narrasketuck yacht club reviews

If you’ve spent any time on the Great South Bay, you’ve probably seen a fleet of smallish sailboats, larger than the popular one-person Sunfish, but not nearly as big as a family-sized vessel. Scooting across the bay, low to the water, with two-person crews, they generally appear to be racing and, indeed, almost always are.

“Those are Narrasketucks” says Rudy Sittler proudly, and they’ve been slicing through waves on this bay since 1935. They were designed specifically to sail on our South Shore waters; built to deal with shallow bottoms, cut through seaweed, get up on plane, and handle strong afternoon breezes. I started racing them back in 1953. Every time I see one, I still get a rush.”

Sittler, 83, from Little Neck Bay, is a longtime member of the Narrasketuck Yacht Club in Amityville, where the “Tuck,” as these quick and responsive sloops are known, was first revealed. According to Todd Brice, commodore of the Narrasketuck Class, the original blueprint was conjured up by local boatbuilder Wilbur F. Ketcham, who was commissioned by the club to design a new, affordable class of racing yacht in 1934.

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Narrasketuck Yacht Club keeps vintage sailboats going on the Great South Bay

Narrasketuck sailboats were designed with the shallower waters of the Great South Bay in mind. Credit: Narrasketuck Yacht Club / Alan Hlavenka

If you’ve spent any time on the Great South Bay, you’ve probably seen a fleet of smallish sailboats, larger than the popular one-person Sunfish, but not nearly as big as a family-sized vessel. Scooting across the bay, low to the water, with two-person crews, they generally appear to be racing and, indeed, almost always are.

“Those are Narrasketucks” says Rudy Sittler proudly, and they’ve been slicing through waves on this bay since 1935. They were designed specifically to sail on our South Shore waters; built to deal with shallow bottoms, cut through seaweed, get up on plane, and handle strong afternoon breezes. I started racing them back in 1953. Every time I see one, I still get a rush.”

Sittler, 83, from Little Neck Bay, is a longtime member of the Narrasketuck Yacht Club in Amityville, where the “Tuck,” as these quick and responsive sloops are known, was first revealed. According to Todd Brice, commodore of the Narrasketuck Class, the original blueprint was conjured up by local boatbuilder Wilbur F. Ketcham, who was commissioned by the club to design a new, affordable class of racing yacht in 1934.

The original specifications called for a boat with speed and maneuverability "while being inexpensive so more club members could afford one,” explains Brice, 43, who owns Yacht Service, Ltd, an Amityville boatyard. “They wanted a small fleet of 'one design' sailboats to compete as their own class — every vessel constructed of the same materials, measuring 20-feet, four-inches long, with a 6-foot, five-inch beam, centerboard dinghy style hull and similar sails." That would ensure race outcomes were determined by skill, the elements and luck alone — not who could afford to significantly enhance and upgrade their sailboat.

Narrasketuck Yacht Club members race their vintage sailboats in a regatta off the shores of Amityville. Credit: Narrasketuck Yacht Club / Alan Hlavenka

Narrasketucks were built specifically for racing, and you can bet the two-person crews that manned them were highly competitive — they still are, even though Brice says most crews these days are comprised of senior citizens.

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Over the decades, only 200 of these sailboats were built, each receiving its own sequential number, and they proved exceptionally durable. Longtime club member Glenn Schmidt, 84, from Babylon has owned (and built) several Tucks--#172 was one of the first vessels built with plywood in 1967. Then came #182, which he built for himself. Then #179 which he purchased for his late wife Dianne to sail on her own. “It was cheaper than a divorce,” says Glenn wryly.

After two knee operations in recent years, Schmidt sold his #182 last summer. “Now I’m the support staff,” he chuckles. Ketcham’s own vessel, #7, Defiance, was rebuilt by Schmidt in 1996 and donated by the Ketcham estate to the Long Island Maritime Museum , where visitors can see it on display. Yet another Ketcham original, #3, continues to sail from the Narrasketuck Yacht Club, which today caters to a wide variety of sailboats.

At the height of their popularity in the early 1960s, over 50 Narrasketuck sloops might compete in local regattas, cruising at a top speed approaching ten knots (a little over 10 miles an hour). These days, the numbers are down to four or five most weekends, and maybe a dozen for championship races. Regattas are held throughout the year in association with the Great South Bay Yacht Racing Association .

“It’s been tough to get a good turnout this year,” Brice says. “It is, after all, hard to socially distance yourself on a small boat, and many competitors are of a vulnerable age.”

Still, club members and crews that have long raced these innovative sloops hope the legacy can live on.

“These are adult boats requiring technical skill to race, but we have a junior instructional sailing program and we’re willing to teach anyone who wants to learn,” says Brice.

“That’s what’s kept this sailing class alive over the decades,” adds Sittler, who still sails #194. We’d love to introduce younger people to this sport, our club and these classic boats. Every time you take one out on Great South Bay, you’re sailing a slice of Long Island’s maritime history.”

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Narrasketuck Yacht Club

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• Berger Avenue,  Amityville,  NY 11701
• 516-691-9292

About Narrasketuck Yacht Club

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Review of Narrasketuck

Basic specs..

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all. Some boats has a hull made of Wood.

The boat equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a genaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

CentreBoard

The Narrasketuck is equipped with a centreboard keel. A centreboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.

The boat can sail close to the beach as the draft is just 0.30 - 0.40 meter (0.98 - 1.28 ft) dependent of the load. See immersion rate below.

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Narrasketuck is about 56 kg/cm, alternatively 317 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 56 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 317 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Narrasketuck is 3.13.

Sorry, we do not have sufficient statistical information available for this boat to provide a significant reliable analysis.

Maintenance

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Narrasketuck it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us . Criticism helps us to improve.

The Yacht Club

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403-405 College Ave

Moscow, ID 83843

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Overall rating

Owned by Chuck Bond. I'd definitely say its one of the best places to live in Moscow. It's just off campus, affordably priced, and 'round the clock maintenance and speedy response to any issues. Extremely well maintained. Laundry facility on site and great neighbors! Nothing better than living in the Yacht Club for 3.5 years!! Chuck's amazing!

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Narrasketuck Yacht Club

Sailing on the great south bay, long island, new york, since 1933., to join narrasketuck or to get more information, contact marie . click here for the 2024 new member application,  benefits of membership.

Sailor-friendly environment for new or experienced sailors Year-round social events 12-month regatta schedule Easy access to the Great South Bay Summer wet slips and dry storage for trailerable boats On-the-water junior sailing program Hands-on adult sailing lessons

How to Join

1. Attend an event of sign up for lessons. 2. Get to know the members of our club. 3. Ask two members to sponsor you. 4. Your petition will be considered for approval after two monthly club meetings. 5. Pay your dues and an initiation fee. 6. SAIL!