Crunchy Vegetables - A Short History
Built in 1981 by Howard Hamlin, USA 7153 is one of the oldest competitive 505s on the planet. The boat is completely kevlar and epoxy, so it's still extremely stiff and incorporates some of the most important optimizations in hull shape, structure and rigging. Way to go Howie!
CV's been with a host of different people in it's day. After originally being sailed by Hamlin himself, Bill Jager purchased the boat and campaigned it throughout the US. The boat was always quick upwind and boasted an impressive record. As his sailing time diminished, Bill sold the boat to Urs Rothatcher who sailed the boat in San Francisco for two years. The boat stayed in the Bay Area but passed to the younger generations, as it was owned by Alex Mehran, Chuck Asper and Patrick Lewis. I began to own a stake in the boat in 2002 and finally ended up with the entire thing in 2004. I moved the boat from Santa Cruz to Bellingham in the summer of 2005.
Over the years some important modifications have been made to the boat to keep it competitive on the world stage. The mast gate was lengthened (albeit poorly) to allow for greater rake, the centerboard trunk was reinforced to keep it from being damaged by higher aspect gybing foils and tubes were installed through the tanks for the shroud tension adjustment and the spinnaker sheets. The boat has always sailed with Proctor D section masts and has been modified for the long-luff spinnaker.
The purpose of this blog is to chronicle the updates and repairs being made to the boat over the winter of 2005/06 as I have access to my parent's heated garage (it may be snowing outside, but the boat is enjoying a Southern California-esque 70 degrees).
