Those of you who receive "Messing About in Boats" may have read the article about the San Diego gaff-cutter "Butcher Boy" in the April 1st, '03 issue (I believe it's a reprint from "Classic Boat"). "Butcher Boy" was built in 1902 to deliver goods to ships anchored near San Diego. She was designed to be fast in order to beat the competition. Anyway, I just happened to be re-reading Morry Edwards' article "Dream-Boat Man" from the "remembering Lyle Hess" section of the MSOG site. "Butcher Boy", still sailing, recently restored by the San Diego Maritime Museum, has quite a racing legacy, having been used primarily for that purpose throughout her 100-year life. According to "Dream Boat Man", Lyle Hess crewed "Butcher Boy" races as a young man. I'm just reminded that the M17 has an amazing legacy: I'm obviously not saying the 17' is a knock-off of "Butcher Boy", but that Lyle would have been inspired by such boats when drawing any of his designs. I don't know of any other trailer sailor ('cept the M23) that has such a rich heritage (maybe the Rhodes/Stuart 19'?) . . .