Herreshoff #193003es [Tender for #1058s Prestige]

"THE TENDER NATHANAEL by Waldo Howland
The 8' Herreshoff tender was built in 1927 for Mr. Harold Vanderbilt. She was designed of a length to fit over the skylight of the M boat PRESTIGE. In 1930 the J boat ENTERPRISE was built for Mr. Vanderbilt and a bigger wider tender was built for her so that the 8 footer became available.
Herby Jackson was Capt. aboard PRESTIGE in 1928 and his brother Martin was one of the crew. Then in 1929 Capt. Harry Cliff took over aboard PRESTIGE and then the ENTERPRISE. Capt. Harry is the one who told Martin Jackson about the dinghy being for sale and in 1932 Martin was working for my father, Llewellyn Howland, and the latter needed a small dinghy and bought the 8 footer.
The Howlands used 'NATHANAEL' as we called her as a tender first for Father's 8 meter boat BALEK and later for my Norwegian Pilot boat ESCAPE. When Father built Concordia Yawl No. 1, we built a pram type tender that fitted over the skylight, and NATHANAEL was retired from routine work but was saved and kept in shape for special projects. She was one of the boats that was displayed at the first Mystic Seaport Meet for Traditional Small Craft.
While the NATHANAEL was tender for BALEK we puzzled the other Whalers Race contestants by stowing NATHANAEL in the cabin. Dinghys were required and we had one, but it could not be seen. While tender for ESCAPE she became part of a situation that could have been a real tragedy. It was off Pasque Island. Martin and his wife were returning to ESCAPE after going ashore. NATHANAEL capsized and Martin made the desperate but only right decision. The wind and tide were blowing them away from ESCAPE, and Mrs. Jackson could not swim. He told her to hang on to the boat. He himself barely made it to shore, and then he had a long run over to Robinson's Hole. There he had the good luck to be taken aboard the work boat of the island caretaker; they finally got back to NATHANAEL to rescue Mrs. Jackson at about the time she was giving up." [Note: Nathanael is believed to have been built in 1930, not 1927.] (Source: Howland, Waldo. "The Tender Nathanael." Herreshoff Marine Museum Chronicle, Spring 1980, p. 3.)

"NATHANAEL
Dinghy for Yacht PRESTIGE HMC#1058- 1927
8'-2" X 3'-6"
The smallest dinghy in the collection and perhaps the smallest dinghy ever built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. NATHANAEL was built in 1927 for Harold S. Vanderbilt to fit between the wheel and the transom of the M boat PRESTIGE. The dinghy was purchased in 1932 by Llewellyn Howland to use as a tender first on the 8-meter BALEK. She was stowed in the cabin in the Whalers Race, much to the consternation of officials who had required dinghies, but NATHANAEL could not be seen. Under the ownership of Waldo Howland, NATHANAEL was tender to his Norwegian Pilot Boat ESCAPE. She was displayed at the first Mystic Seaport Meet for Traditional Small Craft. In the spring of 1980, NATHANAEL was donated to the Herreshoff Marine Museum by Waldo Howland, after four generations of his family had enjoyed her. NATHANAEL was restored in 2000 through the generosity of Mr. Bill Kaiser and Mr. Cedric Maycock." [Note: Nathanael is believed to have been built in 1930, not 1927.] (Source: Anon. [Text to accompany display of Nathanael #192703es on Display at the Herreshoff Marine Museum.] Bristol, ca. 2005.)

"This dinghy is today in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum. It is said to have been built as a dinghy for Harold Vanderbilt's M-boat Prestige #1058s. A photo of Prestige fitting out at the wharf of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company shows indeed a small dinghy on the stern but it is not entirely clear if it is this one. More information might be available by examining plan "028-072; Rowing Boats: 8'-3 1/2" x 3'-10" Dinghy (1930-03)", a plan for a very small dinghy built that was prepared at a time that other plans for Prestige were also made.
Note that another plan for a very small dinghy, Plan 028-065: 8'-5" x 3'-4" Small Yacht Tender (1927-6), was certainly not made for this dinghy as it shows a hard-chined dinghy." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 9, 2009.)

"Plan 28-72 from which this boat was built was drawn 1930-03. #1058s Prestige (for which this vessel was built) was contracted for 1927-02-11. This boat's contract or building date is about 3.1 years after #1058s Prestige was contracted for." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. October 26, 2009.)

"Donated by Waldo Howland to the Herreshoff Marine Museum." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 8, 2012.)

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