Charles Mower
Encyclopedia
Charles Drown Mower of New York was a noted yacht designer and author, and was at one time design editor of the Rudder magazine and a contributing author to Motor Boating magazine.
, moving on to a partnership with Thomas D. Bowes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
in 1911. During the first World War he served as a lieutenant commander in the Construction Corps, Naval Reserve
.
After the war Mower worked either alone or in partnership as Mower and Humphries Ltd. He was also a chief naval architect at Henry B. Nevins, Inc.
, at City Island, New York
, and in 1937 was associated with the office of Nelson & Reid, Inc. He was also official measurer of the Manhasset Bay Yacht Club, the Cruising Club of America
and the New York Yacht Club
.
, the noted WWII general. His grand children are Mildred Pastula 11/06/1954 to present and Charles Stilwell Mower 05/29/1950 to 1/1/1976.
storms that attacked Connecticut. All of the surviving boat models once owned by Charles P. Mower (Mower's son) are with Mildred Mower Pastula, grand daughter of Mower, and her sons; David, Stephen and James Osler. At times models have been loaned to Yacht clubs in Greenwich CT
.
put a damper on the race scene and no more A-cats were built. Mary Ann can still be found on Barnegat Bay.
The Mower model is in poor shape after years on neglect and flood damaged from the 1992 storm, much like many of the other half models that were stored in Charles P. Mower's basement.
developed by Nathanael Herreshoff
. They were widely raced in New England, on the Great Lakes, and in California. A few well noted R boats are still in existence. There are six such yachts at the Cleveland Yachting Club that continue to race against one another every summer. CYC yacht Ardette is a fully restored and updated 1931 Mower.
. In 1987 Jack Langton of Long Beach
purchased her, selling her on in 1990 to Jim Squire who raced and extensively restored her. The deck was replaced and covered with epoxy resin
and fiberglass
. 68 deck beams were replaced and a new mast along with a diesel engine added. Garth Blair then purchased Ace in January 1998 and she is currently harbored in Wooden Hull Yacht Club. Newport Beach CA.
.
sailing circles generally. In 1998 she was purchsed by Carl Hammer, who converted her to glass covered cypress planking. She is still harbored in Montrose Harbor, Chicago
, Illinois. In 2008 she was donated to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, WI
Vanity // round-bottom twenty foot knockabout//first round-bottom Chesapeake 20
How to build a knockabout, (Rudder how-to series) (Unknown Binding) Unknown Binding: 58 pages Publisher: The Rudder Pub. Co (1902)
How to build a cruiser (Sea bird) (Unknown Binding) Publisher: The Rudder publishing company (1912)
How to build a racing sloop, (Unknown Binding) Publisher: Rudder Pub. Co (1920)
How to build a motor launch, (Rudder how-to series) (Unknown Binding) Unknown Binding: 42 pages Publisher: Rudder Pub. Co (1901)
Thirty Easy To Build Sail Boats With Auxiliary Power, IDEAL SERIES, VOLUME 15 (co authored) Hardcover Publisher: Motor Boating (1945)
Sailing Craft, Edwin J. Schoettle (editor), The Macmillan Co. New York (1928)
Career
He starting studying yacht design in 1895 with Arthur Binney and later Bowdoin B. CrowninshieldBowdoin B. Crowninshield
Bowdoin Bradlee Crowninshield was an American naval architect who specialized in the design of racing yachts.-Life:Born October 13, 1867 in New York, Crowninshield grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts, into the wealthy Crowninshield family with long-standing ties to the sea...
, moving on to a partnership with Thomas D. Bowes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in 1911. During the first World War he served as a lieutenant commander in the Construction Corps, Naval Reserve
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...
.
After the war Mower worked either alone or in partnership as Mower and Humphries Ltd. He was also a chief naval architect at Henry B. Nevins, Inc.
Henry B. Nevins, Incorporated
Henry B. Nevins Incorporated was wooden-hull yacht builder in City Island, New York founded in 1907 by Henry B. Nevins. Nevins was a master yacht builder and author on vessel construction in who roots in shipbuilding began as an apprentice for Charles L. Seabury & Company in City Island, New York....
, at City Island, New York
City Island, Bronx
City Island is a small island approximately 1.5 mi long by .5 mi wide. At one time attached to the town of Pelham, Westchester County, it is now part of the New York City borough of the Bronx. As of the 2000 census the island had a population of 4,520. Its land area is 1.023 km²...
, and in 1937 was associated with the office of Nelson & Reid, Inc. He was also official measurer of the Manhasset Bay Yacht Club, the Cruising Club of America
Cruising Club of America
-History:It was launched in the winter of 1921-1922 by a handful of experienced offshore sailors interested in cruising and the development of the cruising type of yacht....
and the New York Yacht Club
New York Yacht Club
The New York Yacht Club is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. The organization has over 3,000 members as of 2011. ...
.
Family
His wife was Francis Petriken Mower, who died in August 1967. His son, Charles Petriken Mower, (Born 12/28/1920 Died 7/31/01) married Jane Stilwell Mower (Born 4/18/1924 Died 1/8/2001), who was daughter of John Stilwell and niece of Joseph StilwellJoseph Stilwell
General Joseph Warren Stilwell was a United States Army four-star General known for service in the China Burma India Theater. His caustic personality was reflected in the nickname "Vinegar Joe"...
, the noted WWII general. His grand children are Mildred Pastula 11/06/1954 to present and Charles Stilwell Mower 05/29/1950 to 1/1/1976.
Surviving Work
Most of his surviving designs are held in the Mystic Seaport Library, where a total of 433 sheets represent 107 designs. A lot of his work was destroyed in the 1992 Noreaster and 1954 Hurricane CarolHurricane Carol
Hurricane Carol was among the worst tropical cyclones to affect the New England region of the United States. It developed from a tropical wave near the Bahamas on August 25, 1954, and gradually strengthened as it moved northwestward. On August 27, Carol intensified to reach winds of , but weakened...
storms that attacked Connecticut. All of the surviving boat models once owned by Charles P. Mower (Mower's son) are with Mildred Mower Pastula, grand daughter of Mower, and her sons; David, Stephen and James Osler. At times models have been loaned to Yacht clubs in Greenwich CT
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
.
Designs
Some Mower yachts designs that have been well publicized include The A-Cat, The R-Class, The Legendary and the Fishers Island Design.The A-Cat
In 1922 Judge Charles McKeehan of Philadelphia hired Mower to design a new boat specifically to win the Toms River cup. Mower's design became the Mary Ann, a 28 feet (8.5 m) hull based on the traditional East Coast catboat lines. In place of the gaff-rigged catboat sail, the first A-cat was soon equipped with a powerful Marconi rig, a tall triangular sail on a 46 feet (14 m) tall mast and sweeping 28 feet (8.5 m) boom at its foot. After Mary Ann swept the race in July 1922, other racers started having their own versions built. The seven-boat fleet became a familiar sight during the 1920s, but the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
put a damper on the race scene and no more A-cats were built. Mary Ann can still be found on Barnegat Bay.
| Year | 1922 |
| Overall length | 28 feet (8.5 m) |
| Waterline length | 22 feet (6.7 m) |
| Beam | 11 feet (3.4 m) |
| Draft | 2 in 6 in (0.762 m) |
| Mast above Deck | 46 feet (14 m) |
| Boom | 28 feet (8.5 m) |
| Sail area | 615 square feet (57.1 m²) |
| Construction | Cedar on oak |
| Fastenings | Bronze cooper |
| First Builder | Morton Johnson, Bay Head |
Fishers Island One Designs
Since they were built in 1923, the Fishers Island One Designs, as the Class A's were originally called, have been enthusiastically raced, day sailed and cruised on Fishers Island Sound. The fleet has anchored in only two harbors. Hay Harbor, Fishers Island, New York, from 1923–33 and then the Lagoon at Groton Long Point, Conn., from 1933 to the present. The original model of this boats is owned by Mildred Pastula (grand daughter of Mower) and is nearly identical to the Sidney or Charles Herreshoff models. The two designers were acquainted and both worked on the Fishers Island boats, so the similarity is not a surprise, but who should get the credit remains an area of contention.The Mower model is in poor shape after years on neglect and flood damaged from the 1992 storm, much like many of the other half models that were stored in Charles P. Mower's basement.
| Year | ~1910 |
| Overall length | ~23 feet |
| First Builder | City Island, New York or Dauntless Yard in Essex, Conn |
R-Class
R-Class racing sloops were built to the Universal RuleUniversal Rule
The Universal Rule determined a yachts eligibility to race in the America's Cup from 1914 to 1937. Ships built according to the rule reached their peak in the large J-class yachts....
developed by 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....
. They were widely raced in New England, on the Great Lakes, and in California. A few well noted R boats are still in existence. There are six such yachts at the Cleveland Yachting Club that continue to race against one another every summer. CYC yacht Ardette is a fully restored and updated 1931 Mower.
Ace
Ace is a 43 feet (13.1 m) R-Class Sloop built in 1926, and was four time winner of the San Francisco Pepetual Challenge Cup in her early years. More recently won the A Class Sloop "West Coast Boat of the Year Award" in 1998, and also won the A Class First Place in the Josh Slocum's Lyle Galloway Memorial Summer Series. She has had X owners, being first sold in 1944 to Jack DeMandel of Belvedere, CaliforniaBelvedere, California
Belvedere is an affluent city in Marin County, California, United States. Belvedere is located northeast of Sausalito, at an elevation of 36 feet...
. In 1987 Jack Langton of Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
purchased her, selling her on in 1990 to Jim Squire who raced and extensively restored her. The deck was replaced and covered with epoxy resin
Epoxy
Epoxy, also known as polyepoxide, is a thermosetting polymer formed from reaction of an epoxide "resin" with polyamine "hardener". Epoxy has a wide range of applications, including fiber-reinforced plastic materials and general purpose adhesives....
and fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
. 68 deck beams were replaced and a new mast along with a diesel engine added. Garth Blair then purchased Ace in January 1998 and she is currently harbored in Wooden Hull Yacht Club. Newport Beach CA.
| Year | 1926 |
| Overall length | 43 feet (13.1 m) |
| Waterline length | 29 feet (8.8 m) |
| Beam | 7 and a half feet |
| Draft | 7 feet (2.1 m) |
| Mast above Deck | |
| Builder | Madden & Lewis, Sausalito |
Penobscot
Penobscot is a 37 foot (11m)R-class sloop, designed by Charles Mower and custom built in 1923 by Hodgdon Brothers of Boothbay, Maine. Her construction is carvel mahogany planking, bronze-screw fastened to oak frames with oak backbone, oak deadwood and oak floor timbers with teak decks, mahogany trim, Sitka spruce spars, and bronze hardware. Her rig is a fractional Marconi sloop. She was originally built for New York Yacht Club member Frederic Hitz of Deer Isle, sold to William Whipple of Camden, Maine in 1944, to Robert Hills of Owls Head in 1948, to Maynard Bray of Maine in 1958, to Vernon Baker of ? in 1967, again to Maynard Bray in 1984, to Robert Burke of Middletown, RI in 1986 and to her current owner, Hortensia Sampedro, of Key Biscayne, Fl, in 2000. She is listed in "The Register of Wooden Boats". She underwent a restoration in the late 80s that included the addition of a diesel engine. After two years "on the hard" she was re-launched and new rigging installed in 2001 together with new sails. In 2009 her deck and cockpit was re-fastened and re-caulked, and in 2010 her hull was re-caulked and a new engine installed. Penobscot is campaigned on Biscayne Bay, under the Biscayne Bay Yacht Racing Association; some honors include 2001, Hughes Cup, second place, 2001 WYRA Coral Cup, Gold Fleet, third place, 2001 BBYRA Fall Series, third place, 2001 Annual, PHRF 4, fifth place; most recently winning second in class at the 2010 44th Annual Ed Willman 'Round the Island Race. . Currently harbored at Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Miami, FloridaMiami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.
| Year | 1923 |
| Deck length | 37 feet (11.3 m) |
| Waterline length | 25 and a half feet |
| Beam | 8 feet (2.4 m) |
| Draft | 6 feet (1.8 m) |
| Displacement | 11,000 |
| Boom | |
| Sail area | 381 Sq. ft. main, 253 sq. ft. 140% genoa |
| Construction | Wood |
| Fastenings | Bronze |
| Builder | Hodgdon Brothers of Boothbay, Maine |
Tops-O-Cotton
Tops-O-Cotton won a number of races in her early years in Milwaukee, before being sold to a Chicago sailer and then to Bob Jacobsen and his father. Jacobsen sailed Tops-O-Cotton for over 30 years, making her a familiar sight in the Montrose Harbor, and ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
sailing circles generally. In 1998 she was purchsed by Carl Hammer, who converted her to glass covered cypress planking. She is still harbored in Montrose Harbor, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois. In 2008 she was donated to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, WI
| Year | 1934 |
| Overall length | 34 feet (10.4 m) |
| Waterline length | 26 feet (7.9 m) |
| Beam | 8 in 2 in (2.49 m) |
| Draft | 5 in 2 in (1.57 m) |
| Ballast | 3300 lb (1,496.9 kg). |
| Displacement | 5600 lb (2,540.1 kg). |
| Construction | one inch cypress carvel planking on oak frames with oak bow sprit and bumpkin. |
| Builder | Ferdinand Nimphius |
Other Notable Boats
| Boat | Type | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Buster | sailing dinghy | 12 feet (3.7 m) |
| Caper | auxiliary Cape Cod cat | 22 feet (6.7 m) |
| Columbia Jr. | hydroplane | 151-cu. in. |
| Comfy | RD cruiser, RB | 32 feet (9.8 m) |
| Content | DC cruiser | 32 feet (9.8 m) |
| Dolores | auxiliary cruising knockabout | 24 feet (7.3 m) |
| Frances | auxiliary cruising knockabout | 18 feet (5.5 m) |
| Grace | gaff-rigged Cape Cod cat | 21 feet (6.4 m) |
| Marquita | DC runabout | 30 feet (9.1 m) VB |
| Pacer | DC runabout | 26 feet (7.9 m) VB |
| Pronto | schooner-rigged motor sailer | 40 feet (12.2 m) and 48 feet (14.6 m) version |
| Shorebird | shoal-draft gaff-rigged CB sloop | 21 feet (6.4 m) |
| Shorty | RD cruiser | 20 feet (6.1 m) |
| Slicque | economical VB runabout | 21 feet (6.4 m) |
| Smarty | FB for sail or OB | 14-footer |
| Snapper | RB sailing dinghy | 12 feet (3.7 m) |
| Transco | clinker-built OB runabout | 18 feet (5.5 m) |
| Uwhilna | Teak Yawl | 51 feet (15.5 m) |
| Whiz | baby hydroplane | 13½-foot |
| Whiz | OB runabout | 16 feet (4.9 m) |
Books
The Plan Book of Cruisers, Runabouts, Auxiliaries and Outboard Motor Boats (Smartest and Most Up-To-Date Collection of Small Boat Designs, Volume IX) (Hardcover) Hardcover: 48 pages Publisher: Motor Boating (1927)How to build a knockabout, (Rudder how-to series) (Unknown Binding) Unknown Binding: 58 pages Publisher: The Rudder Pub. Co (1902)
How to build a cruiser (Sea bird) (Unknown Binding) Publisher: The Rudder publishing company (1912)
How to build a racing sloop, (Unknown Binding) Publisher: Rudder Pub. Co (1920)
How to build a motor launch, (Rudder how-to series) (Unknown Binding) Unknown Binding: 42 pages Publisher: Rudder Pub. Co (1901)
Thirty Easy To Build Sail Boats With Auxiliary Power, IDEAL SERIES, VOLUME 15 (co authored) Hardcover Publisher: Motor Boating (1945)
Sailing Craft, Edwin J. Schoettle (editor), The Macmillan Co. New York (1928)
External links
- Fishers Island One Designs
- 'Build A Boat - A New Book Of Small-Boat Designs And Blue Prints Of Twenty-Five Practical Runabouts, Crusiers, Hydroplanes, Auxiliaries And Dinghies - Volume VII - 1924'
- New Jersey Local Legacies - "A-Cats"
- New York Times article on A-Cats
- Tops-O-Cotton photos
- 1909 Gentleman's launch