HMCo #118p Stiletto

"[1889-03-14] Thu 14: Stiletto [#118p] here from Newport.
[1889-11-21] Thu 21: Stiletto [#118p] here from Newport.
[1896-04-14] Tue 14: Capt Converse here in Stiletto [#118p]. ...
[1896-10-20] Tue 20: Capt. Converse here in Stiletto [#118p]." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1889 to 1896. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection.)

"94ft Length. 11ft Beam. 9ft Depth. 5ft Draft. 12in & 21in x 12in Eng[ine]s. 7ft sq[uare] Boiler. Engines aft of Boiler. 15in center to center of frames." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Handwritten Note in Casting Record Books Vessel Castings Book 4, s.v. Steamer 118. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120. No date (1878 to 1887).)

"By 1885, the brothers were quite prosperous so they decided to build for themselves a high-speed steam yacht, the 'Stiletto,' ninety-four feet long, eleven feet six inches beam.
'Stiletto' had a very unusual engine, designed particularly for her, with unique valves that let a large flow of steam in and out of the cylinders at the top and bottom of the stroke. It was a compound engine with bores of twelve inches and twenty-one inches and stroke of twelve inches. Her boiler was seven feet square and consisted of tubes alongside the firebox and many tubes above, some running fore and aft and some athwartship. This boiler was a step between the coil boiler and the three-drum water tube boiler later adopted, but it must have been a good steamer for apparently 'Stiletto' could easily maintain a speed of twenty miles per hour and is said to have made one long run of eight hours at twenty-six and one half miles per hour. However, 'Stiletto' is considered by many to be the first high-speed steam yacht and, in her type, as outstanding as the 'Gloriana' was among racing sailboats.
'Stiletto' was made famous because of her race with the Hudson River steamboat, 'Mary Powell.' The 'Mary Powell' was the fastest American steamboat, and perhaps the fastest vessel in the world, for a few years around 1880. Her speed was around twenty-five miles per hour and, although there had been other steamers that were said to have been as fast, the 'Mary' had beaten them when they were alongside. On the tenth of June, in 1885, 'Stiletto' had her famous race with 'Mary Powell.' At first she ran alongside of her for a few miles but when Captain Nat gave the jingle, the bell signal for full speed, 'Stiletto' ran ahead, crossed 'Mary's' bow, slowed down, let 'Mary' pass her, crossed 'Mary's' stern, went ahead again and, after a run of thirty miles, was five minutes ahead of 'Mary.' This race was headline material for the papers of the time.
... After about two years, or in 1887, 'Stiletto' was sold to the U.S. Navy for a torpedo boat and as such ran in naval service for over twenty years. She was the second torpedo boat our Navy had; the first one, 'Lightning,' has already been spoken of. 'Stiletto' had a torpedo tube built into her after the Navy took her over and was the first U.S. Navy torpedo boat to fire an automobile torpedo." (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. 102, 104.)

"The waters of the Hudson River between this city and Sing Sing were plowed up yesterday afternoon as they never were before. It was a strange looking little vessel that did it. She was 95 feet long and 11 feet in beam --- a perfect water knife. She had a straight bow, and her widest part was a little forward of amidships. From that point to the stern she diminished in width till she ended in a sharp point. This sharp stern lay low in the water, so that the boat had the appearance of pointing her nose into the air. She had a high freeboard in proportion to her size, and her flush decks were inclosed with a light railing. Her rig was that of a three-masted schooner, and her little masts looked like walking sticks. Her single funnel, situated forward of the mainmast, was painted dirty gray. Her hull was painted black about foot and a half above the water, and the rest of it was white. Her row of portholes in the white part looked like pinheads in a sheet of note paper. She was gliding about the river off the foot of Twenty-second-street yesterday afternoon a little before 3 o'clock. A great many people were watching her as she circled about. Some people on the steam yacht Skylark were watching her. They were very much interested in her. By and by the tug Municipal came down the river with a flatboat in tow and knocked the bowsprit off the Skylark. Then her people were not so much interested in the queer little craft as they had been. The deck-hands on the Municipal laughed and the boat went on down the river. People on the steam yacht Stranger were also watching the little vessel. The bluejackets on the Omaha and Minnesota were watching her. Mr. Jay Gould, seated in the stern sheets of a boat manned by four stout sailors and bearing a yellow pennant with a black G in the middle, was watching her. A goodly crowd of people on the wharf at the foot of West Twenty-second-street were watching her. Most of them were laughing at her, for she rolled about in the water and looked generally awkward.
'What is she? What is she going to do?' asked a young lady on the pier.
And a fair young thing of the opposite sex proceeded to enlighten her. It was the steam yacht Stiletto. She was built by the Herreshoff Brothers, of Providence, R. I., and was said to have been modeled by a blind man. There was nothing startling about her except her reputed speed. She was modeled after the fashion of the Swiss boats that run on Lake Geneva, and her builders stoutly asserted that she could put anything on the Hudson in her wake. She was there for the purpose of doing it. She was going to race with the Mary Powell as far as Sing Sing. The Mary Powell has never been passed by anything that floats in these waters. Her officers say she has done 26 miles an hour.
It was evident that people generally along the river front know what was going on, and a number of gentlemen from Sing Sing were going up on the Mary Powell as far as West Point in order to witness the race. Whenever a gentleman from Sing Sing saw any one who had money to bet on the Stiletto he talked business to him. At 3:20 the Mary Powell ran up to the pier. The crowd went on board and hastened forward to get good seats to see the sport. Mr. Gould, his son George, and John T. Terry had boarded the Atalanta and started up the river. The Stranger, Lucille, Skylark, and other steam yachts were under way. On board the Stiletto were John D. Herreshoff, Franklin Brandreth, Ralph Brandreth, Col. E. A. McAlpin, and F. D. Roberts. Mr. Franklin Brandreth was the gentleman for whose benefit the Stiletto was to be shown off. The Herreshoff Brothers built for him the steam yacht Camilla. Last year, in the regatta of the American Yacht Club, she won a leather medal by coming in last. Mr. Brandreth did not like that, and he is looking for a yacht that can come in first. So, whenever the Herishoffs [sic] have a likely boat they put her through her paces for Mr. Brandreth's benefit. At 3:28 the Mary Powell got under way and started up the river.
'Are you ready for her?' the purser was asked.
'Oh, no,' he said, smiling in a deprecating manner, 'we haven't done anything to get ready for her.'
'That blamed little boat'll bust itself tryin' to beat us.' remarked a deckhand.
'Where is the durned thing?' asked another.
She was running along smoothly just under the Mary Powell's starboard bow. At Forty-second-street the two were even and the Powell began to forge ahead. Then a man on the Stiletto's deck applied his mouth to a speaking tube, while Mr. Franklin Brandreth took off his hat, waved it in the air, and shouted:
'Well, good-bye!'
And good-bye it was. The next moment a great sweeping streak of silver foam was flung off the Stiletto's sheer, and a glistening, boiling white mass of spume shot out from under her sharp stern. A moment later two jets of water were shooting three feet into the air behind her, and her bow was cutting through the water like a bullet through the air. She gave a great leap forward, and every living soul on board the Mary Powell, from the Captain in the wheel house down to the cook in the kitchen, opened his mouth and eyes, held his breath, and stared with the concentrated essence of his whole soul.
'Great Scott and huckleberries!' exclaimed a deck hand. 'Look at that!'
The Stiletto was simply walking away from the Mary Powell and in a short time was 100 yards ahead of her. The 100 yards grew to 200, and then to 300. The Atalanta was sliding along ahead. The Stiletto rushed by her on the port side, and Mr. Gould valiantly gave her a salute with his gun. She responded with three base blasts on her whistle, and hurried along. She had no time to tarry. Other boats were passed as if they were standing still. When she was off Mr. Howard Jaffray's residence a pyrotechnic bomb went into the air from the shore and exploded with a loud report. Three more whistles from the little boat, and she sped along.
'Well,' said the Mary Powell's Captain, 'we'll see how long she'll keep that up.'
Down in the neighborhood of the steamboat's engine room things were lively. The engineer was watching his steam gauge and running in and out to see where the yacht was. The firemen were ramming coal into the furnaces at a great rate. The Mary Powell is allowed to carry 40 pounds of steam. At one time her gauge showed 38. It was no use, however. The little boat kept right on crawling away from her, and at Tarrytown Light it was plain to see that the Stiletto was a winner. She was off Sing Sing at 4:45, having done the distance, a little less than 30 miles, in 1h. 17m. The Mary Powell's time was 1h. 24m. The little yacht was about two miles ahead of the steamboat. She ran into the wharf at Sing Sing while the Mary Powell saluted her with three whistles and went on up the river.
'What do you think of her?' one of the Powell's people was asked.
'That's the first time anything ever passed the Mary Powell,' was the answer. 'That little boat can go like --- like sheol.'" (Source: Anon. "The Mary Powell Beaten. In a Race up the Hudson with a Steam Yacht. Captain And Officers Astounded --- The Fast Steamer's First Defeat On The River." New York Times, June 11, 1885, frontpage.)

"The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Bristol, R. I., are building, for members of prominent yacht clubs, two high-speed steam yachts, one [#118p Stiletto or #122p Lucile] 90 and the other [#120p Polly] 69 ft. long. Also, two steam launches [#119p Surprise and #121p Duck], 35 and 20 ft. respectively." (Source: Anon. "Yachting." Spirit of the Times, December 13, 1884, p. ?)

"Stiletto, steam yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, RI, by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., 1885.
22.78 tons; 87.6 ft. x 10.9 ft. x 8 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
Plain head, round stern.
Surveyed and measured, January 23, 1885." (Source: U.S. Customs Department, Bristol, R.I. Custom House Record Book, 1870s to 1904 (Collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum), s.v. Stiletto.)

"The Herreshoff Company, at Bristol, R. I., are building ... for a member of the Boston Yacht Club, a steam yacht, to be called Stiletto, 94 ft. over all, 90 ft. water-line, 11 ft. 6 in beam, 8 ft. deep, and 4 ft 6 in. draught. Her engine is to be compound, with cylinders 12 in. and 21 in., and 12 in. stroke, supplied from a vertical coil boiler, 7 by 7 ft." (Source: Anon. "New Yachts for March." The Spirit of The Times, April 11, 1885, p. 318.)

"THE HERRESHOFF WORKS AT BRISTOL. ... Their work this winter has been entirely in the line of steam yachts and engines, the first boat and the largest being No. 118 [to be called Stiletto]. The main object in view in this boat is speed, and it is expected that she will excel all previous records, as the long experience of her designers and builders has been drawn upon to produce the fastest boat afloat. Her appearance outside is peculiar, as she shows the regular hull and ordinary sheer, but above the hull proper the sides are produced upward to a deck, the line of which is curved in an opposite direction to the sheer line, which it meets at bow and stern. By this construction the hull and cabin are one structure, the deck serving to brace the hull firmly, and with the cabin sides making a strong box girder of the entire ship. The effect is entirely unconventional and novel to any one familiar with the ordinary type of steam yacht so common in our waters, but it is not unpleasant, while the gain in strength is apparent. The dimensions are 94ft. over all, 11ft. 4in. beam, 4ft. 6in. draft. Her engines are 12 and 21x12in, with coil boiler, and are rated at 450 H. P. The screw is of bronze, 4ft. diameter, and has four blades, while the rudder, also of bronze, is balanced, and steers by steam. On deck she has only a pilot house, masts, stack, windsails and low skylights, there being as little exposed surface to catch the wind as is possible. The pilot house and deck saloon give access by a stairway to the lower part of the ship, where are situated a square cabin, the owner's stateroom with two berths, and a w.c. A bulkhead on each side of the engine and boiler space separates it from the rest of the hull, and makes watertight compartments. Abaft the second bulkhead are two staterooms, the galley and the crews quarters. The hull is divided into six watertight compartments, all of which are connected to a bilge pump which throws a 6in. stream. This yacht, not yet named, is intended for a high speed pleasure boat, for use on lakes or rivers, such as the St. Lawrence or Hudson, for such work as is now done, by many steamers about New York whose owners live on the Sound or Hudson and go to and fro in them every day, and for this purpose she is excellently adapted, but she is also so fitted that little change is necessary to convert her into a first class torpedo boat. Her rig is that of a three-masted schooner with pole masts. She will make a trial trip shortly and will visit New York, when we hope to describe her more fully. (Source: Anon. (W. P. Stephens). "The Herreshoff Works at Bristol." Forest and Stream, April 16, 1885, p. 236, 237.)

"U. S. Steamboat inspectors Beckwith and Hovey were in town on Friday of last week [April 24, 1885] to examine the boilers and machinery of the new steam yacht Stilletto, recently built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co." (Source: Anon. "Local Affairs." Bristol Phoenix, May 2, 1885, p. 2.)

"[Abstract of register or enrollment. Pos. 894:]
Stiletto, steam yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, 1885.
22.78 tons; 87.6 ft. x 10.9 ft. x 8 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
No specifications shown.
Enr[olled] and Lic[ensed] ([as] yacht) May 9, 1885. Owner: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol. Master: John B. Herreshoff.
Lic[ensed] ([as] yacht) May 26, 1886. Master: same.
Vessel surrendered June 8, 1888 to the U. S. Navy. ([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. Stiletto.)

"No event in the last 20 years has created so profound and widespread an interest among shipping merchants, steamboatmen, and yachtsmen as the performance on Wednesday last of the little steam yacht Stiletto in beating the fast steamer Mary Powell. Since that event, wherever the little boat has appeared she has been greeted with a chorus of steam whistles, and has excited the most eager curiosity. On Thursday last she took out a party to witness the regatta of the New-York Yacht Club, and was quite as much an object of attention to the thousands of spectators as the racing yachts themselves. On Friday she carried ex-Gov. Tilden and his family on a flying sail up and down the waters of the Hudson. Mr. Tilden, it is said, greatly enjoyed his trip on the little vessel, insisted on having her run at full speed, inquired of Mr. Herreshoff if an ocean steamship built after her model and furnished with adequate engines of the same character would be capable of making the same speed, and asked many other puzzling and scientific questions. The ladies of his party were delighted. On Saturday the Stiletto took out one party of ladies and gentleman down the Bay in the forenoon to sse the start of the Seawanhaka regatta and in the afternoon carried another party to Larchmont and finally proceeded on her way back to Bristol, R. I.
The Stiletto was built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, of Bristol, of which John B. Herreshoff is President and N. G. Herreshoff Superintendent and designer. She was launched in April. John B. Herreshoff says that the hull of the Stiletto is the product of a series of experiments made with models in the same manner as was followed by Froude, the English shipbuilder, and of the improvements suggested by tests of the numerous steamers previously built by the Herreshoff Company. Her length over all is 94 feet; beam, 11 feet; depth of hold in the centre, 7 3/4 feet. Below the water line both ends of the craft are very nearly alike, being modeled so as to present the smallest possible surface exposed to the water with a given flotation, as in the attainment of very high speed 'skin' or water surface friction is the factor of major resistance. The lines of the bows are very nearly straight, and the bottom is made in round sections. The slight slope of the deck forward and more pronounced slope aft from the centre, which gives the peculiar appearance so noticeable in the boat, as well as the inclination inward are given merely for the purpose of getting rid of unnecessary weight in the hull, consequent loss of deck room being a matter of no moment in a boat of this kind. 'Our aim.' said Mr. Herreshoff, 'is not only to build a yacht capable of conveying business men quickly to and from their country residences and the city, but also to produce a craft which would be serviceable to the Government in case of necessity as a torpedo boat. The problem of the naval warfare of the future, it seems to me, is to be solved by speed and dynamite --- or, to be more specific, that one of the great ironclads of the present time would be absolutely at the mercy of a number of small boats of great speed armed with dynamite guns. The proportion of beam to length, which in this boat is 8 6-11, is about that which experience has demonstrated to be the best for obtaining high speed and that to which we are tending in the construction of ocean steamships. Some years ago the tendency was to make them much narrower, and the proportion was worked down to about 11, but lately it has been carried up again to about 9, and the results have proved more satisfactory.
'The engine is designed to produce the greatest amount of power with the least possible amount of vibration. It is an annular valve inverted compound engine. It has two cylinders, one of 12 inches, the other of 21 inches diameter, with 12 inches stroke of piston. With the maximum steam pressure of 150 pounds it will make 450 revolutions per minute, and is capable of working with that high pressure and high number of revolutions with very little wear and very little liability to break down. The space required for it is very much smaller than that occupied by any other engine in use of the same power. The ordinary yacht engines are capable of making only from 175 to 225 revolutions per minute. The essential feature of the engine is in the construction of the cylinder, which consists of one cylinder within the other, with an annular space between in which the valve works. The steam ports, or openings through which the steam enters the inner cylinder, are ranged all around it at the top and bottom, so that the steam pressure is exerted on the piston head from all sides at once, and not as in the engines in use now from only one side.
'We have made as much as 25 miles an hour with the Stiletto, and she can probably make as much as 27 miles. We did not urge her to the utmost when we passed the Powell, because there was no necessity. For a very brief space we ran her under 140 pounds pressure, but, as we then went away from the Powell with ease, we reduced the pressure down to 125 pounds. By the way, it is remarkable what an impression that race has made on steamboat men. We have not met a single craft since that carries a steam whistle without being saluted. Gov. Tilden asked me if it would be possible to build an ocean steamship on the same model as the Stiletto with adequate engines of the same character, that would be capable of attaining the same speed. It certainly would, and such a boat would probably attain even greater speed because of her superior size and power.'
'Would she have an equal carrying capacity with the existing ocean steamships?'
'Oh, yes! She would have an equal, if not a greater, carrying capacity.'" (Source: Anon. "The Stiletto's Great Speed. The Principles Upon Which The New Yacht is Built. " New York Times, June 15, 1885, p. 8.)

"THE latest and fastest of the many fast boats launched by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company made her entry in New York waters on Wednesday last, and signalized it by a race on the Hudson that afternoon with the Mary Powell, so long acknowledged the fastest of her class in the world, in which the newcomer defeated the old champion. Fast as many of the Herreshoff boats have been, the Stiletto is still faster, and the limit of her speed has not yet been reached. In design she is different from the ordinary run of steam yachts, a marked departure being made from the usual methods of construction, in order to gain increased strength with a very light hull. The hull proper is 94t. overall, 90ft. waterline, 11ft. 6in. beam, 8ft. depth of hold, and 4ft. 6in. draft. The stem is plumb, and the stern resembles the other Herreshoff boats in its peculiar contour, while the ends under water are similar. Above the gunwale the sides of the yacht are carried up, sloping in a little, rising about 4ft. above the gunwale at midships, and but a foot at each end, the upper line of sides making an arch nearly the reverse of the sheer. Over the two sides an upper deck is laid, highest of course amidships, and curving down until it meets the planksheer at stem and stern. The two sides with arched top and bottom form braced girders, stiffening the entire boat, while the exposed surface offers little resistance to the wind. Inside is room for the ordinary cabins and staterooms of a steam yacht. On deck is a large wheelhouse and smoking room. The rig is that of a three-masted schooner with pole masts. The power consists of a Herreshoff compound engine, 12 and 21x12, with a coil boiler 7ft. square, of 450 indicated H. P.
Leaving Bristol on Tuesday night Stiletto steamed down, reaching New York on Wednesday morning. In the afternoon she was off pier 23 North River, waiting for the Powell, which leaves there at 3:30 P. M. When the big steamer started off the little block and white streak was not far away, and soon ranged alongside. The big one opened up and was soon under full headway, while a large number of steamboat men were on her decks to see her dispose of the presuming little rival. At first Stiletto hung to her, refusing to be dropped, and soon she began to advance from the Powell's quarter to her bow, evidently holding her own. Bets were made that she would not reach Carmans-ville and that she could not hold her steam, and when she began to drop astern the Powell stock rose rapidly, and all on board knew the Stiletto could not do it. When she was abreast of the Powell's fire room she stopped to have a look in, being only a few yards away.
After holding this place for a few minutes, one of the owners of the Stiletto said to the party on the Powell, 'Good afternoon, gentlemen:' a jingle bell sounded, and easily and quietly the yacht glided ahead in spite of all the efforts of the steamer until she was only a speck far ahead. Sing Sing was reached at 4:50, or in one hour and fifteen minutes, the distance being thirty-two miles, while the Powell was over three miles astern. Considering the difference in size the odds were greatly in favor of the steamboat, but from the way the yacht left her, she has no chance with her. The Atalanta was also on hand and essayed a trial of speed, but was so completely beaten that it could hardly be called a race. On Thursday Stiletto was pres-sent at the New York Y. C race, astonishing everybody and beating the Stranger as she had the Atalanta. On Sunday she returned to Bristol, but she will no doubt be heard from soon again. Thus far she has not been pushed and no one knows how fast she can go when she tries." (Source: Anon. "Stiletto." Forest and Stream, June 18, 1885, p. 418.)

"Editor Forest and Stream:
The steam yacht Lucille, Mr. Chas. Kellog, owner, left her anchorage at Seventy-second street, North River, Wednesday, June 10 [1885], with a few guests aboard, to witness the race expected between the passenger steamer Mary Powell and the Herreshoff's new steam yacht Stiletto, or No. 118. ...
Shortly after guests were aboard the Lucille steamed slowly up the river, and as the time approached for the departure of the Mary Powell a sharp lookout was kept down the river where the Stiletto with the Herreshoffs and guests aboard was steaming slowly about waiting for her great antagonist. The Lucille kept on up the river well toward Yonkers so as to get a good view of the two steamers, and as the Powell left Twenty-third street and got under full speed her huge hull loomed up in the distance like the body of some immense aquatic bird sailing on the water, while the paddle wheels, its wings, beat and churned the water with tremendous power, which sent the spray flying in white clouds astern. At her side a mere speck seemed to float scarcely above the water, yet it moved as if driven by some unseen power which propelled it with the same tremendous speed that moved the mighty monster alongside which lowered above and overshadowed it.
The Powell was now flying along at terrific speed and it seemed scarcely possible for any boat to pass her, much less the little thing that clung close to her stem. Suddenly that little black and white streak that looked like a rowboat from where we were, came crawling up abreast the towering paddle wheels of the great steamer. A few moments more and its speed increased, and with a bound it sprang forward like an arrow shot from a bow and fairly new up toward the great bow of the river queen and on past the jets of spray that curled up high above the Powell's stem. On, on, each moment with increasing speed, until it drew past the great steamer, and open water could be seen between them. This black and white streak, with three little masts, its stem high in air and its stern scarce above the water, was the Stiletto, and as a swallow skims the air, without apparent effort, flew on up the river cutting the water like a knife and fast leaving her great antagonist behind.
The Powell was beaten, and each moment increased the distance between them. At 4:12 the Stiletto is off Yonkers, with the Powell a good mile astern. Still on the little yacht flew, and as she passed us the Lucille saluted her with a toot, a-toot, toot from her whistle. Hats and handkerchiefs waved as she passed. Jay Gould's yacht, the Atalanta, was met, reached and passed in just fifty-eight seconds after the Stiletto reached her stern till she was clear of her bows, though the Atalanta was steaming over twenty miles an hour, and soon the little yacht again looked like a black and white streak in the distance near Sing Sing.
When the Stiletto reached Sing Sing she was good two miles ahead of the Mary Powell, having made the run of thirty miles in one hour and fourteen minutes, and the Powell one hour and nineteen minutes. The express train on the Hudson River road covers the same in one hour and two minutes, or twelve minutes less than the Stiletto's time.
DORSAL FIN." (Source: Anon. (Dorsal Fin.) [No title. (Letter to the Editor)] Forest and Stream, June 18, 1885, p. 418.)

"YACHTSMEN, steamboat men and the public generally have not yet done talking of Herreshoffs latest wonder, the little Stiletto, who has made herself famous by an hour's run on the Hudson River. Her appearance, as shown above [showing side- and deckview], is most peculiar and totally different from the usual run of steam vessels. The hull is of the usual Herreshoff model, both ends very nearly alike. The construction is the same as in their other yachts, a very light but strong hull, a frame of bent oak well fastened to heavy keel, and garboards with two heavy oak wales on each side, making a very strong framework, which is covered with a double skin of white pine, with decks of the same material. The hull is divided by watertight bulkheads. The most peculiar feature is the upper portion above the hull proper. Instead of the ordinary deck and cabin trunk the sides are carried up, as shown, beveling slightly, high amidships and low at the ends, the curve being almost the reverse of the sheer line. These two sides each form a trussed girder, stiffening the entire hull, while the weight is mostly amidship. From their shape they offer little resistance to the wind. Her dimensions are: Length over all, 94ft.; beam, l1ft. (a proportion of 8 6-11), and depth of hold, 7ft. 9in.
The engines and boilers are also of peculiar construction. The former is a compound, 12 and 21x12. capable of 450 turns per minute. Annular valves are used, cutting off generally at 5/8. The weight of the engines is 4.275lbs., and they can work up to 450 H. P. Many of the parts are of steel, the shaft being 4in. diameter. The wheel is 4ft. diameter with 6ft. 6in. pitch, fourbladed. The boiler is a sheet iron box 7ft. square, set on a firebrick foundation; the upper part of this box tapers into the stack, like an inverted mill hopper. Inside the fire box is 6ft. 3in. square. Just above the fire is a row of tubes 3 1/2in. in diameter, running side by side thwartship, each tube being connected to. its neighbor at alternate ends. Above are six other sets, decreasing in size to 1 1/2in. diameter, the second set running fore and aft, the third parallel with the first, etc., making practically one long tube, folded compactly into a small space. The upper or smaller end of this coil is connected with the feed pump, and the lower and larger end with the separator, a vertical cylinder 4ft. long and 18in. diameter, placed in front of the boiler. On this are the gauges and cocks. The water and steam entering here from the pipes ore separated, the latter passing to the high pressure cylinder. The water is used continuously, the only waste being by the whistle or leakage. The water pumped into the boiler at the top of the coil, converted into steam as it descends through the pipes, passes to the separator, thence to the high pressure cylinder, the receiver, low pressure cylinder, and condenser, and finally to the feed pump and boiler, any loss being supplied by an injector. The heating surface is 6l5sq. ft. and the boiler works up to 160lbs. pressure. The total weight is 13,637lbs. The consumption of coal is about 2lbs. per H. P. per hour. The displacement of Stiletto is 28 tons, or 16 H. P. per ton, while the ratio of H. P. to displacement in the best merchant vessels is about 3 H. P. per ton. Lightness and power have been combined to an extraordinary degree, and with corresponding success, as her trial performances have fully demonstrated." (Source: Anon. "Stiletto." Forest and Stream, July 2, 1885, p. 459.)

"Our town was honored with a visit from Secretaries Whitney and Endicott , President Cleveland's Cabinet, on Monday last [July 25, 1885]. An invitation from Mr. John B Herreshoff to inspect his boat building and manufacturing establishment, where the Stiletto was built, was extended to them and the Stiletto brought them from Newport at a rate of speed unequalled --- in about thirty minutes. We are informed that Secretary Whitney was somewhat astonished at the extent of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.'s Works, and the facilities for constructing not only steam and sailing yachts but a larger class of cruisers, should a contract be awarded them. After a careful examination of the whole establishment, a number of our citizens paid their respect to these gentleman, and afterwards they were taken to Attorney General Colt's elegant mansion where they were generously entertained. After an interchange of compliments with several invited guests they reembarked on the Stiletto, and were speedily and safely returned to Newport. The visit was quite an unexpected one and gave no opportunity for any public testimonial by the leading men of all parties which would undoubtedly have been rendered most cordially. No political significance whatever attaches to tho flying visits of the Secretaries to this town, Newport, or elsewhere, as business of a public nature, pertaining to the interests of the Government alone controls their movements." (Source: Anon. "Local Affairs." Bristol Phoenix, July 25, 1885, p. 2.)

"THE decision of the Regatta Committee of the American Y. C. on the protest made by Mr. Jay Gould, on the ground that Stiletto did not round Sarah's Ledge buoy properly in the race last July, has just been made public. Mr. Gould presented fourteen affidavits from persons in New London, to the effect that Stiletto did not pass the buoy to the south and east, while the crew and guests of the latter aver that she did. The committee decide to allow the protest, and have awarded the prize to Atalanta. Mr. J. B. Herreshoff thereupon forwarded the following challenge to Mr. Gould:
BRISTOL, R. I., Sept. 21 [1885].
Jay Gould, Esq.:
I hereby challenge the Atalanta to race with the Stiletto over a 100-mile course on the Hudson River, from a point off the foot of West Twenty third street 50 miles up and back, on Saturday, the 26th inst., and will join you in the purchase of a championship cup, worth at least $500, to be held by the winner, subject to the challenge of any yacht which may be disposed to race for it thereafter. The cup will be held subject to the conditions that it must be sailed for over the same course, and that, in order to win it, the challenging yacht must go over the course in less time than that previously made by the yacht which holds it. Please reply by return mail and name your judge.
Yours truly,
John B. Herreshoff.
To this Mr. Gould replied with the following challenge:
NEW YORK, Sept. 23,1885 [1885].
J. B. Herreshoff, Esq.:
Dear Sir: Your challenge to race the Stiletto with the Atalanta over a 100-mile course on the Hudson River, from a point off the foot of West Twenty-third street about 50 miles up and back on Saturday, the 26th inst., was received this morning. In reply permit me to state, although you are doubtless aware of the fact, that over a part of the distance named by you on the Hudson River the Atalanta can steam only at three-quarter speed, and whenever a large tow is met
her engines must be run at dead slow. The Atalanta's time over the American Y. C.'s course in 1884 was 4.42.57. that of the Stiletto in 1885 4.49.54. so that up to date the Atalanta has made the fastest time over the course. However, as you appear to want a race to settle the relative speed of the two yachts over a long distance course, I suggest that we race from Sandy Hook to St. John's, Newfoundland, for a challenge cup, to be held under the conditions you propose. As it will cost $3,000 to fit out the Atalanta to run her to St. John's and back I propose that we each put up $2,500, to be forfeited by the owner whose yacht does not go over the course at the time agreed upon.
Yours truly,
JAY GOULD,
The proposal that Stiletto shall enter such a long race in the open sea is so absurd that there is no probability that it will be accepted, as in any rough weather a big ocean steamer like Atalanta would quickly drown out a little torpedo launch, however fast the latter might be." (Source: Herreshoff, J. B. and Jay Gould. "Atalanta and Stiletto." Forest and Stream, October 1, 1885, p. 195.)

"The following is a list of the steam yachts built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol, R.I: ... Stiletto, 94 feet by 11 feet, built for H. M. Co.; engine, 12 inches and 21 inches by 12 inches; boiler, Herreshoff patent safety, 7 feet square; speed 25 miles; built 1885. ..." (Source: Jaffray, Edward S. "American Steam Yachting." Outing, April 1886, p. 23-25.)

"The beach-combers who infest the narrow strip of sand between the ocean and the Shrewsbury River rubbed their eyes yesterday. The keepers of the drawbridges at the Highlands and Seabright went home and said they had seen the sea serpent going up the Shrewsbury at the rate of three miles a minute, and the Summer residents along the shore made up their minds that there was going to be a war between New-Jersey and Coney Island, and that the navy had arrived from Trenton to stake out a few torpedoes. Soon after 2 o'clock the keeper of the drawbridge at the Highlands heard several short, sharp shrieks off to the northward, and looking in the direction of Spermaceti Cove he beheld a yellow streak and a gray streak approaching him at a tremendous speed. He opened the bridge as quickly as he could, and then held his breath while the two prodigies shot through. A few minutes later the keeper at Seabright had a similar experience.
People, who had the coolness to examine the objects as they tore up the river, quickly recognized in the foremost one Norman L. Munro's lightning steam launch Henrietta, her yellow hull sliding through the tortuous channel at a great pace. Behind her they saw a long, low, lead-colored iron craft, sharp at both ends, with a short, black smoke-stack, belching forth volumes of thick black smoke, and looking like a marine ghost as she whizzed through the water. They got out their glasses and just behind the keen stem of tbe vessel read the word 'Stiletto.' Then they awoke to the fact that the fastest boat in the world was going up the Shrewsbury in the wake of one very little slower. Mr. Norman L. Munro, owner of the Henrietta, recently invited Mr. John B. Herreshoff, the builder of the Henrietta and Stiletto, to come from Bristol, visit him at his country residence adjoining Hollywood, Long Branch, and bring the Stiletto along with him.
At noon yesterday the Stiletto appeared at Pier No. 4 North River. Mr. Munro was there with the Henrietta to meet and escort the other vessel up the Shrewsbury. The two boats left tbe pier at 1 P. M. and went down the Bay at a marvelous speed. They reached the wharf at Sandy Hook in 59 minutes. The regular Long Branch boats take from 1 hour and 10 to 1 hour and 20 minutes to make the run. The Henrietta led the way up the narrow and crooked channel of the Shrewsbury, while the catboats indigenous to those waters fled in dismay. They reached Mr. Munro's wharf at Branchpoint at 3 o'clock. Mr. John B. Herreshoff and family, Mr. Byron De Wolff, and Mr. Norman L. Munro and family were on board the Stiletto. Mr. Herreshoff will return to Bristol to-night." (Source: Anon. "Two Marine Flyers. The Fastest Steamers Afloat Go Up The Shrewsbury." New York Times, October 2, 1886, p. 8.)

"Bristol, Mass., March 19 [1887]. ... The Stiletto [#118p] has not yet been sold, but the Government has appropriated $25,000 to purchase her. She will doubtless be bought in due time, the intention being to use her for a torpedo boat, particularly for purposes of instruction." (Source: Anon. "Gorgeous Steam Yachts. Fleet As Swallows And Fine As Silk." New York Times, March 20, 1887, p. 9.)

"On July 7 [1887] the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company offered to sell the steam torpedo boat Stiletto for $25,000, the amount appropriated at the last session of Congress for its purchase. The Secretary of the Navy has replied to the offer by requiring the vessel to be inspected and tested in accordance with numerous conditions before taking final action." (Source: Anon. "The Stiletto." New York Tribune, July 19, 1887, p. 2.)

"Bristol, R. I., May 31 [1888]. ... The famous flyer, the Stiletto, was refitted and painted and turned over to the government authorities last week. She is now at Newport at the torpedo station. Her record last season was 26 1/2 miles per hour. ..." (Source: Anon. "At the Herreshoffs. Nearly Thirty Miles an Hour Expected from Mr. Munro's Latest." Boston Globe, June 1, 1888, p. 4.)

"BRISTOL, R.I., July 14 [1897]. --- The torpedo boat Stiletto [#118p] got a pretty severe buffeting from wind and wave in Bristol harbor this morning, and for a while things looked squally for the craft. Together with the Government tug Leydon and the torpedo boat Cushing [#152p], the Stiletto was here for the trial of the torpedo boat Dupont [#185p]. A southwest gale began to sweep the harbor about 8 o'clock, and things were soon in such bad shape that the Cushing hoisted anchor and steamed off shore half a mile, where she found a berth where she could swing free.
The Stiletto had dragged ber anchor somewhat, and was getting the full force of the wind and heavy sea, and was in great danger of smashing into a steam yacht anchored near her. She soon attempted to follow the example of the Cushing. It was found impossible to raise the anchor, and as a collision seemed inevitable, the cable was slipped and the torpedo boat got away. By this time the wind was blowing forty miles an hour or more, and the waves were dashing clear over the little craft. She went ahead a bit, but the steam yacht Augusta [#146p Augusta II] was in the way, and do what they could, the officers on the torpedo boat could not clear the steam yacht, and the two came together with a crash. They bounded together a couple of times, and the Augusta got the worst of it.
The Stiletto finally cleared and headed away for Newport, but it was with difficulty that she made headway against the wind and sea. She was washed from stem to stern every time she buried her nose in the sea. She managed to pull through all right. (Source: Anon. "Stiletto in Collision. The Torpedo Boat Made Hard Work in Weathering the Gale at Bristol, R.I." New York Sun, July 15, 1897, p. 1.)

"An interesting question is, What becomes of these old [warships]? Most of them are sold at public auction by the Navy Department and, considering the purchase or contract prices, they sell for a song. Many of them are bought by large and wealthy junk dealers, who either refit them to sell to foreign navies or break them up for the copper rivets and other metal work, and sell the wood for kindling. ...
The Stiletto, which was the first torpedoboat of 'the new navy.' created a great sensation in her day. She was built of wood by the Herreshoff's, of Bristol. R. I., at a cost to the government of $25,000, and she was recently sold at auction for $377." (Source: Anon. "Buying Uncle Sam's Historic Second-Hand Battleships." Washington Post, July 21, 1912, p. M8.)

"As youths, JBH and NGH were obsessive in their drive to have the fastest sailboats on Narragansett Bay. As businessmen and yacht builders they were no less eager for speed. It was quite in character for them to have built for themselves an exceptionally fast boat like Stiletto just as soon as their new company could afford it. By 1885 they had built enough long and narrow steamers to have arrived at the lightest-possible hulls and steam plants with the most horsepower per pound. Stiletto, carrying a Herreshoff-built compound steam engine and Herreshoff patented safety boiler of the so-called square type, embodied this experience and would demonstrate to the world just how well these Herreshoff creations performed.
With Stiletto, the Herreshoffs challenged the reigning Hudson River speed queen --- the huge passenger steamer Mary Powell --- and won, knowing full well that the race would make national headlines. Stiletto's 1885 win became front-page news in the New York papers, and the name Herreshoff was spread far and wide across the country as builders of the fastest steam yachts --- yachts that would make an astonishing 26 m.p.h." (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 26.)

"[Item Description:] Casting Book # 4, steamers #40p, #54p, #57p, #63p, #67p, #70p, #79p, #89p, #92p, #99p, #100p, #101p, #102p, #103p, #104p, #105p, #106p, #107p, #108p, #109p, #110p, #111p, #112p, #113p, #114p, #115p, #116p, #117p, #118p, #119p, #120p, #121p, #122p, #123p, #124p, #125p, #126p, #127p, #128p, #129p, #130p, #131p, #132p, #133p, #134p, #135p, #136p, #137p, #138p, #139p, #140p, #141p, #142p, #143p, #144p, #145p, #146p, #147p [castings by hull number; front page shows summary size and engine and boiler data for steamers 99 thru 146 as well as repair data for steamers #40p, #54p, #57p, #63p, #67p, #70p, #79p, #89p, #92p, #118p, and #128p]. Undated, vessels mentioned were built between 1878 and 1887. Dates mentioned for repairs range from 1885 to 1887. Note considerable informational overlap with Casting Book # 1, which as in this book also contains data for #99p through #116p, although it appears (!) that Book # 4 lists more patterns per boat than Book # 1. Likewise, considerable overlap with Casting Books # 2 and # 3 which also contain data for boats that are also listed in book # 4. It may well be that information in Book # 4 was copied from books # 1, # 2 and 3." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120-07. Castings Book 4. Box HAFH.6.4B, Folder Casting Record Books Vessel Castings Book 4. No date (1878 to 1887).)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓ ㉔ ㉕ ㉖ ㉗ ㉘ ㉙ ㉚ ㉛ ㉜ ㉝ ㉞ ㉟ ㊱ ㊲ ㊳ ㊴ ㊵ ㊶ ㊷ ㊸ ㊹ ㊺ ㊻ ㊼ ㊽ ㊾ ㊿
①

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Work order notebook [Titled Nathl G. Herreshoff, Esq., Bristol R.I.; 1882-1887, mostly signed by N.G.H., later ones by C.H.K.; material and item orders relating to #400s CONSUELO, #401s ROMP and steamers #89p, #99p, #100p, #101p, #102p, #104p, #105p, #106p, #110p, #111p, #113p, #118p, #119p, #120p, #122p, #123p, #140p, #146p; many orders from the marine store of A. B. Babbitt at Tiverton]." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Work Order Notebook. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120-04. Box HAFH.6.4B, Folder Casting Record Books Sketch and Order Book 1882-1887 NGH CHK. 1882 to 1887.)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓ ㉔ ㉕ ㉖ ㉗ ㉘ ㉙ ㉚ ㉛ ㉜ ㉝ ㉞

"[Item Transcription:] Several superimposed penciled sections, some with pinpricks. They are labeled '94ft Torpedo boat [#118p STILETTO] 1883[sic]. Scale 3/4ft', '48f vedette boat [#74p & #75p Vedette boats for the English Navy and #85p & #86p Vedette boats for the French Navy]', '# 55 & 60 [#55p & #60p Torpedo Boats for Peru]', '# 57 & 58 [#57p & #58p Launches for N. Y. Coast Survey]', '#71 [SPORT]' and '# [blank] 33ft launch [probably #62p & #63p Launches for U.S. Navy and others from the same model]'.
On verso handwritten (in ink) satirical list:
Attention: 1 Bells
Are you there?: 1 Bells
Is J.B.H. there?: 2 Bells
Want N.G.H. at machine shop: 3 Bells
Want J.B.H. at machine shop: 4 Bells
Want N.G.H. at boat shop: 5 Bells
Want J.B.H. at boat shop: 6 Bells
Want sand paper: 1-1 Bells
Want cotton wicking: 1-2 Bells
Want drawings of catamaran: 1-3 Bells
Want drawings of steamers: 1-4 Bells
Want drawings of engines: 1-5 Bells
Want drawings for pattern maker: 1-6 Bells
Want brass screws, 7/8in no 8: 2-1 Bells
Want brass screws, 1in no 9: 2-2 Bells
Want brass screws, 1 1/4in no 10: 2-3 Bells
Want brass screws, 1 1/2in no 11: 2-4 Bells
Want brass screws, 2 3/4in no 16: 2-5 Bells
Want brass screws, 2in no 16: 2-6 Bells
Want tire bolts 1 1/4in by 7/32: 3-1 Bells
Want tire bolts 1 1/2in by 7/32: 3-2 Bells
Want tire bolts 1 3/4in by 7/32: 3-3 Bells
Want tire bolts 2in by 7/32: 3-4 Bells
Want tire bolts 2 1/2in by 7/32: 3-5 Bells
Want tire bolts 3 1/4in by 7/32: 3-6 Bells [Undated (ca. 1877?]." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0591. WRDT08, Folder 45. No date (first half of 1880s and ca. 1877 ?).)
① ② ③

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled list of items titled 'Required for [#118p] STILETTO'." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.002. Item List. Box HAFH.6.1B, Folder Hull No. 118p. No date (ca1885).)
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"[Item Description:] Casting Book # 2, steamers #70p; #79p, #117p, #118p, #119p, #120p, #121p, #122p, #123p, #124p, #125p, #126p, #127p, #128p, #129p, #130p, #131p, #132p, #133p, #134p, #135p, #139p, [castings by hull number]. On last page handwritten note 'Commenced Work on Triple Cond[?] Eng. new one Nov 11/85. H com[?] on Nov 13/85 10 A.M. C.H.K.'. Undated, most vessels mentioned were built between 1885 and 1886. Note considerable informational overlap with Casting Book # 4, which also contains data for all of the boats mentioned in this book, although it may be (!) that Book # 4 lists more patterns per boat than Book # 2." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120-05. Castings Book 2. Box HAFH.6.4B, Folder Casting Record Books Vessel Castings Book 2. No date (1885 to 1886).)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓

"[Item Description:] Cover of a cigar box depicting #118p STILETTO on the Hudson River off the Palisades in her famous race against the steamer MARY POWELL on June 10, 1885. Chromolithograph by Heppenheimer & Maurer of 22024 N.Wy St. NY." (Source: Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Acc. 86.276 or 86.55. Cigar Box Cover. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Box 1), Folder [no #]. No date (1885 or later).)
① ②

"[Item Description:] Front page (photostat) from The New York Times with article 'The MARY POWELL Beaten. A Race up the Hudson with a Steam Yacht [#118p STILETTO]. Captain and Officers Astounded. The Fast Steamer's First Defeat on The River'." (Source: New York Times (creator). Newspaper Clipping. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.135. Oversize Folder, Folder Races. 1885-06-11.)
①

"[Item Transcription:] [Handwritten (in ink) letter on 'The Herreshoff Manufacturing Co, Established in 1861, Incorporated in 1879, Sole Manufacturers Of The Herreshoff Patent Safety Coil Boiler, Builders of Steam Vessels and Engines' stationery:] Bristol, R.I., June 27th 1885
Dear Daughter Kate,
I rec[eive]d your nice letter last eve, was very glad to hear from you. Mr. Mrs Douglas were here a day or two ago and left the AIDA [#92p ex-PERMELIA] here for some repairs. We expect the ORIENTA [#89p] today. Everything is getting on as usual with me.
I have not been off on the water since our morning row in the STILETTO's [#118p] boat.
From your loving Papa, J.B.H.
S [Sadie Herreshoff, for JBH]" (Source: Herreshoff, J.B. Letter to Herreshoff, Katherine Kilton. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_6140. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Various), Folder [no #]. 1885-06-27.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Handwritten (in ink) letter on 'The Herreshoff Manufacturing Co, Established in 1861, Incorporated in 1879, Sole Manufacturers Of The Herreshoff Patent Safety Coil Boiler, Builders of Steam Vessels and Engines' stationery:] Bristol, R.I., July 2nd 1885
Dear Daughter Kate,
Just rec[eive]d your welcome letter and write you now so that it will go by the morning mail.
Glad you are taking riding lessons. You must try and have confidence in yourself and not feel nervous if you can, much danger ill be avoided.
I think you will have a pleasanter time in Boston on the '4th' that you would ere, as I believe very little is to be done ere,
The ORIENTA [#89p] left here this a.m. and the AIDA [#92p ex-PERMELIA will] do so this eve[ning]. We are to go to Newport tomorrow in the STILETTO [#118p] and the LADOGA [#123p] to take off the 'naval clap' at the Torpedo Station. I am as well as usual. Strawberries about finished. I had over 40 quarts from the new bed. With love from your Papa, J.B.H.
S [Sadie Herreshoff, for JBH]" (Source: Herreshoff, J.B. Letter to Herreshoff, Katherine Kilton. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_6160. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Various), Folder [no #]. 1885-07-02.)
①

"[Item Description:] Allow me to congratulate you on the success of the STILETTO [#118p]. I am coming to New London the end of the month & hope to have an opportunity of seeing her. [Incl. envelope.]" (Source: West, Attachville[?]. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_33950. Subject Files, Folder 41, formerly 28-30. 1885-07-18.)
① ② ③ ④

"[Item Transcription:] [Handwritten (in ink) letter on 'The Herreshoff Manufacturing Co, Established in 1861, Incorporated in 1879, Sole Manufacturers Of The Herreshoff Patent Safety Coil Boiler, Builders of Steam Vessels and Engines' stationery:] Bristol, R.I., Aug[ust] 18th 1885
Dear Kate,
Rec[eive]d yours last evening, am glad you find it so pleasant at the Hotel and that you find amusement.
We have had very pleasant welcome letter and write you now so that it will go by the morning mail.
Glad you are taking riding lessons. You must try and have confidence in yourself and not feel nervous if you can, much danger ill be avoided.
I think you will have a pleasanter time in Boston on the '4th' that you would ere, as I believe very little is to be done ere,
The ORIENTA [#89p] left here this a.m. and the AIDA [#92p ex-PERMELIA will] do so this eve[ning]. We are to go to Newport tomorrow in the STILETTO [#118p] and the LADOGA [#123p] to take off the 'naval clap' at the Torpedo Station. I am as well as usual. Strawberries about finished. I had over 40 quarts from the new bed. With love from your Papa, J.B.H.
S [Sadie Herreshoff, for JBH]" (Source: Herreshoff, J.B. Letter to Herreshoff, Katherine Kilton. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_6180. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Various), Folder [no #]. 1885-08-18.)
①

"[Item Transcription:] [Handwritten (in ink) letter on 'The Herreshoff Manufacturing Co, Established in 1861, Incorporated in 1879, Sole Manufacturers Of The Herreshoff Patent Safety Coil Boiler, Builders of Steam Vessels and Engines' stationery:] Bristol, R.I., Aug[ust] 20th 1885
Dear Daughter Kate,
Your letter rec[eive]d yesterday P.M. Pleased to learn that you are growing fleshy and enjoying yourself. I think of you often and miss you also, still it is best for you to have the change. I start for N.Y. in the LADOGA [#123p] at 2 o'clock today, Byron DeWolf, only, will accompany me. Mr. Lee Roy will not go with meas his father died yesterday a.m.
I will be in N.Y. Saturday when I hope to get a letter from you, address c/o Vernon H. Brown Esq., No 4 Bowling Green, New York City.
I expect to return Monday. Folks at home well, as usual, they enquire after you. Went to Newport in STILETTO [#118p] yesterday, took Mr. Kennedy off. Went to drive last eve with aunts Nellie & Jennie. the latter has just heard of her mother's death in Ireland.
Much love from your Papa. J.B.H.
S [Sadie Herreshoff, for JBH]" (Source: Herreshoff, J.B. Letter to Herreshoff, Katherine Kilton. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_6190. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Various), Folder [no #]. 1885-08-20.)
①

"[Item Transcription:] [Handwritten (in ink) letter on 'The Herreshoff Manufacturing Co, Established in 1861, Incorporated in 1879, Sole Manufacturers Of The Herreshoff Patent Safety Coil Boiler, Builders of Steam Vessels and Engines' stationery:] Bristol, R.I., Sept[ember] 4 1885
Dear Daughter Kate,
I have just received your birch-bark letter. You did well to get so large a piece, it is so very thin. You do not say anything about leaving Princeton so I presume you will stay there until next week. I drove to Pt. Pl[easant] last eve and fount Aunt Emilie very happy and contented. uncle Charles won the prize at the Pawtucket Regatta a few days ago of $30 [presumably with #187004es JULIA IV], beating the IDEAL 10[?] seconds. Uncle Lewis says the water is fine for bathing. I took a sail to Bristol Ferry and back yesterday in the MARINA [#105p]. It seemed quite natural to be in her again. I think Uncle Nat will go to N.Y. in the STILETTO [#118p] with Grandpa and other members of our family. The shops are running [p. 2] [remainder was not imaged]." (Source: Herreshoff, J.B. Letter to Herreshoff, Katherine Kilton. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_6090. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Various), Folder [no #]. 1885-09-04.)
①

"[Item Transcription:] [Handwritten (in ink) letter on 'The Herreshoff Manufacturing Co, Established in 1861, Incorporated in 1879, Sole Manufacturers Of The Herreshoff Patent Safety Coil Boiler, Builders of Steam Vessels and Engines' stationery:] Bristol, R.I., Sept[ember] 4 1885
Dear Daughter Kate,
I thought I would write you today so that you could receive it Monday a.m. I am sorry for your sake that we are having a rainy day.
We have been getting STILETTO [#118p] ready to start for N.Y. with Uncle Nat, Grand Pa, Byron DeWolf & possibly Uncle Cha[rle]s. I wish you and I could go with them.
Mrs. Dimon & daughter have been at Sisters a few days, but left this p.m.
Mrs Lee arrived at Pop[asqua]sh this a.m. I have the house nearly 1.2 plastered. Your friends enquire for you often. Hope to get a letter from you this evening, by last mail.
Love from your Papa. J.B.H.
S [Sadie Herreshoff, for JBH]" (Source: Herreshoff, J.B. Letter to Herreshoff, Katherine Kilton. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_6100. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Various), Folder [no #]. 1885-09-05.)
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"[Item Description:] Casting Book # 3, steamers #136p, #63p (Repair), #89p, #118p (Repair), #137p, #94p (Extra), #138p, steamer LOOKOUT ex-HALCYON, #128p (spare parts), #139p [castings by hull number]. Undated, dates mentioned are from 1886. Note considerable informational overlap with Casting Book # 4, which also contains data for most of the boats mentioned in this book." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120-08. Castings Book 3. Box HAFH.6.4B, Folder Casting Record Books Vessel Castings Book 3. No date (ca1886).)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪

"[Item Description:] Penciled diagram of what appear to be compass deviation curves and plots for 'NEREID [#83p] 1884' and 'STILETTO [#118p] June 14th, 1886'." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Diagram. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item WRDT08_06470. Folder 45. 1886-06-14.)
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"[Item Description:] Handwritten (in ink) draft report with detailed description of #118p STILETTO, followed by sections on Boiler, Engines, Shaft and Propeller, Speed, Noiselessness, Non-Visibility, Steering, Leaks, Economy, Heat Below, Escape for Firemen, Watertight Compartments, Rolling, Closets, Galley, Protection, Boilers, Strength, and Steam Trials (on July 2, July 3, and July 7, 1886 with best speed being 23.190kn). Undated (see final version dated July 10, 1886)." (Source: Sampson, W.T.; McCalla, B.H.; Converse, George A.; Nixon, Lewis, Ass't Naval Constructor. Correspondence (draft report) to Whitney, W.C., Secr. of the Navy. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_03710. Folder [no #]. No date (before 1886-07-10).)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯

"[Item Description:] Typewritten (carbon copy) report, 18 pages, marked 'Copy', beginning with 'In obedience to your order of June 29th, 1886, directing us to assemble at Bristol, Rhode Island, on July 2nd, 1886, and to be present at all the trials which the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. might desire to make with the torpedo boat STILETTO [#118p], on the completion of these trials to make a report to the Navy Department of the result of the examinations and to express our opinion as to whether this boat embodies the qualities which a modern torpedo boat should possess, we beg to report as follows:- General Description. The STILETTO is a high pressure, single screw, wooden vessel of the following dimensions:- Length between perpendiculars 90 feet. ...' With detailed description, followed by sections on Boiler, Engines, Shaft and Propeller, Speed, Noiselessness, Non-Visibility, Steering, Leaks, Economy, Heat Below, Escape for Firemen, Watertight Compartments, Rolling, Closets, Galley, Protection, Boilers, Strength, and Steam Trials (on July 2, July 3, and July 7, 1886 with best speed being 23.190kn)." (Source: Sampson, W.T.; McCalla, B.H.; Converse, George A.; Nixon, Lewis, Ass't Naval Constructor. Correspondence (report) to Whitney, W.C., Secr. of the Navy. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_03530. Folder [no #]. 1886-07-10.)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱

"[Item Transcription:] Handwritten (in ink and pencil) experiments and trials booklet titled 'Herreshoff Mfg. Co. Experiments 1884 to 1889. N.G. Herreshoff'. Relevant contents:
§8: #118p STILETTO Weights (1885-01-07)
§9: #118p STILETTO First Trial Run 'Mean of runs 14.95kns = 17.25 miles.' (1885-04-01&10&14)
§11: #118p STILETTO To Fall River & Return (1885-04-21)
§12: #118p STILETTO Trial Run (1885-05-01)
§23: #118p STILETTO Trial Run 'Fitted for torpedo boat.' (1886-06-10)
§31: #118p STILETTO Trial Run 'Mean = 19.27kn = 22.2miles' (1887-07-25)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Trials Booklet. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE07_03520. Folder [no #]. 1884-05 to 1890-05.)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓ ㉔ ㉕ ㉖ ㉗ ㉘ ㉙ ㉚ ㉛ ㉜ ㉝ ㉞ ㉟ ㊱ ㊲ ㊳ ㊴ ㊵ ㊶ ㊷ ㊸

"[Item Description:] Several penciled superimposed hull sections marked 'Model Feb[ruary] 1890]', '89 [#89p] Aug[ust] 1890', 'Hearst 112.5. Dec[ember] 1890 [#168p VAMOOSE]', 'STILETTO [#118p]', and 'Model of M[ar]ch [18]90 for 84 w.l. yacht'. (This is probably related to torpedo boats)." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item WRDT08_06220. Folder 45. No date (1890 ?).)
① ② ③

"[Item Description:] I am glad you like the name GLORIANA [#411s] as we are particularly pleased with it. 'ZOPHIEL' I got fr[om] Urtolius[?] last production w[ic]h has a enpartment[?] for names of fiction but on second thoughts we fear the boatmen will make a mess of it & fashion some caricature of the name upon her and she will only[?] lose. So we think we will try again. A steamer [#164p] is seen[?] a thoroughly matter of fact affair that perhaps it would better to give her a more conventional name. The STILETTO [#118p] was so well named that our minds turn towards something similar. What do you think of 'JAVELIN' or 'HASTA' w[hic]h means Javelin or 'FESTINA' w[hic]h means quick or 'ROSINANTE' or can you suggest something. The deck[?] of the st[eame]r [#164p JAVELIN] I think sh[ou]ld be like 'GANNET's' [#409s] only a little more gray. Space bet[ween?] finder[?] strake[?] & hand-rail just a shade darker gray than the sides & bottom while then she will certainly look like a whale. I don't know but it w[ou]ld be better to paint each[?] just a shade darker gray than space bet[ween] finder[?] & rail giving the successive shades for which bottom to dark back but the clean[?] we can decide on a letter later. You say you fear you cannot furnish her by end of June don't you mean May. I hope so as July would be very late." (Source: Morgan, E.D. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_77560. Correspondence, Folder 98. 1891-03-27.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Many thanks for your kind letter of the 17th instant and copy of specifications for thirty knot Torpedo Boats and the blue print of the CUSHING's [#152p] speed curve, which were duly received.
There is no reason why as much time as may be necessary for the purpose, should not be given to the progressive trials of Torpedo Boat 'No 6' [#184p PORTER] and I shall endeavor to carry out thoroughly the programme which you suggest. I trust you may find it convenient to be present on board during these trials. If you can spare the time, the boat can call for you at Bristol and devote as many hours or days to making the series of trials as you may desire.
Since my visit to Bristol, I have been reflecting a great deal upon the subject of the grating, and while I was at first disposed to favor the placing of the grating directly in contact with the deck, it has recently occurred to me that this plan was open to the most serious objection; --- the ashes and cinders from the smoke-stack will accumulate in the pockets formed by the grating, and cannot be thoroughly removed without taking the grating up, which would, therefore, necessarily have to be done after every steaming. Moreover, if these ashes remain and get wet with salt water, as they are likely to do, they will be sure to cause rust and corrosion of the plates. It, therefore, seems to me that it would be most desirable to provide a grating which shall be well clear of the deck, at least for the spaces between the deck beams; i.e. that the bearings of the grating on deck should not be nearer together than these beams. It also seems to me that the proposed midship batten for securing the inner edges of the grating, would be equally objectionable on account of not allowing water or cinders to pass through from side to side with the roll of the vessel. These objections are somewhat emphasised by the fact that the deck is so nearly flat, particularly aft.
Please think this matter over and let me know what conclusions you arrive at.
'No. 6' [#184p PORTER] has not yet reached this Station, and if she comes this week will have to return at once to New London to participate in the trials of Gunboats Nos. 8 and 9. The LEYDEN and the STILETTO [#118p] have already left for that port and so I am without any conveyance until they return; hence shall find it impossible to go to Bristol for several days." (Source: Converse, George Albert. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_34360. Subject Files, Folder 41, formerly 28-30. 1897-03-19.)
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"[Item Description:] Photograph of #118p STILETTO, torpedo boat USN. With copyright note in lower right corner 'Copyright, 1898 by E.A.G. Smith, Newport, R.I.'." (Source: Smith, E.A.G. (creator). Photograph. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.157. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photographs. 1898.)
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"[Item Description:] Copy of HH.6.157 [Photograph of #118p STILETTO, torpedo boat USN. With copyright note in lower right corner 'Copyright, 1898 by E.A.G. Smith, Newport, R.I.'.]." (Source: Smith, E.A.G. (creator). Photograph. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.158. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photographs. 1898.)
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"[Item Description:] Copy of HH.6.157 [Photograph of #118p STILETTO, torpedo boat USN. With copyright note in lower right corner 'Copyright, 1898 by E.A.G. Smith, Newport, R.I.'.]." (Source: Smith, E.A.G. (creator). Photograph. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.159. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photographs. 1898.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Handwritten (in ink and pencil) trials booklet 'Herreshoff Mfg. Co. Experiments & Trial Trips. 1890. N.G. Herreshoff'. Relevant contents:
§41: #184p PORTER Delivery Return in #118p STILETTO (1897-02-18)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Trials Booklet. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE07_02260. Folder [no #]. 1890-01 to 1898-08.)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓ ㉔ ㉕ ㉖ ㉗ ㉘ ㉙ ㉚ ㉛ ㉜ ㉝ ㉞ ㉟ ㊱ ㊲ ㊳ ㊴ ㊵ ㊶ ㊷ ㊸ ㊹ ㊺ ㊻ ㊼ ㊽ ㊾ ㊿
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"[Item Description:] Photograph. [Backside of Trophy Cup shown in HH.6.208:] ANEMONE [#4p] 1870, LIGHTNING [#20p] 1876, STILLETO [#118p] 1885, HENRIETTA [#133p] 1886, NOW THEN [#142p] 1887, BALLYMENA [#151p] 1888, CUSHING [#152p] 1890, VAMOOSE [#168p] 1891, PORTER [#184p] 1896, MORRIS 1897 [#190p]." (Source: Anderström (creator). Photograph. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.209. Box HAFH.6.7B, Folder Photograph. No date (1899 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Four handwritten (in ink) pages with tabulated data listing 'Shop No', 'Name', '[Tons] Gross' and '[Tons] Net' for a total of 100 HMCo-built boats and classes. Tonnage data is usually precise to two digits behind the decimal. Random comparisons suggest source of tonnage data to be official Custom House data. Boats mentioned are: #664s, #663s, #625s, #665s, #634s, #658s, #657s, #646s, #641s, #617s, #626s Class, #624s, #621s, #616s, #619s, #590s, #591s, #586s, #592 Class, #618s, #605s, #578s, #560s Class, #580s, #553s, #551s, #552s, #546s, #541s, #545s, #538s, #534s, #533s, #532s, #529s, #534s, #530s, #531s, #435s, #437s, #452s, #499s, #429s, #426s, #424s, #481s, #422s, #417s, #414s, #451s, #215p, #213p, #222p, #235p, #230p, #229p, #236p, #224p, #244p, #247p, #249p, #231p, #232p, #228p, #252p, #250p, #251p, #248p, #168p, #164p, #118p, #142p, #174p, #173p, #194p, #189p, #193p, #183p, #178p, #179p, #181p, #182p, #175p, #163p, #148p, #149p, #172p, #155p, #170p, #186p, #188p, #206p, #207p, #205p, #208p, #209p, #210p, #211p, #212p, #216p. Undated (the latest boat listed, WINSOME, was launched in 1907)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Handwritten List. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_00220. Folder [no #]. No date (1907 or later).)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Penciled list of steam engines titled 'Old Types' [of HMCo-made steam engines] showing fifteen steam engines:] 2 1/2 x 3 1/2
3 1/2 & 3 1/2 x 5
4 & 4 x 5
3 x 3 [crossed out]
3 1/2 x 3 1/2 [crossed out]
4 x 4 [crossed out]
2 1/2 & 4 1/4 x 5 marine engine [1881]
3 1/2 & 4 1/4 & 6 x 7 marine engine [unidentified engine]
4 & 6 1/2 & 10 x 8
8 & 14 x 9 Torpedo boat [1880]
5 & 6 & 9 x 10 [unidentified engine]
7 1/2 & 12 & 19 x 10 1/2 [1887]
12 & 21 x 12 ([#118p] STILETTO)
8 & 14 x 14 [1882]
9 + 10 1/2 & 16 x 18 [unidentified]. [With crossed out note on verso:] VIG [#437s VIGILANT ?] 87.75
R 70.14
Pl[ease] usir[?] long[?] & disp[lacement] necessary for race tomorrow
G. A. Cormack. [Undated, filed with list titled 'Modern Types' (of HMCo-made steam engines)' which is thought to be dated 1912 or later.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled List. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_00940. Folder [no #]. No date (1912 or later).)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Advertisement by HMCo titled 'From An Old Plate Found in a Loft at Herreshoff Mfg. Co., Dec. 1931. Explanations by N.G. Herreshoff, Esq.' and showing 10 woodcuts with the following explanations:] 1 Represents the early Navy Launches that started in 1879-80. Commodore Isherwood of the U. S. Navy carried on an extensive program of tests and experiments with two of them, No. 62 [#62p] and 63 [#63p], and a Navy launch built in the Washington Navy Yard, in the summer of 1880, lasting over two months. The Board consisted of Com. B. P. Isherwood, Com. T. Zeller and 3 or 4 assistants from the School of Marine Engineers of U. S. N. The Herreshoff launches proved superior to the Navy built and designed launch in every way. Illustration does not do justice to the launch.
2 Represents a class of cabin launches, between 55 and 68 ft long-built in the 80's. JAVELIN, No. 52 [#52p] , was the original (1879).
3 Steam yacht GLEAM, No. 65 [#65p], built for Mr. William Graham of Baltimore in 1880. Length on deck about 115 ft; w. l. 105 ft.
4-5 The general type of steam engines, 1878 to 1885. No. 4 is a marine type compound engine with cut-off valves riding on back of main slide valves. No. 5 stations-type such as used in small shops, as our own machine shop and another for wood working machinery. This type was given up in 1885. Replaced by triple expansion engines with valves worked from side shaft.
6-7 Early coil boilers, given up in 1881 or '82. The vertical drum at side is a steam separator and a good one, but it is not correctly represented.
8 A poor representation of 4 or 5 torpedo boats in 1879 and 1880. One was built for the British Admiralty [#44p HERRESHOFF], two for Chili [sic, i.e. Peru #53p REPUBLICA, #55p ALIANZA (a third boat, #60p, was never delivered)], one for Russia [#64p].
9 Typical cabin arrangement of early steam yachts 80 to 90 ft long.
10 Steam yacht STILETTO [#118p] rated in her time as one of the fastest yachts in the world." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Advertisement Broadside. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE14_01240. Folder [no #]. 1931-12.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #118p Stiletto even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Sampson, W.T.; McCalla, B.H.; Converse, George A.; and Nixon, Lewis (Ass't Naval Constructor). [Report Made to W.C. Whitney, Secretary of the Navy, on the 'Stiletto'.] Bristol, R.I., July 10, 1886. (3,743 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. Detailed report on Stiletto, dimensions, steam engine and boiler descriptions, suitability for service in the navy and speed trial results.

• Stiletto (HMCo-made index card)
• Stiletto (MIT Museum-made index card)
• Note: The vessel index cards comprise two sets of a total of some 3200 cards about vessels built by HMCo, with dimensions and information regarding drawings, later or former vessel names, and owners. They were compiled from HMCo's early days until 1920 and added to in later decades, apparently by Hart Nautical curator William A. Baker and his successors. While HMCo seems to have used only one set of index cards, all sorted by name and, where no name was available, by number, later users at MIT apparently divided them into two sets of cards, one sorted by vessel name, the other by vessel number and greatly expanded the number of cards. Original HMCo cards are usually lined and almost always punched with a hole at bottom center while later cards usually have no hole, are unlined, and often carry substantially less information. All cards are held by the Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections of the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass.

Name: Stiletto
Type: Steam
Length: 35'
Owner: Gould, Jay

Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. "A Partial List of Herreshoff Clients." In: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Herreshoff Yachts. Bristol, Rhode Island, ca. 1931.

• Stiletto
• 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: Stiletto
Type: 94' steamer
Owner: Herreshoff Co.
Year: 1885
Row No.: 659

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.

Year: 1885
E/P/S: P
No.: 118
Name: Stiletto
OA: 94'

Source: Vermilya, Peter and Maynard Bray. "Transcription of the HMCo. Construction Record." Unpublished database, ca. 2000.

Note: The transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Peter Vermilya and Maynard Bray was performed independently (and earlier) than that by Claas van der Linde. A comparison of the two transcriptions can be particularly useful in those many cases where the handwriting in the Construction Record is difficult to decipher.

"... Str. #118 - 94Ft. long. 12+21x21 Eng[ine]. 3ft Sq[uare] [Boiler]. ... " (Source: Anon. [Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. (N. G. Herreshoff?)] No Title. [Handwritten Notes on Outer Cover of Notebook.] No date [ca. late 1880s.] Notebook in the Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, The Francis Russel Hart Nautical Collections, M.I.T. Museum, Cambridge, Mass., obj. no. HH.6.120.)

"... Str. #118 - Repair Job. ..." (Source: Anon. [Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. (N. G. Herreshoff?)] No Title. [Handwritten Notes on Outer Cover of Notebook.] No date [ca. late 1880s.] Notebook in the Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, The Francis Russel Hart Nautical Collections, M.I.T. Museum, Cambridge, Mass., obj. no. HH.6.120.)

"[See also:] List of items required for Stiletto. In: Technical and Business Records pertaining to the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Series VI, Folder HH.6.2 (Hull No. 118), Box HAFH.6.1B." (Source: Hasselbalch, Kurt and Frances Overcash and Angela Reddin: Guide to The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass., 1997, p. 63-79.)

"Note: Anon (apparently George Albert Converse). [Dates of Model Towing Experiments.] DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University Collection, George Albert Converse Papers and Photographs, 1861-1897, Box 1, Folder 10, http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/gcp/id/650/rec/22, retrieved June 6, 2018. Undated (ca. 1896) shows a list of 'Dates of Model towing Experiments' that can only refer to experiments conducted by NGH: '1876, before designing Lightning [#20p] - Oct. and Nov. 1880, before designing Stiletto [#118p] and others - Nov. 1895, before designing # 6 and 7 [#184p Porter and #185p Dupont] - August 1896, before making designs for 30 knot torpedo boat [#189601ep Unbuilt Torpedo Boat]. These towing experiments, some of which were conducted together with G. A. Converse, are also described in Converse, George Albert (General Inspector of Torpedo Boats Numbers 6 and 7). [Letter to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt reporting on the Torpedo Boat Porter.] DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University Collection, George Albert Converse Papers and Photographs, 1861-1897, Box 1, Folder 4, http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/gcp/id/122/rec/16, retrieved June 6, 2018. May 23, 1897." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. June 6, 2018.)

"Date this vessel was finished was estimated as January 23, 1885, the date this boat was measured by the U.S. Custom House inspector as per the U.S. Custom House Record Book in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 9, 2020.)

"[660sqft sail area.]" (Source: Chevalier, Francois and Jacques Taglang. American and British Yacht Designs 1870-1887. Paris, 1991. Vol. II, p. 330.)

"The displacement of Stiletto is 28 tons [Unclear if long or short tons. Note that Chevalier, Francois and Jacques Taglang. American and British Yacht Designs 1870-1887. Paris, 1991. Vol. II, p. 324 list a displacement of 36.6 tons).]" (Source: Anon. "Stiletto." Forest and Stream, July 2, 1885, p. 459.)

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