Name/Title
Jelly RollEntry/Object ID
2015.2.1Description
Jelly Roll
Jelly Roll is a 12 foot lapstrake dinghy that was built in the 1936 by boat builder Hans Nicholson and sold to (donor's father) Charles Lyttle for use by Bradford and David Lyttle (sons). Originally a "catboat", Bradford had it converted to a sloop and had sailed it widely around Gananoque, Long Island (NY), Newport, Rhode Island, and in Lake Michigan, off Chicago.
The boat is constructed with a cedar lapstrake hull, and oak keel and ribs. It was all riveted together with copper rivets, and painted with spar varnish. The centerboard was made with 1/4" iron weighing 60 lbs. Jelly Roll had a walnut shape which made it prone to tipping when the centreboard wasn't down.
The boat was outfitted with a second sail (jib) which made it a sloop shortly after purchase.
Jelly Roll sat in David Lyttle's basement for almost 30 years until in 1972 Bradford took it to Polaris Action Farm to work on restoring/rebuilding it. Work finished in 1973 and Lyttle took his sailboat for many adventures over the next several years.
The name "Jelly Roll" comes from the name of one of the young beavers that an Indigenous Chief and early Canadian environmentalist Grey Owl had adopted (there was a second beaver named "Cup Cake" that a second boat owned by the Lyttles was also named after). At the time Grey Owl had a popular book out about finding and raising the beavers.Collection
Boat CollectionMake and Manufacture
Manufacturer
Hans NicholsonModel
Lapstrake DinghyManufacture Place
City
KingstonState/Province
OntarioCountry
CanadaContinent
North AmericaManufacture Date
1936Dimensions
Width
53 inLength
12 ftDimension Notes
Draft 4" with centreboard up, 40" centreboard down