Herreshoff #187501es Dandelion [Dandylion]

"Dandylion. Cat rigged centreboard boat, built for J. Q. Adams.
Aug[ust] 1875.
Length overall 18ft 10in (?).
Length on water 16ft 6in.
Sail, foot 20ft, hoist 16ft, head 9ft, leech 25ft, Diag[onal] 23ft 9in. 2 reefs 3ft 6in on luff, 4ft on leach. Area 276sqft. 5in roach in foot, 1 1/2in on luff, 3/4in on head." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. 1871 to ca 1874 calendar. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum, Model Room Rolltop Desk.)

"[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. 22-23.)

"CITY POINT YACHTING. ... 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.)

"SAILOR OF SKILL AND NERVE IS CUP-CLASS SKIPPER ADAMS
Boston Corinthian Sailor Who Will Handle the Herreshoff Sloop Resolute in Season's Trials for Defense Honors Has Been Racing for a Third of a Century, and Has Many Times Cut the Finish Line a Winner, in All Sizes of Craft, From Catboats to Large Sloops. Personal Traits and Racing Methods of One of the Country's Best Helmsmen.
By WINFIELD M. THOMPSON.
Who is this Charles Francis Adams 2d of Boston, who will sail the Herreshoff yacht Resolute in the elimination trials of the class of three boats that will supply this year's defender of the America Cup? ...
In sailing the foremost boat of the new era --- for such Resolute must be considered by the public in view of the distinguished character of her designer --- Mr. Adams bridges his career as a yachtsman from his first boat.
That also was a Herreshoff design, a little half-decked catboat called the Dandelion, about 21 feet long on deck and 18.5 on the waterline. This boat was built in 1875 --- note well the date; that was 39 years ago --- and was acquired in 1880 by Mr Adams and two of his brothers, George and John (now dead), for the purpose of going after some bronzed old windjammers who ruled things in the catboat line in Hull Bay.
The old boys found that they had in the Adams brothers competitors not to be despised. The Dandelion was raced with much vim, for four seasons and with uniform success. ..." (Source: Thompson, Winfield. "Sailor of Skill and Nerve is Cup-Class Skipper Adams." Boston Globe, May 3, 1914, p. 47.)

"It was with one of these old tars, Captain Jones of Sailors' Snug Harbor, at the tiller, that young [Charles Francis] Adams, then only 9 years of age, sailed his first race Sept. 4, 1875, in the Herreshoff catboat Dandelion, which had arrived from Bristol a few days before. Young Adams' principal instructor, however, was William A. Gavin, who still sits in a Quincy fire station and tells how he taught a Cabinet officer to hand, reef and steer.
... the Adams yacht was the Dandelion, which his father, John Quincy Adams, had turned over to him and which he sailed with his older brother, George, on the sheet for several years. ... Secretary Adams [sailed his first race] June 17, 1881, the Dandelion winning in the third class." (Source: Anon. "Two Yachtsmen To Celebrate." Christian Science Monitor, May 29, 1931, p. 22.)

• 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.
• Herreshoff, John B., Agent Herreshoff Mf. Co. [Contract for the construction of a 'C.B. (Centre Board) Sail-boat Eighteen & a half (18 1/2 ft. over all' to be called Dandelion. Signed by John B. Herreshoff.] Mystic Seaport Museum Collection, G. W. Blunt White Library, 2nd Floor Vault, Call Number VFM 338.] Bristol, RI, July 13, 1875. (647 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Copyright holder: Mystic Seaport Museum. Original building/sales contract. Vessel description, scantlings, payment terms, delivery date, specifications.

• Dandelion
• 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: Dandelion
Type: 16' 10" cat
Owner: Chas. F. Adams, 2d. [sic, from 1880 on]
Year: 1875
Row No.: 149

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.

"Cost $400 and contract and delivery dates from original contract in collection of Mystic Seaport Museum." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. April 17, 2018.)

"Dandelion's owner John Quincy Adams 2d was the father of Charles Francis Adams III who in later years would order the 12 1/2-footer #762s Nettle and the S-boat #839s Sheldrake." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. April 23, 2018.)

"Built in 28 days (contract to delivered; equivalent to $14/day, 143 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 Old Measurement Tons (2) from the 1885 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.