Herreshoff #192701es Water Bug [Dinghy for #982s Water Lily]

"[1927-10-05] Wed 5: [Thermometer] 54 - 67 [degrees]. Very fine. Mod[erate] westerly [wind] & clear. ... The small deadrise[?] skiff tender [#192701es Water Bug] for Water Lily finished --- 6 1/2 days building, by Chas. Sylvester, weight 82 lbs.
[1927-10-08] Sat 8: [Thermometer] 66 - 59 [degrees]. Some rain in night and all fore noon, SW [wind] early, ch[anging] to l[igh]t N & cooler. Launch little tender 'Water Bug' [#192701es] and bring her home." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1927. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"Herreshoff Manufacturing Company
Bristol, Rhode Island
Oct 20 1927
Tender [#192701es WATER BUG] for 'WATER LILY' [#982s]
In account with Mr N G Herreshoff
Order No. 15690
This Invoice Not Subject To Discount
Charges from Sept 28 to Oct 5 1927
Build special tender
8 ft butternut 2.00
44 ft cedar 5.73
1 hackmatack knee 6.50
6 ft mahogany 1.98
1 lb nails .05 18 ft native oak 1.80
2 1/2 lbs colored paint .58
1/2 doz sandpaper .18
2 lifting rings 2.50
3/4 lb rivets .23
72 doz brass screws 3.40
8 ft spruce 1.04
25.99
plus 10% 2.60
[Sum $] 28.59
60 1/2 hours, net cost 45.33
[Sum $] 73.92" (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [Invoice to N. G. Herreshoff.] Herreshoff Marine Museum Correspondence, Subject Folder 20 (new). Access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff. October 20, 1927.)

"MEMORIES OF CAPTAIN NAT
by Patty Munroe Catlow
... Later Captain Nat designed the sloop WATER LILY [#982s] and brought her south for the winters of 1928 and 29. Frequently he loaned the WATER LILY to me for a sailing school that I conducted for young girls. Often Captain Nat came along on the trips. While one of us taught knots, the other would coach the girls at the tiller. Needless to say it was quite a thrill for some of the girls to be taught to sail by Captain Nat Herreshoff.
When the Herreshoffs stopped coming to Florida, Captain Nat gave me the WATER LILY. She no longer exists but it has been my pleasure to donate the WATER LILY's tender [#192701es WATER BUG] to the Herreshoff Marine Museum where she is on display." (Source: Herreshoff Marine Museum Chronicle, Spring 1980, p. 4.)

"[Item Description:] Two sets of penciled pantograph hull sections and one profile on verso on printed circular by Institution of Naval Architects of London dated June 9, 1927. Titled '8ft 5in Yacht tender of June 27 1927 [Model 1227] and changed July 15, 3ft 3in wide and another model [Model 25] made July 15 [19]27 3ft 6in wide [#192701es]'. With displacement calculations for both dinghies at variious drafts." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_03210. Folder [no #]. 1927-07-15.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [On 'Coconut Grove, Fla., P.O. Box 116' stationery:] Yours about shipping boat to this R[ail] R[oad] Station O.K. and we will attend to it all with Pleasure (Didn't mean the last word in the same sense that some folks might). Bill her also to me.
We have been having whacking breezes with rain squalls from E.N.E. to N.N.E. for over a week cutting off communication with Nassau completely until yesterday. Kemps[?] got out to day & brought home a good catch of fish. I wrote you about tender for the new boat & mailed it same day your request came. Expect you have it. If not, I suggested a knock down dory, or that craft could cut down an old one slightly damaged, but as you are going to ship the sail boat by rail, by all means build a new one that will carry inside the larger boat, there should be no extra charge on such an arrangement. If this is true you might stick in a few light spruce poles just squared up suitable for the 14fters [Biscayne Bay Fourteen Foot Skiffs] & also your boat. Always useful. [No year. Mention of the Biscayne Bay 14-footers and shipping a dinghy in a boat by rail suggests that this letter was written in 1927 when #982s WATER LILY was sent by rail to Miami together with her skiff tender #192701es WATER BUG.] " (Source: Munroe, R.M. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_41690. Correspondence, Folder 87, formerly 121. (1927 ?)-09-28.)
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"[Item Description:] Invoice from HMCo to NGH for 'Tender [#192701es WATER BUG] for WATER LILY [#982s]', 'Order No. 15690', for 'Charges from Sept 28 to Oct 5 1927' for 'Build Special Tender'. Detailed itemized listing of materials and hours." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. Correspondence (invoice) to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_29000. Subject Files, Folder 20. 1927-10-20.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Yellow sheet with hand-written calculations in ink:] Mr. NGH Credit 3600
WATER LILY #982 $1250
Alterations & Shipping $323.63
Small rowboat [#192701es WATER BUG] 73.92
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1647.55
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1952.45 [Note: On May 13, 1927 NGH had sold #907s PLEASURE to HMCo for $3600. Apparently, this sheet shows a calculation offsetting the $3600 due to NGH with the amount invoiced to NGH for acquiring, altering and shipping WATER LILY and her dinghy WATER BUG.]" (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (?) (creator). Calculations. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_28970. Subject Files, Folder 20. No date (ca1927-10-20).)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #192701es Water Bug [Dinghy for #982s Water Lily] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

"This hard chine dinghy used to be at the Herreshoff Museum but is currently held by Halsey Herreshoff II. When at HMM it was painted grey. It was originally built for N. G. Herreshoff's own use in Coconut Grove, Florida and used from 1928 on for Water Lily." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. [Based on private email communication from Maynard Bray, March 31, 2009.] May 9, 2009.)

"Note on W. A. Baker list of HMCo dinghy plans (made by either W. A. Baker or Maynard Bray): 'Capt. Nat's Dinghy for Water Lily. Chine Hull, now at HMM in Bristol.'" (Source: van der Linde, Claas. October 26, 2009.)

"Plan 28-65 (formerly 76-64) from which this boat was built was drawn 1927-06." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. October 26, 2009.)

"Built in 6 days (setup to finished; equivalent to 14 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

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