HMCo #887s Pixie

Particulars

Construction_Record_Title.jpgName: Pixie
Type: Watch Hill 15 Footer
Designed by: NGH
Contract: 1922-9-14
Finished: 1923-6 ?
Construction: Wood
LOA: 24' 6" (7.47m)
LWL: 15' (4.57m)
Beam: 6' 9" (2.06m)
Draft: 2' 3" (0.69m)
Construction Class and Number: #887-8
Rig: Marconi Sloop
Displ.: 2,800 lbs (1,270 kg)
Centerboard: yes
Ballast: Lead
Built for: Goetchius, J. M.
Amount: $1,533.00
Note(s) in HMCo Construction Record: 1923 delivery
Current owner: Private Owner, Bay Head, NJ (last reported 2021 at age 98)

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 #887s Pixie are listed in bold.
   Click on Dwg number for preview, on HH number to see at M.I.T. Museum.
  1. Dwg 077-007 (HH.5.05609); Boom Hangings for 16' Racing Catboat (1890-05-07)
  2. 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 ?)
  3. Dwg 096-107 (HH.5.08067.1): Sails > 15 ft. One Design Class for 1899 (1898-11-19)
  4. Dwg 130-062 (HH.5.10365); Sails > 15 ft. One Design Class for 1899 (1898-11-19)
  5. Dwg 127-066 (HH.5.09934): Sails > Sails Buzzards Bay 15 Footers (1898-12-06)
  6. Dwg 076-006 (HH.5.05473); Construction Dwg > One Design Class 15 Footers for Buzzard's Bay (1898-12-28)
  7. Dwg 060-039 (HH.5.04262); Centreboard for Nos. 503 - 509, 513, 516, Buzzards Bay 15-Footers (1898-12-30)
  8. Dwg 064-034 (HH.5.04510); Rudder, etc. for Nos. 503-509, 513, 516, 704, Buzzard's Bay 15 Footers (1898-12-31)
  9. Dwg 091-056 (HH.5.07327): Running Rigging for 15-Footers, Standing Rigging No. 503, 509 and Others (ca. 1899)
  10. Dwg 091-056 (HH.5.07327.1): Running Rigging for 15-Footers, Standing Rigging No. 503, 509 and Others (ca. 1899)
  11. Dwg 091-056 (HH.5.07327.2): Running Rigging for 15-Footers, Standing Rigging No. 503, 509 and Others (ca. 1899)
  12. Dwg 091-056 (HH.5.07327.3): Running Rigging for 15-Footers, Standing Rigging No. 503, 509 and Others (ca. 1899)
  13. Dwg 091-056 (HH.5.07326); Block and Metal List for # 503, Buzzard's Bay 15 ft. Class (1899-01-05)
  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 096-141 (HH.5.08093): Sails > Watch Hill 15 ft. Class with Leg of Mutton Rig (1922-08-23)
  23. Dwg 081-145 (HH.5.06236): Details of Spars for 880 Class (1922-11-06)
  24. Dwg 000-000 (HH.5.01897.1): Casting List Note (ca. 1922-11-10)
  25. Dwg 025-142 (HH.5.01897): Casting Pulley and Rigging List (1922-11-10)
  26. Dwg 128-066 (HH.5.10191): Sails > Sails for # 880 Class (1922-11-21)
  27. Dwg 070-083 (HH.5.05082): Stem Head Details 880 Class (1922-12-04)
  28. Dwg 096-124 (HH.5.08086): Sails > Spinnaker for Buzzards Bay 15 Footer (1926-04-29)
  29. Dwg 132-000 (HH.5.10819); Sails > [Buzzard's Bay] (1930)
  30. Dwg 130-000 (HH.5.10547); Sails > Buzzard's Bay 15 Footer (1934-12-27)
  31. Dwg 148-000 (HH.5.12217): Sails > Buzzard's Bay 15 Footer with Marconi Rig (1934-12-27)
  32. Dwg 130-000 (HH.5.10546): Sails > Watch Hill 15 Foot Class (1935-01-21)
  33. 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

"[1923-05-27] Sun 27: [Thermometer] 54 [to] 67 [to] 53 [degrees]. Fine. L[igh]t N [wind in] a.m. SSW [wind in] p.m. Tried one of the new 15 footers [Watch Hill 15 #880s-#890s].
[1923-06-03] Sun 3: Fair & mild L[igh]t r[ain in] p.m. Short sail in 15 footer [Watch Hill 15 #880s-#890s] with Ann & Chs. Nystrom. ...
[1923-06-15] Fri 15: [Thermometer] 54 [to] 64 [to] 58 [degrees]. R[ain] with l[igh]t NE [wind] early. Part[ly] overcast, l[igh]t SE & S [wind in] p.m. ... Chs. Nystrom delivered 1st Watch Hill 15 footer [Watch Hill 15 #880s-#890s]." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1923. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"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.)

Other Contemporary Text Source(s)

"... Summer residents at Watch Hill will race a new class of 15-footers this coming season. Herreshoff is finishing the last of a fleet of 11 boats, whose owners have homes in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and several other cities, including Pawtucket and Providence. The boats are very similar to the Herreshoff Buzzards Bay 15-footers. ..." (Source: Anon. "Notes From The Week's Log." Boston Globe, May 13, 1923, p. 65.)

Other Modern Text Source(s)

"1923. ... The yards were busy. Herreshoff was building a class of 11 [#882s Shanendowa, #880s Josephine, #881s Miss Q., #883s Thistle, #884s Fantasy, #885s Viking I, #886s Alert, #887s Pixie, #888s How Come, #889s Althea, #890s Tobasco] of the 15-foot waterline combination keel and centerboard knockabouts for members of the Watch Hill Yacht Club, and putting the modern jib headed, so-called Marconi rig on them, and also had on the stocks the 98-foot steel schooner Wildfire [#891s] for Charles L. Harding of Boston, a 65-foot twin screw cruiser [#380p Esmonda] for Clarence Whitman of New York, and a class Q sloop [#892s Grayling] for J. P. Morgan. ..." (Source: Davis, Jeff. Yachting in Narragansett Bay. Providence, 1946, p. 17.)

Maynard Bray

"Except for their sail plan, [the Watch Hill 15s] are very much like the Buzzards Bay 15s... The Marconi rig was widely accepted after about 1920 as being more aerodynamically efficient to windward than the gaff rig. It was also somewhat simpler to use, since the mainsail could be hoisted and lowered with only a single halyard. Because there was no gaff and no throat halyard, the building cost for the Watch Hill boats must have been a little less than for the standard 15-footers. In any event, the new boats were given pointed coamings as well as pointed sails, and were delivered to the Watch Hill Yacht Club for the 1923 season. There were eleven boats, all identical and all using the #503-class molds of 1899.
A good boat is a good boat no matter how old its design, and the sailors of Watch Hill understood this in 1922. They came to the same realization again in the mid-1960s when they sponsored more new boats of the same hull design, this time in fiberglass, and with even taller and more modern rigs. The class today, now made up mostly of these new boats, is still active. But going strong as well, although no longer a part of the racing fleet, are a number of the original boats. Often, wooden 15-footers have ended up in nearby Noank, Connecticut, a veritable wooden boat mecca. ..." (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 158.)

Archival Documents

"[Item Description:] Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Inc. Tentative Financial Statements for the Period from January 1, 1923 to June 27, 1923. Tentative Comparative Balance sheet as at June 27, 1923 and December 31, 1922. Tentative Statement of Profit and Loss for the Period of January 1, 1923 to June 27, 1923. Including detailed profitabilty statements for several contracts including #380p ESMONDA (C. Whitman), Watch Hill 15s (#880s JOSEPHINE, #881s MISS Q., #882s SHANENDOWA, #883s THISTLE, #884s FANTASY, #885s VIKING I, #886s ALERT, #887s PIXIE, #888s HOW COME, #889s ALTHEA, and #890s TOBASCO), #891s WILDFIRE (C.L. Harding), #892s GRAYLING, 12 1/2-footers #893s COMET Jr. and #894s WREN" (Source: Lybrand, Ross Bros. & Montgomery Accountants (creator). Financial Statement. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_50550. Subject Files, Folder [no #], formerly 124?. 1923-07-02.)


Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #887s Pixie even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

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.
  • Avery, Bruce. [No title. List of Herreshoff Watch Hill 15 Footers.] Unpublished manuscript, ca. 1994. (95 kB)
    Document is copyrighted: Yes. Copyright holder: Bruce Avery. Summary accounting of the Watch Hill 15s built by HMCo and their subsequent owners, providing boat names, hull and sail numbers, original and subsequent owners and homeport in 1994. Reflecting the knowledge up to ca. 1994.

Registers

1999-2000 Register of Wooden Boats (#381.1)
Name: Pixie
Owner: Charles & Carol Miller (Box 13, South Glastonbury, CT 06073); Club(s): Watch Hill YC; Port: Watch Hill, RI
Type & Rig Watch Hill 15, K/CB sloop
Lbs Gross 2800; LOA 24-6; LWL 15-0; Extr. Beam 6-9; Draught 2-3
Sail Area 270
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer N.G. Herreshoff; Built where Bristol RI; Built when 1922

2007 WoodenBoat Register
Name: Pixie
Owner: Charles & Carol Miller; Port: Watch Hill, RI ; Port of Registry: South Glastonbury, CT
Type & Rig Watch Hill 15, K/CB sloop
Lbs Gross 2800; LOA 24-6; LWL 15-0; Extr. Beam 6-9; Draught 2-3
Sail Area 270
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer N.G. Herreshoff; Built where Bristol RI; Built when 1922
Note: Watch Hill YC

Source: Various Yacht Lists and Registers. For complete biographical information see the Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné under Data Sources. Note that this section shows only snapshots in time and should not be considered a provenance, although it can help creating one.

Supplement

From the 1931 HMCo-published Owner's List

Name: Pixie
Type: J & M
Length: 15'
Owner: Goetchius, J. M.

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

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

Name: Pixie
Type: 15' J & M
Owner: J. M. Goetchius
Row No.: 528

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.

From the 2000 (ca.) Transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Vermilya/Bray

Month: Sept.
Day: 14
Year: 1922
E/P/S: S
No.: 0887
Name: Pixie
LW: 15
B: 6' 9"
D: 2' 3"
Rig: J & M
CB: y
Ballast: Lead
Amount: 1533.00
Notes Constr. Record: 1923 delivery.
Last Name: Goetchius
First Name: J. M.

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)

"Watch Hill 15s had a shallower keel [of 2 feet 3 inches], a marconi rig, a coaming that comes to a point at the front of the cockpit, and an ever-so-slightly higher freeboard compared to the regular Buzzards Bay 15s." (Source: Nagy, Steve. June 1, 2008.)

"Owned by Kent L. Brittan of Noank, CT as per info from Steve Nagy's Herreshoff Registry." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 28, 2010.)

"Displacement 2,800lbs from 2007 WoodenBoat Register." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 17, 2015.)

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 #887s Pixie. Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné. https://herreshoff.info/Docs/S00887_Pixie.htm.