HMCo #609s Avalon? [BB15 for R. W. Emmons]

Particulars

Construction_Record_Title.jpgName: Avalon? [BB15 for R. W. Emmons]
Later Name(s): [Vixen??? (1926-1941)], [Sun Cheong??? (1955-1974)], [Vixen??? (-ca2013)]
Type: Buzzards Bay 15 Footer
Designed by: NGH
Contract: 1903-5-5
Construction: Wood
LOA: 24' 6" (7.47m)
LWL: 15' (4.57m)
Beam: 5' 10" (1.78m)
Draft: 2' 3" (0.69m)
Rig: Sloop
Sail Area: 353sq ft (32.7sq m)
Displ.: 2,432 lbs (1,103 kg)
Centerboard: yes
Ballast: Lead outside
Built for: Emmons, Robert W. [for Fred Ayer, Jr.?]
Amount: $950.00

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 #711Model number: 711
Model location: H.M.M. Model Room North Wall Right

Vessels from this model:
92 built, modeled by NGH
#503s Vim [First BB15] (1899)
#504s Flickamaroo [Flickerman, Flickermaroo, Flickermaru] (1899)
#505s Peacock (1899, Extant)
#506s Eaglet (1899, Extant)
#507s Compress (1899)
#508s Teaser (1899)
#509s Go Bye (1899)
#511s Uarda (1899)
#513s Hope (1899, Extant)
#516s Budda [Budha] (1899)
#518s Sis (1899)
#519s Next (1899)
#521s Kirstie (1899)
#525s Breeze (1899)
#526s Kingfisher [King Fisher] (1899)
#527s Nora [Nova? Nena?] (1899)
#528s [Newport 15 for W. C. Whitney] (1899)
#535s Moya (1900)
#540s Sand Piper [Sandpiper] (1900)
#543s Hawk [Scud?] (1900)
#544s Eaglet (1900)
#550s Toby (1901, Extant)
#554s Nora (1901, Extant)
#556s Mystral [Mistral] (1901)
#557s Twinkle (1901)
#558s Ginty (1901)
#559s Little Robin (1901)
#577s Catspaw [Cats Paw] (1902)
#584s Minnow [Minvou, Minvon] (1902)
#585s Waturus [Waterus] (1902)
#587s Whisper (1902)
#588s Echo (1902, Extant)
#589s Yacona [Yacuna, Wacona] (1902)
#609s Avalon? [BB15 for R. W. Emmons] (1903)
#645s Seeps (1905, Extant)
#649s Tobey [Toby] (1905)
#650s Tinker (1905)
#651s Yalu (1905)
#652s Snipe (1905, Extant)
#653s Jack (1905)
#654s Jill (1905)
#655s White Cap [Whitecap] (1905)
#656s Muriel (1906)
#661s Mongoose (1906)
#662s [BB15 for E. D. Thayer] (1906)
#671s Murmur (1907)
#672s Anita (1907)
#673s Rebekah (1907, Extant)
#674s Flicker [BB15 for St. Y. Columbia] (1907, Extant)
#677s Dad [BB15 for St. Y Iolanda] (1908)
#680s Polly (1908)
#682s Marjorie [BB15 for St. Y. Atalanta ex-Lorena?] (1908)
#683s Snail (1908)
#686s Try (1909)
#693s Endeavor (1909, Extant)
#700s Mecoh [Micoh] (1910)
#704s Pheasant (1910)
#726s Hyassa (1913)
#730s Scoot (1914, Extant)
#731s Maribee (1914, Extant)
#735s Noanet (1914, Extant)
#739s Natella (1914)
#740s Ann [Anne] (1914)
#763s Buzzard (1915)
#784s Tricoon (1916)
#785s Flickamaroo [Flickermaru II] (1916, Extant)
#786s Ptiloris [Pitloris] (1916, Extant)
#787s Elf (1916, Extant)
#809s Splash (1916)
#810s Venture (1916)
#822s Buccaneer (1917, Extant)
#823s Poilu (1917)
#880s Josephine (1923, Extant)
#881s Miss Q. (1923, Extant)
#882s Shanendowa (1923, Extant)
#883s Thistle (1923, Extant)
#884s Fantasy (1923, Extant)
#885s Viking I (1923, Extant)
#886s Alert (1923, Extant)
#887s Pixie (1923, Extant)
#888s How Come (1923)
#889s Althea (1923)
#890s Tobasco [Tabasco, Tobasca] (1923, Extant)
#919s Sea Hawk [Seahawk] (1925, Extant)
#920s Mayfly (1925)
#968s Maureen (1925)
#981s Louanna (1925)
#997s Nabob II (1926)
#998s Nancy (1926)
#1016s [Newport 15 for Ogden Mills] (1928)
#1017s [Newport 15 for Lanier] (1928)
#1079s Monsoon (1927, Extant)

Original text on model:
"Buzzards Bay 15 footers No. 503 class December 4, 1898 scale 1/12
No. 559 LITTLE ROBIN with keel for 4' draft shear raised 4" 16' 3" w.l. 1903 by keel 22" deep" (Source: Original handwritten annotation on model. Undated.)

Model Description:
"15' lwl Buzzards Bay 15-class keel/centerboard sloops of 1898 and later. Also slightly deeper Newport 15-class, Marconi-rigged Watch Hill 15-class, the 16'4" lwl keel sloop Little Robin with freeboard added of 1901, the 15' lwl Flicker of 1907, etc. #513s Hope and #880s Josephine are in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum." (Source: Bray, Maynard. 2004.)

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.


Offsets

Offset booklet number(s): HH.4.113

Offset booklet contents:
#503 - #509, #511, #513, #516, #518 - #519, #521, #525 - #528, #535, #540, #543 - #544, #550, #554, #556 - #559, #577, #584 - #585, #609, #645, #674 (changes), #880-class [15' w.l. Buzzards Bay 15'-class sloops et. al].


Offset Booklet(s) in Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass. (Restricted access --- see curator.)

Drawings

Main drawing Dwg 076-006 (HH.5.05473) Explore all drawings relating to this boat.

List of drawings:
   Drawings believed to have been first drawn for, or being first referenced to
   HMCo #609s Avalon? [BB15 for R. W. Emmons] are listed in bold.
   Click on Dwg number for preview, on HH number to see at M.I.T. Museum.
  1. Dwg 075-000 (HH.5.05468); Construction Dwg > Fiddler - Buzzard's Bay 15 ft. Class, 24'-10" L.O.A., 15'-0" L.W.L., 6'-9 1/2" B., 2'-3 1/2" D. (1959 ?)
  2. Dwg 096-107 (HH.5.08067.1): Sails > 15 ft. One Design Class for 1899 (1898-11-19)
  3. Dwg 130-062 (HH.5.10365); Sails > 15 ft. One Design Class for 1899 (1898-11-19)
  4. Dwg 127-066 (HH.5.09934): Sails > Sails Buzzards Bay 15 Footers (1898-12-06)
  5. Dwg 076-006 (HH.5.05473); Construction Dwg > One Design Class 15 Footers for Buzzard's Bay (1898-12-28)
  6. Dwg 060-039 (HH.5.04262); Centreboard for Nos. 503 - 509, 513, 516, Buzzards Bay 15-Footers (1898-12-30)
  7. Dwg 064-034 (HH.5.04510); Rudder, etc. for Nos. 503-509, 513, 516, 704, Buzzard's Bay 15 Footers (1898-12-31)
  8. Dwg 091-056 (HH.5.07327): Running Rigging for 15-Footers, Standing Rigging No. 503, 509 and Others (ca. 1899)
  9. Dwg 091-056 (HH.5.07327.1): Running Rigging for 15-Footers, Standing Rigging No. 503, 509 and Others (ca. 1899)
  10. Dwg 091-056 (HH.5.07327.2): Running Rigging for 15-Footers, Standing Rigging No. 503, 509 and Others (ca. 1899)
  11. Dwg 091-056 (HH.5.07327.3): Running Rigging for 15-Footers, Standing Rigging No. 503, 509 and Others (ca. 1899)
  12. Dwg 091-056 (HH.5.07326); Block and Metal List for # 503, Buzzard's Bay 15 ft. Class (1899-01-05)
  13. Dwg 080-065 (N/A): Spars for 15 Footers Buzzard's Bay (1899-01-11 ?)
  14. Dwg 078-049 (HH.5.05765): Spreaders for 15 ft. Special Class # 503 (1899-03-27)
  15. Dwg 034-077 (HH.5.02488): Buzzard Bay Boats - Cradle for Fifteen Footer (1900-05-12)
  16. Dwg 079-077 (HH.5.05886): Bobstay Plate and Hook # 513 and 556 (15 Footers) (1901-05-01)
  17. Dwg 081-014 (HH.5.06102); Boom Crutch for 15 Footers # 503 etc. (1902-08-01)
  18. Dwg 091-158 (HH.5.07436): 15' W.L. Class [Rigging List] (1904-05-10)
  19. Dwg 034-108 (HH.5.02518): Cradle for Buzzards Bay 30 Footers Used Also for # 701 and A Buzzards Bay 15 Footer (1911-06-07)
  20. Dwg 096-107 (HH.5.08067): Sails > 15 ft. One Design Class of 1899 (1912-06-13)
  21. Dwg 096-124 (): Sails > [Sail Plan for] Buzzards Bay 15ft Class (1921-10-03 ?)
  22. Dwg 096-124 (HH.5.08086): Sails > Spinnaker for Buzzards Bay 15 Footer (1926-04-29)
  23. Dwg 130-000 (HH.5.10547); Sails > Buzzard's Bay 15 Footer (1934-12-27)
  24. Dwg 148-000 (HH.5.12217): Sails > Buzzard's Bay 15 Footer with Marconi Rig (1934-12-27)
  25. Dwg 075-000 (HH.5.05469): Sails > Fiddler - Buzzard's Bay 15 ft. Class (ca. 1959)
Source: Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Together with: Hasselbalch, Kurt with Frances Overcash and Angela Reddin. Guide to The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass., 1997. Together with: Numerous additions and corrections by Claas van der Linde.
Note: The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection is copyrighted by the Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections of the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass. Permission to incorporate information from it in the Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné is gratefully acknowledged. The use of this information is permitted solely for research purposes. No part of it is to be published in any form whatsoever.

Documents

Nathanael G. Herreshoff

"... Buzzards Bay 15 [Name], 503+ [Building Number], 16.8 [Rating], 15 [Waterline], 16.56 [L = length at 1/4 beam as for Universal Rule], 5.98 [B = breadth of waterline as for Universal Rule], 2.4 [d = draft of water as for Universal Rule], 38 [D = displacement in cubic foot as for Universal Rule (= 2,432 lbs or 1.1 long tons)], 352.5 [Sail Area], 500 [Sail limit Present rule], -147.5 [Diff.], 326 [Sail limit Proposed rule], 26.5 [Diff.], Requires crew to windward [Notes] ..." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Formula for Obtaining the Limit of Sail-Area in Yachts when Measured by the Universal Rule Formula." Bristol, R.I., July 13, 1907 with later additions. Original handwritten (in ink) document with penciled additions. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_00080.)

"Also in 1899, the Buzzards Bay Fifteen Footers started, first with an order of seven, but augmented to seventeen. This class has been added to for thirty-one years, so there have been about eighty built." (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. 67.)

Further Reading
  • Cheever, David. "The Herreshoff Fifteens." The Log of Mystic Seaport, v. 24, No. 2., Summer 1972, p. 38-44. (106 kB)
    Document is copyrighted: Yes. Short class history, detailed vessel description and appreciation and a thrilling account of a typical race of Buzzards Bay 15 at the Beverly Yacht Club. Special focus on #554s Fiddler ex-Nora, now in the collection of Mystic Seaport Museum.
  • Brainerd, Alec with Bernard H. Gustin and Steven K. Nagy. "The Herreshoff 15 is Alive and Well." In: Herreshoff Marine Museum (Publisher). Proceedings. The Classic Yacht Symposium 2010. Bristol, R.I. 2010. (5,834 kB)
    Document is copyrighted: Yes. Copyright holder: Alec Brainerd, Bernard H. Gustin, Steven K. Nagy / Herreshoff Marine Museum. Class history, construction and restoration comments, building and sailing a replica, detailed class register (including replicas). Photos, drawings.
  • van der Linde, Claas. "Herreshoff 15-Footers: Building Dates and Model Variations." December 7, 2021. (380 kB)
    Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Claas van der Linde. Tabular summary of Herreshoff 15-footer construction dates and model variations. Together with information of BB15 sail numbers, boat names and boat owners from various year books of the Beverly Yacht Club.

Supplement

From the 1920 and earlier HMCo Index Cards at the MIT Museum
  • 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.
From the 2000 (ca.) Transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Vermilya/Bray

Month: May
Day: 5
Year: 1903
E/P/S: S
No.: 0609
LW: 15'
B: 5' 10"
D: 2' 3"
Rig: J & M
CB: y
Ballast: Lead O.
Amount: 950.00
Last Name: Emmons
First Name: R. W.

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.

Research Note(s)

"Regular Buzzards Bay 15s had a 15-foot waterline, 6' 9" beam, 2' 3" draft plus a centerboard, gaff rig, and a coaming that curves around the front of the cockpit." (Source: Nagy, Steve. June 1, 2008.)

"E-13 was the only new sail number that was added between 1902 and 1904 to the fleet of BB15s at the Beverly Yacht Club (as per the club's year books). It was for Avalon, which was sailed by Fred Ayer, Jr. During this time period, #609s was the only BB15 (as opposed to other 15-footer variants) that was built at HMCo. She was ordered by R. W. Emmons, 2d who had ordered many other BB15s for Beverly Yacht Club members before. Thus, there is every indication that #609s was Avalon, E-13, owned by Fred Ayer, Jr." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. April 23, 2014.)

"According to notes taken by Bill Beardsley #519s Vixen ex-Next (which was cut up by Dave Petersen of the Wooden Tangen in ca. 2014) may actually be #609s. The Beverly Yacht Club yearbooks of 1926 to 1941 listed a BB-15 named Vixen with the sail number E-13. Dave Petersen's boat was also named Vixen and carried the sail number E-13. Petersen's Vixen was apparently known to have formerly been named Sun Cheong and the BYC yearbooks of 1955-1974 listed a BB-15 of that name owned by James R. Fraser but without a sail number." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. April 9, 2015.)

"[Sail area 352.5 sq.ft.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Formula for Obtaining the Limit of Sail-Area in Yachts when Measured by the Universal Rule Formula." Bristol, R.I., July 13, 1907 with later additions. Original handwritten (in ink) document with penciled additions. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_00080.)

"[Displacement (38 cubic feet = 2432 lbs).]" (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Formula for Obtaining the Limit of Sail-Area in Yachts when Measured by the Universal Rule Formula." Bristol, R.I., July 13, 1907 with later additions. Original handwritten (in ink) document with penciled additions. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_00080.)

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: HMCo #609s Avalon? [BB15 for R. W. Emmons]. Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné. https://herreshoff.info/Docs/S00609_15_Buzzards_Bay_for_R_W_Emmons.htm.