Shamrock V
The J-class yacht Sir Thomas Lipton raced in the America’s Cup in 1930 – one of the largest racing yachts ever built.
The J-class were the largest boats ever to race in the America’s Cup, more than 35 metres long, with masts as tall as a fifteen-storey building. Shamrock V was the first J-class yacht built in Britain, designed by Charles E. Nicholson for the tea merchant Sir Thomas Lipton.
She lost to the American Enterprise in 1930 but has outlived most of her rivals. She is one of the few originals from the class’s heyday and a model for the J-class replicas built since the 1990s.
Materials: Mahogany on steel frames, lead keel; originally a wooden mast
Manufacture: Built in 1930 by Camper & Nicholsons in Gosport; still sailing after several restorations.
The long overhangs fore and aft, which make the boat longer in the water when she heels.
The tall Bermuda rig with triangular sails instead of gaff sails.
The low freeboard and the clean deck with few structures.