Herreshoff #186606es Violet

"Violet [#186606es]: 35ft Length on deck. 13ft Breadth extreme. 4ft 5in Depth. 7ft 6in Width of stern. 15ft Bowsprit out board. 903sqft Mainsail area. 380sqft Jib area. 217sqft Gafftopsail area. 300sqft Jibtopsail area." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. and/or other Herreshoff family members. Handwritten table listing early Herreshoff-built boats and their dimensions up to 1870. No date (1870 or later). Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum, MRDE03.)

"Letter from N. G. Herreshoff to Mr. Foster
In reply to your valued letter of 18th instant, I am afraid I cannot give you much that will be of interest to the members of the Eastern Yacht Club. Being behind the Cape I have had little to do with the E. Y. C., ...
Some of the old timers of my design which were probably sailed in the E. Y. C. races may be mentioned. Fanchon, designed and built in 1865, owned by Edward Burgess from about 1869 for several years. Violet, 1866, Eben Denton. Clytie, 1867. Sadie, 1867 (first a schooner but changed to a sloop in 1868, and owned by Franklin Burgess 1870-71. Her model was made by John B. Herreshoff). Ianthe, schooner, 49' w. l., 1870, W. D. Pickman owner. (Model by John B. Herreshoff.) Latona, schooner, 55 1/2' w. l., 1871, W. D. Pickman owner. Faustine, schooner, 74' w. l., 1873, built for George Peabody Russell, and taken to England in 1874.
... Sincerely yours,
Nathanael G. Herreshoff" (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene. Letter to Charles H. W. Foster, ca. 1931. Quoted in Foster, Charles H. W. The Eastern Yacht Club Ditty Box, 1870-1900. Norwood, Mass., 1932, p. 39-41.)

"Dear Mr. Foster,
... My father always advocated boats of good displacement. His own boats, built for his own pleasure, were all vessels of the heavily ballasted keel type (1834-1860). So, when my brother John began building, the larger ones were with more than the prevailing amount of displacement. I was, therefore, brought up in that type, and I can remember, in my early racing, we always would defeat the shallower type from 'Up Sound' and New York as easily in light winds as in fresh ones. Our craft were (1864 to 67) Kelpie, Violet built in 1866 for Eben Denton, Clytie, and Sadie. The first was modeled by my father. Violet, by me in 1865, and Clytie, by me in 1866. Sadie, by my brother John in 1866.
...
Sincerely yours,
Nathanael G. Herreshoff" (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene. Letter to Charles H. W. Foster, dated March 6, 1932. Quoted in Foster, Charles H. W. The Eastern Yacht Club Ditty Box, 1870-1900. Norwood, Mass., 1932, p 139-141.)

"HAIDEE 2nd, ARIAL, VIOLET, PSYCHE, and FANNIE were built the following winter [1865/1866] by Herreshoff and Stone. Neither of these boats made a brilliant record the first year, but were very [well] liked and approved [of] when in the hands of later owners. ... The following summer [sic, that would have been 1867], VIOLET was built for Mr. Eben Denton from the same model as HAIDEE and ARIAL. She was a good yacht, but not so fast as the designer [NGH] expected and I protested against building any more from that model by chopping it up." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Boats and Yachts that I have been Especially Interested in by Sailing and Some of Which I Have Owned." Bristol, April 1932. In: Pinheiro, Carlton J. (ed.). Recollections and Other Writings by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Bristol, 1998, p. 103.)

"Late that summer [1865], I made the model for boats that Herreshoff and Stone had orders for the next spring [1866], and were for first, [the] catboat FANNIE I, [a] twenty-one foot waterline catboat, then for HAIDEE II, ARIEL, and VIOLET, all thirty-five feet on deck and thirty-two feet waterline." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "The Old Tannery and My Brother John." Written July 28, 1933. In: Pinheiro, Carlton J. (ed.). Recollections and Other Writings by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Bristol, 1998, p. 22.)

"For the following year [1866], I made models for three thirty-six foot overall sloops, HAIDEE 2nd, ARIAL, and FALCON, the last for one of my father's fishing gangs, and also for a twenty-three foot overall, twenty-one foot waterline catboat for Captain Benjamin Gibbs. Those craft were very satisfactory and with fair speed, but not quite unexcelled. It is funny, but they appeared to improve as they grew older. ... The following summer, 1866, John had an order from Mr. Edward Dexter for a thirty-five foot sloop [VIOLET], and she was built on the same molds as the three sloops just mentioned, except the bilges were made a little fuller, giving more breadth at the waterline and was, without doubt, an improvement. However, on trial, it was found KELPIE 2nd was a little faster than VIOLET to windward, although smaller. To prevent John and Dexter Stone (they were in partnership then) [from] using this model any more, I took an axe and cut it up, then went to work and made a new model for a same sized sloop yacht. ... I sailed CLYTIE all the season of 1867 and part of 1868, first in all the New York Bay races, and won all. Then I went to Boston and won, and later took part in the Boston Yacht Club Cruise. In this, we found VIOLET a good competitor, but could always beat her a little. It is interesting that VIOLET, after some years, came into the hands of [the] McKee brothers, and they owned and sailed her in races about Boston for many years, often taking prizes after she was fifty years old, and the owners old men." (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. 47.)

"'Qui Vive II,' 42' O.A.
'Prudence,' 36' O.A.
'Patience,' 36' O.A.
'Hope,' 28' O.A.
'Faith,' 28' O.A.
'Henrietta,' 16' O.A.
'Haidi,' 25' O.A.
'Ariel.'
'Violet.'
'Psyche.'
'Fannie.'
So far as I can make out, these later yachts were designed or modeled by J. B., C. F. Herreshoff (the father), and Nat all working together, but C. F. and J. B. were depending on Nat more and more each year. After about 1870, when Captain Nat designed 'Shadow,' thirty-six feet O.A. sixteen feet three inches beam, all later Herreshoff yachts were designed by Captain Nat alone. (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. 58-59.)

"In the Boston Yacht Club's first regatta on June 17, 1867 'Clytie' led from the start, making both the best actual and corrected time over the course. In this race the second was 'Violet' and the third 'Kelpie,' all yachts built by J. B. 'Violet,' however, was modeled by N. G. and she raced with marked success for fifty years." (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. 55-56.)

"By sixteen Nat had modeled the sloop 'Violet,' twenty-five feet long [sic, LFH lists her in the appendix as 35'], which while owned by Eben Denton became a very noted winner around Boston, racing for nearly fifty years." (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. 63.)

"The same year he made a model from which the twenty-five-foot sloop 'Haidee' (later named 'Fanchon') was built. 'Violet' was also built from this model as well as 'Ariel.' These boats were modeled in 1864 when Nat was only sixteen years old, although 'Violet' was not built until 1866." (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. 80.)

"When the 'Violet' was completed young Nat sailed her in a trial race against an older boat designed and sailed by his father, and 'Violet' was beaten. Nat was so disappointed that as soon as he got home he took an ax and chopped up the model from which 'Violet' had been built so that no other boats would be built from it. Strange to say, all the boats built from this model turned out very well later and were much liked by their owners. This incident, Captain Nat told me, made him more patient in later life and taught him to wait until a boat was thoroughly tried out before he condemned her.
The model from which 'Violet' was built is the only one missing in his collection of models. 'Violet' was built for Mr. Eben Denton, a charter member of the Boston Yacht Club, and an early secretary of the club. She raced successfully in the length-over-all classes for about fifty years and I believe was finally destroyed in the Chelsea fire although she had been in active use right up until that time." (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. 80-81.)

"[License issued to vessel under 20 tons. Pos. 271:]
Violet, sloop, of Cambridge port.
Built at [blank] [Herreshoff].
11 tons; 32.5 ft. x 12.9 ft. x 4.2 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
One deck, one mast, [blank] head [bow].
Previous documentation not shown.
Lic[ensed] (temporary) ([for] C[oastal] T[rade]) June 22, 1866. Owner: Eben Denton of Cambridgeport, Mass. Master: Eben Denton. ([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. Violet.)

"In the regatta at Stonington, on the 'Fourth,' [July 4, 1870] the Orion [#186903es], owned by Mr Thayer, of New York, and built by Mr John B Herreshoff, of this town, was the successful competitor gaining the prize of one hundred dollars. ... The first prize to centre-board boats in the first class, at the regatta in Boston on the 4th inst. [July 4, 1870], was given to the Sadie [#186704es], late ot this town. The first prize to keel boats was won by the Psyche [#186605es]. The first prize in the second class was given to the Violet [#186606es], the second to the Kelpie [#186403es], centre-boards. The first prize in the third class was given to the Posey [#186603es ex-Fannie I], the second to the Secret [#186408es], centre-boards. Those boots were all built by Mr. John B. Herreshoff, at his yard and shops in this town. ... At the regatta of the Eastern Yacht Club, of Marblehead, Mass., Tuesday [July 12, 1870], the Sadie [#186704es], of Boston, was the winning boat. Coming was second. The time of the Sadie was four hours and twenty-five minutes, and the Coming four hours thirty minutes and twenty-five seconds. Dexter Stone's Psyche [#186605es], another Herreshoff boat, although not in the race, came in next to the winner." (Source: Anon. "Local Tintypes." Bristol Phoenix, July 16, 1870, p. 2.)

"... Violet, sloop, lately sold by M. J. Kiley to Henry J. McKee, was built by the Herreshoffs in 1866. She has since been altered to cutter rig. ..." (Source: Anon. "Yachting Notes." Forest & Stream, April 23, 1885, p. 259.)

"The center-board sloop Violet, M. J. Kiley, has been sold to H. J. McKee, of the South Boston Club; she was built in 1866, by Herreshoff, of Bristol, R.I., and is 33 feet 4 inches water-line, 12 feet 4 inches beam, 3 feet 10 inches draft." (Source: Anon. "Yachting." Outing, July 1885, p. 509.)

"[Violet (Sail, C. B.) owned by H. J. McKee & F. C. Hersey, Port: Boston; LOA 36.5ft; LWL 33ft; Beam 12.6ft; Draft 3.6ft; designed by J. B. Herreshoff and built by Herreshoff Mfg. Co. in 1866.]" (Source: Stebbins 1888 Yachtsmen's Souvenir, p. 34.)

"In Massachusetts Bay. [By] Winfield Thompson. ... Looking back over the season of 1906 in Massachusetts Bay ... In the interclub racing the winners were: ... Class C, topmast sloops, Violet, owned by H. J. McKee and built by Herreshoff & Stone, at Bristol, in 1865 ..." (Source: Rudder, November 1906, p. 623.)

"... Another yacht built in 1865 is the Violet, a sloop 39 feet long. This craft was built by Herreshoff & Stone at Bristol. R. I., and is the oldest to which the name of Herreshoff is attached in the record. Since then this firm has changed, but the Herreshoffs have turned out the fastest yachts of all sizes in the world. The Violet is owned by H J. McKee of Boston. ..." (Source: Anon. "Racing Yachts Short Lived." New York Sun, July 28, 1907, p. 6.)

"Sixty years ago this Fall [of 1926] yachting as an organized sport in Massachusetts Bay waters had its conception in the cabin of the old Herreshoff sloop Violet, then anchored off Hull. Last night the members of the Boston Yacht Club, the outgrowth of that meeting, celebrated its 60th birthday with a banquet and entertainment at its Howe's Wharf station.
This gathering in tho cabin of the Violet was attended by Augustus Russ, Benjamin Dean, Charles E., the owner, Eben Denton. This gentleman called a meeting for Sept 14, 1866, to form a club 'for the purpose of encouraging yacht building and naval architecture and the cultivation of nautical science.'
This resulted in 15 men interested in yachting attending a meeting at 14 Tremont st, where the present Hemenway Building stands. From this first gathering a movement started from which the Boston Yacht Club was formed with 78 members on Nov 21, 1866, in the old Parker House. ...
Famous Sloop Violet
After giving a brief summary last evening of the early history of the club, William U. Swan presented the club with a piece of the original stem of the sloop Violet. This craft was one of the most famous of all American small sloops. Built by Herreshoff & Stone at Bristol, R I, in 1860 from the designs of Nathaniel G. Herreshoff, she was afloat on Boston Harbor up to within three or four years.
Her dimensions as given in the earliest of the Boston's records were 36ft 11in length overall, 32ft 3in length waterline, 12ft 4in extreme breadth and 4ft draft with board up. She was rated at 15 tons under the old system of measurement. Her original cost was $4000, to which was added $1000 for the elaborate cabin finish. That, however, was at the close of the Civil War when gold was worth a large premium.
After passing through a number of hands she was owned in the last 25 years of her existence by the McKees of the South Boston Yacht Club. Twelve years or more ago her bow was lengthened out with a new and more modern appearing stem. This seemed to act as a drag on her speed as she never appeared as smart after the change.
At about the time of this change the Violet was raced in the topsail class of the old Interclub Yacht Racing Union. In the last three years the old sloop was not in commission, and about a year ago she was broken up at Bent's yard, South Boston, as many of her timbers had boon found badly gone from dry rot. ..." (Source: Anon. "Going Back 60 Years in Yachting History. How it Became an Organized Sport in Massachusetts Bay. Boston Y. C. Celebrates With Banquet." Boston Globe, December 2, 1926, p. 36.)

"Burned in the 1908 Chelsea fire. [Note: This is not correct as she was listed in the 1923 Lloyd's Register, still owned by the McKee family in Boston.]" (Source: Murphy, Matthew P. Glass Plates & Wooden Boats. The Yachting Photography of Willard B. Jackson. Beverly, Massachusetts, 2006, p. 108.)

"[Item Description:] Handwritten (in ink and pencil) table providing what amounts to be the earliest Herreshoff construction record with detailed dimensional data (Name, Owner, Length on deck, Length on water, Breadth extreme, Depth, Deadrise per foot, Width of stern, Sheer, Freeboard at bow, stern and lowest place, Centreboard length, Centreboard from woodends, Centre of mast from woodends, Bowsprit out board, Mainsail foot, hoist, head, leech, and area, Foresail foot, hoist, head, leech, and area, Jib foot, hoist, leech, and area, Gafftopsail foot, luff, leech, and area, Fore-gafftopsail foot, luff, leech, and area, Jibtopsail foot, hoist, leech, and area and Notes ) for Julia [#185602es], Sprite [#186001es], Kelpie 1st [#186301es], Magic [#186404es], Toad [#186411es], Prudence [#186406es], Patience [#186405es], Hope [#186402es], Faith [#186401es], Qui Vive [#186407es], Kelpie 2nd [#186403es], Teazer [#186410es], Secret [#186408es], Fish Boats [#186505es, #186506es, #186507es, #186508es, #186509es, #186510es, #186511es, #186512es], Fish Boats [#186513es, #186514es, #186515es, #186516es, #186517es, #186518es], Fanchon [#186501es], Angie [#186503es], Haidee [#186604es], Ariel [#186601es], Psyche [#186605es], Fannie 1st [#186603es], Violet [#186606es], Fish Boats [#186607es, #186608es], Fish Boats [#186609es, #186610es, #186611es, #186612es, #186613es, #186614es], Lively Whale [later Daisy ???] [#186707es ???], Fannie 2nd [#186702es], Hartford [later Polly ???] [#186703es ???], Sadie [#186704es], Clytie [#186701es], Waterfall [N/A], Bristol [#186801es], Ione [#187003es], Poppasquash [#186502es], Etta [N/A], Oysterboats [#186710es, #186711es], Spring Green [#186709es], Pellican [#186708es], Henrietta [N/A], Meteor [N/A], Fatter[?] [N/A], Annie Moies [#1p], Charlotte [#186803es], Annie [#186905es], Hildegard [#186808es], Thetis [#186705es], Clio [#187101es], Fleetwing [N/A], White Straw[?] [N/A], [Mignone] [#186904es], Fish Boats [square stern, 1868] [N/A], Sadie [#N/A (dupl. listing)], Fannie [N/A], Bunsby [#186802es], Orion [#186903es], Breeze [N/A], Nimbus [#186805es], Alice [crossed out, this MIGHT be Bessie] [#187001es], Viking [#187008es], [Ianthe] [#187002es], [Surf] [#187007es], [Georgie Miller] [#187011es], and [Pink] [#187010es]. Undated, the latest vessel on the list was built in 1870." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator) or other Herreshoff family members (?) (creator). Construction Record. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_01410. Folder [no #]. No date (ca 1870).)
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"[Item Transcription:] [On 'Reversible Collar Co. ... Eben Denton, Treas.' stationery.] Now that the battle is over and victory won, you may perhaps have a little leisure time for other matters and with this in view I send you today by Express the personal reminiscences of Capt Robert B. Forbes. I remember you saying that you had never seen this book and knowing that both you and John were acquainted with Capt Forbes --- and that there is much pleasant reading --- (as well as some pages that may be skipped) in the Capt's autobiography and much that relates to the early days of shipbuilding & navigation as well as the period of transition from wood to iron and from sail to steam in what may now be termed the 'olden time' it seemed to me that both you and John would be interested in the reading. It is needless to add my congratulations for the result of the [Americas Cup] race --- for of this you probably have had enough --- but I must express my regards for Mrs. N. & and to John with thanks for the attention I received on that pleasant day last April when I visited Bristol.
With kind remembrances of the past, ... [Eben Denton had been the owner of #186606es Violet and a founder of the Boston Yacht Club.]" (Source: Denton, Eben. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_00240. Correspondence, Folder 1_14, formerly (84). 1903-09-15.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Typed unsigned letter. This may be a transcript of a letter:] I think you will be interested to know that the stem of the sloop VIOLET [#186606es] in the cabin of which the Boston Yacht Club was started, has been rescued from the scrap heap and will be presented to the club at its 60th anniversary on December 1 [1926].
Perhaps you will also be interested in my article in the Boston Transcript on November 27 [1926] describing the formation of the club, your election as a member and other matters of three decades ago.
Wm. U. Swan." (Source: Swan, William U. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_16330. Correspondence, Folder 43, formerly 4. No date (1926-11).)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #186606es Violet even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Violet
• 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.

Name: Violet
Type: 35' sloop
Owner: Eben Denton
Year: 1865
Row No.: 726

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.

Date this vessel was finished was estimated as June 22, 1866, the date this boat was measured by the U.S. Custom House inspector as per the 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. (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 9, 2020.)

"In the absence of better available data displacement was estimated by using the figure for New Measurement Tons (11.35) from the 1872 Fox Yachting Annual (Old Measurement Tons were reported as 15.68) 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.