Bristol Yachts
Encyclopedia
Bristol Yachts was a US-based company which was among the first commercially successful production fiberglass sailboat
boat builders. The company was founded in 1966 and closed in 1997.
, Rhode Island
by Clinton Pearson in 1966, he and his cousin Everett Pearson began building fiberglass dinghies in 1955 in their garage on County Street in Seekonk, MA, just over the MA/RI state line. Within a year the newly founded Pearson Yachts
employed hundreds of people. Fast corporate expansion resulted in cash flow problems, so the cousins raised capital by selling equity in Pearson to Grumman Allied Industries in 1961. Clinton left in 1964 and bought out a troubled sailboat-maker, Sailstar, in West Warwick, Rhode Island
. Carl Alberg
designed the company's first boat, the Bristol 27. Clinton changed the company’s name to Bristol Yacht Company in 1966, and the Sailstar brand was phased out. The boat yard was eventually located on Popasquash Road, in Bristol, Rhode Island. The facilities included a giant barn on land owned by Clinton and where his home was located as well. Across the road from the barn was a small marina and travellift. Due to bankruptcy the company closed in 1997.
or keel-centerboard designs. Among the first models were the Alberg designed 27 and the Herreshoff designed 29.
Halsey Herreshoff
, the grandson of the brilliant yacht designer and innovator Nathanael Herreshoff
and a renowned yacht designer in his own right, designed a number of first generation models, including the Bristol 22 “Caravel”, the 26 "Courier", 28, 29, 30, and 33. His early designs made the most of the CCA rules with cutaway keels and long overhangs. His later designs were generally performance oriented fin and skeg or fin keel designs.
Carl Alberg was responsible for the first generation Bristol models Corinthian 19 (one of the original Sailstar models that Bristol took over) and the Bristol 27 (a boat very similar in design to the Pearson Triton 28
, also an Alberg design).
Paul Coble designed the Corsair (another Sailstar model later identified as the Bristol 24)--a very stout and roomy 24 footer.
The Bristol 34 was designed by John Alden
, while the 32 and 39 (40) were designed by Ted Hood
.
Early Bristols offered a lot for their modest prices, including encapsulated lead keels with no iron punchings or concrete, large galleys, large cockpits with seats you could sleep on, fiberglass cabin headliners, and interiors with a nice blend of white formica and mahogany trim. The early boats had keel-hung rudders, full keels and were stout boats with an easy motion in a seaway.
The second generation boats carried a decimal and a repeat of the second model number (27.7, 29.9, 31,1, 33.3, 35.5, 38.8, 41.1, 43.3, 47.7, 51.1). A number of the second generation Bristol yachts came from the design team of Ted Hood
, an America's Cup designer. Hood designs generally were centerboard boats which aimed for performance without deep draft, although most models offered the option of a fixed keel instead. At least two of the second generation boats, the 31.1 and 33.3, were designed by Dieter Empacher, who, at the time, was employed by Hood design group. Compared to first generation boats, the second generation yachts are typified by longer waterline lengths with shorter bow and stern overhangs, while still retaining their sea-kindliness. Later on, numerous options were available making the boats essentially semi-custom. For example, in 1985 the options list included a choice of interior wood, counter material, cabin floor, exterior rubbing rails, higher/deeper toe rails, teak swim ladder, a choice of engines, instrumentation options, and so on.
Bristols were typically built more heavily than many comparable production sailboats, with features such as skeg-hung rudders, keel-stepped masts, fully encapsulated keel ballast, interior cabinetry bonded to the hull for strength, and heavy-duty bronze seacocks.
Most Bristols can be raced using the PHRF
handicap system, despite being designed more for cruising and comfort.
The company built, or at least advertised, two models of motor yacht, one designated the 42 foot Bristol Offshore Trawler and the other advertised as a 38 foot model available in both an aft cabin and sedan configuration. Bristol trawlers were sold during the late 1960s through the early 1980s. Bristol Yacht Co. laid up the hull for the early 42 foot model which was a round-bilge design by the famed Eldridge-McGinnis naval architecture firm. The 42 foot model displaced somewhere between 26 and 30,000 pounds. The hulls were shipped off to another builder for epoxy laminated plywood decks and interiors. Production of the Bristol trawlers shifted to India during the 1970s, adding provenance to the Bristol-built trawlers. Numerous Bristol 42 trawlers remain in service as of November 2011.
The company began building custom designed sailboats in the 50-plus foot range in the early 1990s but eventually folded in 1997. The yard built more than 4400 boats, the largest being 72' long.
John Atkisson sailed his Bristol 32 "Kestrel" in the spring of 2005 singlehanded from New England to Britain, spent time cruising in Europe and eventually round-tripping back to the US.
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
boat builders. The company was founded in 1966 and closed in 1997.
History
Founded in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
by Clinton Pearson in 1966, he and his cousin Everett Pearson began building fiberglass dinghies in 1955 in their garage on County Street in Seekonk, MA, just over the MA/RI state line. Within a year the newly founded Pearson Yachts
Pearson Yachts
Pearson Yachts was a small manufacturer of fiberglass sailboats built in Bristol, Rhode Island founded by cousins Clinton and Everett Pearson in 1956. The company is one of earliest fiberglass sailboat manufacturers. The Carl Alberg designed Triton 28 launched at the New York Boat Show in January...
employed hundreds of people. Fast corporate expansion resulted in cash flow problems, so the cousins raised capital by selling equity in Pearson to Grumman Allied Industries in 1961. Clinton left in 1964 and bought out a troubled sailboat-maker, Sailstar, in West Warwick, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. Carl Alberg
Carl Alberg
Carl Alberg was a Swedish born yacht designer known for his influence in early fiberglass boats.- Career :thumb|an Alberg 30, built in 1966...
designed the company's first boat, the Bristol 27. Clinton changed the company’s name to Bristol Yacht Company in 1966, and the Sailstar brand was phased out. The boat yard was eventually located on Popasquash Road, in Bristol, Rhode Island. The facilities included a giant barn on land owned by Clinton and where his home was located as well. Across the road from the barn was a small marina and travellift. Due to bankruptcy the company closed in 1997.
Models and designers
Early Bristol models aimed at the mass market and often were cutaway full keelKeel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
or keel-centerboard designs. Among the first models were the Alberg designed 27 and the Herreshoff designed 29.
Halsey Herreshoff
Halsey Chase Herreshoff
Halsey Chase Herreshoff is a Naval Architect of production- and custom yachts, sailor and former president of Herreshoff Marine Museum. At the museum he and Edward duMoulin founded the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 1992. Halsey is son of Sidney DeWolf Herreshoff and Rebecca Chase Herreshoff and...
, the grandson of the brilliant yacht designer and innovator Nathanael Herreshoff
Nathanael Herreshoff
Nathanael Greene Herreshoff I , was an American naval architect-mechanical engineer. "Captain Nat," as he was known, revolutionized yacht design, and produced a succession of undefeated America's Cup defenders between 1893–1920....
and a renowned yacht designer in his own right, designed a number of first generation models, including the Bristol 22 “Caravel”, the 26 "Courier", 28, 29, 30, and 33. His early designs made the most of the CCA rules with cutaway keels and long overhangs. His later designs were generally performance oriented fin and skeg or fin keel designs.
Carl Alberg was responsible for the first generation Bristol models Corinthian 19 (one of the original Sailstar models that Bristol took over) and the Bristol 27 (a boat very similar in design to the Pearson Triton 28
Pearson Triton
The Pearson Triton is a fiberglass sailboat that was manufactured by Pearson Yachts.The Triton was introduced at the 1959 New York National Boat Show and was an immediate sales hit...
, also an Alberg design).
Paul Coble designed the Corsair (another Sailstar model later identified as the Bristol 24)--a very stout and roomy 24 footer.
The Bristol 34 was designed by John Alden
John Alden (naval architect)
John Gale Alden was an American naval architect and founder of Alden Designs, a prominent yacht design company. Alden who grew up in Rhode Island was inspired by the local fisherman and regattas and when his family moved to Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1900 the docked Grand Banks fishing schooners...
, while the 32 and 39 (40) were designed by Ted Hood
Ted Hood
Frederick E. "Ted" Hood is a distinguished American Yachtsman and Naval Architect. He started the company in Marblehead, Massachusetts which makes sails...
.
Early Bristols offered a lot for their modest prices, including encapsulated lead keels with no iron punchings or concrete, large galleys, large cockpits with seats you could sleep on, fiberglass cabin headliners, and interiors with a nice blend of white formica and mahogany trim. The early boats had keel-hung rudders, full keels and were stout boats with an easy motion in a seaway.
The second generation boats carried a decimal and a repeat of the second model number (27.7, 29.9, 31,1, 33.3, 35.5, 38.8, 41.1, 43.3, 47.7, 51.1). A number of the second generation Bristol yachts came from the design team of Ted Hood
Ted Hood
Frederick E. "Ted" Hood is a distinguished American Yachtsman and Naval Architect. He started the company in Marblehead, Massachusetts which makes sails...
, an America's Cup designer. Hood designs generally were centerboard boats which aimed for performance without deep draft, although most models offered the option of a fixed keel instead. At least two of the second generation boats, the 31.1 and 33.3, were designed by Dieter Empacher, who, at the time, was employed by Hood design group. Compared to first generation boats, the second generation yachts are typified by longer waterline lengths with shorter bow and stern overhangs, while still retaining their sea-kindliness. Later on, numerous options were available making the boats essentially semi-custom. For example, in 1985 the options list included a choice of interior wood, counter material, cabin floor, exterior rubbing rails, higher/deeper toe rails, teak swim ladder, a choice of engines, instrumentation options, and so on.
Bristols were typically built more heavily than many comparable production sailboats, with features such as skeg-hung rudders, keel-stepped masts, fully encapsulated keel ballast, interior cabinetry bonded to the hull for strength, and heavy-duty bronze seacocks.
Most Bristols can be raced using the PHRF
PHRF
Performance Handicap Racing Fleet is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other...
handicap system, despite being designed more for cruising and comfort.
The company built, or at least advertised, two models of motor yacht, one designated the 42 foot Bristol Offshore Trawler and the other advertised as a 38 foot model available in both an aft cabin and sedan configuration. Bristol trawlers were sold during the late 1960s through the early 1980s. Bristol Yacht Co. laid up the hull for the early 42 foot model which was a round-bilge design by the famed Eldridge-McGinnis naval architecture firm. The 42 foot model displaced somewhere between 26 and 30,000 pounds. The hulls were shipped off to another builder for epoxy laminated plywood decks and interiors. Production of the Bristol trawlers shifted to India during the 1970s, adding provenance to the Bristol-built trawlers. Numerous Bristol 42 trawlers remain in service as of November 2011.
The company began building custom designed sailboats in the 50-plus foot range in the early 1990s but eventually folded in 1997. The yard built more than 4400 boats, the largest being 72' long.
Strengths
All Bristols included an interior fiberglass headliner that hid rough, irregular fiberglass on the inside of the cabin. The cabinetry was fiberglassed to the hull, rather than using an interior liner with molded cabinetry, which significantly added to the structural integrity of the hull. The cabinetry was built from 3/4" mahogany plywood, attached with bronze wood screws and glued. The hulls of early Bristols were all solid, hand-laid fiberglass. The decks and cabin tops were cored with end-grain balsa. The cored structure extended to the cockpit seat tops and the cockpit sole. Rudder posts and propeller shafts were solid bronze. Bronze Wilcox Crittenden tapered-plug seacocks were used on all underwater thru-hulls. A distinguishing feature is that virtually all Bristol models included at least two molded Dorade boxes on the cabin top abaft the mast step that allowed ventilation in rough seas or rainy weather.Notable voyages and sailors
Bill Wolfram, born 1950, sailed a Bristol 22, We-Tu, from Port Townsend, Washington, to Australia and back, around 2002-2004.John Atkisson sailed his Bristol 32 "Kestrel" in the spring of 2005 singlehanded from New England to Britain, spent time cruising in Europe and eventually round-tripping back to the US.