HMCo #1058s Prestige

S01058_Prestige_Levick.jpg

Particulars

Construction_Record_Title.jpgName: Prestige
Type: M-Boat
Designed by: Burgess, W. S., Rigg & Morgan
Contract: 1927-2-11
Launch: 1927-6-24
Construction: Composite (steel frames, mahogany planks)
LOA: 80' 6" (24.54m)
LWL: 54' 0" (16.46m)
Beam: 13' 6" (4.11m)
Draft: 10' 4" (3.15m)
Rig: Sloop
Displ.: 48,000 lbs (21,772 kg)
Keel: yes
Ballast: Lead outside
Built for: Vanderbilt, Harold S.
Amount: T+M
Note(s) in HMCo Construction Record: Burgess Design
Last year in existence: 1976 (aged 49)
Final disposition: Formally out of documentation in 1976.

See also:
#193003es [Tender for #1058s Prestige] (1930, Extant)

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 #Ext04Model number: Ext04
Model location: Unknown Location. (Only a BW photo of this model exists in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum.)

Vessels from this model:
1 built, modeled by Burgess, W. S., Rigg & Morgan
#1058s Prestige (1927)

Model Description:
"Half model for 1927 Burgess-designed M-sloop Prestige. Appears to be a display model. Location unknown. Information based on a BW photo of this model in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum with the incription #1058 Prestige." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 22, 2009.)

Model Comment:
"[Location of model unknown. Only a BW photo of this model (in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum) is known.]" (Source: van der Linde, Claas. 2008.)

Drawings

Main drawing Dwg [159-000] (HH.5.12963) Explore all drawings relating to this boat.

List of drawings:
   Drawings believed to have been first drawn for, or being first referenced to
   HMCo #1058s Prestige are listed in bold.
   Click on Dwg number for preview, on HH number to see at M.I.T. Museum.
  1. Dwg 084-040 (HH.5.06491): Booby Hatch (1907-02-02)
  2. Dwg 084-093 (HH.5.06544): Skylight (1919-03-25)
  3. Dwg 084-093 (HH.5.06544.1): Skylight (1919-03-25)
  4. Dwg 501-000 [159-000] (HH.5.12965): General Arrangement > General Arrangement Plan (ca. 1927)
  5. Dwg 501-034 [159-000] (HH.5.13006): [Turnbuckle] (ca. 1927)
  6. Dwg 501-037 [159-000] (HH.5.13009); Casting List (ca. 1927)
  7. Dwg 501-000 [159-000] (HH.5.12961): [1058 Prestige Class M] (1927-02-05)
  8. Dwg 083-066 (HH.5.06423); Companionway Skylights and Monitor Hatch for # 1058 (1927-03-16)
  9. Dwg 083-066 (HH.5.06422): Main Companionway for # 1058 (1927-04 ?)
  10. Dwg 155-000 (HH.5.12738): Elev. of Saloon Bulkhead [Plan by Clinton MacKenzie, Architect, NYC] (ca. 1927-04-06)
  11. Dwg 501-019 [159-000] (HH.5.12991): Prestige Saloon (1927-04-18)
  12. Dwg 501-000 [159-000] (HH.5.12964): General Arrangement > Sections # 1058 (1927-04-20)
  13. Dwg 501-000 [159-000] (HH.5.12966): General Arrangement > Plan and Port Elevation for # 1058 (1927-04-20)
  14. Dwg 501-021 [159-000] (HH.5.12993): Racing Yacht "Prestige" for Mr. Harold Vanderbilt (1927-04-27)
  15. Dwg 501-020 [159-000] (HH.5.12992): Prestige Drafting Room (1927-04-28)
  16. Dwg 112-132 (HH.5.09431): Backstay Puller for 7/16" P.S. Wire Rope (1927-05-03)
  17. Dwg 168-000 [502-048] (HH.5.13258): 54' L.W.L. Cutter Boom Hanging Fitting Design No. Seven (1927-05-03)
  18. Dwg 064-106 (HH.5.04581): Rudder and Steering Gear Details for # 1058 (1927-05-21)
  19. Dwg 110-159 (HH.5.09124): Travellers for "M" Class Boat (1927-05-23)
  20. Dwg 501-000 [159-000] (HH.5.12968): General Arrangement > Plan and Port Elevation for # 1058 (1927-06-07)
  21. Dwg 110-160 (HH.5.09125): Masthead Details for # 1058 ("M" Class) (1927-06-08)
  22. Dwg 501-036 [159-000] (HH.5.13008): Detail of Table Leg for # 1058 (1927-06-18)
  23. Dwg 501-033 [159-000] (HH.5.13005): Jumper Stay Struts # 1058 (1927-06-20)
  24. Dwg 110-160 (HH.5.09126): Forestaysail Travelers for # 1058 (1927-06-28)
  25. Dwg 143-071 (HH.5.11935): Docking Plan for # 1058 Prestige (1927-06-29)
  26. Dwg 065-000 (HH.5.04673): Proposed Tiller Arrangement for The "Prestige" (1927-08 ?)
  27. Dwg 501-030 [159-000] (HH.5.13002): Rearrangement of Main Cabin for "Prestige" (1927-09-01)
  28. Dwg 501-013 [159-000] (HH.5.12985): Sails > Prestige Sail Maker's Plan (1927-09-02)
  29. Dwg 065-072 (HH.5.04669): Rudder-Shaft-Bearing for Prestige (1928-02-09)
  30. Dwg 501-042 [159-000] (HH.5.13013): Prestige and Valiant Detail of Mast Construction (1928-03-20)
  31. Dwg 501-032 [159-000] (HH.5.13004): Staysail Travelers for "Prestige" (1928-05-29)
  32. Dwg 501-002 [159-000] (HH.5.12971): Sails > Sail Plan Prestige and Valiant (ca. 1930)
  33. Dwg 501-000 [159-000] (HH.5.12967): General Arrangement > Plan and Elevation of "Prestige" (1930-12-05)
  34. Dwg 501-001 [159-000] (HH.5.12970): Sails > Prestige and Valiant (1930-12-13)
  35. Dwg 501-028 [159-000] (HH.5.12999): Chrome Nickel Steel For Auxiliary Head Stay [Hook] (ca. 1931)
  36. Dwg 501-029 [159-000] (HH.5.13001): General Arrangement > General Arrangement Plan (ca. 1931)
  37. Dwg 501-039 [159-000] (HH.5.13010.1): Table of Offsets for Std. Triangular Cross Track Boom (ca. 1931)
  38. Dwg 501-025 [159-000] (HH.5.12996): 1 3/8" x 5/8" Turn Buckles (1931-01 ?)
  39. Dwg 501-031 [159-000] (HH.5.13003): Proposed Anchor for Class "M" Boat "Prestige" (1931-01 ?)
  40. Dwg 501-003 [159-000] (HH.5.12972): Construction Dwg > Yacht Prestige Triangular Boom Lines (1931-01-03)
  41. Dwg 501-003 [159-000] (HH.5.12973): Construction Dwg > Yacht Prestige Triangular Boom Lines (1931-01-03)
  42. Dwg 501-007 [159-000] (HH.5.12979): Boom Fittings (1931-01-07)
  43. Dwg 501-006 [159-000] (HH.5.12978): Prestige, Valiant and Avatar, Boom Arrangement Plan (1931-01-19)
  44. Dwg 501-005 [159-000] (HH.5.12976): Prestige Boom Fittings (1931-01-24)
  45. Dwg 501-005 [159-000] (HH.5.12977): Main Boom, Jib Boom, and Spreaders (1931-01-24)
  46. Dwg 501-004 [159-000] (HH.5.12975): Headstay Sheaves (1931-02 ?)
  47. Dwg 501-035 [159-000] (HH.5.13007): Main Shroud Chain Plates (1931-02-16)
  48. Dwg 501-038 [159-000] (HH.5.13010): Turnbuckle Assembly for Upper Shroud (1931-02-16)
  49. Dwg 501-028 [159-000] (HH.5.13000): Back Stay Hook and Eye for Prestige, Valiant and Avatar (1931-02-21)
  50. Dwg 501-000 [159-000] (HH.5.12963): General Arrangement > Prestige New Arrangement for 1931 (1931-02-27)
  51. Dwg 501-009 [159-000] (HH.5.12981): Prestige, Valiant and Avatar Spinnaker Pole Details (1931-03-23)
  52. Dwg 501-041 [159-000] (HH.5.13012): Spinnaker Pole Details (1931-03-23)
  53. Dwg 501-026 [159-000] (HH.5.12997): Travellers for Class "M" Sloops (1931-03-28)
  54. Dwg 501-008 [159-000] (HH.5.12980): Upper 6 Lower Spreaders and Sleeve Fittings (1931-04-01)
  55. Dwg 501-027 [159-000] (HH.5.12998): Staples for M Class Sloops (1931-04-01)
  56. Dwg 501-015 [159-000] (HH.5.12987): Clew Outhaul Fitting "M" Boats (1931-04-03)
  57. Dwg 501-010 [159-000] (HH.5.12982): Jib Boom Gooseneck and Headstay Arrangement (1931-04-07)
  58. Dwg 501-011 [159-000] (HH.5.12983): Detail of Jib Boom Gooseneck and Clew Outhaul Fittings (1931-04-07)
  59. Dwg 501-016 [159-000] (HH.5.12988): Slide for Foot of "M" Boat Mainsail (1931-04-07)
  60. Dwg 501-004 [159-000] (HH.5.12974): Headstay Sheaves (1931-04-15)
  61. Dwg 501-024 [159-000] (HH.5.12995): Jib Boom "Prestige" & "Valiant" (1931-04-29)
  62. Dwg 501-017 [159-000] (HH.5.12989): Main Sheet Lead Fitting on Mast for M Boats Prestige, Valiant and Avatar (1931-05 ?)
  63. Dwg 501-018 [159-000] (HH.5.12990): Support for Main Sheet Lead Fittings (1931-11-04)
  64. Dwg 501-014 [159-000] (HH.5.12986): Sails > Prestige (1935-05-14)
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

"[1927-06-24] Fri 24: ... Assisting in arranging for launching of [#1058s] 'Prestige'. 'Pleasure' [#907s] arrived before sunset with Starling Burgess & wife [Elsie (Foss) Burgess] on board.
[1927-06-25] Sat 25: ... Launched [#1058s] 'Prestige' just at sunrise [at] 4-25 a.m. (standard time). ...
[1927-06-26] Sun 26: ... Had call in a.m. from Com. Nichols, Clinton Crane & Starling Burgess [who were all in Bristol after the launch of #1058s Prestige the previous day] and in afternoon from Mr. & Mrs. & Katherine Tod.
[1927-06-28] Tue 28: [Thermometer] 56 - 71 [degrees]. Very fine & l[igh]t variable [wind in] a.m. Mod[erate] SSW [in] p.m. [#1058s] Prestige was tried under sail at 6-30 a.m. and 11-20 towed to Brentons R[ee]f to race. ...
[1927-07-02] Sat 2: Mod[erate] NE [wind], a few showers. Harold V[anderbilt] got away in [#1058s] 'Prestige' at noon, taking Starling Burgess, and Pleasure [#907s] is left in my care. ...
[1927-08-13] Sat 13: Starling Burgess & wife arrived in p.m. and went aboard Pleasure [#907s] which has been hauled in shop for repairs & painting. Is to tow up Sound early tomorrow behind [Harold Vanderbilt's motor yacht] Maintenon & [#1058s] Prestige.
[1927-08-18] Thu 18: E to NE [wind] & rainy. Cool. Went to Newport with Sidney in Bubble [#285p] intending to go out to see Astor Cup Race on Corsair, but as it appeared so rainy & cold [we] gave it up and came home. [Vanitie won the Schooner Cup, Prestige [#1058s] the Sloop Cup.]
[1928-06-14] Thu 14: Fine with SSW [wind]. Fresh in p.m. Harold Vanderbilt here and he asked me to go out with him in Prestige [#1058s]. ...
[1928-08-20] Mon 20: ... Went to Newport by bus and out in Vasanta [#372p] with Mr. Pynchon to see Kings Cup Race. Had a very pleasant day and home [at] 6-50 by buss [sic]. Prestige [#1058s] won by time allowance. Blackshear [#1050s ex-Katoura] first in.
[1929-08-19] Mon 19: ... Windward 1st, Prestige [#1058s] 2nd, Istalena [#1131s] 3rd in race today off Newport.
[1929-08-20] Tue 20: ... Andiamo [#716s ex-Samuri] 1st today. Istalena [#1131s] 2nd [and] Prestige [#1058s] 3rd in NYYC Newport race.
[1929-08-21] Wed 21: ... Prestige [#1058s] won [the] series of M-class races. (Istalena [#1131s] lost by ill luck.)
[1929-08-22] Thu 22: ... Prestige [#1058s] & Valiant have arrived to lay up.
[1931-08-23] Sun 23: ... Resolute [#725s] & Prestige [#1058s] arrived to lay up, also Weetamoe [#1147s]." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1927 to 1931. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"July 7, 1927 {1927/07/07} Dear Francis, ... Have not sized up Prestige yet. She is apparently fast in light airs, but will know more about her soon." (Source: Mystic Seaport Museum, L. Francis Herreshoff Collection, Box 17, Folder 3: Letter from N. G. Herreshoff to L. F. Herreshoff.)

L. Francis Herreshoff

"Another yacht designed by Burgess that was built at Bristol that winter was the 'M' boat 'Prestige' for Harold Vanderbilt, and this combination of Vanderbilt, Burgess, and Herreshoff were to produce the next two cup defenders." (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. 310.)

Other Contemporary Text Source(s)

"The races for the New York Yacht Club Cup late in August, will be of particular interest as they will bring into competition the new sloop Prestige, now nearing completion at Herreshoff's for former Commodore Harold S. Vanderbilt. The new sloop, built to the top of Class M, from designs by W. Starling Burgess, will race against several of the New York Yacht Club fifty-footers, which also rate in this class and which are notably fast vessels.
Commodore Vanderbilt raced with great success for many years with the fine schooner Vagrant [#719s] with which he won the King's Cup twice, the Astor Cup for schooners and other prizes. Bringing out the Vagrant last year he found that she was hopelessly outclassed by the Vanitie and Resolute [#725s] and this year decided to build a new sloop to race against the fifties. Prestige will be a Marconi trigged sloop and the fifty-footers will also come out with the jibheaded rig to try their speed against the new boat." (Source: Lawrence, Seabury. "Three Dates Added to List of N. Y. Y. C." New York Times, May 1, 1927, p. S2.)

"... The races for the New York Yacht Club Cup, late in August, will be of particular interest as they will bring into competition the new sloop Prestige, now nearing completion at Herreshoff's for former Commodore Harold S. Vanderbilt. The new sloop, built to the top of Class M, from designs by W. Starling Burgess, will race against several of the New York Yacht Club fifty-footers, which also rate in this class and which are notably fast vessels.
Commodore Vanderbilt raced with great success for many years with the fine schooner Vagrant [#719s] with which he won the King's Cup twice, the Astor Cup for schooners and other prizes. Bringing out the Vagrant last year he found that she was hopelessly outclassed by the Vanitie and Resolute [#725s] and this year decided to build a new sloop to race against the fifties. Prestige will be a Marconi rigged sloop and the fifty-footers will also come out with the jibheaded rig to try their speed against the new boat. ..." (Source: Lawrence, Seabury. "Three Dates Added To List Of N.Y.Y.C." New York Times, May 21, 1926, p. S2.)

"The new Class M sloop Prestige, building at Herreshoff's for former Commodore Harold S. Vanderbilt, which will race this year against the New York Yacht Club fifties, is expected to be launched on Monday [June 13, 1927] or Tuesday of next week. She is built to the limit of the class and is expected to be a very fast boat." (Source: Anon. "Notes of Yachts and Yachtsmen." New York Times, June 10, 1927, p. 29.)

"Former Commodore Harold S. Vanderbilt's class M sloop Prestige may be a starter in the Glen Cove races if she can be made ready in time. It was planned to launch the sloop today at Herreshoff's, and whether she can be tuned up for racing in time for Thursday's event is a question. Prestige will race against the fifty-footers." (Source: Anon. "Notes of Yachts and Yachtsmen." New York Times, June 14, 1927, p. 39.)

"Katoura and Prestige Missed.
The affair was the seventy-fifth annual regatta of the New York Yacht Club, but lost some of its interest through the absence of the new sloop Katoura [#1050s], owned by Robert E. Tod, and the new Prestige, owned by former Commodore Harold S. Vanderbilt, neither of which crossed the starting line. Changes are being made in Katoura, and Prestige, which was launched at Herreshoff's last Friday [June 24, 1927], was not quite ready." (Source: Seabury, Laurance. "Vanitie Home First, But Loses Trophy." New York Times, June 28, 1927, p. 21.)

"Some rush work was done on the new Class M sloop Prestige the day the Vanderbilt yacht raced at Newport. The schedule shows that her mainsail was bent on at 5 o'clock in the morning; she went out for a practice spin at 6:30; returned to Herreshoffs where carpenters worked on her until 11 when she started for the race at Brenton Reef." (Source: Anon. "Notes of Yachts and Yachtsmen." New York Times, July 1, 1927, p. 16.)

"... Next in size and in a way more important [than #1050s Katoura] is the new Prestige, by the same designers [Burgess, Rigg & Morgan] and builder [Herreshoff] for Harold S. Vanderbilt; rating at the top of the 45-foot class. To meet her, four of the old 50-foot one-design class --- Ibis [#715s ex-Grayling], Carolina [#721s], Chiora [#713s ex-Iroquois II] and Spartan [#712s] --- originally rating at 48.4 feet, were refitted with the leg o'-mutton rig and cut down to 45-foot rating, this making a very fine class. The coming season is likely to see one or two new yachts in the class, with others of the old 50-footers. ..." (Source: Stephens, W. P. "Yachting Showed Slow Recovery From World War." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 25, 1927, p. C5.)

"46 FT. CLASS M
[#1058s] M-1 Prestige, Harold S. Vanderbilt
[#715s] M-4 Ibis, Hendon Chubb
[#721s] M-5 Carolina, George Nichols
[W. S. Burgess-designed, A&R-built] M-7 Valiant, Winthrop W. Aldrich
[#716s] M-8 Andiamo, W. K. Shaw." (Source: Anon. "Racing Numbers Long Island Sound Yacht Racing Association." Rudder, August 1928, p. 102.)

"... At the Herreshoff Company shops two top of the class 'M' boats, Prestige [#1058s] and Valiant [designed by Burgess, Rigg & Morgan designed and built by A&R in Germany], are being stripped and will be hauled out this week and the mahogany yacht Sheerness [#1074s], built last winter for Marshall Sheppey and used by him around Nantucket this summer, is due to arrive for hauling out the first of the month. ... " (Source: Anon. "New Marine-Railway At Herreshoff Plant. Contract Awarded to Build Additional Hauling Out Facilities at Foot of Burnside Street." Bristol Phoenix, August 28, 1928, p. 2.)

"Many yachts are being laid up at the Herreshoff Company's yards at Walker's Cove. Among them is the sloop yacht Comet [#737s], owned by I. B. Merriman, Jr., which is housed in the building that has been occupied by the cup defender Resolute [#725s]. In the same building is the yacht Prestige [#1058s]; also, one of the sloops of the Fisher's Island 31-footers, a couple of power boats. ..." (Source: Anon. "Many Yachts Being Laid Up For Winter. Herreshoff Company and S. C. Wardwell Busy Storing Boats At the Yards in This Town." Bristol Phoenix, October 5, 1928, p. 1.)

"Vanderbilt at Helm of Class M Yacht as She Takes First Spin Off Bristol. Starts Under Mainsail. Heels Over Under Light Breeze When Jib Is Set --- Some Alterations to Be Made.
Special to The New York Times.
BRISTOL, R. I., May 7 [1931]. --- Harold S. Vanderbilt's Class M boat Prestige, which has been undergoing radical alterations in her rigging at the Herreshoff Yards in Bristol, took her first trial run late today, with Commodore Vanderbilt at the helm.
With him were W. Starling Burgess, designer of the new rig; George A. Ratsey, maker of the sails, and C. W. Haffenreffer of the Herreshoff Company. Mr. Vanderbilt arrived from New York at noon aboard his Diesel yacht Vera [#385p Vara], bringing with him Mr. Ratsey and the sails.
Work Rushed on Yacht.
Although the Prestige was far from ready for a trial run, work was rushed so that by 3 o'clock she was towed from her berth at the Herreshoff pier out to a mooring, where the sails were bent.
At about 3:45 she cast off from the mooring with only her mainsail set and headed down the bay to Newport. Soon the jib was bent and broken and the boat heeled over in a rather moderate soft breeze from the southeast.
Prestige Ready First.
The Prestige is the first of the three Class M boats to be launched which the Herreshoff Yard is fitting with new triangular booms, duralumin masts and rigging. Commodore Aldrich's Valiant and Floyd Carlisle's Avatar will be launched at the Herreshoff Yards within the next ten days.
From all appearances the trial run this afternoon was satisfactory to all concerned, but Prestige will return to Bristol for minor alterations before competing in any races." (Source: Anon. "Prestige Is Rigged And Has Trial Run." New York Times, May 8, 1931, p. 32.)

"Harold S. Vanderbilt's Class M racing yacht Prestige, in her brief sail setting spin in Narragansett Bay, showed the lofty rig she will carry this Summer along with Winthrop W. Aldrich's Valiant and Floyd L. Carlisle's Avatar. All three are at the Herreshoff yard in Bristol, R. I., being fitted with their new dress by W. Starling Burgess, designer of Enterprise, the America's Cup defender.
This rig included duralumin mast, transverse slide boom not only on the mainsail, but on a single headsail as well, and the lightest of metal blocks, turnbuckles and airplane wire rigging.
The masts and booms are painted white, as were Enterprise's. That gives them a ghost-like appearance above the water, while their hulls are mahogany.
Extreme speed with the light and lofty rigging, and with changed keels, is expected from the three racers, which will compete in all the principal regattas along Long Island Sound and on the cruises of the New York and Eastern Yacht Clubs." (Source: Anon. "Lofty Rig Carried by Vanderbilt's Prestige Expected to Give the Yacht Extreme Speed." New York Times, May 12, 1931, p. 34.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., May 7 [1931]. --- Harold S. Vanderbilt's Class M boat Prestige, which has been undergoing radical alterations in her rigging at the Herreshoff Yards in Bristol, took her first trial run late today, with Commodore Vanderbilt at the helm.
With him were W. Starling Burgess, designer of the new rig, George A. Ratsey, maker of the sails, and C. W. Haffenreffer of the Herreshoff Company. Mr. Vanderbilt arrived from New York at noon aboard his Diesel yacht Vara, bringing with him Mr. Ratsey and the sails.
Work Rushed on Yacht.
Although the Prestige was far front ready for a trial run, work was rushed so that by 3 o'clock she was towed from her berth at the Herreshoff pier out to a mooring, where the sails were bent.
At about 3:45 she cast off from the mooring with only her mainsail set and headed down the bay to Newport. Soon the jib was bent and broken and the boat heeled over in a rather moderate soft breeze from the southeast.
Prestige Ready First.
The Prestige is the first of the three Class M boats to be launched which the Herreshoff Yard is fitting with new triangular booms, duralumin masts and rigging. Commodore Aldrich's Valiant and Floyd Carlisle's Avatar [both non-Herresoff] will be launched at the Herreshoff Yards within the next ten days.
From all appearances the trial run, this afternoon was satisfactory to all concerned, but Prestige will return to Bristol for minor alterations before competing in any races." (Source: Anon. "Prestige Is Rigged And Has Trial Run. Vanderbilt at Helm of Class M Yacht as She Takes First Spin Off Bristol. Starts Under Mainsail.
Heels Over Under Light Breeze When Jib Is Set --- Some Alterations to Be Made." New York Times, May 8, 1931, p. 32.)

"Mr. Vanderbilt ... offered to give his Class M sloop Prestige to the Naval Academy in Anapolis for use as a training craft for midshipmen. The offer is under consideration by the Navy Department." (Source: Anon. "Ranger sold for Scrap." New York Times, May 23, 1941, p. 27.)

Other Modern Text Source(s)

"1927. ... The Spring was a busy season with the builders and there was considerable buying and selling. Herreshoff's was building a mast for the big cutter Katoura [#1050s], said to be the tallest ever made at the plant. ... In different stages of construction were a Newport 29 for William H. Vanderbilt [#999s Paddy], another R boat for Junius Morgan [#1053s Puffin], an S for I. B. Merriman [#1020s Vanessa], a 41-foot cutter for Elihu Root [#1057s Ti Navire], a 54-foot sloop for a New York yachtsman [#1058s Prestige], two of the Fisher's Island 31's [apparently #1054s Cyrilla IV and #1055s Judy] and the usual flock of 12 1/2-foot Bullseyes. ..." (Source: Davis, Jeff. Yachting in Narragansett Bay. Providence, 1946, p. 35.)

"1931. ... Herreshoff was building 'Park Avenue' booms for Prestige and Valiant [a Burgess-designed and A&R-built M-boat of 1928], and putting centerboards in the two boats. ..." (Source: Davis, Jeff. Yachting in Narragansett Bay. Providence, 1946, p. 54.)

"... [Stored in the sheds of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company during the hurricane of 1938] Commodore W. A. W. Stewart’s schooner the Queen Mab [#698s ex-Vagrant I], the flagship of the New York Yacht Club; the M class sloop, the Carolina [#721s], owned by R.V.N. Gambrill of Newport, and some others had supporting shores washed out and were eased down on their bilges, while Harold S. Vanderbilt’s M class yacht, the Prestige [#1058s] was left upright on her cradle. ..." (Source: Bristol Phoenix, September 30, 1938. Quoted in: Simpson, Richard, V. "The Great Hurricane and Tidal Wave of 1938: Scenes of the Disaster in Rhode Island's East Bay." Roger Williams University, Bristol, 2012. http://docs.rwu.edu/hurricane_1938/1, retrieved April 12, 2014.)

"In 1926 Harold S. 'Mike' Vanderbilt chose [Starling] Burgess to design a new M boat, Prestige. By making this choice Vanderbilt, like Robert E. Tod (briefly), fourteen 10 Meter owners, and other clients, was acknowledging that the Wizard of Bristol was in eclipse and that Burgess was the wizard apparent. It had taken Burgess twenty-five years to achieve his position as America's leading designer of racing yachts. Unless new boats to his design kept wanning races, however, he would lose that position far more quickly than he had gained it.
Despite the money and skill that went into her creation, the Herreshoff-built M class sloop Prestige was not quite the breakthrough that Burgess and Vanderbilt had hoped for. Although she won important victories and the Herreshoff Medal for her performance in New York Yacht Club-sponsored races in the summer of 1927, she actually lost more races to the New York 50 Carolina [#721s] than she won. Some suggested that her mainsail was just too small to drive her in moderate conditions. Vanderbilt believed in her, however, and worked ceaselessly, and by and large successfully, to keep Prestige competitive during the years (with time out for his America's Cup defenses in J boats) that she sailed under his ownership. ... " (Source: Howland, Llewellyn, III. No Ordinary Being: W. Starling Burgess: Inventor, Naval Architect, Poet, Aviation Pioneer, and Master of American Design. Jaffrey, NH, 2014, p. 252.)

"Yacht racing in America is at a point when its current measurement rule, the so-called Universal Rule, is under heavy fire of criticism. Those in favor of our rule consider it the most perfect ever devised and are bitterly opposed to any but the most imma- terial modifications. Those opposed are convinced that it is fast developing an undesirable type of vessel, that the International Rule now adopted in Europe is its superior, and that only drastic changes make our rule worth retaining.
Recognizing that our rule in its current form, which it has held for fourteen years, has only had a thorough tryout in the smaller classes and that literally no out-and-out racing boat has yet been built in the larger classes, Harold S. Vanderbilt has had the good sportsmanship to place an order for a racing sloop in Class M of the Universal Rule. In his instructions to Burgess, Rigg & Morgan, he has asked us to attempt to design the fastest boat possible under the rule, and has saddled us with no restrictions as regards the boat's dimensions. My first consideration in carrying out this design was to decide on the size of hull most suitable for the purpose at hand. The formula of the Universal Rule is:
R= .18 ((L x (SA)^.5) / D^.3333)
where:
R = 46 (Class M rating)
L = Length factor in feet
SA = Sail area in square feet
D = Displacement in cubic feet
The length factor 'L' is the load waterline length of the yacht plus a certain penalty for excess of the so- called quarter-beam length --- measured one-quarter of the waterline beam outboard from the fore-and- aft plane of symmetry and one-tenth the waterline beam above the plane of the water. This limiting quarter-beam length measurement is designed to prevent excessively long and full overhangs and more exactly to measure the true sailing length of the yacht. It has been the universal experience in the small classes that it never pays to take any excess quarter-beam length, and none has been taken in the design of Mr. Vanderbilt's yacht. 'L' in the formula may, therefore, be considered as equal to the load waterline length.
In January, 1913, the flexibility of the original rule was greatly cut down by the limitation imposed outside the rule formula that the displacement factor, D^.3333, could not be counted as of greater value than 0.20 LWL + 0.50. This modification meant that whereas a boat could be designed and raced with any value of displacement desired, the value counted to her credit could not exceed the cube of the expression 0.20 LWL + 0.50.
So, by substituting for D^.3333 its limiting value 0.20 LWL + 0.50, our formula takes on a new and quite different form, and we have:
R = (SA^.5) / (1.111 + (2.777/L))
Since L is always much greater than the constant factor 2.777, the denominator of the entire formula remains nearly constant, giving a rating practically dependent on sail area alone. Thus each class under our rule carries a nearly fixed amount of sail, whatever the size of the hull. ...
The new Vanderbilt boat is designed to rate at the top of Class M. Her competitors will be four or more of the famous New York Fifties, of which nine were built as a one-design class by Herreshoff in 1913. The original 50-foot class boats were rigged with a gaff mainsail, club topsail, stem-headed single jib, and jib topsail. In the late fall of 1919, one of this class, the Carolina [#721s], owned by George Nichols, was tried out with a Marconi rig designed by Herreshoff and showed evidence of decided su- periority over her gaff-rigged sister Grayling [#715s]. In 1921 the Carolina entered the Astor and King's Cup races under this rig and soundly beat the fleet. ...
In deciding on the size of the new boat I have examined the possibilities of a series of six models from 50 feet to 55 feet waterline. All of these are derived from one parent form and are of approximately the same stability. There is a wide range of beam, from 14 feet in the 50-footer narrowing down to 12.68 in the 55-footer; also a large range of displacement, from just over 33 to almost 44 tons, and less than one per cent change in sail area.
The resistance of several models was calculated at speeds ranging from five to 10 knots. At five knots each smaller boat worked out slightly more favorably than the next larger boat throughout the series examined. At 10 knots, increase of length, despite the concomitant increase of displacement, showed decided reduction in resistance. At the approximate mid-speed of a little over seven knots, all sizes had almost equal resistance.
For the new boat, a length of 54 feet with a displacement of 41 1/2 tons was chosen as the greatest length safe to assume without sacrifice of speed in light weather. Of the advantage of the larger boat from moderate breezes up, there can be no question; and for reasons not yet fully understood, it has been evident in actual experience that the somewhat greater indicated resistance of the larger boat as compared with the smaller boat at low speeds does not actually appear to be a detriment when sailing on the wind in light weather. ...
The new boat's form is of much the same character as that of the schooner Advance, but has comparatively less displacement, longer and lower ends and forebody sections, approaching more nearly a U section. This U section, while less desirable in a seaway, gives longer heeled sailing lines and more power, together with less resistance on the wind. It is interesting to point out here that the International Rule as compared with the Universal Rule leads to an extreme U section of bow and quite discountenances the graceful V-section stern developed by our own rule. But against these obvious disadvantages, the International Rule taxes hull size as well as sail area and so tends to keep all competitors at a nearly fixed size and cost.
As compared with her rival Fifties, the new boat is four feet longer waterline, 10 feet longer overall, and about one-and-a-half feet narrower. With the same sail, she will carry over 24 tons of lead compared to their approximately 17 tons. Against their distinctly V-shaped bow and actually hollow waterline, she has a convex waterline snubbed at the entrance. Her keel is rockered and her keel sections are semicircular at the base instead of square.
As to rig, the new boat and her competitors, the Fifties, will all carry the limit mast height of about 96 feet above the deck, but whereas the old boats have a fore-triangle base of about 25 feet and main booms of about 43 feet, the new boat will have her mast stepped well aft with a fore-triangle base of 31 feet and a boom of but 37 feet. This adoption of the small mainsail and large headsails is the result of experience in the smaller classes and promises better results both on and off the wind. ...
The mast of the new boat is to be elliptical in section. Both main and fore-staysail booms will be of an inverted T-section. The boat will come out with two headsails, rather than three, with one large working jib of 600 square feet and a still larger single jib filling the entire fore-triangle for use in light weather.
Unlike the requirements of the International Rule, yachts built under the American Universal Rule larger than Class P are not currently subject to scantling restrictions. With instructions from Mr. Vanderbilt to build a thoroughly substantial hull, I have not attempted to go beyond the ratio of 58 per cent of ballast to displacement. The boat is to be double-planked with an inner skin of Oregon pine and an outer skin of mahogany. Her frame will be of steel bulb angle frames and deck beams. Wide diagonal steel straps are run outside of the frames and cut into the planking. Diagonal steel straps are run between beams and deck and a keel stringer plate is run from stem to stern. The lead keel is secured by bronze lag screws through the steel floor angles and the oak keel, and is additionally secured by vertical bronze straps let into both lead and planking from the outside. The high technical excellence of the builders, the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, assures a beautifully constructed hull. ..." (Source: Burgess, W. Starling. "Harold S. Vanderbilt's Racing Sloop Prestige: Designing the Fastest Craft Possible in Class M of the Universal Rule." Slightly adapted from an article in The Sportsman, Vol. I, No. 5, May 1927, pp. 33-34. In: Howland, Llewellyn, III. No Ordinary Being: W. Starling Burgess: Inventor, Naval Architect, Poet, Aviation Pioneer, and Master of American Design. Jaffrey, NH, 2014, p. 254-255.)

Maynard Bray

"PRESTIGE, AN M-CLASS SLOOP OF 1927
80'6" x 14'0"
Harold Vanderbilt's patronage of [W. Starling Burgess] began with Prestige --- an association that would last for a decade and culminate with the astonishingly swift J-class sloop Ranger, winner of the 1937 Americas Cup by a wide margin. Prestige, partly due to having little in the way of accommodations and therefore lighter on her feet, made quite a name for herself among the eight boats of her class, half of which were designed by Burgess. In the final analysis, however, L. Francis Herreshoffs Istalena [#1131s] took honors as the fastest in this class. These M-boats were the ultimate 'round-the-buoy' racers, larger by good measure than any class boat then in use and very much like scaled-down America's Cup J-class sloops. Drawings for this Herreshoff-built, steel-framed, mahogany-planked (and bright-finished) yacht are numerous and extremely detailed." (Source: Bray, Anne and Maynard. Boat Plans at Mystic Seaport. Mystic, CT, 2000, p. 11.)

Archival Documents

"[Item Description:] Crane ordered design as matter of information from L. Francis Herreshoff but Harold Vanderbilt was not interested possibly because great overall length, low ends and canoe stern did not appeal to him, am glad you feel it not all up with the NY50s yet, they will sail in 46ft rating class, promises to be keen class, Clinton Crane #715s IBIS ex-GRAYLING, Harding bought #713s IROQUOIS II, Hanan #712s SPARTAN, have not seen new Scantling Rules, hope you will criticize them, NYYC had nothing further to do with them, ABS took it up from that point and the Rules are theirs, incl. NGH reply: comparing ex-NY50s against coming M class and Harold Vanderbilt's new Burgess boat [#1058s PRESTIGE], my present study uses as much of your two rigs [for #721s CAROLINA II], new sails are faster than old ones even if old ones set equally well possibly because new canvas is more air tight, experiment by filling pores of old sails with some fine material could be carried out with R-boat or converted NY50s but require considerable time spent by 2 well matched crews to get clonclusions, detailed suggestions for CAROLINA, advise to dispence with quarterlifts entirely and have a single boom lift instead, if lazy lines required when cruising have eyes each side of mast only about 25ft up to hook blocks into and from there to boom, this arrangement saves a whole lot of trouble from the sailbattens, I made this change on #907s PLEASURE and found it vastly better [part of a group of documents pinned together with George Nichols to NGH letter of October 30, 1926 being the topmost letter]" (Source: Nichols, George (incl NGH reply). Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRRT_230. Unidentif. / Non-Cataloged, Folder MRRT. 1927-02-28.)


"[Item Transcription:] Dear Mr. Nat,
your most interesting letter of 8th came yesterday. I greatly appreciate the thought you are giving CAROLINA [#721s]. Charles [Nystrom] and Tom [Brightman] worked out a cost of moving the mast of some $3,000 which seemed to me more than the charge was worth. The principal item of expense being due to the fact that the new position was through the galley & required quite a lot of internal rearrangement. I therefore worked out the sketch enclosed [see WRDT04_01860] which retains the same centres as the single jib rig you worked out for me last fall and requires nothing new but the fore stay. The 4ft rake in the mast would [p. 2] mean cutting the step 3in forward.
It figures as follows: [calculations]
Since receipt of your letter I have figured that bu cutting the main boom to 42ft 8in (42.66) I would get the following: [calculations]
This would give 4 1/2 feet more height for spinnaker & balloon jib and balance would be maintained by slightly more rake to the mast.
I have indicated in red the [p. 3] rig of Harold [Vanderbilt]s new boat [#1058s PRESTIGE]. I have never cared for the raking mast but I can of course guy off the boom in very light weather & perhaps the lessened tendency of the leach to fall in would be a compensatory advantage. As the boom is relatively heavier & the av[era]g[e] wind relatively lighter than in an R boat it might be reasoned that the short boom is less disadvantageous. Any way the proportion is better tan in the new boat or the new R's for that matter.
The extra height of the fore triangle should be an advantage. [p. 4]
As to staying I enclose tracing of your plan of 1919 with suggested alterations in red. This would use the present rigging & I should hope do away with the need of threading the jib topsail sheet through the rigging above the spreaders which is a nuisance.
You may think both these plans of mine are foolish & if you do will of course say so. I would be glad of a prompt answer because the yard is pushing me for a decision & Gust Olsen has arrived & should be at work on the rigging. He is scraping blocks at the moment, to keep him out of mischief.
As to sails I have two that can be recut. The one you made in 1919 [p. 5] which has literally only been set half a dozen times & a gaff mainsail made by Ratsey & used one cruise.
Ratsey made such a good job last year of putting a new head in a very old sail he ought to do even better with a relatively new one. These sails have been used so little they ought to be quite wind tight.
The baby arrived last Sunday, a girl of 8 pounds 15 oz. She is named Henrietta Mary for Janie's aunt Mrs Crosby & my mother. As my brother Jack has a [p. 6] daughter named Mary Blake, directly for my mother, we could not so the same much as would have liked.
Sincerely yours, ...
All goes well both with Janie & the baby!" (Source: Nichols, George. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_16640. Correspondence, Folder 44, formerly 143. 1927-03-12.)


"[Item Transcription:] Carbon copy of a typewritten list titled 'Meriman Bros., Inc.
Burgess, Rigg & Morgan - Class M sloop [#1058 PRESTIGE] for Mr. Vanderbilt
Block List'." (Source: Merriman Brothers inc (creator). List. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.049. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder Class M Sloops. 1927-05-13.)


"[Item Transcription:] [Printed circular, two sheets of paper:] New York Yacht Club The Cruise 1927
Additional Racing Instructions Run From Huntington To New London—16Th August
In case of no wind at Huntington at the proposed time of the Start on the 16th August, the following signals will be made by the Flagship: etc. ... [Plus printed circular:] New York Yacht Club
List of yachts, measurement certificates of which were on file with the Race Committee on August 1, 1927, which will be valid for the Cruise.
SCHOONERS: C Class
C 2 OHONKARA [#827s]
C 7 VAGRANT [#719s]
C 3 VANITIE
D Class: D 25 ADVANCE
D 7 CONSTANCE
D 22 WILDFIRE [#891s]
D 5 LYNX
E Class: E 4 AURELIA
E 9 QUEEN MAB [#698s]
E16 SHAWNA
F Class: F3 CURLEW
F 4 MARY ROSE [#954s]
F 1 PLEIONE [#714s]
F 11 CACHALOT
G Class: S.C. 11 CLYTIE
S.C. 12 NADJI
S.C. 9 NOKOMIS
S.C. 6 SEVEN SEAS
G 1 WANDERER IX
G 7 MALABAR VII
H Class: H 3 FLYING FISH
H 2 ADVENTURER
KETCH: H 7 ANGELICA
SLOOPS
J Class: J 1 KATOURA [#1050s]
L.0. Class: L.0. 1 GEORGIA
L.0. 4 GREY DAWN
L.0. 5 MIRAGE
L.0. 3 NIMBUS
M Class: M 5 CAROLINA [#721s]
M 3 CHIORA [#713s ex-IROQUOIS II]
M 38 DOLLY
M 4 IBIS [#715s ex-GRAYLING]
M 1 PRESTIGE [#1058s]
M 6 SPARTAN [#712s]
10 Meter Class: 10M 9 BLAZING STAR
10M 7 BRANTA
10M 4 CYTHERA
10M 11 DRAGON
10M 8 ESQUILA
10M 6 NARCISSUS
10M 14 NAUTILUS
10M 10 RAEBURN
10M 12 REDHEAD
10M 10 REVENGE
10M 13 SHAWARA
10M 3 SYNTHETIC
10M 1 TWILIGHT
10M 5 VALENCIA
N Class: N 2 ALICE
P Class: P 1 BUTTERFLY [#586s ex-NELLIE]
50 Class: N. Y. Y. C. 52 ANDIAMO [#716s ex-SAMURI]
40 Class: N. Y. Y. C. 42 COCKATOO [#775s ex-DOLLY BOWEN]
N. Y. Y. C. 50 MARILEE [#955s]
N. Y. Y. C. 46 MISTRAL [#774s]
N. Y. Y. C. 47 PAMPERO [#781s ex-PAMPARO]
N. Y. Y. C. 45 TYPHOON [#773s ex-MAISIE]
N. Y. Y. C. 49 ROWDY* [#776s]
30 Class: N. Y. 1 ALERA [#626s]
N. Y. 7 ALICE [#632s ex-TABASCO]
N. Y. 9 AMORITA [#635s ex-ADELAIDE II]
N. Y. 15 BANZAI [#640s]
N. Y. 4 INTERLUDE [#629s ex-MAID OF MEUDON]
N. Y. 5 LENA [#630s ex-PINTAIL]
N. Y. 11 ORIOLE [#637s]
N. Y. 13 PHANTOM [#648s ex-MINX]
N. Y. 17 PHRYNE (Rig changed to jib-headed mainsail.) [#643s]
Q Class: F. I. S. 3 CHANCE [#1059s]
F. I. S. 1 CYRILLA II [#1054s]
F. I. S. 2 JUDY [#1055s]
F. I. S. 4 MAMEENA [#1060s]
YAWLS M Class: N. Y. 51 REVERY [#720s ex-ACUSHLA]
M 1 RUGOSA II [#983s]
... August 1, 1827. [Compared to the equivalent list from 1924 the number of boats has increased from 49 to 73, while the number of Herreshoff-built yachts has shrunk from 37 to 32 or 44%.] [Incl envelope from Race Committee NYYC to NGH, labeled in red 'Rating & allowance' and postmarked August 4, 1927.]" (Source: NYYC. Correspondence (circular) to Members. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_73330. Measuring and Measurement Rules (Box 2), Folder B2F07, formerly MRDE15. 1927-08-01.)


"[Item Description:] have ordered new mainsail for #721s CAROLINA and now have entire set of new sails, have done well in the races, agreed to race against #1058s PRESTIGE and #713s CHIORA ex-IROQUOIS but unfortunately hit a sunken wreck when towing and damaged lead keel, am interested in your opinion of #1050s KATOURA [owned by Robert E. Tod] and PRESTIGE, glad that your are helping Mr. Tod for I, too, feel sorry for him, CORSAIR will be at the races and I hope you will come and join her" (Source: Nichols, George. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_18790. Correspondence, Folder 51, formerly 54. 1927-08-27.)


"[Item Description:] Blueprint table annotated in pencil in upper right corner 'PRESTIGE' [#1058s] and titled 'M Boat, 54 ft LWL Yacht', listing parts and their materials and comparing weights as required by Lloyd's rules, Herreshoff rules and as built. (HMCo database lists this item as being with a letter from Charles Lawton? dated Aug. 23, 1928, stating table also gives detailed weights of 'Prestige' as calculated by Mr. Burgess). Undated, apparently 1928." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Blueprint Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0183. WRDT08, Folder 17, formerly MRDE06. 1928.)


"[Item Transcription:] I was very glad to have your letter of February 14th, and to feel that you had some sympathy for my troubles in getting steel and bronze for the metal boats [#1078s THISTLE and #1074s SHEERNESS]. It finally arrived and we are now working overtime getting the steel in place.
Mr. Tod is of course somewhat uneasy, but considering that we have practically all of the interior ready for him, also the decking, deck erections, rig and rigging, etc., he is so far very nice about the delay and of course I don't expect any troubles in finishing his boat [#1078s THISTLE] at the beginning of May, which should be early enough.
He is all wrought up about the coming summer and considering what a dismal summer he had last year and how nice he has treated us, we certainly all hope that he will get a very satisfactory boat and that the saying will come true that the KATOURA [#1050s] was his folly of 1927 and that the new boat will be his ketch of 1928.
Mr. Sheppey's boat [#1074s SHEERNESS] is overboard and out in the Yard under cover in the new Shed, and we are finishing her up as fast as we can. The same thing is the case with Mr. Morgan's boat [#384p SHUTTLE], and we are now laying the keel for Mr. Vanderbilt's boat [#385p VARA] according to your suggestion, that is, parallel with our slip so that she will be water-borne at the stern before the aftermost cradle leaves the slide. This will of course put an enormous strain on the forward slide but the under pinning being almost new we don't expect any troubles, besides that the boat won't be launched before you arrive in Bristol, and no doubt you will give us necessary advice of how to go about the launching.
As far as new boats are concerned, that is building stock boats to keep our carpenters going, I would like to say that your suggestion of building an additional Fisher's Island 31-Footer is very good, but it has its drawbacks because we have already one of these boats [#1061s KESTREL] in the yard, and one of the last year's boats [apparently #1055s JUDY which changed owners prior to the 1928 sailing season] is for sale for considerable less money than we charge for a new boat. Besides that it seems that people are not so keen about getting perfectly well behaved, roomy boats as some kind of narrow canoes that appeal to the eye. It is really pitiful to see in what direction [p. 2] the present boat designing is heading. It is long, narrow, extremely expensive boats without any accommodations whatsoever, for instance you will remember the PRESTIGE [#1058s] which with her 80-feet over all and 54 1/2-Ft. waterline had only one main cabin and one double stateroom. This is of course all right for a man with Mr. Vanderbilt's purse, but it practically puts everybody else out of the game, however, let us hope that the pendulum soon will swing the other way, and that the boats instead of being afternoon boats will be real homes on the sea, the way a boat of course should be.
When I was in New York the other day Mr. Nichols showed me some figures computed by Mr. W. K. Shaw and these figures showed plainly what the present cost of running a 50-Footer amounts too, and, believe me or not, but he made it perfectly plain and Mr. Nichols agreed to it, that the cost of running a 50-Footer today amounts to an average of Eighteen Thousand Dollars a year. This is of course something which cannot be kept up forever.
We are making an addition to the gangway between the Mill and the upper part of the North Shop, an addition long enough (25 ft.) so that we can get more space for our cabinet shop, which so far has been very cramped indeed. This addition makes me somewhat uneasy in case of a fire and I have strongly put it to Mr. Haffenreffer that we must install a sprinkler system in the Shops as soon as possible so as to have whatever protection we can get against fire, and I take it that Mr. Haffenreffer will approach the Grinnell people within a few days.
I have done some scouting for more work for the Shop to be started as soon as Mr. Tod's boat leaves the yard, and I have very good hopes of getting one Composite 'M' Boat and a 120-Foot Power Boat, both boats probably will be to outside design. If we can get these two orders and they are reasonably well under way before the first of August I hope to be able to go home to Finland so as to be present with my whole gang when my Mother becomes seventy years old on the first of September, but this is of course only a dream so far and it is very doubtful if it ever will come true. [Neither of these two boats was built.]
The family is in first class shape except for Margaret who still is very tired, and I certainly hope that everything is all right in Cocoanut Grove.
Very truly yours, ..." (Source: Nystrom, Charles. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_05940. Correspondence, Folder 21, formerly 141. 1928-02-20.)


"[Item Description:] Bob [Emmons] death has shocked us all, do not plan to bring out #721s CAROLINA, would like to have competed against #1058s PRESTIGE, Gust Olsen now with #1050s KATOURA now BLACKSHEAR, #1078s THISTLE was to be launched tomorrow but launch was postponed 5 days, Harding has sold #713s CHIORA ex-IROQOUIS II to Mrs. Chandler Hovey, #698s QUEEN MAB ex-VAGRANT I set a standard to LYNX that she could not live up to" (Source: Nichols, George. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_06500. Correspondence, Folder 23, formerly 207. 1928-04-27.)


"[Item Transcription:] [Typewritten signed letter on 'Secretary New York Yacht Club' stationery:] I was very glad to get your letter of the 24th.
Bob [Emmons]'s death was indeed lamentable and a terrible shook. The cause was monoxide gas --- he died in his motor car in his garage at the Cape.
The proof sheets of the Construction Rules [for Wooden Boats] are not ready as yet but should be any day and if they are not in hand before the fifth copies will be ready for you when you reach New York.
I handed your letter to the Flag Officers and Race Committee and undoubtedly they have awarded your medal to PRESTIGE [#1058s] --- I will verify this.
We have had two terrible months, strong gales, cloudy and disagreeable, very cold.
It has been an unusual Spring, as a matter of fact no Spring at all.
Tod tells me that his boat [#1078s THISTLE] is to be launched nest Thursday at eight o'clock in the morning.
Looking forward to seeing you on the 14th, with remembrances to Mrs. Herreshoff, As ever,
My dear Nat," (Source: Cormack, George A. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_06550. Correspondence, Folder 23, formerly 207. 1928-04-27.)


"[Item Transcription:] [Typewritten letter on 'Eastward, Dering Harbor, N. Y. stationery:] I enclose blue print showing comparisons of various constructions of an 'M' boat. This shows a minute advantage in favor of the composite construction: such composite boat being able to have some 470 pounds more lead.
This table also gives the detailed weights of 'PRESTIGE [#1058s]' as calculated by Mr. Burgess. This shows that a new boat will face a handicap of some 3820 pounds of lead as compared with the lighter built 'PRESTIGE'.
Sincerely yours, ... [Possibly written with a view towards construction of #1131s ISTALENA.]" (Source: Poor, Charles Lane. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_01110. Folder [no #]. 1928-08-23.)


"[Item Description:] Selected penciled scantlings for #1074s SHEERNESS, #666s AVENGER, #520s ATHENE, #1131s ISTALENA and #1058s PRESTIGE. Untitled. Undated (the latest boat on this list, ISTALENA, was contracted for on October 19, 1928)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Note. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0343. WRDT04, Folder 30, formerly MRDE09. No date (1928-10 or later).)


"[Item Description:] HMCo 4-page promotional pamphlet with photos of #1053s PUFFIN ('built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company to lines and instructions from her owner' [Junius Morgan]), #385p VARA, #1058s PRESTIGE, #384p SHUTTLE, #377p ARA, [#1074s] SHEERNESS, [#1131s] ISTALENA" (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Pamphlet. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_6790. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Box 5), Folder 179A. No date (1930).)


"[Item Description:] Penciled sketch with stylized outlines for PRESTIGE [#1058s] / VALIANT, 31 footer SKIDOO [#1165s] [crossed out], 23-footers & 6 meter, NOMAD, S Boat, 12 1/2 footer, MIZA, BETTY ANN, DUFFER, WEETAMOE Tender, SHADOW [#300p] and SILVERHEELS [#1204s], marked 'Scale 1in = 20ft'. Possibly used to plan winter storage space requirements. Undated, the newest yachts mentioned are SKIDOO from 1931 and the FI-23s built in 1931/1932." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Detail Sketch. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.124. Box HAFH.6.4B, Folder Detail Sketches. No date (1931 or later).)


"[Item Description:] Blocks for #1058 PRESTIGE - revised rig." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.049. List. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder Class M Sloops. 1931-03-20.)


Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #1058s Prestige even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.


Images

Registers

1928 List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. (#832.58)
Name: Prestige
Owner: Harold S. Vanderbilt (466 Lexington Avenue, New York, N.Y.); Port: New York, N.Y.
Official no. 226763; Type & Rig Slp.
Tons Gross 33; Tons Net 24; Reg. Length 67.5; Extr. Beam 13.5; Depth 9.3
Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1927
Note: Crew: 4

1930 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#3377)
Name: Prestige
Owner: Harold S. Vanderbilt; Port: New York
Official no. 226763; Building Material Comp[osite]; Type & Rig K[eel], FD [Flush Deck], Cut[ter]
Tons Gross 33; Tons Net 24; LOA 80-5; LWL 54-0; Extr. Beam 13-5; Depth 9-4; Draught 10-4
Sailmaker R&L [Ratsey&Lapthorn New York]; Sails made in [19]27; Sail Area 2862
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Rigg & Morgan, Inc.; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1927

1935 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#3806)
Name: Prestige
Owner: Harold S. Vanderbilt; Port: New York
Official no. 226763; Building Material Comp[osite]; Type & Rig K-cb [Keel-centerboard], Slp
Tons Gross 33; Tons Net 24; LOA 80-6; LWL 54-0; Extr. Beam 13-6; Depth 9-4; Draught 10-4
Sailmaker R&L [Ratsey&Lapthorn New York]; Sails made in [19]31; Sail Area 2862
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Rigg & Morgan, Inc.; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1927
Note: Keel re-cast. Cb added. Alt. from Cut. 1931.

1940 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#4932)
Name: Prestige
Owner: Harold S. Vanderbilt; Port: New York
Official no. 226763; Building Material Comp[osite]; Type & Rig K-cb [Keel-centerboard], Slp
Tons Gross 33; Tons Net 24; LOA 80-6; LWL 54-0; Extr. Beam 13-6; Depth 9-4; Draught 10-4
Sailmaker Ratsey; Sails made in [19]35; Sail Area 2862
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Rigg & Morgan, Inc.; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1927
Note: Keel re-cast. Cb added. Alt. from Cut. 1931.

1947 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#4757)
Name: Prestige
Owner: Ina C. Berry; Port: Boston, Mass.
Official no. 226763; Building Material Comp[osite]; Type & Rig K-cb [Keel-centerboard], Slp
Tons Gross 33; Tons Net 24; LOA 80-6; LWL 54-0; Extr. Beam 13-6; Depth 9-4; Draught 10-4
Sailmaker Ratsey; Sails made in [19]35; Sail Area 2862
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Rigg & Morgan, Inc.; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1927
Note: Keel re-cast. Cb added. Alt. from Cut. 1931.

1953 List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S.
Name: Prestige
Official no. 226763; Building Material Composite; Type & Rig GaS [Gasoline engine, screw]
Tons Gross 33
Note: Service: Fsh [Fisheries]

1964 List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S.
Name: Prestige
Owner: Sanborn, Wayne A. (2C Avalon Rd., Reading, Mass.)
Official no. 226763
Wayne A Sanborn (b. 1939), 85 Church St, West Newbury, MA 01985-1018, Tel. 978-363-2253 (March 2014)

1976 List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S.
Name: Prestige
Official no. 226763; Type & Rig GaS [Gasoline engine, screw]
Tons Gross 29
Note: Out of documentation [and thus removed from U.S. List of Merchant Vessels]

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 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 1931 HMCo-published Owner's List

Name: Prestige
Type: Sloop
Length: 54'
Owner: Vanderbilt, Harold S.

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: Prestige
Type: 54' cutter
Owner: Harrold S. Vanderbilt
Year: 1927
Row No.: 546

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: Feb
Day: 11
Year: 1927
E/P/S: S
No.: 1058
Name: Prestige
LW: 54' 0"
Rig: Sloop
K: y
Ballast: Outside Ballast
Amount: T & M
Notes Constr. Record: Burgess design
Last Name: Vanderbilt
First Name: Harold

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)

"Universal Rule Class M." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 7, 2009.)

"[See also:] Meriman Brothers block list for Burgess, Rigg & Morgan - M-class sloop for Mr. Vanderbilt (5/13/1927) - Sketches of hardware, rigging - Blocks for Prestige - revised rig (3/20/1931) - Blocks for Avatar - Memo regarding Avatar (3/3/1931) - Blocks for Valiant (3/20/1931) - Memo of work to be done on Valiant (1/14/1931). In: Technical and Business Records pertaining to the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Series VI, Folder HH.6.49 (Class "M" Sloops), Box HAFH.6.2B." (Source: Hasselbalch, Kurt and Frances Overcash and Angela Reddin: Guide to The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass., 1997, p. 63-79.)

"See also: Burgess-Donaldson Collection, Coll. 11, Daniel S. Gregory Ships Plans Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc. 11.112. PRESTIGE; 80.5 ft. M class cutter. Designer, Burgess, Rigg & Morgan, Ltd. and W. Starling Burgess Corp.; Design #7 and #57; Builder, Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.; 1927." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. August 13, 2010.)

"Sail no. M-1 in 1928 as per Rudder, August 1928, p. 102." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 3, 2015.)

"Launched 1927-06-24." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 18, 2009.)

"Built in 133 days (contract to launch; equivalent to 361 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"In the absence of better available data displacement was estimated by using the figure for Net Register Tons (24) from the 1928 List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. (Gross Register Tons were reported as 33) and converting to lbs by dividing through 2000 (short tons). Note that this figure can only be a rough estimate because register tons as reported in Yacht Registers correlate only loosely with actual displacement figures." (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 #1058s Prestige. Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné. https://herreshoff.info/Docs/S01058_Prestige.htm.