Herreshoff #185401es Julia II

"JULIA No. 1 was sold to John R. Gardner of Ferry Hill, Bristol, in 1854-5. My father modeled and had built at Newport JULIA No. 2. This boat proved unsatisfactory and [he] sold her." (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. 36.)

"June 19, 1935
Dear Mr. Stephens,
... My father designed and built the shifting ballast box and gear you saw in JULIA No. 4 for JULIA No. 2 in either 1884 or 1885 [sic, i.e. 1854. CvdL], I am not sure which and the same box and gear was used in three successive boats without any change, and appeared to be the perfection of ease in operating. I do not know of any serious accident by it getting adrift. It certainly made each JULIA pleasanter to sail in -safer and faster, and was always used when wind enough to careen the boat an appreciable amount. In a freshening wind and wishing to get the box to windward, it was not pulled there, but a half-board taken, and as the helm was put up, the 'trigger' was released and the box would run to windward by momentum. I imagine you sail your own boat for pleasure and not for racing, and you would appreciate such a contrivance if you had it, making the boat pleasanter to sail and faster. JULIA's shifting gear weighed 550 lbs. ...
Very truly yours,
N.G. Herreshoff" (Source: Letter 6. From N. G. Herreshoff to W. P. Stephens, dated June 19, 1935. In: Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene and William Picard Stephens. "Their Last Letters 1930-1938." Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, R. I., ca. 1999, p. 35-38.)

"August 31 1935
Dear Mr. Stephens -
... First I want to correct my error, as shown on brief you returned, JULIA #2 should be dated 1854, not 1864. ...
Very truly yours,
Nathanael Greene Herreshoff
Sept. 15 1935." (Source: Letter 13. From N. G. Herreshoff to W. P. Stephens, dated August 31, 1935 to September 15, 1935. In: Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene and William Picard Stephens. "Their Last Letters 1930-1938." Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, R. I., ca. 1999, p. 67-80.)

"[Item Description:] fragment of a typewritten letter on outside ballast with corrections in ink; #185401es JULIA II, #186301es KELPIE I, #187106es SHADOW, #400s CONSUELO, [The complete (and somewhat different) letter published as 'Letter Six' in Herreshoff, Stephens. Their Last Letters 1930-1938. Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, RI, 1988, p. 35-38.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Letter to Stephens, William P. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_20820. Correspondence, Folder 59. No date (1935-06-19).)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #185401es Julia II even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Grayson, Stan. Herreshoff Catboats. The Roots of a Boatbuilding Dynasty." Wooden Boat #289, November/December 2022, p. 58-67. (1,855 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Detailed, well-written story about Herreshoff catboats, from early boats such as Sprite and the four Julias which were all built before the founding off the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company to the numerous small catboats like Dandelion and Bluebell, many of which were delivered to Boston yachtsmen and most of which were also built before the founding of HMCo to the later, often very extreme and rule-beating catboats such as Wanda. With some minor errors, not all Julias were keelboats, Dexter Stone was from Philadelphia and not just a local yachtsman, Peri was not built for W. Starling Burgess, and Bluebell was built for Ed. Burgess with no proof that this was Edward Burgess.

"Not built by Herreshoffs." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 2, 2008.)

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