I don’t sail but I love beautiful boats. Show me more beautiful boats. Pic related, it’s the Reliance, a most beautiful boat.

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ForfiOG@reddit

I really like the looks and whole styling of Hetairos, a 218 ft ketch built by Baltic Yachts. It's a luxurious, high performance modern yacht, but the lines look a bit like a classic yacht

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Koffieslikker@reddit

Daaaamn. Must cost a fortune to crew though...

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OptiMom1534@reddit

can confirm. and crew these days is useless.

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overthehillhat@reddit

Just food and drinks after a race -- --

ONE time

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Parajump1347@reddit

Our boat 48’ Mariner Ketch. Set up for extended single-handling.

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TheSmadgeBadge@reddit

Or my Pinky Schooner a Chappell Glad Tidings design had her for 15 years

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Dizzy_Anteater_2565@reddit

The shape of that hull look just like a xebec

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TheSmadgeBadge@reddit

You can stare at this my Gartside Design 109 Gaff Cutter

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mattypatty88@reddit (OP)

The boat she told you not to worry about.

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Dizzy_Anteater_2565@reddit

This is TS Shtandart (Штандарть), a small boat I've been sailing on

Quite a beauty, isn't it ?

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Telekomiker69@reddit

This is Heti. A 12mr from 1912. I really love to sail this ship.

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the-montser@reddit

It’s funny how aesthetic tastes change over the years. Reliance was considered ugly by many when it was launched. No one would say that today.

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ppitm@reddit

Her proportions are completely cartoonish.

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the-montser@reddit

That’s the point I’m making. This Reliance wasn’t built to be beautiful, she was built to be fast. Over time, aesthetic tastes have changed and now she’s regarded as beautiful by most people.

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Efficient_Poet6058@reddit

Not necessarily fast in a pure sense, just a rule beater that exploited a loophole in the rating formula (which is pretty much the history of yacht design)

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the-montser@reddit

Yes as fast as possible within the restrictions of the rule. It’s not really much different today.

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mattypatty88@reddit (OP)

For me, it’s her freakish nature that makes her so beautiful.

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IDreamOfSailing@reddit

St Barth's Bucket regatta is where you will see lots of gorgeous sailing ships, including my favorite: The J Class.

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spinozasrobot@reddit

This video from the 2013 St Barth's Bucket is one of my favorites.

Oh, and Velsheda is the most beautiful of all.

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Beautiful for sure, as are Shamrock and Endeavour. My favourite has always been Whirlwind, a racing disaster and an aesthetic masterpiece. Stephens also did a great job with Ranger, so strong and purposefull with that snub bow. I had a chance to sail on Endeavour for an afternoon, unforgettable

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spinozasrobot@reddit

Stephens also did a great job with Ranger, so strong and purposefull with that snub bow.

Ah, that's the one thing I didn't like about it, as you can see from my reference to Velsheda... just the opposite with that sharp as a tack bow.

I had a chance to sail on Endeavour for an afternoon, unforgettable

Wow! I would have loved that!

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TriXandApple@reddit

This yacht was so extreme that she created the J class.

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the-montser@reddit

The whole series of classic yacht regatta on the French Riviera are even better

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jbouit494hg@reddit

I saw a pair of wooden Dragons recently and was blown away. They're beautiful, sleek boats.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_(keelboat)

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Federal_Cobbler6647@reddit

Small metre class yachts are even prettier as they lack "deckhouse" which kind of ruins looks of dragon.

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ArtistMonkeys@reddit

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archaeopterxyz@reddit

I sailed on a rust bucket Coast Guard cutter called the Reliance. It was less beautiful 🥹

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CaptNat3600@reddit

Columbia Newport Ri based classic 12M

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CaptNat3600@reddit

Jenetta a classic 12M

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ralphonsob@reddit

Where does that line under the bowsprit go to? The keel?

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Horror-Implement-722@reddit

Just above the waterline it seems

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ralphonsob@reddit

Yeah, I know. Thanks for the screenshot of the image I linked to.

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Horror-Implement-722@reddit

Yes after posting I continued scrolling and saw.. sorry.

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dickwae@reddit

I never noticed the dolphin striker going below the waterline before, wild.

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the-montser@reddit

Displacement boats sink slightly in the water as they approach their hull speed, because they are in the trough of the wave. The bobstay and dolphin striker are likely not below the waterline when the boat is not moving.

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dickwae@reddit

She doesn't look very squatted to me, and you'd think the designer would've considered that.

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the-montser@reddit

Probably the designer did consider it. It’s not really a big deal for the dolphin striker to hit the water while the boat is sailing, and a longer dolphin striker allows, a lighter and longer bow sprit which definitely outweighs the performance hit from it being in the water.

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ralphonsob@reddit

It looks like that vertical piece at the bow is rigid, and line continues horizontal at the waterline, rather than below it. See this drydock photo.

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Horror-Implement-722@reddit

What a shame she was Scrapped in 1913...

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IndieFarmer317@reddit

Ive been seriously considering buying this boat

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shoeless_pirate@reddit

What is the sail at the top called? On the Brigantine I sail on, we have a gaff-tops'l which is auxiliary press. This looks similar but has two spars dedicated specifically to it. Very interesting how it is rigged, especially the "boom" which seems to be hauled out with a tackle system to the main gaff.

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IvorTheEngine@reddit

The spars are attached to the sail, making it a jackyard topsail.

They probably also have a smaller topsail that doesn't have those spars.

Tally Ho has one, and has posted a couple of videos of hoisting it. They bundle it up with slip knots to minimise the spars snagging in the rigging during the hoist.

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is0ph@reddit

On one gaff-rigged boat I sailed (working boat) the gaff topsail had one spar. The halyard was attached to the spar with a knot (the gaff topsail halyard bend) that looks like it will probably get undone quickly, but in fact it never does. Beginners were always spooked when we tied this knot.

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ralphkensington@reddit

Jack or jackyard topsail?

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swampopawaho@reddit

Gaff topsail

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dickwae@reddit

It's a fisherman's sail

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pablo_blue@reddit

If you like beautiful boats of that ilk there is a great book entitled Me, the Boat and a Guy Named Bob by Christopher Bowman.

It is the story of the last large traditional schooner built on the island of Bequia, WATER PEARL, launched in December 1979.

The guy named Bob is a well known singer/songwriter.

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Augustin323@reddit

You might like the Tally-Ho Story: https://www.youtube.com/@SampsonBoatCo/playlists

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SgtMarv@reddit

Came here to post this. Had to do a double take if that isn't Tally Ho.

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spacedoutmachinist@reddit

The mast configuration is pretty similar. I thought the same thing.

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mattypatty88@reddit (OP)

Been watching this for years. The amount of work they did was insane to see!

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Extreme-Interview976@reddit

Another great ongoing boat project is A Boat in the Woods. https://www.youtube.com/@aboatinthewoods

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mattypatty88@reddit (OP)

Thanks for this!

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mountain-mist61@reddit

I build J class model yachts as a hobby and the Reliance is one of the next ones on my list. I am planning a trip up to the Herreshoff museum in Rhode Island to see if I can get some plans for her. She is a beauty for sure.

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canoe_yawl@reddit

It looks like the plans exist and are available online through the Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection at MIT.

Even if you can get the plans that way, the museum is definitely worth the visit, if only for the Hall of Boats. They were also building a large-scale model of Reliance a few years ago.

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mountain-mist61@reddit

Thank you so much for that info, much appreciated!

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canoe_yawl@reddit

You're welcome! I visited in 2019, and it was well worth the slight detour on a trip between Mystic and New Bedford.

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Present-Ad-6509@reddit

Looks complicated.

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canoe_yawl@reddit

There's a lot of public-domain pics of classic yachts available through the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. In many cases they're downloadable as really large TIFF files as well as jpegs. That includes the original of the picture you've shared.

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mattypatty88@reddit (OP)

Thank you! I’m hoping to decorate my office with some large prints.

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canoe_yawl@reddit

You're welcome! The full-size TIFFs should be more than enough even for really large-scale prints.

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stinkypew@reddit

How would you furl in the sail?

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StuntID@reddit

Check out the Bluenose. Get yourself a Canadian dime, and you can carry a picture in your pocket.

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rnavstar@reddit

That picture of her is the only time she had 2 on her sails. She never loss a race after that.

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Don_T_Blink@reddit

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iskandar-@reddit

Every year I wish that some rich tosser would decide to build a replica of her. Please just... come on! there have been 5 of them built since 2000, come on man! do it!

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FerricFryingPan@reddit

Do you watch Sampson Boat Co on youtube? I recommend

He restored a boat similar to the one in the image

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TopCobbler8985@reddit

This is a much much bigger vessel, not really comparable

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mattypatty88@reddit (OP)

Yes, been following for a while now.

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kynde@reddit

To me it's the majestic J class. Phenomenal yachts.

I do find the 8s and 6s beautiful, too, of course

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TopCobbler8985@reddit

Reliance carried double the sail are and crew of a typical J, she was really a larger and much more extreme. We will never see the likes of the big class or 90' rule yachts again, they are a lost technology

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ExtraTallBoy@reddit

The Rosenfeld Collection is probably one of the better places for American sailing in the northeast for the early 20th Century. The Rosenfelds photographed everything on the water.

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omisin@reddit

Looks like a J class with a gaff rig. You can buy one for only $10-20m. Sounds expensive, but you can't put a price on beauty.

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ralphkensington@reddit

She’s a Seawanhaka '90-foot' rating rule boat, designed by Nathanael Herreshoff and winner of the 1903 America’s Cup - the last Cup to be raced under that rule.

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overthehillhat@reddit

Herreshoff --

Of Course

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TR-606kick@reddit

Subscribing to this Pinterest and I think it's worthy of a post here

https://fi.pinterest.com/vilhelmsjostrom/beauty-in-motion/

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trymypi@reddit

Lots of good ones sailing this weekend https://gcbsr.org/

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mattypatty88@reddit (OP)

Didn’t even know this existed, thanks! Will be watching this weekend. Unfortunately couldn’t convince my fiancée to let me hop on a plane to go watch in person.

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rajrdajr@reddit

Follow the race live now (Oct 16, 2025 11:45am)

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turnipsnbeets@reddit

I can only imagine what that looks/feels like onboard. When it’s all sheeted out and trimmed. Would be a lifetime event imo

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Aggravating-Pound598@reddit

Very beautiful . A proper handful with all sails flying - the days of hemp ropes and wooden blocks. Real sailors ;)

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Unfair-Engine-9440@reddit

Beautiful proportions. When you approach them on the water, they just get bigger and bigger until they fill your view.

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FoggyWine@reddit

Well... it is time for you to go down the rabbit hole and enjoy Tally Ho. The pictures and videos of her presently sailing on the voyage back to the UK to participate again in the Fastnet race, which she won in 1927, are amazing. Similar rig to the Reliance, but smaller and more manageable without a huge dedicated crew.

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