Photo: Classis Harbor LInes

Classic Harbor Line‘s schooner America 2.0 is a fascinating design. Designed and built by the Scarano brothers and delivered in 2011, the boat is, notionally, a replica of the schooner yacht America of 1851, after which the famous America’s Cup was named. America 2.0 might be called a modern interpretation of the original. It could also be called a hybrid or even simply a modern high-tech schooner. The Classic Harbor line website refers to it as a “tribute to the first schooner America.” Whatever you call the schooner, it is worth taking a closer look.

Yesterday, my wife, son and I took a lovely two hour sail on America 2.0 from Chelsea Piers in Manhattan down to the Statue of Liberty and back on the Hudson River.  It was a great afternoon. The sun was shining and the southwesterly breeze was just strong enough to make for a nice beat south and and easy run heading back up the river.  Captain Kat Van Zee and her three person crew were professional, friendly and accommodating. They had a full load of passengers and the crew still managed to jump smoothly between raising and tending sails and serving beer, wine and soda.  Captain Kat kept watch over everything as she steered through the always congested lower Hudson.  Overall, it was a delightful afternoon.

From the dock, America 2.0 is a lovely sleek black hulled schooner, not unlike the original. Her transom is a varnished cedar, showing off her wood construction, which might not otherwise obvious given how fair and smooth her black hull is as she floats gracefully alongside the pier. Her decks are teak and her rails are varnished. At a glance, she appears wholly traditional in design and construction.

One of the first unusual things that you might notice about the boat are the masts. Unlike most gaff-rigged schooners, there are no spreaders near the masthead to help spread the load into the shrouds. There are also no shrouds on America 2.0. What at first glance appear to be shrouds are part of the running rigging. The masts, which look to be built of wood, are wholly free standing. The masts are actually built of carbon fiber, the same material which makes the modern America’s Cup catamarans possible. They are only sheathed in cedar to make them look like spars on a traditional schooner.

Later, when we were away from the dock, I did a double take as I saw Caleb, one of the crew, hauling the throat halyard of the mainsail, raising the sail and the forward part of the sizable gaff single-handed, as a fellow crew member, a young woman, did the same on the peak halyard. On schooners that I have sailed on, the mainsail halyard requires more hands to hoist the heavy wooden gaff and sails. On America 2.0, the lighter weight carbon fiber gaffs make the crew’s hauling significantly easier.

When we pulled away from the dock and headed downriver, we were initially under power, yet the loud clatter of a diesel engine was pleasantly missing. America 2.0 is driven by electric motors powered by eight banks of lithium-ion phosphate batteries under the main cabin sole. There is also a 200-hp John Deere diesel tucked away below deck, but apparently, it is rarely used.

The batteries and electric motors are not all that is hidden on America 2.0. Although she may look traditional, her construction throughout is highly engineered and modern. While she is built primarily of wood, she is not built with frames and planking. Her hull has an end grained balsa wood core sheathed on both sides with layers of laminated cedar. Internally, she is supported with laminated wood frames as well as a number of aluminum ring frames which are bolted to an aluminum floor and garboard structure which support the unstayed masts.  The aluminum lower floors also are the structure from which a lead fin keel with a winged bulb is suspended.

The original America was modeled after the fastest craft of her day,  New York harbor pilot boats. The America 2.0 is also designed to her time. With her carbon fiber masts, her light weight composite structure and her modern under-body, America 2.0 is one of the faster schooners of her size. America 2.0 has clocked speeds of 17 knots but typically is capable of over 10 knots. She has won top honors for several years running in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race.

So, call her what you will — a replica, a hybrid, a high-tech racer or a tribute, America 2.0 is beautiful boat. Thanks again to Captain Kat and her able crew for a wonderful afternoon sail.