HMCo #642s Nautilus

"[1905-03-09] Thu 9: Took #639 [Cara Mia] to cove lot and turned over #642 [Nautilus].
[1905-03-20] Mon 20: ... Took #642 [Nautilus] to cove in PM." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1905. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"Herreshoff Manufacturing Company
Bristol, R.I. October 8, 1904
Mr. N. D. Lawton
40 Wall Street, New York
My dear Mr. Lawton,
I have studied over your proposition for a restricted or one design class, and keeping well in mind your P. 1, I have worked out what seems to me the largest desirable boat to be easily handled with one paid hand. The w.l. and rating are larger than you have specified, but I think not too large to make a good wholesome boat. The w.l. of 30' is sufficient to make her come within the limits of the New York Yacht Club [for representation in the club]. The items of size are as follows. Length o.a. 40ft 8in. Length of w.l. 30ft. Mean length of quarter beam 28ft 5in. Approx. displacement 245 cu.ft. and with sail area 1000 sq.ft. rating w'ld be 26ft.
Mimosa III [#610s] has rating of about 28' and sail area of over 1100 sqft. also[?] obtain a boat of not more than 25 rating and keep her in good proposition the w.l. should be about 28 1/2 and sail 925.
I believe the larger boat as above would be more satisfactory. The inclosed b[lue] p[rint] [plan 'Design for 26' rating one design class, 40ft-8in o.a., 30ft w.l., 8ft-8in beam, 6' draft', M.I.T. no. HH.5.02172, dated October 7, 1904] will give you idea of room.
If this proposition is carried through, I would like very much to design the boats, and have them built at our shops, and if you can let me know which size seems most satisfactory and in what manner they would be built --- if single or double planked and if of yellow pine of mahogany, also about finish inside, if about like Bobtail [#579s] or more complete as like the Buzzards Bay Class --- we would be pleased to give you bids.
I understand there is a movement on foot to to[sic] modify the N.Y.Y. Club measurement rules and bring the rules of other clubs to be uniform with it. The plan is an excellent one and I hope will be carried though, but I hope the modifications will be well considered before being adapted, as I think they are not quite correct.
Yours sincerely,
Nath'l G. Herreshoff." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. [Letter to N. D. Lawton.] New York Yacht Club Archive. October 8, 1904.)

"Bristol, R.I.
October 11, 1904
N. D. Lawton, Esq.
40 Wall St, New York
Dear Mr. Lawton,
Yours of yesterday is at hand, and I have discussed the building of a class of boats with my brother and he has written you, which I inclose with this.
Double planking, in my mind is the best, that is double to below the turn of the builge[sic]. On the flat of the floor single planking seems to be just as good. As the boats are a size the younger generation would cruise in a good deal it appeared to us best to have them rather completely fitted inside to make them comfortable cruisers, and in as nice shape as the Buzzards Bay Class. Of course in racing together they will be on even footing but with boats rigged for light weather they would be at a disadvantage when the winds are light.
Regarding racing rules I think it of great importance to have a limit of sail area in proportion to the principle[sic] hull factor. --- A rig that is most suitable for cruising along our coast in summer weather and not for racing in any particular location where the winds are light. If all boats were so restricted how much better racing would be! I think the riggs[sic] should be about like the [New York] 70s, Altair [#539s] and the Mimosa III [#610s], larger than the imported cutters, but less than the present limit in the NYYC rule. I would make it at 1.25L = sqrt(S) for vessels carrying topsails and 1.15L or possibly 1.12L = sqrt(S) in the smaller craft that are rigged without topsails.
This part[?] formula applied the [sic, i.e. to] the design now in consideration, it about 1050 [sqft] using 1.15 and 1000 using 1.12.
Very sincerely yours,
Nath'l G. Herreshoff. (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. [Letter to N. D. Lawton.] New York Yacht Club Archive. October 11, 1904.)

"Bristol, R.I.
Oct. 12th 1904
Dear Butler
... About the onedesign. I know the beam is not large, but it was my intention to give the boats a good strong construction and beside a good lot of ballast, and get easy lines by having a liberal waterline length. A type more like Ingomar [#590s], that would stand up well in a breeze and yet move easily in light weather. They would not sail on their ear but have stability and good controll[sic], so you might sail her home in a three reef breeze without bothering to tie down.
I agree with you about the cockpit, an open low down one would be pleasanter for me, but there is no doubt but what the high one is the safer, and I take it they will be used more by the younger generation, who will of course cruise in them a good deal, and for their use the high cockpit is best. However I see no reason why part of the boats could have high and part low cockpits, and draw in to lots. If the class materializes I would like very much to design them and feel that I could get a satisfactory boat. I am not sure if I have been suggesting too large a boat or not, if I am please let me know, and keep me posted any way.
Yours sincerely
Nath'l G. Herreshoff ... " (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. [Letter to Butler Duncan.] New York Yacht Club Archive. October 12, 1904.)

"Bristol, R.I.
Oct 19, 1904
My dear Mr. Lawton,
Referring to yours of 14th I think it would be best for you to determine just about what size and type of boats you want and the manner in which they are to be built, and then we would like to bid on the job. I know no reason why we cannot do a good class of work as cheaply as anyone who makes a living profit from it. As to cheaper work, or only partly finishing the boats, leaving it for someone else to furnish and complete I think we would not care to undertake it.
Yours sincerely,
Nath'l G. Herreshoff." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. [Letter to N. D. Lawton.] New York Yacht Club Archive. October 19, 1904.)

"Bristol, R.I.
Oct 19 1904
Dear Butler,
The head room under cabin top would be about 5ft 2in. I think under skylight of ordinary proportions not over 6in more.
To get standing room under skylights the house and skylight would have to be rather high for good looks.
Although looking clumsy, I think that is a matter of fashion rather than good taste. Please understand I have not been cutting off the ends, but lengthing[sic] the water line to get the surface a little more vertical and freer[?] from thumps from the sea. It may not add anything to the speed and costs nothing at all in the N.Y.Y.C. measurement rule, but will add a great deal to the seagoing qualities and to my eye makes a much better looking boat, and I believe most everyone will look at it that way after a fair trial under our rules.
I would not expect these boats to sail with the Alert [#581s], as Alert has a much larger rig and will sail away in light weather. In fresh breezes I think they should come with there time allowance. Under NYYC rules Alert would measure about 30ft racing length to about 26 for the proposed ones.
Yours sincerely
Nath'l G. Herreshoff" (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. [Letter to Butler Duncan.] New York Yacht Club Archive. October 19, 1904.)

"... N.Y.Y.C. 30 [Name], 626+ [Building Number], 26.4 [Rating], 30 [Waterline], 29 [L = length at 1/4 beam as for Universal Rule], 8.7 [B = breadth of waterline as for Universal Rule], 6.29 [d = draft of water as for Universal Rule], 276 [D = displacement in cubic foot as for Universal Rule (= 17,632 lbs or 7.9 long tons)], 1085 [Sail Area], 1530 [Sail limit Present rule], -445 [Diff.], 1132 [Sail limit Proposed rule], 47 [Diff.], quite able [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.)

"Coconut Grove, Fla - March 26 1931 {1931/03/26} Dear Francis ... I think the Newport 30s got thru their racing before the N.Y.Y.C 30s were built. I cannot recollect of their sailing togather. My impression is the Newports' might have been a little faster to windward & reaching in moderate to fresh breezes, and possibly in strong winds, for they soon found reefed boats were beaten by those with all sail, even in 2 or 3 reef breezes. ... I have not their dimensions with me, but as well as I can recollect, ... The NYYCs were; as designed, 43' 5" o.a. [over all] 30' w.l. [waterline] 8' 8" beam, 6' 3 1/2" draft. Wgt hull all above lead 5800 lbs. Rig 900. - Equipment & furnishings & c - 1850. Outside lead 9100. Total 17650. = 276 cu. [p2] The Newports had about 1000 sqft sail and the N.Y.Y.Cs 1085. ... Your affect - Father." (Source: Mystic Seaport Museum, L. Francis Herreshoff Collection, Box 17, Folder 7: Letter from N. G. Herreshoff to L. F. Herreshoff.)

"In 1905, thirty-four sailing yachts were built, including the Twenty Rater SONYA, and the New York Yacht Club Class of Thirty Footers (18 boats)." (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. 70-71.)

"#17 name in Seattle 1955. Owned on West Coast - Seattle. In Nov. 1953 she was rammed in her slip by 80ft power yacht [???] into her. Night [???] [???] amidships, splintered mast, crushed cabin trunk, 1ft 2in hole tumblehome port side. Insurance Co. declared her total loss." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. "Phryne." Handwritten note on vessel index card in the collection of the Herreshoff Museum, Bristol, R.I. No place, no date.)

"In mentioning the smaller yachts of that time I must not fail to speak of the N.Y.Y.C. thirty-footers which came out in 1905: they were the fourth class of one-design thirty-footers Captain Nat designed, the other classes being the Newport Thirties, 1896; Buzzards Bay Thirties, 1902; Bar Harbor Thirties, 1903. The N.Y.Y.C. Thirties, I believe, were the first one-design class built by any one under the Universal Rule, and they were safe, sane, able craft making comfortable cruisers for their size, and a few of them accompanied the N.Y.Y.C. on its cruises during the next several years. Their principal dimensions were L.O.A., forty-three feet six inches; L.W.L., thirty feet; beam, eight feet ten inches; draft, six feet three inches. They had about one thousand square feet of sail area, and cost $4,000 complete with eighty-eight separate items of equipment, which seems amazingly cheap today, but these Thirties were probably the first boats built with a carefully planned system of quantity production. There were eighteen of them and they were built in what was called the middle shop of the Herreshoff Company, which was a new shop then, and that winter was given over entirely to building these Thirties. There were generally three of them side by side in this production row, the first one upside down over her molds being planked; the next one turned right side up having her deck laid and interior built; while the last one had been set on her lead and was being finished off and painted. After they really got in production these boats shifted along in this production line at the rate of one a week, or in other words one was completed each week and was taken away to the storage yard on a special wide-wheeled low gear hauled by four horses. Of course most all the parts of these boats were prefabricated, and there was a pattern for each plank and other principal parts which were gotten out about eighteen at a time. These Thirties were double planked with cypress inner planking and yellow pine outer planking set in shellac which seems to be a very good combination; while cypress is not often used for inner planking on account of its weight, it is a wonderful wood to resist rot.
When these Thirties were rigged I happened to be working with the rigging gang and remember well that we rigged one in seven minutes, which was done as follows. As the Thirty came down the track in her cradle to be launched we had her mast, with all its rigging attached and stopped down, hanging from a derrick right over where she would be as she floated off the cradle. Her boom, sheets, and other parts were on a scow alongside. When the Thirty moved under the derrick her mast was lowered in place and about six men leaped aboard, each knowing exactly what to do as we had previously rigged several just like her. Every part fitted perfectly, and after the pins of the turnbuckles were in place we rove off her sheets and halyards as if we were setting a spinnaker in a race. Those were the days when men knew how to do things and did them.
The New York Yacht Club Thirties had a remarkable queue of owners, many of whom had had much larger yachts. ...
It would be hard to get together at any time a class of better sailor men and they raced the Thirties very hard and had few protests. Soon after they came out it was found that it never paid to reef in a race, and the Thirties were certainly great sail luggers; they often carried full sail in winds of forty-five miles per hour.
This class is said to have raced more than any other. As they raced very actively the first ten years and fairly regularly the first thirty years, this statement is probably true. They are now forty-five years old and appear structurally sound with the topsides nearly as smooth as when new. These boats no doubt have given more fun for the money than any boats ever built for their annual expense has been small as they have required almost no repairs or alterations.
The Thirties were almost exactly alike when new and it was told that the one that came in last at the end of the first year came in at the head of the class some subsequent year. Many different ones have won the season's championship in their turn. Many one-design classes have come and gone since the New York Yacht Club Thirties were built, but none of them has begun to hold its popularity over as great a term of years. These New York Thirties are a monument to Captain Nat's genius in construction, and it is very likely that if any of their parts had been either larger or smaller, or of different material, they would not have stood so many years of hard driving." (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. 272-274.)

"The first one-design class built under the rule was the New York Yacht Club's Thirties. The Thirty is what they were rated, not their waterline length. Their general dimensions were LOA 43'6"; LWL about 29'; beam 8'10"; draft 6'3". Some people, and Lloyds Register, have thought these boats were 30' WL, but that is not so. They were called 30-footers because their rating was 30'. They cost $4,000.00, and I assume that several of them sold for higher figures during their long life. One of the reasons the Thirties were so cheap was that there were eighteen of them built at once. They were built in a carefully planned system of quantity production with four of them in the production line. After production settled down these boats took one month to produce, and were turned out at the rate of one a week. They even had a pattern for each plank, and, as the Herreshoff Company made all of the hardware and sails, there was no holdup in waiting for parts made by others. The builders also had the advantage of having built five or six other one-design classes. Although the Thirties were built cheaply they must have been built well for it is said some of them raced more races than any type of boat ever built, and I am told some of them are quite sound now at the age of fifty-seven years. They have probably given more pleasure and sport for the money than any yachts.
It was found in their first year of racing that it never paid to reef in a race, and these little ships carried whole sail in heavy squalls and raced during storms. The Thirties went on many New York Yacht Club runs in their early years. They were very small vessels compared to the fleets before 1917. They were very much alike in dimension and speed, perhaps more so than any class ever built, and if I remember a-right after all these years, one of the best helmsmen on the Sound bought the one which came in last in their first year's racing and brought her in first at the end of the next year. This is not so strange for, although few people seem to realize it, slight variation in size and shape have much less influence on the speed of a vessel than such things as the condition of the yacht and her sails, while helmsmanship and tactics used in the race are of much greater importance. Thus in one-design classes the same few yachts win day after day with tiresome monotony, and the indifferent or second-class sailors should never compete in one-design classes but should always race in open classes where occasionally they have a chance to win if they have a yacht that is either generally superior or a one-weather boat that has an advantage under certain conditions." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. An Introduction to Yachting. New York, 1963, p. 165.)

"Herreshoff Manufacturing Company
Bristol, R.I.
Oct. 11, 1904
Mr. N. D. Lawton, Esq.
40 Wall St,
New York, N.Y.
Dear Sir:-
Referring to the correspondence with our Mr. N. G. Herreshoff and blue print submitted you, we would be pleased to design and build for you and your associates, eight or more fast cruising sloop yachts, each having the following general dimensions:-
Length over all 40ft 8in.
Length on water line 30ft.
Beam 8ft 8in.
Draft 6ft.
To be constructed throughout in the very best manner and of the best materials of their respective kinds. The outboard planking to be double. Main deck to be left bright or covered with canvass as may be preferred.
Deck house to be of mahogany. Inside finish to be in white with mahogany trimmings.
To have water closet, basin, stove, cushions, mattresses, pillows, bed clothing and a moderate quantity of dishes.
Yacht to be rigged complete, having hollow mast, gaff and boom. Each yacht to have a Mainsail, # 1 Jib, # 2 Jib, Balloon Jib and Spinnaker.
All painting and varnishing to be done in the most thorough manner. Bottom to have the Herreshoff Anti-Fouling paint. To be painted white above water line and to have a gilt name on stern. The boats to be steered by a tiller. Each boat to have one anchor with suitable cable, deck lines, 2 fenders and 4 life preservers. Also running and anchor lights and spirit compass with light.
If ordered soon we can build a lot of eight boats for the sum of Thirty-five Thousand Two Hundred ($35,200.00) dollars. First payment to be Eighty-eight Hundred ($8800.00) dollars, payable upon the signing of the contract. Second payment to be Eighty-eight Hundred ($8800.00) dollars, payable when the first four boats are completed. Third payment to be Eighty-eight Hundred ($8800.00) dollars, payable when the second four boats are completed. The fourth and final payment to be Eleven Hundred ($1100.00) dollars on each boat, when it is delivered alongside of our dock at Bristol, R. I.
Yours respectfully,
Herreshoff Mfg CO.
John B. Herreshoff. Prest.
[Signed for JBH:] N.B.S. [Newell B. Sheldon].
[With hand-scribbled calculation in lower left corner: 8 / $35200.00 - $4400.00.]" (Source: Herreshoff, John B. [Letter to N. D. Lawton.] New York Yacht Club Archive. October 11, 1904.)

"Bristol, R. I., Nov. 5. 1904. ... The Herreshoffs are preparing to build new boats in the 30-foot classes." (Source: Anon. "X.P.D.N.C. Is A Flyer." Boston Herald, November 6, 1904, p. ?.)

"[License issued to vessel under 20 tons. Pos. 186:]
Nautilus, sloop yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, 1905.
8 tons; 34 ft. x 9 ft. x 5.3 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
No specifications shown.
Lic[ensed] ([as] yacht) Apr. 24, 1905. Owner: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol. Master: N. G. Herreshoff, Bristol. ([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. Nautilus.)

"The following sales have been made through the office of Stanley M. Seaman: ... The New York Y. C 30-footer Nautilus, sold for E. E. Dickenson to Chas. W. Mitchell, of New Britain, Conn., who will enter her in all races for this class." (Source: Anon. "Yachts Change Hands." Forest and Stream, May 24, 1913 p. 661.)

"... The roster of the yachts which will race this year, as compiled by Frank Bowne Jones, Vice President of the association [Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound], is headed by six of the New York Yacht Club fifty-footers, all of which were in seclusion last year, and from these all the way down through the list come classes which have provided able competition in these events in the past.
The list of the boats by classes, with sailing number and owner's name, follows : ... New York 30-Footers, D. R. Richardson, Secretary --- 1, Alera [#626s], F. W. Belknap; 2, Silhouette [ex Ibis #627s], R. H. Amberg; 4, Houqua [ex Maid of Meudon #629s], W. G. Low Jr.; 5, Lena [ex Pintail #630s], O. Reid; 7, Alice [ex Tabasco #632s], G. Davis; 9, Amorita [ex Adelaide II #635s], F. B. Bragdon; 11, Oriole [#637s], S. C. Pirie; 12, Rowdy [ex Neola ll #638s], H. L. Curry; 13, Minx [#648s], W. H. Hoffman; 15, Banzai [#640s], E. Lang; 16, Nautilus [#642s], M. E. Hatfield; 18, Adois [sic, i.e. Adios ex Anemone II #647s], F. L. Richards; 19, Mizpah [ex Cara Mia #639s], D. R. Richardson. ..." (Source: Anon. "N. Y. Fifty-Footers Head Yachting Roster." New York Times, May 24, 1921, p. 23.)

"An indication of the spirit of Long Island Sound yachting was seen in the thirty-foot class of the New York Yacht Club. On Saturday M. E. Hatfield's Nautilus lost her mast in the race of the Seawanhaka-Corinthian Yacht Club. To-day she appeared here with a new stick which had been borrowed from Banzai, the property of Edmund Lang, a thirty-footer not in commission this summer. With the new stick and a rig not setting the best Nautilus won in the division." (Source: Anon. "Nautilus Wins With Borrowed Mast." New York Tribune, September 6, 1921, p. 11.)

"HAVING passed through their twentieth racing season, it may be said that the New York Yacht Club Thirty-footers offer the finest example in American racing annals of what it means to have a good class hold together. Leaving the building ways at the famed Herreshoff yards at Bristol in the spring of 1905, eighteen of these fine racing sloops took a lively part in the sport of that season. Now, a score of years later, we find that sixteen of the 'Thirties' were in commission during the past season and that many of them took part in the racing and cruising throughout the season on Long Island Sound. Considering the age of the class, this is truly a remarkable showing. ...
A roster of the original owners of the Thirties contains names that have loomed large at times in American yachting. ... Nautilus (16) [was initially owned by] Addison G. and H. Wilmer Hanan. ...
In gathering data for a record of this truly remarkable yacht racing class the writer received valuable assistance from W. P. Stephens, recorder of the Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound, and Harry L. Maxwell. The following complete list of the Thirties and their many owners was compiled from the records of Mr. Stephens: ...
16. Nautilus. Built for A. G. and H. W. Hanan. 1908. E. E. Dickinson Jr. --- 1913, Charles H. Mitchell --- 1916, W. Barklie Henry --- 1919, Arthur Iselin --- 1920, Wm. H. Silk --- 1920, Harvey J. Flint (Wanderer VIII) --- 1920, M E. Hatfield (Nautilus) --- 1923, J. H. Ottley. ..." (Source: Lawrence, Seabury. "The New York Thirties. An Interesting Sketch of America's Most Famous One-Design Class." Yachting, January 1925, p. 28-30.)

"Among the celebrated skippers who will be among the missing in the title meet this year will be Bill Inslee, who has sailed in the Star Class championships each year since 1923, when he won with Taurus. Claiming it was high time he got a bigger boat, Bill invested in one of the New York Yacht Club thirty-footers. Narcissus, which he bought from Frank Page, who, in turn, went up a class and now owns one of the new ten-meter boats. Inslee has taken the name of his old star boat for the Narcissus, and it is very likely that the thirties will be an even keener class with Bill at the helm of one of them. [Note: The New York Times confused #642s Nautilus and #629s Narcissus ex-Maid of Meudon in this article. Inslee bought Nautilus and renamed her Taurus. Narcissus was indeed sold by Frank Page, but to Melville R. Smith (who then renamed her Interlude) and not to Inslee.]" (Source: Anon. "Notes of Yachts and Yachtsmen." New York Times, May 24, 1927, p. 31.)

"The following is a complete list of the Thirties, with record of their various changes of names and of owners: ...
16. Nautilus. Built for A. G. and H. W. Hanan. 1908, E. E. Dickinson, Jr. --- 1913, Charles H. Mitchell --- 1916, W. Barklie Henry --- 1919, Arthur Iselin --- 1920, Wm. H. Silk --- 1920, Harvey J. Flint (Wanderer VIII) --- 1920, M. E. Hatfield (Nautilus) --- 1923, J. H. Ottley. 1927, W. L. Inslee and Robert L. Hague (Taurus). 1927, name of yacht (Taurus). ..." (Source: Schoettle, Edwin J. "The New York Thirties." In: Sailing Craft, New York, 1928, p. 579-588.)

"N. Y. Y. C. 30-FT. CLASS Secretary S. C. Pirie
[#626s], NY-1, Alera, Howard P. Whitney, Jr.
[#627s], NY-2, Liza, D John Dallett
[#628s], NY-3, Atair, Charles T. Stork
[#629s], NY-4, Interlude, Melville R. Smith
[#630s], NY-5, Lena, Ogden Reid
[#632s], NY-7, Alice, Gherardi Davis
[#633s], NY-8, Mermaid, Leo Friede
[#635s], NY-9, Amorita, Howard C. Brokaw
[#636s], NY-10, Linnet, Charles H. Talcott
[#637s], NY-11, Oriole, S. C. Pirie
[#648s], NY-13, Phantom, A. H. Renshaw
[#640s], NY-15, Banzai, Edmond Lang
[#642s], NY-16, Taurus, W. L. Inslee
[#643s], NY-17, Phyrne, J. P. Morgan" (Source: Anon. "Racing Numbers Long Island Sound Yacht Racing Association." Rudder, August 1928, p. 102.)

"... There probably will be ten of the [New York 30] class out this season, among them the Phryne [#643s] which has been sold by J. P. Morgan to Sidney Ballou, and the Taurus ¨[#642s], sold, by William Caesar to H. W. Hanan, who, with his brother originally owned the boat when the class was formed. ..." (Source: Cormack, Shannon. "Two Prizes are Offered." New York Times, May 5, 1929, p. 168.)

"... H. Wilmer Hanan is still a Thirty owner. Two years ago he bought back Nautilus, built for him and his famous brother, the late Addison Hanan, and last summer his sons sailed the old packet to a Sound championship in her class. ..." (Source: Taylor, William H. "Sailing Summer Seas." Country Life, July, 1931, 78.)

"...To attempt a complete history of these amazing old yachts would be a prohibitive and probably a thankless undertaking. But here are a few details from their life stories: ...
No. 16. Nautilus built for Addison and Wilmer Hanan, has always carried that name except briefly in the '20s, when she was Harvey Flint's Wanderer VIII and then William L. Inslee's Taurus. A few years ago, at her mooring in Manhasset Bay, a night-landing airplane ripped off her rig, and cabin top without touching the hull. But she has been repaired by her present owner, George Nystrom, who lives aboard her at Port Washington. ..." (Source: Taylor, William H. "The Thirties Are Fifty. A Salute To The First Class Of One-Design Racing Yachts To Reach The Half Century Mark." Yachting Magazine, March 1955, p. 55-57, 120-122.)

"... Herreshoff was commissioned to make eighteen of these most sleek, low-slung racing vessels. Originally called the Nautilus, she was launched at New York Yacht Club in May of '05. Every weekend from 1905 through 1913, these beautiful paramours for other 'metapausers' of other days slid magnificently through the waters around the New York Yacht Club, ... We sailed together on my 1905 Herreschof [sic] New York '30. She was named Sailbad the Sinner. (Isn't that a lovely name for a preacher's boat?) I remember one day we were about a mile off Palm Beach, plowing southerly. It was a rich day, freighted with good vibes, the fresh mothering of a spring morning. Sailbad was singing to us, the fingers of the wind were ... [The author, baptist pastor Jess C. Moody, owned Nautilus in Florida in the early 1970s.]" (Source: Moody, Jess C. Club Sandwich Goes Great with Chicken Soup. A Collection of Best-Loved Stories from Jess Moody. Nashville, TN, 1999, p81, 101.)

"... Nautilus, #16 ... was owned by Bruce Morgan, a competent sailor, in West Palm Beach, who wanted to have her properly restored. Eventually he sailed her to Newport and sold her to the Brothers McCaffery at Narragansett Shipwrights, who were able to preserve the boat until Bill Pedersen ... agreed to undertake the job only four years ago. Nautilus now sails happily out of Coecles Harbor on Shelter Island, New York. ..." (Source: Kiremidjian, David. "The Thirties Are Twice Fifty." Typescript, n. p., 2004, p. 8.)

"By the time the eighteen New York 30s were ordered by New York Yacht Club members in the fall of 1904, the Herreshoff Mfg. Co. was well equipped to build them, having already delivered about a dozen each of the somewhat similar Buzzards Bay 30s and the Bar Harbor 31s. Still, it seems remarkable that all eighteen New York 30s could be built in such a short time and on such short notice. The first boat, in fact, was tried out only six weeks after the contract was executed, and all eighteen were ready in time for their first race at the end of May 1905.
The popularity and longevity of the New York 30s is astonishing. Naturally, racing was most active before World War I, when the boats were still quite new and were similarly rigged. Fifty-one races, for example, were held in the first season. However, the class was still active in 1930, its twenty-fifth year, and many were still racing when their Golden Jubilee was celebrated in 1955.
When WoodenBoat magazine honored the New York 30s on the occasion of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the class (1980), some two-thirds of the fleet ... could still be accounted for! It is a record unsurpassed, and substantiates why the New York 30s are considered by many to be the all-time favorite of the racer/cruiser one-designs.
Created under the aegis of the Universal Rule that calls for measuring waterline length at some distance (one-fourth of the boat's beam) out from the centerline, the New York 30s were leaner lined than their predecessors, especially forward. This made them more seakindly (the hulls pounded less when sailing to windward) and generally more desirable. For eighty-five years now, New York 30s have been raced and sailed in all kinds of weather, and, with their original gaff-sloop rigs, enjoyed a reputation for never having to be reefed, no matter how hard it blew. In her seventy-third year, Cockatoo II (New York 30 #5, ex-Pintail), was daringly sailed --- singlehanded, in fact, by her owner Lloyd Bergeson --- across the Atlantic to Norway. Had Cockatoo II not had the bad luck to fall off a wave and take a fatal blow to her hull on the return trip, she'd still be with us.
NGH was right when, after completion of the New York 30 half model in the fall of 1904, he wrote, 'I am well pleased with it. It has been more pleasure to work on, as I have not had the restraint of getting the biggest boat possible for the waterline length.... They have a good lot of ballast and, I believe, will be mighty good boats.' " (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 77.)

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections with pinpricks and displacement curves titled 'N.Y.Y.C. 30ft w.l. class. Nos. 625 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 30 - 1 - 2 [sic, i.e. #626s, #627s, #628s, #629s, #630s, #631s, #632s, #633s and eventually also #635s, #636s, #637s, #638s, #639s, #640s, #642s, #643s, #647s and #648s] Nov[ember 20, 1904'. With calculations relating to rating and quarter beam length, sail area ('S = 1105[sqft] = limit for S with 27 rating'), displacement total (275 1/2cuft = 17650lbs, displacement variations (325.4[cuft = 20825lbs] at 3in deep or 31.55[ft] w.l. and 229.8[cuft = 14707lbs] at 3in light or 28.40[ft] w.l.) , and wetted surface (309sqft). On verso (with 'Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Established 1861. Incorporated 1879' letterhead) another set of (probably earlier) penciled hull sections with calculations arriving at a total of 286cuft = 18300lbs." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_01820. Folder [no #]. 1904-11-20.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph lead sections titled '626 Class 30ft. [New York 30 class: #626s, #627s, #628s, #629s, #630s, #631s, #632s, #633s and eventually also #635s, #636s, #637s, #638s, #639s, #640s, #642s, #643s, #647s and #648s]. Scale 1/4 & 1/6. Nov[ember] 27, 94[sic, i.e. 1904]'. With calculations and note 'Required 9100lbs with c.g. at .573 of w.l.' and concluding with note 'Final result ... = 9130lbs with c.g. .573 of w.l.'. Calculations show three trials to arrive at final result." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Lead Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_08030. Folder [no #]. 1904-11-27.)
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"[Item Description:] Printed list titled 'List of Equipment. New York Yacht Club One Design Thirty Foot Class Built By Herreshoff Manufacturing Company' [NY-30 Class: #626s ALERA, #627s IBIS, #628s ATAIR, #629s MAID OF MEUDON, #630s PINTAIL, #631s DAHINDA, #632s TABASCO, #633s CARLITA, #635s ADELAIDE II, #636s LINNET, #637s ORIOLE, #638s NEOLA II, #639s CARA MIA, #640s BANZAI, #642s NAUTILUS, #643s PHRYNE, #647s ANEMONE, #648s MINX]." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.072. Equipment List. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder One Design 30 Foot. No date (1905 or later).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections and calculations titled 'N.Y.Y.C. 30ft [#626s, #627s, #628s, #629s, #630s, #631s, #632s, #633s, #635s, #636s, #637s, #638s, #639s, #640s, #642s, #643s, #647s, #648s]. Measured June 22 [1908] for measurements sent by [N.Y.Y.C. measurer] W[illiam] Hallock of 'DAHINDA' [#631s] June 17 vis. o.a. 43.5 / 1[?]7.03 / 96.10 / wl. 30.37'. No year, but June 17, 1908 Hallock date is confirmed by an entry NGH made in his NY30 design notebook." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0395. WRDT04, Folder 34, formerly MRDE08. 1908-06-22.)
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"[Item Description:] Handwritten (in ink) rating rule-related table on two pages with dimensions LOA, LWL, overhang fore & aft, mean length, freeboard fore & center & aft, breadth deck & w.l., draft, cube-root (displacement), 1st mast mean length, 1st to 2nd mast, J, P1, H1, B1, G1, V1, T1, P2, P2a, H2, B2, Q2, Y2,T2, sail area, sqrt(SA), sqrt(SA - NYYC Rule) for #605s RELIANCE, #499s COLUMBIA, #725s RESOLUTE, #529s MINEOLA, #663s ISTALENA, #666s AVENGER, New York 50s (#711s, #712s, #713s, #714s, #715s, #716s, #717s, #720s, #721s), #411s GLORIANA, #685s ADVENTURESS, #617s COCK ROBIN II, #586s NELLIE, #709s JOYANT, #708s CORINTHIAN, #670s SENECA, Bar Harbor 31s (#592s, #593s, #594s, #595s, #596s, #597s, #598s, #599s, #600s, #601s, #602s, #603s, #604s), New York 30s (#626s, #627s, #628s, #629s, #630s, #631s, #632s, #633s, #635s, #636s, #637s, #638s, #639s, #640s, #642s, #643s, #647s, #648s), Newport 29s (#727s, #728s, #737s), #691s MORE JOY, #446s ALERION II, Buzzards Bay 550s (#733s, #734s, #736s, #738s, #741s), #617s COCK ROBIN II, #493s JILT, #732s SADIE, #460s KILDEE, Buzzards Bay 15s (#503s Class), Buzzards Bay 12 1/2s (#744s Class), #703s FLYING CLOUD, #669s ELEANOR, #722s KATOURA, #692s WESTWARD, #657s QUEEN, #719s VAGRANT II, #698s VAGRANT, #663s ISTALENA, and #743s HASWELL. With penciled note 'Measurements in ft & inches. Results in ft & decimals'. Undated (the youngest boat on this list is from 1914/1915 and this was probably prepared in preparation for NGH's sail area rating rule of 1914/1915)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Handwritten Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE15_00100. Folder [no #]. No date (1914 / 1915 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections with pinpricks and radials titled 'NYYC 30 [#626s, #627s, #628s, #629s, #630s, #631s, #632s, #633s, #635s, #636s, #637s, #638s, #639s, #640s, #642s, #643s, #647s, #648s] for model for N.Y.Y.C. Apr[il] 1958, scale 3/8in = 1ft'. With no further notes or calculations. (NYYC has two New York 30 half-models made by ASdeWH, one from 1905, the other inscribed on its back with 'this model by A. Sidney DeW. Herreshoff. June 1958')." (Source: Herreshoff, A. Sidney deW. (?) (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_06570. Folder [no #]. 1958-04.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #642s Nautilus even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Perry, Lawrence. "The New York Yacht Club One-Design 30-Footers." Yachting Magazine, February 1908, p. 71-74. (649 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: No. Class appreciation including a good overview of NY30 design precedents, the boats and their races. Photos by James Burton, James Huntington and others.
• Lawrence, Seabury. "The New York Thirties: An Interesting Sketch of America's Most Famous One-Design Class." Yachting Magazine, January 1925, p. 28-30. (599 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: No. Twentieth anniversary class appreciation.
• Davis, Gherardi. "A History of the The New York Yacht Club Thirty Foot Class." Manuscript, New York Yacht Club, ca. 1926. (285 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. The best history of the NY30 class with detailed description of the interchange between N. G. Herreshoff and the New York Yacht Club as the boats were built. Written by then owner of Alice ex #632s Tabasco.
• Schoettle, Edwin J. "The New York Thirties." In: Schoettle, Edwin J. Sailing Craft, New York, 1928, p. 579-588. (1,734 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: No known copyright restrictions. Class description and history.
• Taylor, William H. "New York Y. C. Thirty-Foot Class to Celebrate its Silver Jubilee. Twenty-Five Years of Active Racing Mark the 'Thirties' as One of the Best Classes Ever Built." Yachting, May 1929, p. 61-62, 112, 114. (2,169 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Tweny-fifth anniversary class appreciation.
• Slaughter, Sam C. "Class Will Tell. The New York Yacht Club 'Thirties' Celebrate Another Anniversary." Yachting, Vol. 66, November 1939, p. 43-45, 107-108. (2,665 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. NY30 history and whereabouts summary, written by then owner of #626s Alera on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the class.
• Taylor, William H. "The Thirties Are Fifty. A Salute to the First Class of One-Design Racing Yachts to Reach the Half Century Mark." Yachting Magazine, March 1955, p. 55-57, 120-122. (749 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Fiftieth anniversary class appreciation.
• Bray, Maynard. "The New York Thirties." Kiremidjian, David. "Then, But Mostly Now Also." Taylor, William H. "At 25, One of the Best Classes Ever Built." (Reprinted excerpts.) Taylor, William H. "A Salute to the First One-Design Yachts to Reach the Half-Century Mark." (Reprinted excerpts.) Davis, Gherardi. "How It All Began: An Extraordinary Chronology." (Reprinted excerpts.) Wooden Boat #35, July/August 1980, p. 20-34. (1,423 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. New York 30 class portrait written on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the class. Plans, photos, history, partial reprints of older class appreciations.
• Taylor, Roger C. "Fourth Book of Good Boats." Camden, Maine, 1984, p. 201-207. (717 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. New York 30 class portrait. History, plans, photos, sailing characteristics with special emphasis on #630s Cockatoo ex-Pintail. Partial reprint of Taylor, Roger C. Recollections under Sail. Wooden Boat #35, July/August 1980, p. 27-29.
• Kiremidjian, David. "The Thirties Are Twice Fifty." Typescript, n. p., 2004. (118 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Copyright holder: David Kiremidjian. New York 30 class portrait with special emphasis on post-WW II vessel histories.
• Doyle, Bill. "New York 30 Class. 100 Years Young." In: Restoration Quarterly. International Yacht Restoration School: Newport, Fall 2005, p. 6, 8, 11. (213 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Short class history, NY30 whereabouts summary.
• Erwin, Daniel. "The New York 30s. A Century of One-Design Sailing." Wooden Boat #184, May/June 2005, p. 76. (5,324 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. New York 30 class portrait written on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the class. Detailed vessel-by-vessel biographies.

• Nautilus (HMCo-made index card)
• Nautilus (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: Nautilus
Type: J & M
Length: 30'
Owner: Hanan [sic, i.e. Horman?], A. G.

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

• Nautilus
• Stonnalong Stormalong ex-Nautilus
• Taurus ex-Nautilus
• 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.

Month: Dec
Day: 6
Year: 1904
E/P/S: S
No.: 0642
Name: Nautilus
LW: 30'
B: 8' 9"
D: 6' 3.5"
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead O.
Amount: 4000.00
Last Name: Harriman
First Name: A. A.

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.

"Sail no. 16." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 2, 2008.)

"For more information about the New York 30 class, see ny30.herreshoff.info and the NY-30 Class Website." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. June 21, 2016.)

"Launch date signifies the date vessel was taken on low gear to cove for winter storage." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. November 4, 2011.)

"Built in 104 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $38/day, 170 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"Sail area 1085 sqft from untitled two-page rating-rule-related table handwritten (in ink) by N. G. Herreshoff with multiple dimensions for the most important Herreshoff-designed yachts. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. MRDE15, Folder [no #]. Undated (the most recent boat dates 1914/1915 and the table was probably prepared in preparation for NGH's sail area rating rule of 1914/1915)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. September 16, 2020.)

"[Sail area 1085 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 276.5 cu.ft. [= 17,696 lbs] from untitled two-page rating-rule-related table handwritten (in ink) by N. G. Herreshoff with multiple dimensions for the most important Herreshoff-designed yachts. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. MRDE15, Folder [no #]. Undated (the most recent boat dates 1914/1915 and the table was probably prepared in preparation for NGH's sail area rating rule of 1914/1915)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. September 16, 2020.)

"[Displacement (276 cubic feet = 17,664 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.