Alden’s list of plans by draftsmen and date
When Keith Glover sought to have Wraith of Odin registered as a classic yacht with the New Zealand Classic Yacht association he was required to produce documentary evidence of her design year.
The full document is available here
The statement “Developed from 0756” is one of many pieces of historical documentation that show strong design links between the Malabar XIII design (0756) and Wraith’s 0823 .
Another point to make about this document concerns the Alden design studio’s work practice.
It is well known and indeed self evident from this document that while Alden was the lead and responsible designer in his office his final plans were assembled by a team of talented draftsman.
Clifford Swain and Frederick Wakelin whose seniority merited a place on Alden’s letterhead in 1948 were credited with the drafting of the Master set of 0823 plans (those plans without a subsidiary letter). The table of drawing numbers shows that these two draftsmen CPS and FCW, provided the; specifications, lofting tables, lofting lines , lofting keel (iron), construction plans hull, cabin and port elevation , deck deck house details , sail plan and joiner sections. These plans were drafted in 1945 1946 with the iron keel alone being drafted in 1947. The general specifications and block list dated 1944 , have no allocated draftsman. Almost certainly these are from the 0756 design. (this is confirmed in the document discussed below). Additional to the master designs CPS also produced the masthead main, for the -c (Wraith) plans and another draftsman , JWD (not identified at present) provided the 0823-c drafts of; tangs, leads, fair-leads and the Marconi ketch sail plan used by O’Brien.
Use of Malabar XIII plans in the 0823 (Wraith of Odin) suite of plans
In preparation for the restoration, information was sought from the Alden design office about Wraith. The question of overlap between 0756 and 0823 was specifically addressed. The Alden office supplied a (faxed) list of Malabar XIII plans used for the 0823 design. (please note the title is Malabar XIII and the supplied plans number is 0756 therefore the reference to Malabar XII in the extract below is a typographical error.)
The list of 0756 plans supplied for 0823 include; Hull construction, Deck construction, joiner section, deck plan, machinery, shaft ,rudder,steering,specification and block and fitting list.(presented below)
This document can be viewed here
Design Specifications for 0823
The “Design Specifications” supplied by Alden to Dr O’Brien are the detailed construction instructions that were meant for inclusion in the contract between owner and builder. This document is headed:
This provision of 0756 documents for the 0823 project is consistent with the data in the faxed letter above. This is yet another piece of evidence about the overlapping relationship between 0756 and 0823.
The full document is available. It is a very very large 26 page pdf. Well worth a read but patience will be required to load this file . Click here and please be patient. (your webmaster will convert all the document archives to a more accessible form in due course)
The fittings list
The fitting list also makes for good reading but is another substantial,( 6 page) document. The faxed list of plans above notes that this document is identical to that provided with the 0756 plan set.
