Paine, Belknap & Skene Frank Paine Q-Class 52 ft Sloop Q-16 1930/2007 1930 FALCON

Frank Paine Q-Class 52 ft Sloop Q-16 1930/2007

Nathanael G. Herreshoff’s Universal Rule addressed concerns raised by the trend in extreme and impractical designs engendered by the previous Seawanhaka Rule. The Q-Class, exemplars of the Universal Rule, amply revealed their designers’ pedigrees - among the best of the period - and were typically very well built, proving moreover to be fast, firm – and very beautiful. FALCON, Q-16 (ex JOUR DE FÊTE, ex HAYDAY, ex FALCON II, ex FALCON [II]) owes her origins to the Roaring Twenties Q-Class swansong at Marblehead, Massachusetts, and was a famous double Chicago-Mackinac Race winner of the 1940s. FALCON, Q16 was meticulously restored by John Anderson and Konrad Ulbrich in Maine, and in current ownership has won many of Europe’s classics including the 2025 CIM Trophy Overall. Perhaps most importantly, she has rewarded her crews with the exhilarating sailing for which the Q-Class is rightly famed.