Post War Boats

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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