Herreshoff #186301es Kelpie I

Particulars

Name: Kelpie I
Type: Sloop
Designed by: JBH
Launch: 1863-4-22
Construction: Wood
LOA: 26' 9" (8.15m)
LWL: 25' 6" (7.77m)
Beam: 10' 6" (3.20m)
Rig: Sloop
Sail Area: 921sq ft (85.6sq m)
Built for: Herreshoff, J. B.

Note: Particulars are primarily but not exclusively from the HMCo Construction Record. Supplementary information not from the Construction Record appears elsewhere in this record with a complete citation.


Model

Model #801Model number: 801
Model location: H.M.M. Workshop East Wall Right

Vessels from this model:
1 built, modeled by JBH
#186301es Kelpie I (1863)

Original text on model:
"KELPIE launched April 22, 1863 JBH" (Source: Original handwritten annotation on model. Undated.)

Note: Vessels that appear in the records as not built, a cancelled contract, a study model, or as a model sailboat are listed but not counted in the list of vessels built from a model.


Documents

Nathanael G. Herreshoff

"Kelpie 1st [#186301es]: 26ft 3in Length on deck. 25ft 3in Length on water. 10ft 4in Breadth extreme. 3ft 7in Depth. 2 7/8in Deadrise per foot. 6ft 7in Width of stern. 1ft 1in Sheer. 4ft 1/2in Freeboard [at] bow. 1ft 9 1/2in Freeboard [at] stern. 1ft 6in Freeboard [at] lowest place. 29ft Mainsail foot. 23ft 3in Mainsail hoist. 15ft 9in Mainsail head. 34ft 3in Mainsail leech. 580sqft Mainsail area. 17ft 6in Jib foot. 31ft 4in Jib hoist. 26ft 4in Jib leech. 228sqft Jib area. 113sqft Gafftopsail area." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. and/or other Herreshoff family members. Handwritten table listing early Herreshoff-built boats and their dimensions up to 1870. No date (1870 or later). Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum, MRDE03.)

"Dear Mr. Foster,
... My father always advocated boats of good displacement. His own boats, built for his own pleasure, were all vessels of the heavily ballasted keel type (1834-1860). So, when my brother John began building, the larger ones were with more than the prevailing amount of displacement. I was, therefore, brought up in that type, and I can remember, in my early racing, we always would defeat the shallower type from 'Up Sound' and New York as easily in light winds as in fresh ones. Our craft were (1864 to 67) Kelpie, Violet built in 1866 for Eben Denton, Clytie, and Sadie. The first was modeled by my father. Violet, by me in 1865, and Clytie, by me in 1866. Sadie, by my brother John in 1866.
...
Sincerely yours,
Nathanael G. Herreshoff" (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene. Letter to Charles H. W. Foster, dated March 6, 1932. Quoted in Foster, Charles H. W. The Eastern Yacht Club Ditty Box, 1870-1900. Norwood, Mass., 1932, p 139-141.)

"KELPIE. In the fall of 1862, John began to think of a larger boat for cruising and plans of KELPIE were made. Lumber [was] brought from Wickford, Warren, and Newport, some by SPRITE, but most [of it] by YANKEE, my brother Charles' boat which was larger and borrowed for the purpose. The model for KELPIE was made to be 26'9" overall, 25'6" w.l., 10'6" beam, 3'7" depth hull, and about 2'9" draft. [It was] a rather fullbodied shallow draft and able craft with a large cabin and a watertight cockpit and a shifting ballast box of nearly 1000 pounds. There was a rather large amount of fixed ballast, the cabin floor around the centerboard casing was thick cast iron slabs. The rig was jib 228 square feet, mainsail 580 square feet, gaff topsail 113 square feet and spinnaker. In the summer of 1863, we did a lot of cruising between West Point on the Hudson and Boston, and I got quite proficient as a helmsman and pilot. One noticeable incident was the meeting of Thomas Clapham [Later a yacht designer and builder of Roslyn, Long Island] and his college chums in the sloop-yacht QUI VIVE [sic, i.e. Jerry Bryant according to Thomas Clapham?], during the return from a cruise to Boston, at Vineyard Haven, Tom Clapham was very cocky about the speed of his boat, which was several feet longer than KELPIE. A series of races was soon arranged, and the owner of WHITE WING, then in port, consented to be umpire. KELPIE won fairly, and also [won] in most of the races to Newport that followed. The result was that Tom Clapham gave John an order for a larger yacht, QUI VIVE 2nd and John began [his] business as boat builder, which eventually became [the] Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. This was in the fall of 1863 and a number of boats were built, including QUI VIVE 2nd. ... KELPIE was sold about this time [1864] to be shipped to Palermo, Sicily, and, very soon after, I took charge of KELPIE, with my father and Lewis to sail her to New York to be shipped. We were accompanied by MAGIC, in charge of Dexter Stone and John.
Dexter Stone had become a partner of John under [the] name of "Herreshoff and Stone". We encountered a severe northeast to south storm in the East River, in which MAGIC broke her rudder." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Boats and Yachts that I have been Especially Interested in by Sailing and Some of Which I Have Owned." Bristol, April 1932. In: Pinheiro, Carlton J. (ed.). Recollections and Other Writings by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Bristol, 1998, p. 101, 102.)

"John had now gotten a cruising fever on and decided he must have a larger boat that was more fit for cruising. ... The next boat was started, I suppose, with the proceeds from the sale of SPRITE and other income John had raked together. The model was made by my father and John together and she was to be 26'3" to wood ends (about 27' overall) about 25'6" w.l., 10'7" beam, centerboard and rather shallow draft, but full sections and taking a large amount of ballast. [She was] to be jib and mainsail rigged. Both SPRITE and YANKEE were used in gathering material. ...
The "Old Tannery" became active the following winter. The west part [was] partitioned off as before to give space for the building, and a Newport boatbuilder was hired, whose name was Joseph Southwick, and he stayed about half the winter till the boat was well along. Her bow was to the south and there was just comfortable room to work around. Her name was KELPIE and she proved a very able and roomy craft, as well as fast. She had what might be [called] a half watertight cockpit. The floor was only about six inches above the waterline, so in sailing, plugs were generally put in the scupper pipes. In the forward part, there was a ballast box on small wheels that ran on cross tracks. [It was] controlled by ropes at each side and had a strong toggle with notches forward and aft to hold the box either amidships or at either side, as desired. Foot pedals, with gear, released the toggle from the notches when it was to be shifted. The ropes had strong cleats to belay to or take one or two turns when the ballast box was to be shifted, to ease away, as it was generally expected to shift the ballast just as the tack was to be made, so it would roll downhill. I think I can remember two or three times when the box got out of control and brought up with a heavy thud, but it never smashed things. At the time the boat was sold, it was taken out. The box was cast in pieces with iron casting to fit, and all together weighed nearly 1000 pounds. ... When KELPIE was first in use, it was found the cabin floor was put so low, it was impossible to put sufficient ballast for the boat under it, and in her encounter with Providence's best boat SURPRISE, which was an improvement on PLANET, KELPIE was shamefully beaten. Outside ballast was not to be thought of in those days, as it had been tried and found to be dangerous, so everyone was warned against it. To get around the trouble, my father and John made patterns for a cast iron cabin floor to be about one and three quarters inches thick. This was cast in Providence, and when ready, KELPIE sailed to Providence to take it on board. When ready to leave, SURPRISE was waiting for us. There was a stiff southerly breeze and SURPRISE didn't go farther than Sabin's Point, for she was getting farther astern every minute, and had enough.
KELPIE had a long cabin trunk and was very roomy. The transom was long enough to make up two lengths of berths. When there were four others, I would sleep on the floor under one of the table leaves. The cast iron floor, with a comforter on it, made a satisfactory bed, as the table leaf, which was about six feet long, would prevent anyone from walking on me. In our first cruise, which was about [the] end of June, after I got out of school, we had John, Henry Brownell, Charles Brownell, and Dexter Stone. We cruised up Sound to New Haven, then up the Connecticut River to Hartford. This was July 4, 1863, [see original text for much more detail] ...
[During another cruise in the summer of 1863] we fell in with Tom Clapham and his associates of the first QUI VIVE [sic, i.e. Jerry Bryant according to Thomas Clapham?]. They were very cocky and claimed they could beat any sloop yacht about. So a race was agreed upon for the next afternoon. We accordingly appeared in Holmes Hole (Vineyard Haven) the next afternoon, and saw the sloop yacht WHITE WING at anchor. We consulted the owner and he agreed to act as umpire and time the boats. The race was to leeward [with a] beat back in a moderate southerly wind and KELPIE beat QUE VIVE [which] was four or five feet longer. Clapham was so much taken aback that he desired to sail the race over, thinking something was holding his boat. The result was the same. The sailing to Newport, in which the two yachts were in company, induced Mr. Clapham to give John an order for a new yacht. This was the beginning of John's business as builder of yachts and boats. ...
...During the summer of 1864, KELPIE I was sold to a correspondent [a person in another country with whom one has regular business relations] of John R. Gardner who lived in Palermo, [Sicily] and I, with my father and brother Lewis, took her to Jersey City to be shipped. We went in company of the twenty-five foot racing boat MAGIC, then Jib and Main rig[ged], having John, Dexter Stone, and my brother Francis on board." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "The Old Tannery and My Brother John." Written July 28, 1933. In: Pinheiro, Carlton J. (ed.). Recollections and Other Writings by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Bristol, 1998, p. 16-19, 21.)

"My next command [was] sailing KELPIE to New York, as she was sold, and then transferring to MAGIC to sail her against LAURA of Commodore Whiting of [the] Brooklyn Yacht Club, who easily beat us." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Some of the Boats I Have Sailed In." Written 1934. In: Pinheiro, Carlton J. (ed.). Recollections and Other Writings by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Bristol, 1998, p. 46.)

"By the end of 1862, John thought he wanted a larger boat to do more cruising. So SPRITE was sold to a Mr. Reynolds of Wickford, and a twenty-seven foot overall cabin sloop was started and built in the "Old Tannery." A Newport boatbuilder by the name of Southwick was hired to help John, with my father and I helping at times. KELPIE was launched early in 1863, and John and I did a lot of sailing in her that summer, having, generally, others with us. A cruise to New Haven and Hartford was made having Henry and Charles Brownell and Dexter Stone as guests. One [was also made] to West Point having Dexter Stone and Mr. Hammond, and [another to] Nantucket having Francis [J.B. Francis Herreshoff 1850-1932, NGH's brother], Dexter Stone, and Mr. Hammond. [This was] a notable cruise [see original text for much more detail]. ..." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Some of the Boats I Have Sailed In." Written 1934. In: Pinheiro, Carlton J. (ed.). Recollections and Other Writings by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Bristol, 1998, p. 43-45.)

"June 19, 1935
Dear Mr. Stephens, ...
On your mentioning the shifting ballast-box in JULIA, in that period shifting ballast was allowable, and to my observations should be now, in all small craft racing to a limited amount. ... My brother John put one in his first KELPIE 25 1/2 ft. W. L. sloop that weighed over 1000 lbs. but that proved rather an elephant to control and too much for single-handed. ...
Very truly yours,
N.G. Herreshoff" (Source: Letter 6. From N. G. Herreshoff to W. P. Stephens, dated June 19, 1935. In: Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene and William Picard Stephens. "Their Last Letters 1930-1938." Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, R. I., ca. 1999, p. 35-38.)

"My brother John put a ballast box in his first Kelpie (1863), a 25 1/2-foot water-line sloop weighing over 1000 pounds, but it proved rather an elephant to control, and too heavy for single-hand sailing." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Discussion of W. P. Stephens' "Yacht Measurement - Origin and Development." In: SNAME (The Society Of Naval Architects And Marine Engineers). Transactions. Volume 43, 1935, p. 34-36. New York, 1936.)

"August 31 1935
Dear Mr. Stephens -
... Turning again to your last letter mentioning "Tom" Clapham. We met him first in 1863 at Vineyard Haven Camp-meeting. He and his college chums were cruising in his first QUI VIVE [sic, i.e. Jerry Bryant according to Thomas Clapham?], and we in John's KELPIE. Tom Clapham and his chums claimed their QUI VIVE would beat any yacht of her size - to which we took exception! and so an agreement was made to have it out next day. The 55 ft. sloop yacht WHITE WINGS was in the harbor and her owner very graciously offered to lay the course, start us, and be umpire. KELPIE handsomely beat QUI VIVE, very much to Clapham's & his chums' chagrin, and they wanted to try it over, but the result was the same. This lead to Tom Clapham giving John an order for a larger yacht and starting him in the boat-building business then at 22 years and without sight. And so QUI VIVE 2nd came out in 1864 ...
Very truly yours,
Nathanael Greene Herreshoff
Sept. 15 1935." (Source: Letter 13. From N. G. Herreshoff to W. P. Stephens, dated August 31, 1935 to September 15, 1935. In: Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene and William Picard Stephens. "Their Last Letters 1930-1938." Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, R. I., ca. 1999, p. 67-80.)

"April 16, 1937
Dear Mr. Stephens-
... In 1859 John thought he wanted a larger sailboat. So with our father's aid the model for SPRITE was made and I at 11 1/2 was shown how to take off sections and make lists of full size measurements. After 3 seasons in which SPRITE proved invincible in all races in Narragansett Bay John aspired to having a larger craft fit for longer cruises and KELPIE 27 1/2 o.a. 25 ft. w.l. was built in the winter of 1862-3 in the Old Tannery, as was SPRITE. To gather material for SPRITE I went with John in the little METEOR, for oak, to the Warren Shipyard, coming back with a dangerous deck load and some in tow. For cedar to be sawed for planking, to Fall River, and walking about 1/3 way to New Bedford to a saw mill. This was a windy nor-wester day, and METEOR reefed, wet us through both ways. The clothing dried on as we walked. This was a hard day for me.
For the fine "Wickford oak" used for timbers, hoops, block shells, etc, we made two trips to Wickford in a larger borrowed boat. Material for KELPIE was gathered much in the same way, by trips in SPRITE and a larger boat.
Our father & John built SPRITE with my little help after school hours. For KELPIE, a Newport boat-builder named Joe Southwick was hired - and SPRITE'S builders helped. The success of KELPIE, as a cruiser & racer gave John his first order, (QUI VIVE [II] from Tom Clapham) and he started business. ...
With kind regards,
Yours truly,
Nathl. G. Herreshoff" (Source: Letter 29. From N. G. Herreshoff to W. P. Stephens, dated April 16, 1937. In: Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene and William Picard Stephens. "Their Last Letters 1930-1938." Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, R. I., ca. 1999, p. 177-180.)

L. Francis Herreshoff

"The yachts or boats modeled by J. B. are as follows:
... 'Kelpie,' 1862. 26' 9' O.A. 10' 6' beam. ..." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. The Wizard of Bristol. The Life and Achievements of Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, together with An Account of Some of the Yachts he Designed. New York, 1953, p. 57.)

Other Contemporary Text Source(s)

"A very fine sail boat, called 'Kelpie,' --- signifying water sprite --- built by Mr. John B. Herreshoff, and designed for his own use, was launched from his yard at the south part of the town on Wednesday noon last [April 22, 1863]. The Kelpie is 27 feet in length over all, 10 feet 9 inches breadth of beam --- is built in the very best manner, with a spacious cabin, finished, with mahogony, and black walnut. Her shrouds, jib stay, &c . are made of iron wire rope, galvanized, as is all the iron that was used in her construction: She is intended to be and we have no doubt will prove a very fast sailor. " (Source: Anon. "Launch." Bristol Phoenix, April 25, 1863, p. 2.)

"[License issued to vessel under 20 tons. Pos. 136:]
Kelpie, sloop, of Bristol.
Built at [blank] [HMCo].
8 61/95 tons; 25 ft. 8 in. x 10 ft. 8 1/2 in. x 4 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
One deck, one mast, no head [bow].
Previous documentation not shown.
Lic[ensed] ([for] C[oastal] T[rade]) Aug. 4, 1863. Owner: John B. Herreshoff of Bristol. Master: John B. Herreshoff. ([Record at:] C[ustom] H[ouse, Providence])." (Source: Survey of Federal Archives, Work Projects Administration. Ships Documents of Rhode Island. Bristol. Ship Registers and Enrollments of the Port of Bristol - Warren Rhode Island, 1941, s.v. Kelpie.)

"In the summer of 1862 [sic, i.e. 1863 according to N. G. Herreshoff?], when on a cruise in my little sloop yacht Jerry Bryant, a jolly crew consisting of four Derby, Conn., boys and the writer found themselves flying high and dry on a sand bar in the lagoon at Holmes Hole --- since then renamed Vinyard Haven. We had run on the bar for the purpose of scrubbing our boat. While so occupied a trim yacht somewhat smaller than ours sailed up the harbor and anchored a few hundred feet distant. Her sails were no sooner furled than a yawl containing two men put off from her and ran up under our stern, and one of the men hailed us with the query, 'Is that the fast sloop from New York?'
We told them it was, then invited them aboard. The man who had hailed introduced himself as Dexter Stone and presented his companion as John B. Herreshoff, from Bristol, R. I. After talking boat for awhile with Herreshoff, who was wearing dark blue spectacles, I was informed that he was totally blind. He told me that his yacht was named Kelpie [#186301es], that he had designed and built her, and having heard that my boat was very fast had come all the way from New Bedford to ask if I would sail a race with him just to test the speed of his Kelpie. I said we would be happy to do so, but thought we could easily win, because our boat was much larger than his and had been built by David Kirby. He then very coolly informed me he would 'let me know as to that after he had looked at the shape of my boat.' Naturally, we boys wondered how a blind man proposed to see anything. But he soon settled matters by taking off his boots, climbing down to the sand bar and feeling along and around and under Jerry Bryant from stem to rudder.
After again coming aboard he quietly remarked that Kelpie could beat us to windward, though possibly our greater length might enable us to run a trifle faster sailing free. Well, the next day the race was sailed, and Kelpie won handsomely, much to our astonishment, for up to that time we had found nothing of our size that could sail with us.
Just before bidding us good-by, Herreshoff remarked to me. 'I'm intending to commence a yacht building business.' 'All right,' I replied; 'make me a model for a 40ft. sloop yacht and if it suits I will let you build from it.' The model did suit. Johnnie, as we had learned to call him, built the yacht, and during the twelve years that I owned and sailed Qui Vive [#186407es] we never met a boat of any size or kind that could sail as close to the wind, while very few were able to hold her with the wind from any direction.
Most of Qui Vive's racing was done in New York and Connecticut waters, and to her remarkable speed was due the first fame of the Herreshoffs.
John Herreshoff, I believe, can to-day take a block of wood and with a jackknife whittle out a model that would equal in speed the best boat yet produced by any of the merely 'scientific designers,' so called, with their eyes wide open. The photograph of Qui Vive, shown herewith, illustrates what a Herreshoff yacht of nearly forty years ago looked like. Her dimensions were: Length, over all, 42ft.; length waterline, 37ft. 6in.; beam, 15ft. 2in.; draft with centerboard up. 3ft.; length of mast. 50ft.; length of boom, 50ft.; foot of jib, 26ft. Her cabin contained four full-sized berths with cushioned transoms in front of them. She had a stateroom with double size berth, two berths in forecastle, a large butler's pantry, and every convenience for comfortable cruising.
Thomas Clapham.
Roslyn, N. Y., Feb. 21 [1901]." (Source: Clapham, Thomas. "Qui Vive" Forest and Stream, May 11, 1901, p. 375.)

Archival Documents

"[Item Transcription:] Your letter, which Henry sent down for me to read, gave me great pleasure. It is like hearing from home. I feel as much interest as he does in the new boat [#186301es KELPIE]: it must be wonderful success. You give us many interesting items of Bristol news.
I have little to tell of my own experience this winter. Established in my old quarters all goes in the usual routine --- and how different from my summer life. Work progresses as usual: my last picture was a view of the rocks and wast[?] at 'Bare Kneed Creek[?]' in Buzzard's Bay, from a sketch taken while on a cruise last season.
I have called on Nellie Ciward[?] and met Wm. Dimock and Sylvia at Gertrude D'Wolf's wedding, on Christmas day. Have not seen the Ushers[?] since my arrival here.
What a satisfaction it would be to spend a day in the old tannery, watch the work, and listen to the endless discussion brought on by the standing[?] conflict between the bold inventions of Johnnie [JBH] and the prejudices of the old salts. The KELPIE must loom up hugely in the work shop.
The weather is very mild at present but we have frequent and violent changes. I have not endured the winter as well as usual. For several weeks a cold in throat and lungs nearly frustrated me.
Please accept and present a happy New Year and my best wishes in behalf of one and all of you --- not forgetting Francis and Julian, and believe me,
Sincerely your friend ... " (Source: Brownell, Charles De Wolf. Letter to Carrie (Herreshoff, Caroline Louise?). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Acc. 86.57. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Various), Folder [no #]. 1862-12-28.)


"[Item Description:] Handwritten (in ink and pencil) table providing what amounts to be the earliest Herreshoff construction record with detailed dimensional data (Name, Owner, Length on deck, Length on water, Breadth extreme, Depth, Deadrise per foot, Width of stern, Sheer, Freeboard at bow, stern and lowest place, Centreboard length, Centreboard from woodends, Centre of mast from woodends, Bowsprit out board, Mainsail foot, hoist, head, leech, and area, Foresail foot, hoist, head, leech, and area, Jib foot, hoist, leech, and area, Gafftopsail foot, luff, leech, and area, Fore-gafftopsail foot, luff, leech, and area, Jibtopsail foot, hoist, leech, and area and Notes ) for Julia [#185602es], Sprite [#186001es], Kelpie 1st [#186301es], Magic [#186404es], Toad [#186411es], Prudence [#186406es], Patience [#186405es], Hope [#186402es], Faith [#186401es], Qui Vive [#186407es], Kelpie 2nd [#186403es], Teazer [#186410es], Secret [#186408es], Fish Boats [#186505es, #186506es, #186507es, #186508es, #186509es, #186510es, #186511es, #186512es], Fish Boats [#186513es, #186514es, #186515es, #186516es, #186517es, #186518es], Fanchon [#186501es], Angie [#186503es], Haidee [#186604es], Ariel [#186601es], Psyche [#186605es], Fannie 1st [#186603es], Violet [#186606es], Fish Boats [#186607es, #186608es], Fish Boats [#186609es, #186610es, #186611es, #186612es, #186613es, #186614es], Lively Whale [later Daisy ???] [#186707es ???], Fannie 2nd [#186702es], Hartford [later Polly ???] [#186703es ???], Sadie [#186704es], Clytie [#186701es], Waterfall [N/A], Bristol [#186801es], Ione [#187003es], Poppasquash [#186502es], Etta [N/A], Oysterboats [#186710es, #186711es], Spring Green [#186709es], Pellican [#186708es], Henrietta [N/A], Meteor [N/A], Fatter[?] [N/A], Annie Moies [#1p], Charlotte [#186803es], Annie [#186905es], Hildegard [#186808es], Thetis [#186705es], Clio [#187101es], Fleetwing [N/A], White Straw[?] [N/A], [Mignone] [#186904es], Fish Boats [square stern, 1868] [N/A], Sadie [#N/A (dupl. listing)], Fannie [N/A], Bunsby [#186802es], Orion [#186903es], Breeze [N/A], Nimbus [#186805es], Alice [crossed out, this MIGHT be Bessie] [#187001es], Viking [#187008es], [Ianthe] [#187002es], [Surf] [#187007es], [Georgie Miller] [#187011es], and [Pink] [#187010es]. Undated, the latest vessel on the list was built in 1870." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator) or other Herreshoff family members (?) (creator). Construction Record. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_01410. Folder [no #]. No date (ca 1870).)


"[Item Description:] fragment of a typewritten letter on outside ballast with corrections in ink; #185401es JULIA II, #186301es KELPIE I, #187106es SHADOW, #400s CONSUELO, [The complete (and somewhat different) letter published as 'Letter Six' in Herreshoff, Stephens. Their Last Letters 1930-1938. Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, RI, 1988, p. 35-38.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Letter to Stephens, William P. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_20820. Correspondence, Folder 59. No date (1935-06-19).)


Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #186301es Kelpie I even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.


Supplement

From the 1930s L. Francis Herreshoff Index Cards at the Herreshoff Marine Museum
  • Note: The L. Francis Herreshoff index cards comprise a set of some 1200 cards about vessels built by HMCo, with dimensions and / or ownership information. Apparently compiled in the early 1930s, for later HMCo-built boats like the Fishers Island 23s or the Northeast Harbor 30s are not included. Added to in later decades, apparently by L. F. Herreshoff as well as his long-time secretary Muriel Vaughn and others. Also 46 cards of L. F. Herreshoff-designed vessels. The original set of index cards is held by the Herreshoff Marine Museum and permission to display is gratefully acknowledged.
From the 1953 HMCo Owner's List by L. Francis Herreshoff

Name: Kelpie
Type: 26' 9"
Owner: J. B. Herreshoff
Year: 1862
Row No.: 348

Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. "Partial List of Herreshoff-Built Boats." In: Herreshoff, L. Francis. Capt. Nat Herreshoff. The Wizard of Bristol. New York, 1953, p. 325-343.

Research Note(s)

"Exported to Italy (Palermo, Sicily) in about 1864." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 2, 2008.)

"The rig was jib 228 square feet, mainsail 580 square feet, gaff topsail 113 square feet and spinnaker." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Boats and Yachts that I have been Especially Interested in by Sailing and Some of Which I Have Owned." Bristol, April 1932. In: Pinheiro, Carlton J. (ed.). Recollections and Other Writings by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Bristol, 1998, p. 101, 102.)

Note: Research notes contain information about a vessel that is often random and unedited but has been deemed useful for future research.

Note

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Citation: Herreshoff #186301es Kelpie I. Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné. https://herreshoff.info/Docs/ES186301_Kelpie_I.htm.