The wisdom of Lyle C. Hess

1. Recorded by Chuck Malseed in 1977

From Chuck Malseed, ‘Lyle Hess: A Profile,’ Cruising world, February 1977, pp. 48-50.

"I feel that any boat that points her bow out to sea should be designed so that the crew need not worry about a safe return--no matter what tricks the weather may play. I guess if there is a unifying thought behind my designs it is to bring skipper and crew home, in one piece, no matter what."

"As for me, even though there are many easier ways to earn a living, all that I ever wanted to do is design boats."

2. Recorded by Paul Christensen, 1982-85

From 1982 to 1985, Paul Christensen edited The Falmouth Cutter newsletter and published five ‘Designer’s Notes’ columns. The format of the ‘Notes’ varied. Some were Lyle Hess’s notes on particular issues or his answer to an inquiry. Others were records of interviews between the two. ¹

A. ‘Designer’s Notes’, The Falmouth Cutter newsletter, Volume 1, No. 2, September 1982, pp. 1-3.

(Regarding mounting a windlass on the Falmouth Cutter):

I like the windlass on deck, but it’s perfectly all right to mount it on the bowsprit. She has a housing bowsprit, you know; so if you put it right on the bowsprit, then you have to throw a bolt through your bowsprit and samson post. But you have to realize you lose the advantage of being able to shorten your overall length in the marina. If you can pull 5 feet of the bowsprit and you are paying $7 a foot, you are talking about saving $35 a month.

Incidentally, Sam Morse suggests that if you want a windlass along the bowsprit, that you might want to mount it on some sort of gammon iron that brackets the bowsprit; this way the load of the windlass stays completely independent of the bowsprit. Ed.

But everyone to his own. Larry [Pardey] is going to put his on his bowsprit on his new boat; and he’s going to put his rollers quite a ways out on his bowsprit instead of on his gammon. I’m not sold on that but he says he wants to prevent chafing.

(Regarding stowing anchor chain)

With the chain clear forward near the stem the motion is going to be quicker ... I like to see the chain come aft, down into the bilge ... then you’ve got the power of it and you get the benefit of having it near your center of gravity.

These are small vessels and any time you have that weight up forward, it takes away from the power of the vessel and hurts the motion of the ship; then when you have to go forward to shorten and you put a man’s weight forward there too, this decidedly brings the bow down and increases the motion.

(Regarding stepping the mast)

You ought to have Sam [L. Morse] show you pictures of the mast I designed for a young San Francisco couple. It’s the old fashioned way of doing it. Coming up through the deck it’s just two oak cheek pieces, about 3 1/2 to 4 feet above the deck, with mast pivoted right on there. One man can raise the mast. You just swing your mast up and throw your pin in the bottom and tighten it up and you’re ready to go. Really, I had this drawn on the first drawing I made for this boat. Of course, I like the system that you use. (Lyle is referring to the mast-stepping gear described on page 2; let’s hear from other owners about stepping your masts, launching, etc. -- Ed.

B. ‘Designer’s Notes’, The Falmouth Cutter newsletter, Volume 1, No. 3, February 1983, p. 1.

John Riebe, [master of Second Look, Falmouth Cutter 11], wrote:

[T]here are a number of questions I would like to ask Mr. Hess about weather helm in a good blow. I was out solo sailing with all three sails fully trimmed in about a 25 knot blow with water coming in over the leeward bulwarks, and I had the tiller pulled clean up to my chest in order to prevent the boat from rounding up. My rear stay is almost completely threaded out, and I still have at least 20 inches of rake in the mast. What should I have done to ease the tiller, but at the same time maintain maximum hull speed on a close reach?

In answer to Mr. Riebe, in 25 knots of wind, you should have had one reef in the mains’l; your boat would have traveled faster, more comfortably, and higher on the wind. There are times, with a lee shore, or a congested area, when it is impractical to reef; then I suggest keeping the heads’l sheeted closely for good on-the-wind efficiency and luffing the main slightly; do not let it thrash.

The tendency in a fresh breeze is to ease the jib and stays’l sheets, but that increases the helm and reduces the weather drive of your vessel. I like to get my craft, under these conditions, high in the weather slot and as closely as I can, to hold it there. If you are single handing, and you have plenty of sea room, haul your stays’l to weather and put the helm down, and heave to. It will take a little adjustment of your tiller and stays’l sheet, let you main sheet go, and get in your clew and tack hauls, sway up your mains’l, make it fast, and get your vessel back on course again. Before any offshore cruising is attempted, the ability to heave to and reef your ship should be second nature, and this is accomplished in practice, starting in moderate breezes.

This is an extremely stable little cutter and with prudence and skill in reefing, there should be every chance to build confidence in the crew.

The foot of the stays’l can be shortened, to clear the lower shrouds; a call to Sam Morse will get the new length. Another toggle can be added to the backstay to allow the mast to be raked further forward, but when the craft gets overpowered, this fine bow will give her a cranky helm. Where a person must single hand a great deal, I would suggest a TILLER-MASTER. With it you can put it in charge, and reef about your business, haul the stays’l a little to weather, to ease the load, and you can sail on your course and still reef very nicely.

C. ‘Designer’s Notes’, The Falmouth Cutter newsletter, Volume 1, No. 6, May 1984, p. 1.

These are notes from a conversation between your editor and Lyle.

Ed.: I keep getting letters from owners saying how fast their Falmouth Cutters are.

Lyle: People wonder why she will run away from other boats -- it’s amazing how well she sails with that weight. Well, you haul her out and look at that bottom, that long flat bottom, she just can’t help but go ... People don’t understand this, you know ... And the deep part of the boat down there, we don’t worry about because it’s in still water, but you get up near the surface and your bottom wants to be flat if you are going to get the power and speed out of the boat ... Its goes as to a ratio of the arc of your buttock lines and diagonals. So that’s the principle in my boats.

Ed.: Of course you do find sailors who scoff at the concept of heavy displacement for sailboats.

Lyle: It just depends on how the displacement is handled. When they come up and they say well what about these heavy displacement boats? ... My boats are all flat floored, fore and aft, and for this reason the displacement does not hurt them ... in fact in a sense it’s a help, because with the big turn in the garboard I cut the wetted area way down for the amount of displacement. I think I’ve got a good formula on my boats and it works. And I’m going to keep designing the same thing ... .

D. ‘Designer’s Notes’ The Falmouth Cutter newsletter, Volume 1, No. 8, January 1985, p. 1.

Ed.: Don Hunter of Scappoose, Oregon, wrote to me with the following inquiry: ‘Are there any Hess designed 26's in your group? They’re built in the southeastern U.S. A design between BCC and FC in size ...’ What do you want to say about the 26', Lyle?

Lyle: I designed the 26’ cutter to fill the gap between the 22’ and the 28’; I also wanted a fiberglass, or wooden, model to give a little more elbow room than Seraffyn. I have plans for this boat for wood construction.

Ed.: Next topic: Falmouth Cutter owner, Rex Smith, wrote: ‘To add to the cockpit safety and to gain comfortable back rests port and starboard, I rigged two 3 inch wide oaks boards from the boom gallows to the first forward stanchion. We gave the oak a little warp for cockpit contour ... wonderful backrests when at anchor or sailing ... Of course, I’m eager to learn a better way if someone has a better solution.’ What are your notions on the oak boards, Lyle?

Lyle: Tell Rex that I think his idea of a back rest is great. I think if I were to tool the deck again, I would provide for a coaming to be put in. As long as there are ample drains in the cockpit this small well will drain quickly. If one keeps the cargo stowed properly, and watches his weights, I feel, except for knockdowns, it will be difficult to get green water in this buoyant little hull.

A Happy Holiday Season to you and all my boat owners.

(Editor’s note: My own opinion is that with the bulwarks already in the cockpit area with double life lines -- Rex has single - - the addition of boards is not necessary for safety. But undoubtedly the boards would add to the comfort when sitting in the cockpit. The boards are a neat idea. Some of us, e.g. Jim Hughes, have found satisfactory seating comfort from the use of 1.5 inch diameter pipe foam covering both life lines in the cockpit.

I’m glad you didn’t add a coaming, Lyle. What would have happened to the fine lines of the FC?

E. ‘Designer’s Notes’, The Falmouth Cutter newsletter, Volume 1, No. 9, July 1985, p. 1.

Ed.: Recently I have read about boats that occasionally capsize or even roll 360 degrees and their drop boards fall out and they gulp up the water and sink. The boards drop out unless they fasten them in.

Lyle: Paul, that’s the reason I put my drop boards square up and down. There’s no taper to them. Now you take these production boats; most of them have got that board because it’s convenient ... lift the board a little ways and take it out. But I think it’s very dangerous. Sure, we could make a great big opening there and huge hatch. But these huge hatches are vulnerable. It’s all just common sense.

Ed.: Right. I do like the way these three boards work. What I did with mine, the board rattles a bit, because the width of the board is somewhat less than the hatchway slot it fits into. So I put this rubberized, self sticking tape used as insulation on RVs, along the outer edges of each board, facing in. Then they just fit tight and snug there.

Lyle: You know what we used to put on our hatches? We used to use felt, and the reason was it doesn’t stick. We used to put it on the foreside of the companionway hatch, so when it came to, it sealed that. Now you take in hot weather, sometimes you pull your hatch to, and lock it up, and go away. You come back and it’s hot, and you push it away and it pulls the gasket loose. I like felt. It will take a little pressure and will stick with good contact cement. It won’t come off. It will keep it from rattling. It won’t mar your boards.

Ed.: Sailing around the Sea of Cortez in the Spring, I set up with a lot of boaters, and everyone was talking about the Pardeys, who had been spending time in and around La Paz in their Taleisin. They’d all either seen Taleisin, or talked with Larry & Lin, first or second hand, and everyone was impressed. They headed for the Marquesas. Have you heard from them lately?

Lyle: I got a good letter from them. They averaged 148.3 miles [a day] to the Marquesas. They had two days of 173 miles. They’re pleased with it. They went to the Tuamotus; I got the letter from there. They were headed for Tahiti, where they should be right now.

Ed.: From my experience in the South Pacific, Lyle, I would expect them to spend extensive time among the Polynesians.

Lyle: Probably what they’ll do, Paul, is spend a couple of months in Tahiti. You know how long it takes to write. Stay there long enough to at least get two months of writing in. Two articles for Sail magazine, because they have an obligation to Sail. But Larry is not much for this hot weather. He doesn’t stand it too well. On their first trip when they went down to Costa Rica, Panama, Larry was getting sick. He couldn’t take it. He had to get out of there. I look for them to go to New Zealand and Australia and spend a lot of time there. Several years.

Ed.: Of course this is their winter in the South Pacific islands and the trade winds are fairly constant. But if he can’t stand high humidity along with moderately high temperature, then, as you say, they will probably move on. Thanks for the interview, Lyle.

Lyle: And thank you very much for the good work. You’re a good friend.

3. Recorded by Morry Edwards in 1987

From Morry Edwards, ‘Dream-boat Man: The Safe and Able World of Lyle Hess,’ WoodenBoat, May-June 1987, pp. 60-69.

"I have a knack for getting a lot out of a small boat. My whole psyche at sea is the security of a small, tight boat. Big boats - with the roar and the crash and the tremendous forces - can be just frightening. I prefer the real pleasure that you feel on those little boats - the motion, the closeness to the sea (you're almost in it, you know). And I value the real companionship that people have on a small boat."

"With its 8' of beam, this 18-footer [a coastal cruiser, built by Art Hoban] pushed me into a tonnage that deepens the buttock lines, which could lead to excessive motion. I gave it a rather deep inner buttock, than flattened out the other two, to act as a damper. They won't let it pitch. More than anything else, what has discouraged people from going to sea is the ungodly motion of some boats. People think that because a boat looks like a Colin Archer, it must be the right boat to go to sea in, but that may not be the case at all."

"She [Lyle’s mother, Sarah Ann Hess nee Compton] was very interested in what I did, although she worried about the ocean because she was frightened of it. My dad [Franklin Hess] was a 'mine-aholic' - he had a gold mine back in Idaho where he'd return each April, digging until late September. Every spring, there was a glory hole, just 3' away. Every fall, they were just short of it. Never did get to it."

"I insist on construction being done the way I want it done. I insist on it - that's written in my contracts. If a builder wants to change it, then he must get my permission. If something goes wrong, that's my responsibility.

"In my plans, I try to put things in so they can be built. Some architects design features that are very difficult to build, or impossible. They do so because they have never built a boat. When I draw a boat, I mentally build it. I know what the builder has to contend with, and I help him to the best of my ability. I'm not saying I'm the best designer in the world—hell, I don't mean that. I just know how to build my boats, and that's what I put on my plans. I draw all of the details basically at full size, so that the builder will have no doubt as to the scantlings and the way I want the boat to be built."

"The design of a boat is the control of compromises. Of course, the first thing you want in a boat is to be able to survive at sea. A man should be able to get himself back home - he shouldn't be depending on the Coast Guard."

"The smaller, the better. You want to get close to the water to learn about it. You can be your own model in a test tank. And you really don't know about the movement of a boat in the water unless you've experienced it for yourself."

"If you want to sharpen up what you're learning, take a design course. Design a bigger boat for yourself. Sail it. Prove that you're a designer, and go from there."

"Our marinas and anchorages are crowded. Our boats must become smaller so that they can be pulled out of the water and stored, or trailered. That also forces us into appropriate types of construction: cold molding, triple planking, for instance."

"I don't design to a [racing] rule - never have, really. Now, the concept of one-design makes a lot of sense to me - it pits one man against the other under nearly identical conditions. But to have a measurement rule, to equalize us all? That isn't what we want in boats - yet we have a rule that penalizes you if you design a boat to go faster. I think that's exactly the wrong way to go. We ought to specify that a race will be between, say, monohulls from 50' to 60' long. If we have that simple agreement, we'll have progress. Sailboats haven't been developed to the ultimate yet. We're just scratching the surface."

1. Paul Christensen inserted the sub-headings in brackets and his editorial additions in italics. Where the interview format is used, ‘Ed.’ is Paul Christensen and ‘Lyle’ is Lyle Hess. Square brackets mark my additions. I have corrected obvious typographical errors.