Tally Ho!
A 30' Jib-Headed Cutter
By William Atkin
About three years ago another man's boat described in "The Yachtman's Bible" (The Yachting Monthly) was Ben Bow, a knockabout with a rig so tall that they called her "a mast with a boat at one end." Nevertheless, she is an enchanting little yacht; and a sister to Tally Ho!
Tally Ho! carries the mast of a Ben Bow and a mainsail of similar design, but has headsails like the cutter Fore An' Aft, the third sister of the trio made famous as the principal characters in William Atkin's book, Three Little Cruising Yachts (reprinted in Of Yachts and Men). The mast of Tally Ho! is hollow from the spreaders to the truck; solid from the spreaders to the step. It stands 42 ft. 2 in. from deck to truck, and buries 5 ft. 6 in. And a grand mast it has proved to be! The boom is solid, octagonal in section, and fitted with Turner's reefing gear. The stays lead through sheaves on the deck and bowsprit, leading to the turnscrews on deck for the headstay, and on the bowsprit for the jib and topmast stays. Dead-eyes are used rather than turnscrews for the shrouds, and wire is used for lanyards -- flexible wire -- using turnscrews for takeup. Thus there is all the shipshapeness of lanyards without the bother of shrinking and stretching hemp lanyards.

Built by Chute & Bixby at Huntington, N. Y., in 1931 Tally Ho! is an excellent example of small yacht construction. Tally Ho! is 30 ft. l.o.a., 28 ft. l. w. l., 9 ft. beam, 5 ft. 6 in. draft. Her sail area is 672 sq. ft. There is 6,600 Ib. of iron in her keel, with 2,000 Ib. of cement ballast inside and 1,000 Ib. of lead for trimming. The yacht's displacement is 20,800 lb. The deck is interesting. There is a narrow deckhouse abaft the mast, leaving wide waterways. Then there is a short house forward of the mast. The forward deckhouse was much discussed while the yacht was being designed. Some said it would look odd; others that it would be in the way; others that the craft was far too small to carry two deckhouses. In reality it is a success. For one thing there is 6 ft. headroom under it. It forms a fine breakwater, looks well, is a perfect ventilator, and handy to sit on. What more can one ask of a forward deckhouse?

Tally Ho! has a perfect cockpit for a small cruising yacht. Neither is it too deep, too small, or too wide. A deep cockpit holds too much water. If the cockpit is shallow then the helmsman gets but little protection in rough water. If it is too wide you slide all over the place when windy days play with your ship. The cockpit floor extends across the ship from the end of the bridge deck to the inside of the stern; but the well is only 4 ft. 6 in. long, 13 in. deep, and 5 ft. wide. Each side carries a built-in seat 16 in. wide and 10 in. high. If you will experiment with a couple of boards you will find this a very comfortable proportion. Most yachtsmen do not like the appearance of the gallows frame; but its convenience far outshines its ugliness. It is made from teak and anchored to the deck in a most substantial manner; nice thing to lean against, grand for reefing, and an understanding friend when furling sail.

Headroom under the main trunk is very close to 6 ft., while under the forward trunk it is 6 ft. There are two wide sofas, the one on the starboard side having an L-shaped end. The cabin table sets in this L. There are lockers over the starboard sofa. To port there is a folding berth having lockers behind it. The galley is fitted in the usual manner aboard an American yacht, with coal range, wash-tray, sink and lockers, while ice-box, chart table and hanging locker face the galley. Up for'ard there are two pipe berths, sail lockers, settee, watercloset, chain locker and water tank. Thanks to the deck-house, there is a surprising amount of room here. A friendly place to rest to the sounds of water sloshing under the bows.

And that, briefly, is the other man's boat Tally Ho! as designed by William Atkin for his shipmate Edward N. Wigton.

 
PHOTOS OF TALLY HO!
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