Vrienden
van Tripp Lentsch
achtergrondinformatie
De ontwerper.
"William H.
Tripp (1920-1971) werd geboren in Little Neck Bay op Long Island en was van kindsaf aan al gefascineerd door water en zeilen.
Op tienjarige leeftijd tekende hij al scheepjes en wijzigde zeilplannen van bestaande opntwerpen. Hij kwam in dienst bij Philip Rhodes
en werkte later bij Sparkman en Stephens. Hij schreef in op een prijsvraag van het Engelse watersporttijdschrift Yachting
World en won de tweede prijs met een 39 voet (11,89 meter) lang kielmidzwaardjacht. Deze prijs was voor het Amerikaanse bald
Yachting aanleiding om het ontwerp te publiceren. dit bleek het begin van een succesvolle carrière als ontwerper. Tripp was
een veelzijdig ontwerper. Hij tekende zowel toer- als wedstrijdjachten en was een van de eerste ontwerpers die polyester als
serieus bouwmateriaal zag. Hij bouwde zelfs een voor de jaren 60 zeer groot jacht van polyester: de Columbia 50. De ontwerpen
die van Tripp in Nederland ondermeer bekend zijn geworden, zijn de Sailmaster 26, de Medalist, De North East en natuurlijk
de Tripp Lentsch 29, die in de beginjaren werd gebouwd op de werf van de Vries Lentsch."
Geen wonder
dus dat er overeenkomsten in lijnen en karaktereigenschappen te vinden zijn tussen de Tripp Lentsch en zeiljachten van Rhodes
en SenS. Van de Tripp Lentsch werden er in Vianen aan de Lek 50 gebouwd, alsmede bijna 100 Meridians en 100 Swiftures.
De Swifture
is gebouwd van 1959 tot 1962, de Meridians van juli 1961 tot november 1962.
Philip Rhodes
"Rhodes was one of the pioneers in the transition to fiberglass construction. He adapted his classic
designs and designed Bounty II for Coleman Plastics in 1956. This boat was the first large production sailboat out
of fiberglass, and established the viability of fiberglass as a material for large production boats. (The molds were later
bought by Pearson and the boat became the R41.) Over the next four years, the Rhodes office designed five boats for Seafarer
Yachts, at that time based in Holland. These were the Swiftsure (33' centerboarder, 1958), a 35' motor sailor (1959),
Ranger (28', 1959), Meridian (24', 1961), and a sailing dinghy (7', 1961). He also designed the Chesapeake
32 (1958, built in Denmark). In 1993, he designed several fiberglass boats; Vanguard (33' for Pearson), Reliant
(41' for Cheoy Lee), and Tempest and Outlaw (23' and 26' for O'Day). These boats are in remarkably good structural
condition even today. Many have been restored, and the ones that have not are good candidates for such treatment. They are
examples not only of Rhodes' overall design, but also of his early mastery of the new fiberglass material."
(van het net
gekopieerd)"
In the late 1950s and early
1960s, Holland was a major hub or yacht building and were pioneers in fiberglass yacht building. Before globally standardized
hardware became common Holland was known for producing good quality custom hardware (mostly stainless steel and chromed bronze)
at very reasonable prices. They were also known for reasonably inexpensive prices for very nicely finished boats. Holland
in the 1960s was like Taiwan in the 1980s. There were a lot of American based companies importing Dutch boats to the United
States. Some of the companies that come to mind are Henry Walton of Annapolis (who later imported a lot of Canadian Boats),
Van Breems who imported the Contest Line, Dolf LeCompte who imported the LeCompte Line, Sailmaster, Tripp-Lentsch and quite a few others.
The story that I heard was that Brian Ackworth was a transatlantic airline pilot. He routinely flew
into the various European countries. Since he was routinely crossing the Atlantic, he was able to receive and service American
boat orders while on lay over in Europe. Brian was European and had a bit of an English accent. I have always assumed that
Brian was English but a lot of Europeans during that era learned English from British teachers and so had English accents.
While the boats were being built in Holland, Seafarer had a very nice line. The three boats that
I remember best were the 8 foot Rhodes Dinghy, 25 (or so) foot Rhodes Meridian and the 33 foot Rhodes Swiftsure. The Swiftsure
was a really neat boat for its day. These were nicely proportioned keel center board boats in the pattern of the "Finnesterre"
type pioneered by Sparkman and Stephens. They were never competitive race boats, even back then, but they sailed well and
were beautifully finished when compared to similar priced American boats like the Pearson Vanguard.
I have always heard that the reason that Seafarer (and others) stopped importing boats from Holland
had to do with Holland joining the Common Market. At some point in the early 1960s Holland joined the European Common Market.
Somehow this caused a dramatic increase in prices for boats taken out of the EC to the States. It also caused a dramatic increase
in cost to bring tooling over. So much so that I understood that it was cheaper for Seafarer to retool with a new line than
to bring the old molds and Plugs over.
(van het net
gekopieerd)
In die tijd
was de dollar ongeveer 8,-- waard. Dat maakte het laten bouwen hier wel erg aantrekkelijk. Toen de koers ging zakken
was het dan ook snel gedaan.
De werf werd
geliquideerd.
Op dinsdag
tot en met vrijdag 15 t/m/ 18 apil 1969 is de hele boedel onder de hamer gegaan in verkooplokaal Frascati aan de Nes in Amsterdam.
Ron Vos:
"In 1969 hebben wij van De Vries Lentsch het complete Tripp Lentsch
project overgenomen. Dit bestond o.a. uit de mallen,
een grote hoeveelheid materialen en vooraf geproduceerde houten delen, zoals luiken en binnenbetimmering, de gietmallen van
al het bronzen beslag en ook de 178 tekeningen. Van de TL was bijna elk onderdeel nauwkeurig getekend. "
