Herreshoff #187210es Tulip

"[In 1866 the] Company also built several small catboats, from John's own model, that went to the Burgess boys, Charles F. Adams, and others. These were very successful, and were followed by several more in the succeeding three or four years, so that the growing generation of North Shore men were brought up in Bristol built catboats, all modeled by John." (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.)

"February 13, 1937
Dear Mr. Stephens -
... I saw quite a bit of the Burgess family by my brother John building all the boats for the Burgess boys. ...
With kindest regards,
Sincerely,
Nathanael G. Herreshoff" (Source: Letter 25. From N. G. Herreshoff to W. P. Stephens, dated February 13, 1937. In: Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene and William Picard Stephens. "Their Last Letters 1930-1938." Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, R. I., ca. 1999, p. 155-159.)

"The Tulip is a centre-board sailboat, built for A. Burgess, Esq., of the Beverly Yacht Club. She is heavily sparred and built with air-tight compartments ..." (Source: Anon. "Intercommunication." Hunt's Yachting Magazine, September 1872, p. 500.)

"... Herreshoff in them days was turning out some fine catboats, the Posy, Fanny, Maud, Bristol, Peri, Ruby, Virginia, Dandelion, Pansy and Tulip, bein' a few of his that used to carry off a good many prizes. ..." (Source: Anon ("Water Line.") "City Point Yachting. Great Record Made by Catboat Fanny." Boston Globe, February 2, 1890, p. 10.)

"... From 1873 to 1876 Mr Burgess had one of his most successful boats, the Tulip, built by Herreshoff. She was 16 feet 4 inches waterline, 18 feet 6 inches overall cat rigged.
In this boat Mr Burgess won 21 first prizes, nine seconds and one third out of 31 starts, besides 10 championship pennants. This boat was sold to Gordon Dexter, and still exists, probably at Beverly. ..." (Source: Anon. "Has Raced Yachts 40 Years. Walter Burgess, Secretary of the Boston Yacht Club, Has Witnessed the Entire Development of Modern American Yachting." Boston Daily: Jan 13, 1907, p. SM12.)

"When he mentions '... all the boats for the Burgess boys' N.G.H. is making one of the rare references to a little-known chapter of yachting history. It is the period prior to 1878, when John Brown Herreshoff was building what may have been the fastest miniature racing catboats in North America or abroad. The Burgess family alone bought about a half a dozen. These and many others sailed in the Boston area won against all comers in races for craft in the UNA tradition." (Source: Streeter, John W., editorial note. In: Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene and William Picard Stephens. "Their Last Letters 1930-1938." Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, R. I., ca. 1999, p. 159.)

"The fourth regatta of the Beverly Yacht Club was held off Nahant on July 25, 1874. The Sunday Herald reported on the event: "Of all the many regattas of this club none have been blessed with more propitious weather than that of yesterday --- clear sky, warm sun, a good breeze, a full attendance of members and boats, a fine sail with no mishaps --- all tending to render the fourth regatta one of unexcelled and rarely equaled merit. ... In the first class the Eva (W. H. Bangs Jr.) took the first prize, a silver inkstand, and the Fire Fly (G. H. Balch) the second, a silver goblet. The first prize in the second class was awarded to the Peri (S. W. Burgess), and the second to the Avon (F. R. Sears Jr.). In the third class the Tulip (W. Burgess) took the first and the Pink (J. B. Mills Jr.) the second." (Source: Regatta circular caption. In: Rosbe, Judith Westlund. The Beverly Yacht Club. Charleston SC, Chicago IL, Portsmouth NH and San Francisco CA, 2006, p. 17.)

"On August 29. 1874, the Beverly Yacht Club held a union regatta off Beverly in Salem Harbor. Field and Stream [sic, i.e. Forest and Stream?] magazine reported, 'The race was very successful, though the wind was light. The entries were free to all yachts not over thirty feet on the water line. Nineteen yachts started in three classes. They were all centre-board sloops and cat-boats, and among them many known as the fastest boats in their respective classes. The Eva, Mabel and Tulip had easy work in their classes in holding a good lead from the start. The first prizes were won by the Eva (W. H. Bangs Jr.) in the first class, Mabel (J. N. Roberts) in the second, and the Tulip (Walter Burgess) in the third. The second prizes were won by Posey (J. M. McKee), Water Lily (P. Grant Jr.) and Pink (J. B. Mills Jr.), in the first, second, and third class respectively. ... The judges were Messrs. T. D. Boardman, G. D. Howe and C. H. Williams on board the yacht Foam, which Mr. Baordman kindly offered as judges' yacht." (Source: Regatta circular caption. In: Rosbe, Judith Westlund. The Beverly Yacht Club. Charleston SC, Chicago IL, Portsmouth NH and San Francisco CA, 2006, p. 18-19.)

• Tulip
• 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: Tulip
Type: 16' 4" cat
Owner: Gordon Dexter [sic, i.e. Walter Burgess]
Year: 1872
Row No.: 696

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.

"In the absence of better available data displacement was estimated by using the figure for Old Measurement Tons (3.31) from the 1881 Olsen's American Yacht List 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.