Monthly Archives: December 2013

Yesterday, during happy Christmas celebrations, we heard that we had lost one of our RELIANCE family. Joe Bartram died peacefully Christmas Eve. He was our benefactor, key visionary, and best cheerleader. Thank you, Joe!

RELIANCE really came alive after his visit last Spring. He intuitively understood that RELIANCE was much more than a model of the biggest America’s Cup winner- it would be an important exhibit as well. RELIANCE was to be representative of all Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. large racing yachts and an outstanding example of extreme yacht design, advanced materials, and light-weight engineering. Equally important, Joe recognized that our research on RELIANCE was also answering the question: “Why was the HMCo. such an important high-tech manufacturing company in context of the American Industrial Revolution which still has great relevance to current high-tech firms?”

Joe Bartram understood that this Project was fundamental to the growth of the Museum and very important to the town. He was supportive of our efforts to involve Roger Williams University and local schools in key project tasks. His emails and telephone calls personally gave me the strength to push through technical challenges and typical “lows” of such a complex undertaking. He understood that our model could become one of the most impressive models ever built, and that the Project would need a network of supporters beyond just the dozen volunteers actually working on RELIANCE.

As he became too ill to travel, he sent his many friends to visit and keep him abreast of our work. Importantly, they too became cheerleaders. In keeping with that sentiment, please come visit us. See Joe Bartram’s vision come to fruition. Become one of our global network of cheerleaders and supporters.

The RELIANCE Team

One of Joe Bartrams visits to The RELIANCE Project – (left to right) Mike Mirman, Joe Bartram, Sandy Lee, Bill Lawton

second image: Mike Mirman, Joe Bartram and Sandy Lee

Best Wishes from The RELIANCE Project

RELIANCE’S Telescoping Topmast

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I had an email question on RELIANCE’s telescoping topmast from Lawrence Kurkey that I thought I would reply via blog post. He asks “Would you please explain to me how this was accomplished?”

The wooden topmast had a sheave at its base and a slot through which a fid could be inserted that would pin the erected topmast in place.

The mast was a fabricated steel structure with hollow “donut” rings and angle iron stringers providing a framework upon which the rolled steel plates were riveted. Thus, the topmast could be lowered or raised through the hollow “donut hole.” The mast was a 26″ diameter straight stick that tapered at the very top. There was a retaining ring at the mast top and another about eight feet lower which kept the topmast centered.

The 330′ long topmast halliard, or topmast heel rope as it was called, was seized to the inside top of the mast, then lead through the sheave in the base of the topmast and then to another sheave on the other side of the top of the mast. The hauling end of the heel rope was taken below deck through a fairlead to a below deck winch alongside the base of the mast. This winch mechanism was installed as an upgrade shortly after RELIANCE was turned over to the Syndicate. Before that, I seem to remember it was taken to blocks and pad eye at the base of the mast.

I enclose sketches of the topmast, topmast heel rope mechanism, and boom construction to illustrate the operation.

Boom construction is shown because its construction is very similar to mast construction, and it is a sketch I have on hand.

Topmast illustrations were included in blog postings from January/ February 2013 timeframe and you can refer back to these postings.

L. Francis Herreshoff notes in his books that RELIANCE had a topmast ratcheting mechanism, but I have not yet found drawings that show that. BTW, you can find a picture of RELIANCE dismasting during a race in the Rosenfeld Collection at Mystic Seaport. This occurred when the fid was placed improperly. Also in the Mystic Collection, I believe, is a notation in Iselin’s Journal on this incident.

Sandy