CLASSIC BOAT SEPTEMBER 2016 33BYSTANDER
was a lack of drawings upon which to base a restoration.
Thankfully, given her history, Bystander appeared in
many photographs in the 1930s, with such illustrious
figures as Olin Stephens and Vanderbilt on board. In the
1930s, photos were taken on glass plates up to 8in by
10in, which hold at least as much information as a RAW
file recorded by a full-frame, 25Mp digital sensor. The
photos on these pages, by Edmund Levick, were scanned
in and resulted in huge digital files that Elizabeth and
team could magnify to look at the details of her original
hardware and trim items. “There wasn’t much missing
and what was missing we had very good info on from
those Levick photos,” said Elizabeth. “We knew, for
example, that the rubbing strake was an oval section,
so we were able to replicate that. The mast, spotlight,
windshield wipers and much else were already there.”
Everything else, from the bench where Olin sat in
the photo in this article to the cleats and towing bitts
was recreated accurately. The huge, teak, keel-mounted,
bronze-reinforced towing bitts are among the boat’s
defining features, functionally and aesthetically. In fact, it
is the boat’s towing role that accounts for her clean lines
running to the transom – there can be nothing for them
to snag on. Today, Bystander still tows yachts from time
to time, either from those massive bitts, or from four stout
cleats towards the stern. These are handy for lighter
tows, though unable to tow ‘on the hip’ as the bitts can.
One decision the team made was not to the boat’s
original plans: it was to alter Bystander’s decked-over
cockpit, which acted as storage for the huge sails
needed by the AC boats, to a conventional cockpit sole.
Elizabeth felt this necessary to render the boat usable in a
cruising capacity and to help ensure her future survival.
The cockpit is now very spacious, able to take 20 for day
trips or two on overnight passages, with her comfortable
interior that includes two berths. “Look at me going
on about originality – then I go and install a bath,”
as Elizabeth puts it with a chuckle. With her seaworthy
hull, high speed and comfortable accommodation, she
has proved to be a perfect party boat and fast cruiser for
coastal-hopping up and down the New England shore.
Top: the galley
works hard,
providing meals
for the parties
Elizabeth and
Michael hold.
There is also a
large fridge for
drinks.
Above: note the
multiple stringers
to absorb
twisting forces
from towingBYSTANDER
LOA
42ft (12.8m)
BEAM
11ft 6in (3.5m)
DRAUGHT
3ft 6in (1.1m)
ENGINE
440hp Yanmar
BUILT
1930
REBUILT
2006-2009 by
Narragansett
Shipwrights
SPEED
12-13 knots
(cruising), 16.5
knots (max)“I didn’t restore Endeavour because I needed a huge
sailboat,” says Elizabeth. “Bystander is an example of
a vessel that needs to be preserved. Boats like this and
the Js are sublime exemplars of industrial art, beautiful
and functional like the Eiffel Tower. You’d care if that fell
down and this is just as important. We are in many ways
the worst species. It’s not all that common we create
something this beautiful.”
Next year in Bermuda, some of the Js of the sort
Bystander towed – or at least their modern re-
interpretations – will gather in a salute to the 2017
America’s Cup, dwarfed by their modern-day tenders,
now called ‘motherships’. And the stout, varnished little
Bystander might just be on your TV screen too.