess: A profile,' Cruising world, February 1977, pp. 48-50, is available from the Nor'Sea Yachts website.

One grammatical error has been corrected in this on line version of 'Down the ways: Bristol Channel Cutter', Cruising world, February 1977, p. 87.

The world's best sailboats: Bristol Channel Cutter

In 1968, Ferenc Maté invented a gold mine: he solicited money from boat builders to produce a glossy coffee-table book; and then he and his publisher sold the book to unsuspecting consumers who thought that they were buying an objective assessment of the world's best sailboats, chosen by a respected authority.

In truth, the book was an advertorial. If a boat builder did not pay, their boats were not featured. In return, the boat builders had their boats featured in the book plus, for an additional fee, they had glossy reprints to distribute to prospective customers.

The book, Ferenc Maté, The world's best sailboats: A survey, New York: Albatross Publishing House, 1968, was profitable. Easily, because Maté was paid twice, once by the boat builders and once by the retail consumers.

In 2003, he published a second volume: Ferenc Máté, The world's best sailboats: Volume II. He and his publisher (W. W. Norton) used the same business model, without disclosing to the buying public that the book was just a collection of paid advertorials.

Sam L. Morse Company, The world's best sailboats: A survey, 1968.

Sam L. Morse Company, The world's best sailboats: Volume II, 2003. (text only; one error of fact has been corrected)

BCC 116: Boat Information Book

Maintenance

Yard procedures

Hull cleaning, in water