HMCo #429s Navahoe

"[1892-09-01] Thu 1: ... Mr. Carroll ordered 84' steel yacht [#429s Navahoe].
[1892-10-03] Mon 3: ... Began work on #429 [Navahoe], bending angle frames.
[1892-10-24] Mon 24: ... Began riveting on #429 [Navahoe].
[1892-11-14] Mon 14: ... Began setting up frames in Carroll's 84' sloop #429 [Navahoe].
[1892-11-25] Fri 25: ... Began plating #429 [Navahoe].
[1892-12-13] Tue 13: ... Mr. Carroll [the future owner of #429s Navahoe] here. ...
[1892-12-22] Thu 22: Spars arrive for #429 [Navahoe]. ...
[1893-01-24] Tue 24: ... Messrs. Carroll [the future owner of #429s Navahoe], Morgan, & Iselin [of the #437s Vigilant syndicate] here.
[1893-02-01] Wed 1: ... Plating of #429 (Navahoe) finished.
[1893-02-08] Wed 8: ... Mr. Iselin & Mr. Morgan [of the #437s Vigilant syndicate] here in Javelin [#164p]. Also Mr. Carroll [the future owner of #429s Navahoe] from N.Y.
[1893-02-18] Sat 18: Heavy fall of snow last night. Snowing all day. Launched #429 Navahoe at 9-5 a.m. Very full tide.
[1893-03-13] Mon 13: White frost. Very fine. Light NW [wind] & calm. Rigger Billman began rigging #429 Navahoe.
[1893-03-14] Tue 14: White frost. Very fine, calm & light S [wind]. Put mast & bowsprit in #429 [Navahoe].
[1893-04-03] Mon 3: Fine & cool. SE to S [wind], fresh. Trialed Navahoe [#429s] under sail.
[1893-04-09] Sun 9: Very fine & mild. Off in Navahoe [#429s].
[1893-04-14] Fri 14: Fair, fog in afternoon. NE rain storm in [the] evening. Attempted to get centerboard in Navahoe [#429s]. ...
[1893-04-16] Sun 16: Ground frozen. Very cold NW [wind] ch[anging] to S & SE in p.m. Off in Navahoe [#429s].
[1893-04-21] Fri 21: Heavy easterly storm last night. Fine in p.m. Off in Navahoe [#429s]. ...
[1893-04-22] Sat 22: Fine. Strong S to SW [wind] in p.m. Off in Navahoe [#429s]. Beat to Fiddlers[?] in 1-35; Beavertail in 2-[blank].
[1893-04-23] Sun 23: Fine & cool, fresh SW [wind]. Off in Navahoe [#429s]. ...
[1893-04-30] Sun 30: ... Navahoe [#429s] on drydock.
[1893-05-05] Fri 5: Nat went to Newport on Navahoe [#429s]. [First part of this entry apparently not in NGH's handwriting.] Navahoe delivered to R. P. Carroll. ...
[1893-05-18] Thu 18: ... Cut off [#429s] Navahoe's mast 2'. ...
[1893-06-01] Thu 1: ... Navahoe [#429s] here to be fitted for sea. ...
[1893-06-08] Thu 8: Fair & cool. Navahoe [#429s] left after fitting up for voyage to England.
[1893-06-11] Sun 11: Very fine. Navahoe [#429s] sailed from Newport to England. Went to Newport in #432 [Viola].
[1893-06-21] Wed 21: ... Navahoe [#429s] sailed from Boston after repairing damage of collision [with the New Jersey pilot boat David T. Leahy].
[1894-08-10] Fri 10: Very fine. L[igh]t N [wind in] a.m. Mod[erate] S [wind in] p.m. Goelet Cup race --- won by Navahoe [#429s] & Emerald.
[1897-09-04] Sat 4: Very fine. L[igh]t N [wind in] a.m. Mod[erate] SW [in] p.m. Clear. Went to see race between Vigilant [#437s] & Navahoe [#429s].
[1899-08-01] Tue 1: Very light variable [wind] & warm. Hauled out Navahoe [#429s].
[1899-08-04] Fri 4: Fair. ... Launched Navahoe [#429s] in p.m. ...
[1902-03-16] Sun 16: ... Navaho arrived in p.m. [The old racing cutter #429s Navahoe, built in 1892 by Herreshoff, had been sold to Georg W. Wätjen of Germany and was to be converted into a yawl at the HMCo in the spring of 1902.] ...
[1902-03-21] Fri 21: ... Mr. & Mrs. Wätjen here to inspect Navahoe [#429s]. ...
[1902-03-24] Mon 24: ... Hauled Navahoe [#429s] into dock." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1892 to 1902. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection [1892-1897]. Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff [1899-1902].)

"Oct[ober] 1892.
No. 429.
84ft w.l. c.b. sailing yacht.
Frame spaces 20".
Measurements are to the outside of the inner courses of plating and 1/4" is to be deducted for plating in laying out frames.
Deduct 1/4" from sheerheight for top of deckbeams.
Deduct 9/16 for thickness of keelplate.
Crown of deck beams 7" in 23ft." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Note (in ink) in Offset Booklet HH.4.085.] Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"In the fall of this year (1892), we received an order from Royal Phelps Carroll for a forty-five foot waterline sloop [in] which he proposed to cruise in European waters, and incidentally, have a little racing while in England. Like all American yachts of any note, she had a centerboard and this was a steel plate nearly one and a half inches thick and enormously heavy to manipulate. She was a good seaworthy craft, but the British, hearing a big one sticker was coming over to race them, built three craft to meet her. All these were of the low ballasted type and outclassed her as a racing craft from the conception; thus NAVAHOE was beaten in nearly all her races in English waters.
... we had three big sloops [NAVAHOE, COLONIA, VIGILANT] to build that winter and spring. ...
NAVAHOE was launched in February and moored in a dredged hole between [the north and south] piers to have her cabins finished and COLONIA was set up in her place in the South Shop, soon to be followed by VIGILANT being set up in the North Shop. This was a busy winter for me, [and] as well for the working men. I had not time, with my force in the drafting room, to work out complete detail drawings for each yacht, so both the defenders' rigs were alike, and many of the details were the same as worked out for NAVAHOE. NAVAHOE was under sail early in May. I had no experience in sailing large yachts [and] neither had Charles Barr, her skipper, so we had much to learn.
When first off, she [NAVAHOE] was spar heavy - ("top-hatted"), but with more ballast and cruising equipment aboard, she was very good, and handled well. She sailed for England on her ill fated cruise about [the] middle of May, leaving Newport [on] a Sunday afternoon in a moderate south-southwesterly breeze, and it was interesting to see how quickly she left the seventy foot waterline sloop KATRINA in beating out to Brentons Reef Lights[hip]. That night, when in the vicinity of the Nantucket Shoal Lightship, they suddenly ran into a dense fog bank, and within a minute or two, met a pilot boat steering north, coming together bowsprit to bowsprit. Both craft lost their head gear. NAVAHOE had her mast sprung and [the] starboard side of [her] bow cut into. She limped into Boston for repairs, which took nearly a month, before proceeding." (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. 57-59.)

"August 31 1935
Dear Mr. Stephens -
... In late summer of 1892 Mr. R. P. Carroll gave us an order for a 85 ft. w.l. sloop for ocean cruising which was originally intended for a moderate sail plan. Later, he expressed the desire of taking the craft to England and have a try with the English yachts, and it was decided to have a larger sail-plan. Mr. Carroll, perhaps unwisely, informed his British friends of his intentions and this awakened the British yachtsmen; they had no outstanding yachts of that class, and three were immediately started - BRITANNIA, SATANITA & CALLUNA (it being supposed VALKYRIE was already secretly under way for a Cup challenger) and any of them plainly out-classed our NAVAHOE for racing before she was afloat. ...
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.)

"The Navahoe went to England to race in 1893 where she did not do particularly well, and as few people know why I will tell about it. The Navahoe was the first large racing sailboat my father designed, and she was slightly lacking in stability because at that time the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company could not launch a yacht of as great draft as should be for her size, but this might have been all right except for a rather unfortunate accident. The captain of Navahoe was young Charlie Barr and she also was his first large command. Soon after completion the Navahoe set sail for England. It so happened that there was a southwest wind and Captain Barr clapped spinnaker and all on her, but somewhere south of Nantucket they ran into a fog bank. Capt. Barr's navigation must have been nearly perfect although he was on a brand new steel yacht, for, strange to say, in the fog they ran smack into Nantucket lightship [sic, i.e. the New Jersey pilot boat David T. Leahy, No. 5]. Although the Navahoe did not receive severe injury she did spring her mast, so she limped into Boston where she had a new and inferior one built. This mast was quite a little heavier than her original spar and this was to be quite a handicap to a yacht that was none too stiff, so that her racing in England was hardly a true test.
However she sailed one hotly contested match race with the Britannia. This was for the Brenton Reef Challenge Cup which the Genesta had wrested from the American yachts in her visit here in 1885. The race between the Britannia and Navahoe perhaps was one of the best ever sailed and I was very fortunate to have the story of it told me by Captain Barr, who was a most interesting talker with an accurate memory.
The race started off The Needles, that is, the west side of the Isle of Wight, the course being across the English Channel to and around the breakwater at Cherbourg and return. There was a fine breeze and quite a sea. On the way over both yachts housed their topmasts, which was a fine piece of seamanship considering the sea that was running. The Navahoe led around the breakwater at Cherbourg, but on the way home the Britannia passed her although she never got many lengths ahead.
At the finish of this long race the Britannia was declared the winner by two and one-half seconds, but as the mark boat had changed her position on account of rough weather, following a protest by the Navahoe the cup was awarded to the Navahoe. Even after Charlie Barr had been captain of three cup defenders and taken the schooners Ingomar and Westward to Europe he considered this his most thrilling race." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. The Common Sense of Yacht Design, Vol. II. New York, 1948, p. 31.)

"In the fall of 1892 Royal P. Carroll, the same gentleman for whom 'Gloriana' had been started, ordered an eighty-five foot cruising sloop from Captain Nat in which he intended to cruise abroad and do some racing. This yacht was built of steel and was the first metal sail boat the Herreshoff Company had built. She was named 'Navahoe,' and as soon as completed, early in the spring of 1893, sailed for England practically under a racing rig, commanded by Charlie Barr, and with the owner and Mrs. Carroll aboard. It is likely that Captain Barr hoped to make a record passage for as soon as he was clear of Newport and had squared away for the eastward, he clapped spinnaker and all on her, but he ran into a fog bank south of Nantucket and, strange to say, ran right into Nantucket Light Ship [sic, i.e. the New Jersey pilot boat David T. Leahy, No. 5]. His navigation must have been remarkably good considering he was on a brand new steel vessel for you might say he was less than a ship's width off the course. However, this collision sprung 'Navahoe' 's mast, and she limped into Boston where a much heavier and inferior mast was put in her which was to prove a great disadvantage since the yacht lacked stability because she was too shallow. Nevertheless, 'Navahoe' did fairly well abroad for she raced against a field of three or four new crack single masters of her size and did succeed in beating the 'Britannia' by a matter of seconds in a remarkably hard-fought match race across the English Channel and back for the Brenton's Reef Cup. There is no doubt that 'Navahoe' would have done pretty well if she had been deeper, stiffer, or had a lighter mast, and also Charlie Barr at that time was very young and inexperienced compared to the captains on the big English single stickers who were all pitted against the single American. A photo shows 'Navahoe' under her original sloop rig. She must have been pretty fast for after she came back to America she won the Goelet Cup in 1894 and 1897 still under the ownership of Mr. Carroll. 'Navahoe' was later changed to a yawl and went back to Europe where for a while she was owned by a Russian duke and won races in the large classes in England as late as 1902." (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. 168-169.)

"These were the great days of the large single stickers --- (the British called them cutters and we called them sloops) --- and in 1893 the American sloop Navahoe, about the same size and shape as Vigilant [#437s], went over to race several large cutters in England. She did quite well, considering all the odds that were against her. In the first place she was too shallow to carry her sail well, and on the first day of her intended voyage to England she ran into Nantucket Lightship [sic, i.e. the New Jersey pilot boat David T. Leahy, No. 5] in a thick fog when under full sail including her spinnaker. This strain sprung her mast and she had to limp into Boston for repairs where a heavier mast was made for her, and this was to count against a yacht that was lacking in stability. Her captain, Charlie Barr, although the best professional we ever had, was then very young and Navahoe was his first large command so that he was at a disadvantage compared with the skippers of Britannia, Calluna and Satanita who had been racing together. It is also very difficult for a stranger to race a large yacht in England for many of their courses are in shallow water with strong tides. However, Navahoe won one outstanding long race by a matter of seconds; this was a match against Britannia for the Brenton's Reef Challenge cup which Genesta had won on her visit here in 1885. This race started off The Needles at the west end of the Isle of Wight on September 13, 1893. I was very lucky to have Charlie Barr describe this race to me and he thought it was the most thrilling race he had ever been in. The course was from The Needles to and around the breakwater at Cherbourg and return, a distance, I suppose, of around a hundred miles. There was a fine breeze and quite a sea running. Two hours after the start the yachts had run twenty-five miles and were racing neck and neck and must have been a beautiful sight, but as the wind increased they both decided to house their topmasts which must have been quite a stunt in the sea that was running. Navahoe led around the breakwater at Cherbourg, but the wind here was very strong in puffs and knocked them both almost flat at times. After rounding the breakwater Britannia got a slight lead but they raced back across the Channel neck and neck, neither getting more than a hundred yards ahead of the other. At the finish they were abreast and at first Britannia was proclaimed winner by two and one-half seconds, but as the mark boat had moved or dragged her anchor since the start and the line was not at right angles to the course favoring Britannia more than 2 1/2 seconds the owner of Navahoe protested and the race was given to Navahoe.
While some used to say this race showed that Navahoe could challenge the best British yachts in open water, still the race for the Cape May Cup, which was three days later over the same course, showed that Britannia was a better drifter and beat Navahoe about an hour in this long, drawnout calm race. Navahoe won several important cups after she came back to this country but later was changed to a yawl and spent most of her life in Europe and for some years was owned in Germany where her shallow draft was an advantage." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. An Introduction to Yachting. New York, 1963, p. 104-106.)

"With one large cutter [#429s Navahoe] on the stocks, another keel [#435s Colonia] ready to lay and a probable order for a third [#437s Vigilant], to say nothing of more than the usual number of small racers and steam yachts, the Herreshoff shop is a busy place just now. The Carroll cutter is nearly ready for launching, but the cold weather and the ice in the bay may make it desirable to keep her out of water as long as possible. ..." (Source: Anon. "Building." Forest and Stream, January 19, 1893, p. 61.)

"Great secrecy still prevails at the yard of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Bristol, R. I., in relation to the yachts under way there. It is known that the eighty-four-footer building for Royal Phelps Carroll will be launched soon, but the exact date will not he made known by the company for fear somebody will see the yacht as she slides into the water. After she is launched a few chosen persons will be allowed to go aboard and see what she looks like inside, but it will be some time yet before the full details are known. ... " (Source: Anon. "News Of The Yachts. The Herreshoffs About As Talkative As Clams These Days." New York Times, February 7, 1893, p. 2.)

"Bristol, R. I., Feb. 18 [1893]. --- The eighty-four-foot yacht which the Herreshoffs have designed and built for Mr. Royal Phelps Carroll of New-York, to cross the water and capture the Cape May and Brenton's Reef Cups, and which has been named the Navahoe, was launched from the south slip of the Herreshoffs' works soon after 9 o'clock this morning. The launch was a most successful one. The only drawback was that the owner was not present, the heavy snowstorm having so blocked the railroad as to prevent him from coming from Providence in time to see his boat go overboard.
The launch, so far as the Herreshoffs could make it so, was a strictly private one. Shop doors and pier gates were locked and guarded. and only workmen and a few invited guests were inside. The boat could be seen from the shore as she floated out beyond the piers just after the launch, but there were few spectators, as the time had been kept almost a secret and the snow was still falling. A few newspaper men and photographers got a good look at the boat from rowboats in the dock.
When Mr. Herreshoff found that Mr. Carroll could not possibly get there at 9:30, he gave the word and the yacht slid smoothly down the ways and into the water. Superintendent N. G. Herreshoff of the works had full charge of the arrangements. Nobody was on the boat except a few of the workmen, but on the gallery in the shop were Mr. and Mrs. John B. Herreshoff, Miss Catherine K. Herreshoff, Miss Flossie De Wolff, Mr. John De Wolff, Mr. Young of the Herreshoff Company, Mr. James B. Herreshoff and sons, and Mr. Gouverneur Kortright.
Mr. Carroll arrived about two hours after the launching. He was accompanied bv his father, the Hon. J. L.. Carroll; his sister, Miss Helen Carroll, and his father-in-law, Mr. Philip Schuyler of New-York. The party spent the night in Providence and drove to the station in time for the 8:30 train, but no train left until after 9, and then only a train which should have left at 7:45. Just previous to the departure of the train, Mr. Carroll was called to the station telephone by a message from the Herreshoffs. They told him that they could not hold the boat beyond high water and that to-morrow there would not be water enough for launching, so that she must go overboard to-day. With Bristol at least forty-five minutes' ride away and the train going slowly, the chances that the party would see the launch grew rapidly less, and finally the inevitable was accepted with as good grace as possible. Miss Carroll seemed to feel the disappointment the most keenly of all the party, for she was to have christened the boat and had come from Washington, accompanied by her father, specially to do so. The gentlemen of the party took the matter more philosophically. One of the passengers on the train for Bristol was Capt. Charlie Barr, who will sail the Navahoe, and he was as much disappointed as any one at not being able to see the launch.
The Navahoe afloat looks very much like an enlarged copy of the Wasp, last year's champion forty-six-footer, except that there is a more pronounced outward curve to the stem about the waterline. Her long overhangs are most pronounced, but her sheer is a very handsome one. She is painted black above and green below the water line, and the only bit of ornamentation about her is a narrow gold band under the bulwarks. Her stern is an elliptical one. As she looks at present she is not a beauty for those who love the old clipper stem, but she will look better when rigged, and if she proves fast everything will be forgiven.
The Herreshoffs declined to-day to give out any information as to her dimensions, nor is it likely that they ever will give out any. Since access to the shops has been denied the newspaper men, information has been hard to obtain. But The Times's correspondent believes that the following dimensions and particulars about the boat are substantially correct: She is 126 feet overall, 84 feet water line, 23 feet beam, and 12 feet 7 inches draught. In model she much resembles the Wasp, but her midship section is fuller and she is consequently of greater proportional displacement. She has the same long overhang, full waterlines, and low counters, but does not have so deep a keel in proportion to the rest of the hull.
The midship section also shows more dead rise to the floors, but has the same easy turn at the bilge and straight topside. The beam at the water line is about two feet less than the extreme beam. The forefoot is very much cut away, as in the Wasp, and the keel is straight. The sternpost has a normal rake of about 30 degrees G. From it the line of the keel runs straight forward for about forty-five feet, with a rise of about a foot and a half. From this point the line of the stem rises in a concave curve to the water line and thence in a convex curve to the deck, the whole being a very easy and graceful reverse curve.
The keel is widest in the centre and tapers down at each end. It is about 3 1/2 feet at its widest part. The centreboard slot is well toward the forward end. The centreboard will be a steel plate about 1 1/2 inches thick, and will not have as great a length as the Volunteer's wooden board, which was 20 feet. It will be raised by an improved winch.
Taken as a whole, the yacht shows great possibilities for power and speed, and looks the racer all over. She has only about thirty tons of ballast in her now, or less than half what she will finally have, and so she trims a little by the head. Her interior fittings will be of the finest description, the carved work of the cabin being done by skilled New-York workmen.
Mr. Carroll gets the odd name of the boat from the celebrated tribe of Indians, but changes the Spanish spelling to English in order to get the seven letters considered so lucky by yachtsmen." (Source: Anon. "Launch of the Navahoe. The Yacht that Mr. Carroll will Race Abroad. The Boat Slipped Into The Water Successfully in a Snowstorm That Prevented Her Owner From Being Present --- She is Very Like The Wasp, With Stem Curve." New York Times, February 19, 1893, p. 3.)

"Navahoe.
Built at Bristol, RI, by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.
107.54 net tons; 103.6 ft. x 23.3 ft. x 16.2 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
One deck, one mast, plain head, overhanging stern.
Surveyed and measured, February 25, 1891." (Source: U.S. Customs Department, Bristol, R.I. Custom House Record Book, 1870s to 1904 (Collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum), s.v. Navahoe.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., April 15 [1893]. --- The Navahoe was hauled out into the deepest part ot the harbor last Friday and her centreboard put in place. The board is a steel plate about 1 1/4 inches thick and is 17 feet long, 10 feet wide, and weighs 6,500 pounds or 3 1/2 tons. Another trial trip of the boat is expected tomorrow with her owner on board. Sailmaker Wilson of Boston will be of the party, for he wishes to see how the sails set before cutting those for the cup defenders. ..." (Source: Anon. "Plating The Cup Defenders. ... Navahoe Has Her Centreboard Placed And Is Ready For Another Trip." New York Times, April 16, 1893, p. 2.)

"The Rogers cutter [#435s Colonia] is now well advanced at the Herreshoff shops, the plating completed ready for painting, the decks laid and the joiners at work below. Navahoe [#429s] is nearly completed and will soon leave the yard. Miss Sutton's one-rater Morwena [#431s] was launched and tried last week, and will soon be shipped. The Austrian one-rater [#436s Bubble] is completed, and the Southampton 2 1/2-rater [#438s Meneen] is well along." (Source: Anon. "Yacht News Notes." Forest and Stream, April 27, 1893, p. 372.)

"It was three o’clock on the afternoon of Sunday, June 11th [1893], when the Navahoe weighed anchor and sailed out of Brenton’s Cove into Newport’s outer harbor. ...
The prosperous conditions under which the Navahoe departed, and which seemed to augur a successful voyage, did not continue long. The yacht averaged twelve knots an hour. On Sunday night a thick fog belt was encountered, and at half-past two o’clock on Monday morning [June 12, 1893] the yacht came into collision with the New Jersey pilot boat David T. Leahy, No. 5, which struck the Navahoe on the starboard bow, bending the upper plates for about ten feet and carrying away the rail. The pilot-boat was also considerably damaged forward, losing her bowsprit and having her stem wrenched out of place. There was no alternative but to put back for repairs, so the Navahoe was headed for Boston, where she arrived on June fifteenth. She was repaired at the Atlantic Works, where she was fitted with a new mast, topmast and bowsprit, all of which were badly sprung in the crash of the two boats.
...
The yacht blamed the pilot-boat for the disaster, and the pilot-boat said the Navahoe was responsible. The question will be decided in the courts, so it would not be in good taste to discuss its merits at length in these pages now.
...
Mr. Carroll’s manly letter to the New York Herald, in which he gave a succinct and lucid account of the accident, carried much weight, and if there were any doubters in the broad domain of yachtdom their minds were set at rest. Of course, when 'sea- lawyers' sit upon the case the result may be against him. Who knows?" (Source: Kenealy, A. J. "The Racers for the Americas Cup." Outing, August 1893, p. 386.)

"It was in 1892 when Royal Phelps Carroll ordered the Herreshoffs to build for him a keel-centerboard yacht, for the purpose of crossing the Atlantic so as to compete for the Brenton's Reef and Cape May Cups, which seven years before were won in this country by GENESTA. Mr. Carroll named his yacht Navahoe. She is 123 feet over all, 84 feet load waterline, 12 feet 6 inches draft and 23 feet beam, thus making more of a cruising than a racing yacht.
After crossing the ocean, the first race in which Navahoe took part was on July 31st, 1893. The following is a record of her races: ---
Date Yacht Club Wind Name of Yachts Time
July 81, Royal London. Fresh. Britannia (winner), 3 46 16
Valkyrie (second), 3 47 19
Navahoe, 3 47 39
Satanita, 3 50 06
Calluna, 3 53 52
August 1, Royal Southampton. Light. Navahoe (winner), 3 55 30
Satanita, 4 06 08
Calluna, gave up
Iverna, gave up
August 3, R. Y. S. Strong. Satanita (winner), 1 40 30
Valkyrie, 1 49 02
Navahoe, gave up
Calluna, gave up
August 4, R. Y. S. Fresh. Satanita (winner), 2 31 05
Valkyrie, 2 33 14
Calluna, 2 36 27
Navahoe. 2 38 41
August 5, Royal Southampton. Moderate. Navahoe (winner), 4 31 29
Calluna, 4 42 54
August 8, R, V. Y. C. Fresh. Britannia (winner), 3 54 33
Navahoe (second), 3 58 23
Satanita, 4 04 54
Calluna, 4 06 25
August 10. R. V. Y. C. Light. Britannia (winner), 2 21 26
Satanita, 2 31 33
Calluna 2 36 05
Navahoe, 2 36 38
August 14, Royal Albert, Light. Britannia (disq), 6 41 12
Satanita (winner) 6 43 26
Navahoe gave up
Calluna, gave up
August 16, Royal Albert. Light. Britannia (winner), 3 58 40
Calluna (second), 3 57 45
Navahoe 4 04 05
Satanita 4 08 32
August 19, Royal Dorset. Fresh. Satanita (winner), 2 06 40
Britannia (second), 2 08 59
Navahoe, 2 11 35
Calluna, 2 13 03
August 31, Torquay Regatta. Fresh. Britannia (winner), 2 09 06
Calluna (second), 2 13 36
Satanita, 2 16 13
Navahoe, gave up
August 25, Royal Dartmouth, Light. Satanita (winner, 6 08 03
Navahoe (second), 6 15 48
Calluna, gave up
August 27, Start Bay. Light, Britannia (winner) 3 37 53
Satanita (disq), 3 45 09
Navahoe (second), 3 47 16
Calluna, 3 50 37
Sept. 6, R. V. Y. C. Gold Cup. Light. Britannia (winner, 4 50 02
Navahoe, 5 06 29
Sept. 7, R. V. Y. C. Gold Cup. Fresh. Britannia (winner), 4 50 40
Navahoe 5 24 57
Sept. 11, R. V. Y. C. Gold Cup. Strong. Britannia (winner) 4 29 17
Navahoe, 4 44 25
Sept. 14, Brenton's Reef Cup. Navahoe (winner) 10 38 32
Britannia, 10 37 45
Sept. 15, Cape May Cup. Britannia (winner), 24 12 14
Navahoe, 24 48 32
It will be seen from this record that Navahoe was first in the Royal Southampton Regatta, sailed August 1st; she was first in the regatta of the same club sailed August 5th; was second in the Royal Victoria Yacht Club Regatta, sailed August 8th; was second in the Royal Dartmouth Regatta, sailed August 25th and was second in the Start Bay Regatta, sailed August 27th.
In her race with Britannia for the Brenton's Reef Cup, she was finally declared to be the winner.
The course sailed for the Brenton's Reef and Cape May Cups was from the Needles, at the west end of the Isle of Wight, across the English Channel to Cherbourg, rounding the breakwater of Cherbourg Harbor from west to east and return, a distance of 120 miles.
In the race for the Brenton's Reef Cup the official time of the start was: Britannia, 12 hrs., 01 min., 06 sec, and Navahoe, 12 hrs., 02 min., 05 sec.
The race was sailed under the New York Yacht Club rules but without time allowance. Five minutes was allowed for crossing the line the difference to be corrected at the finish.
The wind was blowing strong from the eastward when they started and when the yachts were in mid-channel, about 2 hrs., 30 min., there was a heavy run of sea. Navahoe began to gain, and by skillful manoeuvering passed Britannia to windward. The buoy at the western entrance of the breakwater was passed at 5 hrs., 1 min. by Navahoe and at 5 hrs., 1 min., 10 sees, by Britannia. The wind was now very heavy and the sea ugly, and both vessels were eased of their foresails. About 5 miles from the Needles, Navahoe was about two lengths astern. The wind was much lighter now, which enabled them to use their foresails again.
Britannia gave the Goose rock a clear birth, while Navahoe was off to the westward a half mile.
The official time of crossing the line was: Britannia, 10 hrs., 37 min., 35 sec, and Navahoe, 10 hrs., 38 min., 32 sec Thus Britannia crossed the line 57 seconds ahead, but owing to the difference of time at the start which was 54| sees., this was reduced to 2 1/2 secs. Thus ended one of the most remarkable yacht races known in the history of yachting --- at no time were the yachts more than a minute ahead of one another, and most of the time, there was not more than two lengths between them, and, when these facts are taken into consideration with the length of the course, it is all the more remarkable.
Mr. Carroll claimed that Navahoe crossed the true finish line within half a length of Britannia, that the committee boat had shifted her position and that what was called the finish line was incorrect, and he entered a protest which was considered by the committee who declared Navahoe the winner, admitting that the times were taken directly each of the vessels came in line with the stream of the Needle Lighthouse, as this was considered better than being obtained from a floating mark which would have been necessary, as a vessel can not anchor in a fair way at night time.
Navahoe thus received the Brenton's Reef Cup, which has been brought back to this country to be competed for once more on this side of the ocean.
In the race for the Cape May Cup over the same course on September 15th, the wind was light and from the southwest with a smooth sea. Both yachts carried club-topsails and jib-topsails. The time of Britannia off the Needles was 1 hr., 02 min., 37 sec. and Navahoe 1 hr, 5 min., 15 sec. On Saturday morning in a light wind and fog Britannia reached Cherbourg at 5 hrs., 29 min. and Navahoe at 5 hrs., 57 min., 15 sec. The wind on the return trip was light and from the east until the Isle of Wight shore was picked up when the wind came in ahead and the yachts trimmed sheets.
Britannia arrived at 12 hrs., 57 min., 14 sec, and Navahoe 1 hr., 33 min., 32 sec. Britannia winning by 36 min., 18 sec. elapsed time." (Source: Mott, Henry Augustus. Yachts and Yachtsmen of America. New York, 1894, p. 72-73.)

"[Navahoe (Sail, C B) owned by Royal Phelps Carroll, Port: New York; LOA 123ft; LWL 84ft; Beam 23ft; Draft 12.6ft; designed by N. G. Herreshoff and built by Herreshoff Mfg. Co in 1893.]" (Source: Stebbins 1896 Yachtsmen's Album, p. 29.)

"The big sloop yacht Navahoe, built at Herreshoff's four or five years ago, and now owned by Royal Phelps Carroll, sailed into Bristol harbor Tuesday [June 29, 1897] afternoon from Newport. It is nearly three years since the Navahoe was here last. She anchored at the south end of the harbor, and her owner and several friends came ashore. Among the number was Woodbury Kane of New York. The party visited the Herreshoff works. The yacht remained here but a short time." (Source: Anon. "News and Notes of Local Interest." Bristol Phoenix, July 2, 1897, p. 2.)

"The sloop Navahoe, owned by Royal Phelps Carroll of the New York Yacht Club, has been hauled out on the Herreshoff marine railway for the past few days, being cleaned and overhauled in preparation for her race with the Vigilant [#437s] at Newport tomorrow." (Source: Anon. "Bristol and Vicinity." Bristol Phoenix, August 4, 1899, p. 2.)

"The big yawl, Navahoe, formerly the sloop Navahoe, built here in 1893 for Royal Phelps Carroll, put in here Sunday [June 23, 1901], the owner calling at the Herreshoff shops." (Source: Anon. "News and Notes of Local Interest." Bristol Phoenix, June 25, 1901, p. 3.)

"The old racing sloop Navahoe, of late years changed in rig to that of a yawl, is gradually being fitted with an ocean-going rig at the Herreshoff shops, and on Thursday the shortened mainmast of the old racing sloop Defender was stepped in the Navahoe, and the rigging fitted by Billman, the Boston rigger. The big spar serving as the mainmast of the craft is as fine a piece of Oregon pine as one would wish to see. For the purpose of lightening the tophamper for the long trip across the Atlantic the stick was shortened at both ends, making the present length about 80 feet. The mainmast buries below the deck nearly 10 feet, and that part was made smaller than it was originally.
As far as the rig goes the Navahoe is now nearly ready to take a spin, but the improvements going on about the decks are not quite completed. Carpenters and machinists are finishing up improvements." (Source: Anon. "Yacht Notes from Bristol." New York Times, April 7, 1902, p. 6.)

"... The Navahoe [#429s], purchased by George W. Watjen [sic, i.e. Georg W. Wätjen] of Germany from Royal Phelps Carroll, is yet in the riggers' hands at the Herreshoff shops at Bristol, and it is learned that she will be ready in two weeks to proceed on her ocean voyage. The cutting and refitting of spars and rigging used up much time. The topmast was sent aloft yesterday and the jiggermast was stepped. The spreaders, which are already fitted where they belong, are a trifle different from those in use. She is being painted outside. The spreaders are fitted underneath each arm with wood bracings curved outward from the mainmast and solidly bolted to the spreader arms. The spreaders are intended to have somewhat of a spring to relieve tension aloft. Capt. Miller, formerly chief mate of the Columbia, who is the Navahoe's skipper, is superintending the fitting of the craft, and will have as his mate his brother, F. B. Miller, who last season was Capt. Hank Haff's second mate on the sloop yacht Independence, owned by T. W. Lawson. Mate Miller arrived a few days ago." (Source: Anon. "Yachting News of Bristol." New York Times, April 14, 1902, p. 10.)

"BRISTOL, R. I. , April 26 [1902]. --- The yawl Navahoe was taken out for a trial under her ocean-going rig on Thursday [April 24, 1902]. The trip extended from Bristol harbor down to Newport and out into the ocean to Brenton's Reef Lightship, with all sail set.
George W. Watjen, of Germany, who purchased the craft recently from Royal Phelps Carroll, expressed satisfaction when the trip ended late in the afternoon. Mr. Watjen, who is an enthusiast in yachting matters, placed the craf t in commission while on the trial spin, so when she came back in the harbor the German yachting ensign wa s floating from the jiggermast truck.
Under German colors and in her present short rig the Navahoe will proceed to Bremen, Germany, about May 1. The owner will go across to Bremen himself in an ocean steamer about tue same time.
The papers are all arranged for the change of flags on the Navahoe. She will race in European waters under German colors the coming season, and the owner will retain the American officers and crew for the season's racing abroad.
When the yawl reaches Bremen her present rig will be dismantled. The steel mainmast , now on the way across on the Trave, will be used, as wel l as nearly all the gear with which she raced last season.
There was some slight fitting done on the Navahoe at the Herreshoffs shop. The craft left for Newport Friday afternoon, where the stores for the ocean trip were put on board before she leaves for Bremen. The Defender's wooden mainmast is now doing service as a mainmast on the Navahoe. It is cut down considerably, however. Four Cape Ann fishing dories are stored on deck as lifeboats. Captain Lem Miller, last season's first officer of the cup defender Columbia, is the sailing master. There are two mates and twenty seamen on board. ..." (Source: Anon. "Navahoe To Fly The German Flag. American Crew Will Sail Yawl In Summer's Races. Using Defender's Mainmast. Capt. Lem Miller, Who Was On Columbia Last Year Is Sailing Master Of The Craft." New York Sunday Telegraph, April 27, 1902, p. 7.)

"... Sixty hollow spars for racing yachts are being shipped to Europe this week by the Fraser Company, including a sixty-foot topmast and two topsail yards for the Herreshoff ninety-footer Navahoe, and a set of topsail yards for the German schooner Hamburg. ..." (Source: Anon. "Yachts and Yachtsmen." New York Times, May 21, 1906, p. 7.)

"... The American built racing sloop Navahoe, now owned by Herr Watjen, is in British waters. She is yawl rigged." (Source: Anon. "Notes from the Week's Log." Boston Globe, June 15, 1913, p. 53.)

"... At Brightlingsea M. Louis Cauvin's yawl Navahoe has been launched from Messrs. Aldous's yard, where she had been hauled up to have her Parsons auxiliary motor fitted, and on her completion she will sail for French waters. ... [Navahoe had been sold by Wätjen to Cauvin in 1913.]" (Source: Anon. "Yachts Fitting Out." London Standard, March 29, 1913, p. 12.)

"The Herreshoff Company, of Bristol, Rhode Island, have turned out some famous yachts in their time, but none more famous than the Navahoe, which they built in 1893, to the order of Mr. R. T. Carroll. She was a steel sloop with a centre-board, designed as a fast cruiser that should be capable of holding her own with the existing handicap yachts of the time, and her owner announced early that his intention was to send her across to England to compete for the America Cup (already held there), The Cape May, Victoria, Brenton Reef and other trophies. On dimensions, 128-ft. on the water-line by 23-ft. by 13-ft. draught, she had a Thames Measurement tonnage of 232, and her centre-board, which weighed three tons, had a drop of rather more than 9-ft. Her sail area was 10,815 square feet, of which her spinnaker was 4,000, and she was obviously a flyer from the start.
She left Newport, Rhode Island, for England in June, 1893, to race at Cowes and other meetings, but no sooner was she clear than she collided with a pilot boat, and had to put back for repairs, not arriving on this side until well into July. Her maiden race at Cowes was under the auspices of the Royal London Yacht Club, when she fought a very hard, slogging match with Britannia and Valkyrie, finishing 83 secs. astern of the Royal cutter. It was noticed that she was very tender, as compared with the British yachts, and Dixon Kemp was about the only big authority of the day who was not convinced that she would win. Her next race was against a full field of big yachts, but she split her mainsail and had to retire. She sailed for the rest of the season with varying success, but, taking it all round, her performances in our waters were distinctly disappointing, although it must be remembered that she was up against some magnificent ships in her seasons. In a heavy wind on one of these occasions, she got quite unmanageable, and gave the yachts in the crowded anchorage at Cowes something of a fright. In spite of her lack of success, she competed in race after race very gamely, and towards the end of the season she pitted against Britannia for the Royal Victoria Gold Cup, being some fifteen minutes behind, and the Brenton Reef Cup, which she won on a protest. For the Cape May Cup, she was again beaten by Britannia, so that the 1863 season ended in her having eighteen starts and six prizes, including the Brenton Reef Challenge Cup. The gross winnings amounted to Pds445, while the Britannia's record for the same season was thirty-three prizes out of forty-three starts, their value being in the neighbourhood of Pds2,500. She sailed back to the United Stairs in October, 1913, and did some very good work there, both racing and cruising. In 19O2, she was purchased by Mr. George W. Watjen, of Bremen, a member of the Imperial German Yacht Club, as well as the Royal London and others. She was converted into a yawl, and sailed by E. Sycamore and an English crew. Herr Watjen was a big shipping man at Bremen and a Director of the North German Lloyd, believing that a good encouragement of yachting was the very best thing to foster German seamanship. He certainly raced her to good effect, for in 1903 he won no less than seventy-five prizes, seventy of which were firsts. She did well at Ostend and in British waters, although she found Cicely a very hard nut to crack in those races. In 1904, she was racing principally in German waters, against the Orion, Comet ex-Thistle, Brynhild and others.
The 1905 season saw her in England again, doing quite tolerably well at Cowes. She also took part in the Kaiser's Cup Race from Dover to Heligoland, which was raced under a sealed handicap, and finished third. After that, her racing career was a little patchy, sometimes having a full programme and sometimes scarcely racing at all. In 1913, she was transferred to M. Louis Couvin, of Paris, who gave her a Parsons' 6-cylinder paraffin engine with the intention of using her as a cruiser. The war in 1914, however, caused him to alter his plans, and from then until l919 she was little more than a house boat.
In the Spring of 1920, she was purchased by the firm of Ducrot de la Morvonnais and Company, of Havre, who took out her engine and fitted her with as large a cargo hold as her fine lines would permit, sending her to sea rigged as a ketch under the name of Capitaine Pallac. She still runs on commercial service under this name, bearing very few signs of her former smartness, but still being a good sailer under her monkey rig." (Source: Anon. "Histories of Famous Yachts. The Navahoe." The Yachtsman (England), June 27, 1925, p. 226.)

"Herreshoff was always very arbitrary with his clients. If an owner of a Herreshoff boat wanted alterations made which Herreshoff did not approve of, he would simply refuse to make them. I changed the Navahoe, a Herreshoff sloop which had been built for Royall Carroll to race abroad, from a sloop to a yawl, when Herreshoff refused. At that time, yawls were not very closely defined by the rules, and they had distinct advantages in measurement. My solution for Navahoe was a light wooden mast perched on the extreme end of the counter. The only advantage, except as a matter of measurement, was that the main boom no longer extended 'way beyond the stern. Navahoe did very well as a yawl, and I subsequently altered the Vigilant [#437s] for Percy Chubb in the same way." (Source: Crane, Clinton. Clinton Crane's Yachting Memories, New York, 1952, p. 100.)

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled superimposed hull sections and displacement curves titled '#429s [NAVAHOE]'. With calculations. Displacement curves marked as 'Displacement curve ... 4642cuft, corrected = 4794cuft' and another curve with 'waterline scale 1/5in (25.00sqft corrected 25.25sqft'. Undated (NAVAHOE was contracted for on September 9, 1892). (Compare with MRDE04_09380 [made January 8, 1893] and MRDE04_09400 for COLONIA and VIGILANT which show a similar analysis and may have been made at the same time.)" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_09600. Folder [no #]. No date (1892-09 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Typewritten (carbon copy) specifications titled 'Specifications. No. 429 [#429s NAVAHOE]'." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.. (creator). Specifications. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_01580. Folder [no #]. No date (1892-09 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Typewritten (carbon copy) specifications titled 'Specifications. No. 429 [#429s NAVAHOE]'." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.. (creator). Specifications. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_01710. Folder [no #]. No date (1892-09 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled dimensioned sketch titled 'Clue of mainsail #429 [NAVAHOE]'. [See letter by Wilson & Silsby which refers to clew of mainsail for NAVAHOE]." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_02800. Folder [no #]. No date (1892-09 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Handwritten (in ink) list on 'Wilson & Silsby. Sailmakers' stationery titled 'List of irons[?] for[?] corners[?] of sail plan #429 [NAVAHOE'. Concluding with 'in making iron work for fitting the width of serve in the thimble it would be well to allow an extra 1/8in or a little full of that, for the strand over the sizes given. We understand you are to furnish iron work for clew of mainsail and trisail' [see penciled dimensioned sketch titled 'Clue of mainsail #429']." (Source: Wilson & Silsby, Sailmakers. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_02820. Folder [no #]. No date (1892-09 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled sailplan with sail area calculations titled 'Original 429 [#429s NAVAHOE]. Undated (NAVAHOE was contracted for in September 1892)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Penciled Sailplan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0509. WRDT04, Folder 41, formerly MRDE10. No date (1892-09 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled sailplan of a gaff-rigged schooner without topmasts titled '84ft w.l. Sept[ember] [19]92 #429 [NAVAHOE]'. With sail area calculations." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Penciled Sailplan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0508. WRDT04, Folder 41, formerly MRDE10. 1892-09.)
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"[Item Description:] Half-page newspaper clipping by W. E. Robinson from the Boston Daily Globe [September 11, 1892, p. 9] titled 'ALPHA [#416s] The Leader. She Wins Championship of 21-Foot Class. FREAK is Second. Review of Season's Racing wih Each Boat's Record.' with detailed account of ALPHA's races in the season of 1892. Other Herreshoff boats mentioned in the article are REAPER (#420s, 3rd in season) and VANESSA (#423s, 4th in season). With woodcut of ALPHA based on Peabody's photo neg. no. 552 of July 28, 1892. Another article on that clipping is titled 'Herreshoff's to build a 90-Foot Steel Schooner' and informs about the pending order of #429s NAVAHOE (which originally was intended to be a schooner)." (Source: Boston Globe (creator). Newspaper Clipping. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_06800. Folder [no #]. No date (1892-09-11).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled preliminary plan with inboard profile and accomodation plan and notes titled "#429' [#429s NAVAHOE]. Additional calculations on verso. Undated, NAVAHOE was contracted for in September 1892 and her offset booklet is dated Oct. 1892 indicating that by that time her model had been carved." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Preliminary Plan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE02_06860. Folder [no #]. No date (1892-10 ??).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled sections of a bulb-keel hull marked '#435 [COLONIA]'. Also references to 429 [#429s NAVAHOE]." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0572. WRDT08, Folder 44. No date (1892-12 or later).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled technical drawing titled 'Not used. #429 [NAVAHOE]. Grip for manilla ropes 3 1/4in to 1 3/4in. Full size. Dec[ember] 9, [18]92'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Technical Drawing. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_01570. Folder [no #]. 1892-12-09.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled righting arm calculations for #429s [NAVAHOE], #435s [COLONIA], #437s [VIGILANT] and, on a separate pinned-on sheet of paper, for #427s [which would be FIN but appears to be an error]. Undated (the latest yacht mentioned, VIGILANT, was built in 1893)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Calculations. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_01410. Folder [no #]. No date (1893 or later).)
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"[Item Description:] Ink on linen construction midship section of an unidentified large composite-build centerboard boat [#429s NAVAHOE ?? (It is not VIGILANT)]. Marked 'Herreshoff Mfg. Co. Bristol, R.I.' and stamped on recto and verso with 'Herreshoff Mf'g Cp. Bristol, R.I. Builders of Steam Vessels & Steam Machinery' stamps. Construction details include 'Deck 1 1/8in w[hite] pine', Planking 1 1/8 and 1 1/8 yellow pine', Frames 2 3/4 x 2 1/4 x 9/32 angle' and 'About 40 Tons lead'." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Midship Section. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0472. WRDT08, Folder 38, formerly MRDE10. No date (1893 ???).)
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"[Item Description:] Re position of forward water closet [in #429s NAVAHOE], Barr thinks the two quartermasters should be separated from crew, I shall be down [in Bristol] on Tuesday as usual." (Source: Carroll, Royal Phelps. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_45410. Correspondence, Folder 100. 1893-01-29.)
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"[Item Description:] HMCo Plan HH.5.06947 (087-073). Blueprint rig detail plan titled 'Boom End For 84' w.l. Sailing Yacht #429 [NAVAHOE]. Herreshoff Mfg. Co. Bristol, R.I. Feb 16 [18]93'. With penciled note 'also #435 [COLONIA] - 437 [#437s VIGILANT]'." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Blueprint. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item WRDT06_00580. Folder [no #]. 1893-02-16.)
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"[Item Description:] Re saving weight on #429s NAVAHOE, speed up construction, consider your proposal to take out centerboard, congratulate on manner she was launched." (Source: Carroll, Royal Phelps. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_45430. Correspondence, Folder 100. 1893-02-19.)
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"[Item Transcription:] I heard about the launch of [of #429s NAVAHOE] from Mr. Carroll, glad it was so successful.
I am at work upon spars [apparently for #435s COLONIA] and will report soon. I may see [Cramp's] Mr Nickerson tomorrow if I am not squared up.
I am a great believer in wood but do want to try to get a lighter boom if possible.
Yours sincerely ...
[P.S.] Please send me amount of lead on WASP [#414s] as I may sell her. [Incl envelope.]" (Source: Rogers, Archibald. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_78170. Correspondence, Folder 99. 1893-02-22.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Sailmaker] Wilson writes me you have not ordered the sail for my boat [#435s COLONIA] yet, how is this. As soon as you can let me know. I will order from Wilson another mainsail of such weight as you deem best. We would be able to come pretty near the right thing by judging from NAVAJO's [sic, i.e. #429s NAVAHOE's] sail. Please don't run any risk at Wilsons. As I ordered the first boat [preceding #437s VIGILANT] I should get the first sail, but perhaps you have ordered the stuff and have not sent him the size yet.
It would be most unfortunate though if you get the boat ready & no sail was there.
What kind of a tender would that NAUTILUS belonging to Dr [Herbert M.] Howe make for my use this season. [NAUTILUS was a 56ft LOA steam yacht designed by Edward Burgess and built by Wood Bros. in East Boston in 1889.] [Incl envelope.]" (Source: Rogers, Archibald. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_78210. Correspondence, Folder 99. 1893-04-09.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Your letter of April 11th has been forwarded to me from Hyde Park. I expect to return there Tuesday or Wednesday and will refer to my plans and write you then about the galley [for #435s COLONIA]. I thought it was pretty well understood that we would make the arrangement suggested when I was last at Bristol. I
would like to get the stove as far away from the mast as possible and also over to one side in order that there may be a perfectly free and clear passage way for handling sails. As soon as you have further information about the stretch of the sails on Carrols boat [#429s NAVAHOE] if you will let me know, I will be prepared to order.
Do you know yet when you expect to put the boat in the water? I have so many engagements to make that I would like to know as soon as possible in order that I may not have anything interfere with being present.
Very truly yours, ... [Incl envelope.]" (Source: Rogers, Archibald. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_78240. Correspondence, Folder 99. 1893-04-17.)
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"[Item Description:] Re #429s NAVAHOE, off dock, ballast lead, boat stiff." (Source: Carroll, Royal Phelps. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_45490. Correspondence, Folder 100. 1893-05-30.)
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"[Item Description:] By this time you must have heard of the bad luck of [#429s] NAVAHOE [detailed account of the fog collision with New Jersey pilot boat DAVID T. LEAHY, No. 5 on her way out to Europe]." (Source: Carroll, Royal Phelps. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_45510. Correspondence, Folder 100. 1893-06-15.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Penciled list of sailing boats built by HMCo in the winter of 1892/1893:]
428 [#428s] MERRY THOUGHT. 25ft w.l. Cat. Crozer
429 [#429s] NAVAHOE. 84ft w.l. Sloop. Carroll
430 [#430s] BONNIE DOON. 30ft w.l. Sloop.
431 [#431s] MORWENA. 1 Rater. England
432 [#432s] VIOLA. 176t w.l. Cat. Boston
433 [#433s] MOJAVE. 20ft w.l. Cat. Murray
434 [#434s] KITE. 20ft w.l. J[ib] & M[ainsail]. Peet
435 [#435s] COLONIA. 85ft w.l. Sydicate
436 [#436s] BUBBLE. 1 Rater. One-Rater. Sail New Draft. Austria
437 [#437s] VIGILANT. 85ft w.l. Sydicate
438 [#438s] MENEEN. 2 1/2 Rater. Jackson." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Penciled List. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_04410. Folder [no #]. No date (1893-07 or later).)
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"[Item Description:] Telegram '[#429s] NAVAHOE can win if you come and sail her early part Sept / Barr not good enough'." (Source: Carroll, Royal Phelps. Telegram to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_45630. Correspondence, Folder 100. 1893-08-07.)
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"[Item Description:] Telegram 'very sorry but client here requires my services' [in response to August 7, 1893 request to sail #429s NAVAHOE in England], incl. 3 telegram envelopes addressed to NGH on #437s VIGILANT and care of E.D. Morgan on flagship MAY." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Telegram to Carroll, Royal Phelps. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_45640. Correspondence, Folder 100. (1893-08-07 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Telegram question about lee helm on #429s NAVAHOE, incl NGH reply (two drafts and one final version): statements conflict but if lee helm and tender advise reducing bowsprit, mast and topmast four feet each, …" (Source: Carroll, Royal Phelps (incl NGH reply). Telegram to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_45710. Correspondence, Folder 100. 1893-08-15.)
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"[Item Transcription:] I received your letter and was delighted to learn that you are building another boat [#439s ALERION I] for yourself, and I hope very much that I shall have a sail in her sometime or another with you and Mrs. Herreshoff.
I think that ALLERION or ALERION as it is spelled in the old books of Heraldry, and which I like much better, would be a very pretty name for a boat. The Alerion is an heraldic eagle, displayed without beak or feet. Displayed means in the language of heraldry what is usually denominated in this country a 'spread eagle'.
The eagles in the arms of France, Russia, Austria, and Germany are all displayed. The eagle in the arms of the United States is not properly displayed, although it was when it was first adopted and on the earliest coins it is correctly displayed. The Alerion was first found emblazoned in the arms of the Dukes of Lorrain, and of the ancient Duchy of Lorraine, and the name is supposed to have been derived from that of Lorraine. I did not intend, my dear Nat, when I started, to inflict on you a lecture on Heraldry, but I thought if you adopted the name you might like to know something of it derivation.
I was greatly disappointed at not seeing you when I was in New York. I should certainly have gone down to Bay Ridge to see you but I expected to come every day for i left so much sickness in the house that I was almost afraid to head home at all, and I had to forego seeing the last race [when [which #437s VIGILANT won against VALKYRIE].
I did not like the finish of the stern of the VIGILANT, carried out as it was to a feather edge, any more than I did when you showed it to me in the model of the NAVAHOE [#429s].
I think the neat small counter of VALKYRIE had a much more finished appearance. You know I have always liked the counters of the English yachts. But this did not hinder the whole thing from being magnificent triumph for you, and you may be sure my dear Nat, that I rejoiced in it all as much as if I had been in your jacket.
I have no doubt from what you show me of Sidney's proclivities that he will inherit the family bent.
I hope he will inherit the family ability with it.
Miss Gilmor desired me to send her kindest love to your wive and to Mrs De Wolfe and Miss Hovey[?] to which I beg that you add mine, and believe me my dear Nat,
your affectionate friend, ..." (Source: Young, William. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_46370. Correspondence, Folder 102, formerly RtDB. 1894-01-30.)
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"[Item Description:] thanks for warning me of Herreshoff imposter, would you send lines of fin keel boat for inclusion in new edition of Yacht and Boat Sailing, sending copy of Yacht Racing Calendar for 1893 as it contains convenient account of all of [#429s] NAVAHOE and [#437s] VIGILANT races" (Source: Kemp, Dixon. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_45390. Correspondence, Folder 100. 1894-04-07.)
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"[Item Description:] I intended to visit you to talk over the last summer but could not get away, shall put [#429s] NAVAHOE in commission, sails, please send spar measurements, I see there are some #435s COLONIA spare spars at Poillon's, is it possible to cut them down for NAVAHOE, winches such as used on #437s VIGILANT, boat had tendency to wipe off so we cut a little off the bowsprit which was no improvement, I should not care to go to any large expense to alter the boat such as lowering her lead as she is evidently outbuilt by VIGILANT, she has had some pretty had tumbling last season but never started the paint anywhere, I believe this one reason for her lack of speed, I must congratulate you on the excellent quality of all her gear, the sails were our trouble." (Source: Carroll, Royal Phelps. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_45560. Correspondence, Folder 100. 1894-04-07.)
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"[Item Description:] Should like to try some of that antifouling of yours on #429s NAVAHOE this season, PS: small class has come out as well[?], Duryea has wired me to go ahead with his boat [#444s VAQUERO I]." (Source: Carroll, Royal Phelps. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_45610. Correspondence, Folder 100. 1894-04-28.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Penciled memorandum:] Mem. for 85ft.
Better steering gear, tiller or wheel or combination.
Winchheads for backstays and jibtopsail sheets as well as mainsheet.
Better winches at mast.
Better buffers for main sheet traveler.
Safety gear for mainsheet.
Blocks with larger sheeves generally.
Mainsheet to be rove English fashion.
Spin boom goose neck to stand farther out from the mast.
Heavier fore stay.
Jib set flying.
Double fore & topmast stays for English waters. [Size of boat and mention of English waters suggests this to be related to #429s NAVAHOE or #437s VIGILANT. NGH apparently referred to VIGILANT as a 85footer but not to NAVAHOE. This would then have been made with a view towards VIGILANT's racing in England in the summer of 1894. Compare with technical sketch titled 'Steering gear for 85ft. [Made] On board ETRURIA - June 27 [18]94' which NGH made on his way to England to join VIGILANT.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Memorandum. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_04170. Folder [no #]. No date (1894-06 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] please recommend me to Howard Gould if he builds and sends over to England a 20-rater [#451s NIAGARA]; my work on #429s NAVAHOE and #437s VIGILANT has done me harm and I have no job" (Source: Diaper, Capt. G. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_03540. Correspondence, Folder 1_14, formerly 228. 1895-03-04.)
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"[Item Description:] considering a cruising schooner rig for #429s NAVAHOE, for ocean crossing a sloop's boom is inconvenient and dangerous" (Source: Carroll, Royal Phelps. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_04930. Correspondence, Folder 17, formerly 112. 1895-10-05.)
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"[Item Description:] cruising schooner rig for #429s NAVAHOE" (Source: Carroll, Royal Phelps. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_04910. Correspondence, Folder 17, formerly 112. 1895-12-04.)
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"[Item Description:] Blueprint sailplan titled 'NAVAHOE [#429s]. Alterations [to yawl] to Sailplan. … March 21st, 1901'. With tabulated data 'Jib 1282sqft, Staysail 1128sqft, Mainsail 4160sqft, Jigger 1000sqft, Total Sail Area 7574sqft'." (Source: Tams, Lemoine & Crane (creator). Blueprint. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item WRDT06_00380. Folder [no #]. 1901-03-21.)
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"[Item Transcription:] I do not know presently the measurement used in either the Keil[sic, i.e. Kiel] or Ocean races, but presume the Keil races are under the German rules, which are very similar to the present English rules. Measuring girth & beam as well as w.l. and sail area.
So[?] well as I remember reading of the Heligoland races, tonnage is used, probably the old Thames rule.
I think, however, before deciding on size of schooner most desirable for the Keil races it would be best to obtain ext exact text of the measurement rule, as well as the scale of the time allowance.
It is very good in you to ask me to design such a vessel and I wish to thank you for it.
I am doubtful if I have had the experience necessary in that type of vessel, and think that you can find others better qualified for it.
I have been looking up the matter of racing at Keil to find the rules but have not struck it yet. Perhaps there is some one around the [New York Yacht] club that has sailed there, who would know, and I expect to see the new owner of the NAVAHOE [#429s] in a few days and if I can get the information I will let you know.
Hoping you are quite well this winter.
Believe me, ..." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Letter to Ledyard, Lewis Cass. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_00220. Correspondence, Folder 1_14, formerly (84). 1902-03-05.)
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"[Item Description:] Four handwritten (in ink) pages with tabulated data listing 'Shop No', 'Name', '[Tons] Gross' and '[Tons] Net' for a total of 100 HMCo-built boats and classes. Tonnage data is usually precise to two digits behind the decimal. Random comparisons suggest source of tonnage data to be official Custom House data. Boats mentioned are: #664s, #663s, #625s, #665s, #634s, #658s, #657s, #646s, #641s, #617s, #626s Class, #624s, #621s, #616s, #619s, #590s, #591s, #586s, #592 Class, #618s, #605s, #578s, #560s Class, #580s, #553s, #551s, #552s, #546s, #541s, #545s, #538s, #534s, #533s, #532s, #529s, #534s, #530s, #531s, #435s, #437s, #452s, #499s, #429s, #426s, #424s, #481s, #422s, #417s, #414s, #451s, #215p, #213p, #222p, #235p, #230p, #229p, #236p, #224p, #244p, #247p, #249p, #231p, #232p, #228p, #252p, #250p, #251p, #248p, #168p, #164p, #118p, #142p, #174p, #173p, #194p, #189p, #193p, #183p, #178p, #179p, #181p, #182p, #175p, #163p, #148p, #149p, #172p, #155p, #170p, #186p, #188p, #206p, #207p, #205p, #208p, #209p, #210p, #211p, #212p, #216p. Undated (the latest boat listed, WINSOME, was launched in 1907)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Handwritten List. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_00220. Folder [no #]. No date (1907 or later).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled diagram titled 'Stability curves. Scale 200ft tons per inch' comparing America's Cup yachts (from most to least stability) #605s RELIANCE, #499s COLUMBIA, #451s NIAGARA, #435s COLONIA, #437s VIGILANT and #429s NAVAHOE. Undated, mention of RELIANCE from 1903 indicates a year of 1903 or later with 1913 when #725s RESOLUTE was designed being the most likely one." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Stability Curves. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0602. WRDT08, Folder 45. No date (1913-09 ???).)
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"[Item Description:] Typewritten copy of letter: 'I have been much interested in reading your paper in the Sportsman on the match for the America Cup. I often see some strange statements made by the ordinary reporters on yachting, concerning the products that originated in the Bristol shops, of which I take no notice. But when a paper is published by such an authority as yourself, it is supposed to be reliable. But in this paper you have made some statements that are entirely false, and as it should become standard in the History of Yachting, I hope you will put aside any prejudices you have against the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company and make corrections that will give a just chronicle of the Cup defense.', #437s VIGILANT, #429s NAVAHOE, VALKYRIE II, VALKYRIE III, #435s COLONIA, #452s DEFENDER, GENESTA, BRITANNIA, PILGRIM, JUBILEE, #551s CONSTITUTION, #605s RELIANCE, #725s RESOLUTE; [This letter published as 'Letter One' in Herreshoff, Stephens. Their Last Letters 1930-1938. Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, RI, 1988, p. 1.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Letter (copy) to Stephens, William P. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_20570. Correspondence, Folder 59. 1930-05-13.)
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"[Item Description:] Handwritten letter: 'I have been much interested in reading your paper in the Sportsman on the match for the America Cup. I often see some strange statements made by the ordinary reporters on yachting, concerning the products that originated in the Bristol shops, of which I take no notice. But when a paper is published by such an authority as yourself, it is supposed to be reliable. But in this paper you have made some statements that are entirely false, and as it should become standard in the History of Yachting, I hope you will put aside any prejudices you have against the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company and make corrections that will give a just chronicle of the Cup defense.', #437s VIGILANT, #429s NAVAHOE, VALKYRIE II, VALKYRIE III, #435s COLONIA, #452s DEFENDER, GENESTA, BRITANNIA, PILGRIM, JUBILEE, #551s CONSTITUTION, #605s RELIANCE, #725s RESOLUTE; [This letter published as 'Letter One' in Herreshoff, Stephens. Their Last Letters 1930-1938. Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, RI, 1988, p. 1.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Letter to Stephens, William P. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_20500. Correspondence, Folder 59. 1930-05-13.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #429s Navahoe even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. "Specifications. No. 429 [Navahoe]." No place [Bristol], no date [September? 1892]. (1,983 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. Detailed vessel specifications for #429s Navahoe.

• Navahoe (HMCo-made index card)
• Navahoe (MIT Museum-made index card)
• Note: The vessel index cards comprise two sets of a total of some 3200 cards about vessels built by HMCo, with dimensions and information regarding drawings, later or former vessel names, and owners. They were compiled from HMCo's early days until 1920 and added to in later decades, apparently by Hart Nautical curator William A. Baker and his successors. While HMCo seems to have used only one set of index cards, all sorted by name and, where no name was available, by number, later users at MIT apparently divided them into two sets of cards, one sorted by vessel name, the other by vessel number and greatly expanded the number of cards. Original HMCo cards are usually lined and almost always punched with a hole at bottom center while later cards usually have no hole, are unlined, and often carry substantially less information. All cards are held by the Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections of the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass.

Name: Navahoe
Type: Cutter
Length: 84'
Owner: Carroll, R. P.

Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. "A Partial List of Herreshoff Clients." In: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Herreshoff Yachts. Bristol, Rhode Island, ca. 1931.

• Navahoe
• 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.

Name: Navahoe
Type: 84' cutter
Owner: R. Phelps Carroll
Year: 1893
Row No.: 465

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.

Month: Sept
Day: 20
Year: 1892
E/P/S: S
No.: 0429
Name: Navahoe
LW: 84' 0"
B: 23'
D: 13'
Rig: Cutter
CB: y
Ballast: Lead
Amount: 42500.00
Notes Constr. Record: part ballast inside
Last Name: Carroll
First Name: R. P.

Source: Vermilya, Peter and Maynard Bray. "Transcription of the HMCo. Construction Record." Unpublished database, ca. 2000.

Note: The transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Peter Vermilya and Maynard Bray was performed independently (and earlier) than that by Claas van der Linde. A comparison of the two transcriptions can be particularly useful in those many cases where the handwriting in the Construction Record is difficult to decipher.

"Navahoe was the first large steel sailing vessel built by HMCo. She was exported to Germany in 1902." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 2, 2008.)

"Converted to yawl from designs by Clinton Crane." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. [Info based on Crane, Clinton. Clinton Crane's Yachting Memories, New York, 1952, p. 100.] January 26, 2009.)

"Navahoe's sailplan as a yawl was published in the German magazine Die Yacht of January 5, 1905 on p. 285 (together with several photos of Navahoe on preceding pages)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. July 3, 2010.)

"Navahoe was first intended as a schooner. Note plans 87-14 and 87-15 for 'Detail of construction of 84' w.l. Schooner' and 'Cabin plan 84' w.l. Schooner' which reference Navahoe. The Boston Globe of September 11, 1892, p. 9 also reported that Herreshoff was building a steel schooner for Royal Phelps Carroll." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 31, 2015.)

"Built in 151 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $281/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

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