Quest
william Fife III 8-meter quest
HISTORY
Designed by William Fife III in Scotland, QUEST was the first 8-meter yacht commissioned by the Royal Canadian Yacht Club to race against the American boat THISTLE for the Canada’s Cup in 1930. QUEST was partially built at the Fife’s family yard in Fairlie, Scotland on the Firth of Clyde, and then shipped to Ontario, Canada with a complete set of instructions for final assembly and launching. QUEST lost by 14 seconds in the fifth race of this series, but she’s enjoyed her home with the Lake Ontario 8-meter fleet at the RYRC ever since. She is the oldest 8-meter in the fleet, which dates back 100 years.
During the early era of Victorian yachting, William III was born to the Fife family of Scotland, boat builders who had risen to preeminence in the world of British yachting. As a young man, William III underwent an extensive apprenticeship that included naval architecture and mathematics before he returned to Fairlie to run his family’s boatyard. As yacht racing became intriguing to the public, bigger and more complex designs emerged, and William III was well prepared to carry his family’s enterprise further. His education in engineering was amplified by uncommon talent, and the prestige and success of yachts designed and built by Fife spread.
Fife designed two America’s Cup challengers for Sir Thomas Lipton, garnering even wider attention for the excellence of his work. He was particularly adept at the design of boats to the “meter-classes,” particularly the 6-8 meters, during the height of the second International Rule (1920-1934). The 8-meter class was formed in Scotland in 1907 and became extremely popular in the yachting world. Fife designed and built the vast majority of those 8-meters that consistently won, causing some to call it “the Fife class”.
FEATURES
Before her restoration, QUEST was showing signs of age. Designed and framework-built in Scotland, this 8-meter was sent to Ontario to be completed and raced in the 1929 Canada’s Cup. Based at RCYC in Toronto, she has successfully campaigned for generations. Though appreciated, she lost some of her originality through many modifications over the years. She was tired, leaky and a little hogged, but even in disrepair, QUEST had a presence. Maybe it’s that perfect sheer, low with long elegant overhangs, or the soul, carefully crafted into the hull by a previous group of international artisans and yachtsmen. QUEST was a classic worth saving, and thankfully she found new owners in the Palm Family.
RESTORATION
QUEST’s method of construction bears witness to the Fife pedigree. The framing consists of Fife’s favorite intermix of one sawn frame and two bent frames. In the restoration, French & Webb laid newly splined tight planking over those frames to the customary exquisite Fife standard. The restoration included replacing the entire centerline structure, forefoot, keel, deadwood, and horn timber, as well as the transom, sheer planks and sheer clamps.
French & Webb were presented with a typical Fife challenge in the form of myriad galvanized mill-iron floor and frame connections, all of which had to be replaced with bronze. The restoration also included the 10,000 pound ballast to its original design form, constructing an entirely new deck frame and decks, and creating a new interior and cockpit. The restoration was completed by outfitting QUEST with a new engine and new electrical, electronic, and mechanical systems.
