WWII was declared over!!!! Our
young men and women were returning home. People were laughing
and dancing and smiling again. The economy was beginning to grow
and more money was being into pleasure and leisure instead of
a war effort! The Kettenburg yard was now being flooded with requests
for boats. The PC was now back in popular demand. With 35 hull
numbers to serve as "test models", the PC was in for
the first significant changes since 1929! Owners had complained
about not having enough cabin space. They wanted more head room,
sliding hatchways, windows for improved lighting, V berths and
such ammenities that a small crusing boat would have. More importantly,
rigging changes were in the wind. In order to make the rig more
efficient and cleaner, the jumber was raised 3'. The headstay
(from the bow to the mast head) was removed and the old "diamond
rig" was done away with and replaced with the jumper strut
arragnement. The double Jib stay was moved forward by 1' to take
more of the load in order to compensate for the missing headstay.
In order to stay within the "one design" rules, the
longer foot of the jib was compensated for by shortening the leach,
thus the sail area was unchanged. Post war boats are easily recognized
by their elongated cabin that runs afore the mast. Most post war
boats have a hatch afore the mast for light and ventilation. While
many of the pre war vessels have added windows and sliding or
cut out companion ways, their absence (and other features mentioned
above) make it easy to determine whether a boat is pre or post
war. In some cases (#72) past owners have cut the cabin in order
to make a cleaner sweep of the jib while tacking, however most
post war boats still have the extended cabins. These were the
only changes allowed in order to stay within the class rules.
The PC Association, over the years, has approved very few changes
and set down few rules. Examples such as specificing the location
of the jib car track, limiting the use of modern sail materials
(kevlar, etc), lead keel shaping and hull weight have been carefully
controlled in an effort to keep competation between pre and post
war boats fair.
Because the PC popularity increased,
the Kettenburgs were somewhat receptive to hulls being assigned
to being built in other boat yards up and down the coast. In fact,
hulls 13, 15 and 17 were built by South Coast Boat Yard in Newport,
Ca. Hulls 56, 57, 58 and 59 were built in British Columbia and
hull numbers 80, 81, 82 and 83 were built by Kettenburg in San
Diego, however shipped upside down via rail to Seattle where they
were finished. The last Pacific Class yacht completed (in the
late 1950's) was hull #83. To date much effort has gone into locating
and identifying which vessels are still in existance. 64 of the
83 hull numbers assigned have been identified as lost, sailing
or on the hard. 19 boats are yet unaccounted for. 47 of the original
78 boats BUILT are known to be still sailing. 17 hull numbers
are classified as never built (4), converted and no longer a PC
(1) and lost or destroyed (12). My search continues. Any information
you might offer will be helpful and appreciated.
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