Raven (sailboat) explained

Raven
Designer:Roger McAleer
Location:United States
Year:1949
No Built:400
Builder:Sound Marine Construction
Cape Cod Shipbuilding
O'Day Corp.
Nevins Inc.
Crew:three
Draft:5.33feet with centerboard down
Displacement:11700NaN0
Hull Type:Monohull
Construction:Cold molded plywood or fiberglass
Loa:24.25feet
Lwl:21.58feet
Beam:7feet
Keel Type:centerboard
Ballast:none
Rudder Type:internally-mounted spade-type rudder
Rig Type:Bermuda rig
Sailplan:Fractional rigged sloop
Sailarea Total:300square feet
D-Pn:82.6

The Raven is an American trailerable, planing sailboat that was designed by Roger McAleer and first built in 1949.[1] [2]

Production

In the past the design has been built by Sound Marine Construction, the O'Day Corp. and Nevins Inc., all in the United States. Today it is built by Cape Cod Shipbuilding and remains in production. A total of 400 boats have been built.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Design

The Raven is a recreational sailboat, originally built of cold molded plywood. In 1951 it was converted to be constructed of fiberglass, with teak wood trim, including the cockpit coaming. It has a fractional sloop rig with aluminum spars, including a double-spreader mast, supported by stainless steel standing rigging. The hull has a spooned raked stem, an angled transom, an internally mounted, fiberglass, spade-type rudder controlled by a tiller and a retractable fiberglass centerboard. It displaces 11700NaN0 and carries no ballast.[1] [2] [6]

The boat has a draft of 5.33feet with the centreboard extended and 7inches with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.[1]

For sailing the design has roller reefing for the mainsail, dual self-bailers and a 6:1 mechanical advantage outhaul. A spinnaker is optional.[2] [6]

Class rule changes instituted in 1970 allowed for a one-piece aluminum centerboard, a trapeze, a full width mainsheet traveler mounted on the aft deck and hiking straps.[2]

The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 82.6 and is normally raced by a crew of three sailors.[2]

Operational history

When the Raven was first built of fiberglass, starting in 1951, the initial eight production boats were purchased by the United States Coast Guard Academy for cadet training.[2]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Raven (USA) sailboat . 24 November 2020. McArthur. Bruce . sailboatdata.com. 2020. https://archive.today/20201124001600/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/raven-usa. 24 November 2020 . live.
  2. Sherwood, Richard M.: A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition, pages 124-125. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.
  3. Web site: Cape Cod Shipbuilding. 24 November 2020. McArthur. Bruce . sailboatdata.com. 2020. https://archive.today/20200824183520/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/cape-cod-shipbuilding. 24 August 2020 . live.
  4. Web site: O'Day Corp. 1958 - 1989 . 24 November 2020. McArthur. Bruce . sailboatdata.com. 2020. https://archive.today/20201111005423/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/oday-corp. 11 November 2020 . live.
  5. Web site: Nevins Inc. 1907 - 1959 . 24 November 2020. McArthur. Bruce . sailboatdata.com. 2020. https://archive.today/20201124001103/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/nevins-inc. 24 November 2020. live.
  6. Web site: Raven. 23 November 2020. Cape Cod Shipbuilding . capecodshipbuilding.com. 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200919211535/http://www.capecodshipbuilding.com/fleet/index.php?boat=raven. 19 September 2020. live.