Defender 44" Limited

 

This newly designed, Limited Edition, museum-quality, scale replica Defender sailboat is offered exclusively by Handcrafted Model Ships. This sail boat includes a numbered Certificate of Authenticity signed by HMS Founder and Master Builder Richard Norris, as only 50 will ever be made. Accurate in almost every detail to the original Defender sail boat, this Defender sailboat offers features not available by other sellers, and has many upgrades over all other sailboat models available.

 

This is a pre assembled model. Models are shipped with the sails unassembled. All rigging, lines, and stays have brass hooks attached. They easily hook into eyelets on mast, boom, sprit, or deck. Pictured instructions with numbers on the hooks allow anyone to easily assemble this sailboat model in less than 4 minutes. This allows us to offer the model at a reasonable price. If assembled, the shipping cost alone would increase the cost by an additional $100

 

-  Additional and higher-quality deck details

-  Authentic cloth American flag  

-  Additional deck planks have been added and stained to match the actual Defender sailboat

-  Additional and higher-quality solid brass metal railings and cleats have been added

-  Highest quality, accurately scaled solid metal ship wheel

-  Accurately detailed structures on the deck including windows

-  A scale tied-down lifeboat on the stern of the deck, to mimic the actual Defender America's Cup sailboat

-  The hull is meticulously painted the actual colors of the original Defender America's Cup sailboat.  Look closely on the hull and you can see the individual planks and wood grain

-  Highest-quality sails and additional rigging over all other models:  

 

The sails are slightly starched to hold their shape and a higher quality and higher thread-count material is used, similar to that of the actual Defender sailboat at the time it sailed.  We offer three unique sail materials that are matched to the different eras of model yachts we offer.  Also, additional rigging lines have been added to be more true to the actual Defender sail boat.

 

Our Defender model sailboat is built with rare, high quality woods. Hand painted the actual colors of the Defender America's Cup sailboat. Defender America's Cup sailboat model has fabric sails with detailed stitching.

 

More America's Cup Limited Edition Sailboat Models to choose from:

Columbia

Enterprise
 

To build this model ship, extensive research was done using various sources such as museums, drawings, copies of original plans and photos of the actual Defender yacht. Visit our Frequently Asked Questions or call with questions.

 

Design

 

Defender was designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff and built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in 1895. It was Herreshoff's second victorious America's Cup defender design.

 

Defender was a sloop with all-metal construction: steel, aluminum, and manganese bronze. It was owned by William Kissam Vanderbilt, Edwin D. Morgan and C. Oliver Iselin, and skippered by Henry C. Haff.

 

Career

 

Defender defeated the New York Yacht Club's Vigilant then went on to defend the cup against British keel cutter Valkyrie III. Following the contest, Defender was towed to New Rochelle where it remained for another four years without sailing. It was rebuilt to race trials against the 1899 America's Cup defense candidate, Columbia. Defender was broken up in 1901.

 

Specifications

 

    * Overall length: 37.5m

    * Length at water line: 27.17m

    * Beam (width): 7.03m

    * Draft: 5.81m

    * Displacement: 151.5 tonnes

    * Sail area: 1134.3 m2