Ton classes are categories used to identify classes of yachts.

Thames tonnage

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Early attempts at creating rating rules were based on the British "old tonnage measurement" system to calculate the volume of the hold of large commercial ships. It gave the vessel's carrying capacity in tons (at 35 cubic feet per ton) or, as some believe, in tuns. Sail area was not included, of course, nor were any credits given for less efficient rigs so, naturally, in the yacht-racing field the cutters predominated. Eventually, this rule was modified in 1854 as the Thames Measurement Rule:

 

where the length is in feet, from the stempost to sternpost; and the beam is the maximum beam, in feet.

Godinet rule

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Lérina during a sailing competition
 
Modification to the rule in 1901

The Godinet rule was adopted in 1892 by the "Union des yachts français", and was quickly adopted by other nations from the European continental. It allowed the classifications of yachts by tons, with a formula established by Auguste Godinet which considers displacement, length, and the total sail area.

 

where:

  • L = LWL
  • P = girth of the hull
  • S = Sail area
  • T = Rule in tons

The Société Nautique de Genève, which was an early adopter of the rule, amended it in 1901 to include the skin girth instead of the chain girth.

This new French rule was adopted in December 1892 by Switzerland followed by Germany, Denmark, Finland and Sweden in March 1893. Belgium and Spain completed the list. In March 1894 the Godinet rule is first noted in the United States, at the construction of the Vendenesse, the world's first aluminium yacht.

Some yacht in existence that were designed to the Godinet rule:

  • Bona Fide: designed by Charles Sibbick in 1898 to rate as a 5-tonner. It was built at the Albert Yard, Cowes, for J.Howard Taylor, who later won the gold medal in the category 3 to 10 tons at the 1900 Olympics. This yacht was authentically restored between 1999 and 2003 by the Cantiere Navale dell'Argentario, in Tuscany, and is the last 19th-century Godinet rater.
  • Calypso: designed and built in 1911 to rate as a 3-tonner

Olympic Games

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The Ton classes were Olympic classes in 1900 and probably also in 1896. Due to weather conditions the yacht races in 1896 were cancelled and much information of that event is no longer available. For the 1900 events, sailing categories were established based on the Godinet rule:

  • 0.5 Ton
  • 0.5–1 Ton
  • 1–2 Ton
  • 2–3 Ton
  • 3–10 Ton
  • 10–20 Ton
  • Open Class

1900 Olympics   France

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
 

1900: Open class
details

  Great Britain (GBR)
Lorne Currie
John Gretton
Linton Hope
Algernon Maudslay
  Germany (GER)
Paul Wiesner
Georg Naue
Heinrich Peters
Ottokar Weise
  France (FRA)
Émile Michelet
 

1900: 0 to .5 ton
Race: 1
details

  France (FRA)
Pierre Gervais
  France (FRA)
François Texier
Auguste Texier
Jean-Baptiste Charcot
Robert Linzeler
  France (FRA)
Henri Monnot
Léon Tellier
Gaston Cailleux
 

1900: 0 to .5 ton
Race: 2
details

  France (FRA)
Émile Sacré
  France (FRA)
François Texier
Auguste Texier
Jean-Baptiste Charcot
Robert Linzeler
  France (FRA)
Pierre Gervais
 

1900: .5 to 1 ton
Race: 1
details

  Great Britain (GBR)
Lorne Currie
John Gretton
Linton Hope
Algernon Maudslay
  France (FRA)
Jules Valton
Félix Marcotte
William Martin
Jacques Baudrier
Jean Le Bret
  France (FRA)
Émile Michelet
Marcel Meran
 

1900: .5 to 1 ton
Race: 2
details

  France (FRA)
Louis Auguste-Dormeuil
  France (FRA)
Émile Michelet
Marcel Meran
  France (FRA)
Jules Valton
Félix Marcotte
William Martin
Jacques Baudrier
Jean Le Bret
 

1900: 1 to 2 ton
Race: 1
details

  Switzerland (SUI)
Hermann de Pourtalès
Hélène de Pourtalès
Bernard de Pourtalès
  France (FRA)
François Vilamitjana
Auguste Albert
Albert Duval
Charles Hugo
  France (FRA)
Jacques Baudrier
Lucien Baudrier
Dubosq
Édouard Mantois
 

1900: 1 to 2 ton
Race: 2
details

  Germany (GER)
Paul Wiesner
Georg Naue
Heinrich Peters
Ottokar Weise
  Switzerland (SUI)
Hermann de Pourtalès
Hélène de Pourtalès
Bernard de Pourtalès
  France (FRA)
François Vilamitjana
Auguste Albert
Albert Duval
Charles Hugo
 

1900: 2 to 3 ton
Race: 1
details

  Mixed team (ZZX)
William Exshaw
Frédéric Blanchy
Jacques Le Lavasseur
  France (FRA)
Léon Susse
Jacques Doucet
Auguste Godinet
Henri Mialaret
  France (FRA)
Ferdinand Schlatter
de Cottignon
Émile Jean-Fontaine
 

1900: 2 to 3 ton
Race: 2
details

  Mixed team (ZZX)
William Exshaw
Frédéric Blanchy
Jacques Le Lavasseur
  France (FRA)
Léon Susse
Jacques Doucet
Auguste Godinet
Henri Mialaret
  France (FRA)
Auguste Donny
 

1900: 3 to 10 ton
Race: 1
details

  France (FRA)
Henri Gilardoni
  Netherlands (NED)
Henri Smulders
Chris Hooykaas
Arie van der Velden
  France (FRA)
Maurice Gufflet
A. Dubois
J. Dubois
Robert Gufflet
Charles Guiraist
 

1900: 3 to 10 ton
Race: 2
details

  Great Britain (GBR)
Howard Taylor
Edward Hore
Harry Jefferson
  France (FRA)
Maurice Gufflet
A. Dubois
J. Dubois
Robert Gufflet
Charles Guiraist
  United States (USA)
H. MacHenry
 

1900: 10 to 20 ton
details

  France (FRA)
Émile Billard
Paul Perquer
  France (FRA)
Jean, duc Decazes
  Great Britain (GBR)
Edward Hore
 

1900: 20+ ton
details

  Great Britain (GBR)
Cecil Quentin
  Great Britain (GBR)
Selwin Calverley
  United States (USA)
Harry Van Bergen

See also

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References

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  • ISBN 978-90-78440-23-9[full citation needed]