HMCo #248p Toddy Wax [Toddywax]

"I have yours of 8 [November 1905], and take pleasure in giving you what information I can.
In spring of 1903 we built two gasoline launches [#231p ADRIENNE and #232p HELVETIA II] for the Iselin families at New Rochelle which are considered very satisfactory and model boats of their types. They were intended strictly for pleasure boats to use in L[ong] Is[land] Sound for short excursions. Are rather lightly built, but quite strong enough for the purpose intended, are double planked, a short deck forward with raised house having cabin room enough for shelter in case of rain and a toilet room. Aft of this there is a large open cockpit with the motor in the middle. The boats are 50ft o.a., 10 1/2ft extreme beam, about 3ft draft, high freeboard, and very easy lines below water. They are propelled by 20-25HP 'Standard' engines and have a speed of nearly 10 knots.
We are just building a similar boat [#248p TODDYWAX] except longer --- 60ft o.a. --- which will be used around Newport next summer. ..." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. Penciled draft reply note to Admiral W.L. Capps, Bureau of Construction and Repair, Navy Dept. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. Correspondence, Folder 1_14, formerly (84). After November 8, 1905.)

"[License issued to vessel under 20 tons. Pos. 263:]
Teddy Wax[sic], gas screw yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, 1906.
11 tons; 50.8 ft. x 10.8 ft. x 5.4 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
No specifications shown.
Lic[ensed] ([as] yacht) May 31, 1906. Owner: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol. Master: N. G. Herreshoff, Bristol.
Surrendered [license] June 26, 1906 at Philadelphia. ([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. Teddy Wax.)

"Philadelphia, March 23 [1909]. William P[eddle] Henszey, [owner of #248p Toddywax and] a member of the firm of Burnharm, Williams & Co, proprietors of the Baldwin Locomotive Works and a prominent designer of locomotives, died at his home here to-day ot pneumonia, aged 77 years." (Source: Anon. [Obituary.] New York Times, March 24, 1909, p. ?.)

"... Ashton, Dr. & Mrs. Thos. G (Mary L. Henszey). [Yachts] Toddywax, [#282p], Carbilana [#652s], Juniors Miss Anne [347] Delchester Farms, Edgemont, Pa, Philadelphia, Pa. [p. 1] ..." (Source: Social Register Association (publ.). Social Register, 1917, p. 1, 347.)

"... Ashton, Dr. & Mrs. Thos. G (Mary L. Henszey). [Yachts] Toddywax, [#282p], Carbilana [#652s], Phone No. 202 'Altamira', Jamestown, RI, Juniors Miss Anne & Mr Wm. H. ..." (Source: Social Register Association (publ.). Social Register, 1920, p. 366.)

"[Toddywax, [Toddywax II or III, not #282p Toddywax], Carbilana [#652s], Ashton and Mary L. Henszey were listed on p. 477.]" (Source: Social Register Association (publ.). Social Register, 1933.)

"Father-Son yacht designers Sidney and Halsey Herreshoff were hosts last evening at the recommissioning of the motor vessel 'Thania'. The beautiful old boat, built at the Herreshoff yard in 1906, is the beginning of a marine museum featuring the products of the local boat builders and designers." (Source: Anon. [No title. Photo Caption.] Bristol Phoenix, July 16, 1971, p. 3.)

"When Thania, the sleek 60-foot Herreshoff 'launch', slid out of the water and up the ways on the harbor side of Hope St last Saturday [October 6, 1973], she brought back to life a scene which for more than 30 years had existed only in local memory and a few dusty photographs. The Herreshoff family was once again hauling boats on what may well be the most famous marine railway in the world.
During the 'Golden Age of Yachting' on the site where Thania sits this week, brothers J B and Nathaniel Greene Herreshoff designed and built what most experts feel were the finest sail and power yachts ever launched. On the same railway which hauled Thania this week, the first Herreshoff cup defender. Vigilant, slid down the ways in 1893. By the time the last Herreshoff designed and built defender, Resolute, was launched in 1914, the Bristol waterfront was the focus of world-wide interest, mobbed with dignitaries and representatives of the international press. ...
[Halsey Herreshoff] points out that it was 70 years ago this month in October, 1905, that the contract was set for Thania's construction. She was carefully framed up and fastened together in the boatbuilding shed located almost exactly where she rests this week.
It is an indication of the degree to which yachting has changed that Thania seems to us today to be an impressively large power yacht. In 1905, Halsey points out, she was only a 'launch,' just one of several open boats of her type built by the Herreshoffs that year. The boat known today as Thania was built to the order of W P Henzey, Esq, and was christened 'Toddy Wax,' power boat hull number 248' (distinct numbering systems were used for sail and power boats built by the company). Her dimensions are length overall-59 feet, eight inches; length on the waterline-53 feet, six inches; beam-10 feet, seven inches; and draft-two feet, eight inches. This long and narrow easily driven hull was powered by a 25 horsepower (that's not a typographical error) Standish gasoline engine, at a time when gasoline power for boats was just coming into vogue as a replacement for steam.
Actually, Thania's hull shape had been modelled much earlier by Captain Nat. The lines of 'Toddy Wax' are very similar to those of the 1888 sisterships 'Our Mary' and 'Jersey Lily,' which were built for use as passenger launches on the Shrewsbury River inside Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
Because of the quality wooden construction techniques used to build her, Thania's hull today is in remarkably fine condition. Her condition also reflects the loving care she received for many years from her longtime owner, the late Daniel Newhall of Philadelphia and Jamestown. Mr Newhall made frequent trips in Thania on Narragansett Bay and surrounding waters --- including almost every June an excursion to New London with fellow Harvard graduates for the Harvard-Yale crew races.
Mr. Newhall added Thania's present after cabin and raised the steering station to make the yacht more suitable for cruising and day trips. He so admired the lines of the boat that he renamed her in, honor of her designer 'Thania' being a contraction of the middle letters of Nathaniel Herreshoffs first name. Upon his death, Mr Newhall left the boat to the Herreshoff Marine Museum, and since that time the Herreshoffs have made several improvements to her condition, and according to Halsey are looking forward to 'restoring her to her rightful condition, shipshape and Bristol fashion.' ..." (Source: Anon. "History repeats itself?" Bristol Phoenix, October 9, 1973, p. 9.)

"The long awaited launching of the Herreshoff motor yacht Thania did not go quite as smoothly as might have been hoped. The moment the Thania entered the water for the first time in several years, water poured through her dried out seams and within a half hour water was nearly lapping over the stern. Feverish pumping efforts by the crew shown here directed by Halsey Herreshoff along with help from the Castle Hill Coast Guard saved the vessel from sinking. The engine was not damaged and the future museum boat is now floating serenely off Hawkins and Fales boatyard, her seams tightened by the dousing." (Source: Anon. "The Joys of Boating." Bristol Phoenix, June 4, 1976, p. 1.)

"Halsey Herreshoff has purchased part of the yard in which his grandfather built so many fine yachts, and is in the process of developing the Herreshoff Museum. The Museum has existed on a small scale for many years in the home of his late father, Sidney, on property adjacent to the yard. Halsey has commissioned one of the old marine railways, and his 60' Herreshoff launch THANIA, built in 1906, was hauled out there this winter, a lean ghost on the landscape of tumbled granite, concrete, and rusted steel. The Herreshoff yard is far from dead in 1977, and the Museum will be a welcome addition to those interested in the history of this great yard and the family which has been at the core of much that is innovative and significant in wooden boats." (Source: Nicolson, Nick. "HOBNOBing With the Twelves in Rhode Island." Wooden Boat #17, July-August 1977, p. 11.)

"The A. Sydney DeW. Herreshoff Room at the Herreshoff Marine Museum was formally dedicated Sunday afternoon, marking another important milestone in the history and tradition of Herreshoff boat-building in this town. ... Presided over by Halsey C. Herreshoff, the ceremonies were attended by a large crowd of invited guests, all of whom were greatly impressed with the display of items relating to the accomplishments of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. ... The museum is located in part of one of the buildings formerly used by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., at 18 Burnside Street, near the corner of Hope. In his remarks at the dedication Mr Halsey Herreshoff said that the site was where J. B. Herreshoff once had his home. ... Among the gifts and contributors to the museum are the following: Power boat THANIA [#248p ex-Toddy Wax] by Daniel A. Newhall; ..." (Source: Anon. "Herreshoff Mueseum Dedicated." Bristol Phoenix, August 18, 1977, p. 4.)

"Thania, originally Toddy Wax, was built as a gasoline motor launch.
She was originally powered by a 'Standard' gasoline engine of just 25 horsepower and a single large three bladed propeller, 23.5in. in diameter and with a 51in. pitch.
She underwent many revisions both to her power plants and her deck layouts. The pilot house, engine [?] and aft cabin were all added by her third and final owner, Mr. Daniel A. Newhall, in the 1930s. In [?] she had a 130 HP diesel engine fitted for cruising and a small wing engine of just 25 HP for fishing. ...
Thania, named by Mr. Newhall as a play on Nathanial Herreshoff's Christian name, had an active career before taking the lead in establishing the Herreshoff Marine Museum.
Mr. Newhall, a Harvard oarsman and alumni, provided Thania as the judges boat for races, through his ownership. This attests to her fine hull offering little or no wake of any significance.
During WWII she was in service with the Coast Guard as a patrol boat in the Point Judith to No Man's Ledge area and as a pilot boat to guide shipping through the mine fields of Narrangansett Bay.
In 1974 she was a prop in the Great Gatsby movie made in Newport.
She was bequeathed by Mr. Newhall to the Herreshoff Marine Museum, which in itself prompted the establishment of the Museum in 1971. ..." (Source: Herreshoff Marine Museum. [Plaque on display at the museum.] Bristol, RI, no date [ca. 2010].)

"[Item Transcription:] The Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Truman H. Newberry, has brought to my attention a launch [#232p HELVETIA II] recently built by you for Mr. C. O. Iselin, which seems to have given very great satisfaction. Will you kindly give me so much of the particulars of this launch as you might feel disposed to furnish, especially the general dimensions of the launch, speed, displacement, horsepower of engine and make of engine. Will you also give me, so far as your experience goes, the highest speed developed by launches fitted with electrically-propelled machinery, with dimensions of the launch so propelled.
Trusting that I am not imposing too much upon your good nature, and that you can furnish me the above-requested information at an early date, believe me,
Very sincerely yours, ...
[Incl. penciled NGH draft reply note on verso:] I have yours of 8 [November 1905], and take pleasure in giving you what information I can.
In spring of 1903 we built two gasoline launches [#231p ADRIENNE and #232p HELVETIA II] for the Iselin families at New Rochelle which are considered very satisfactory and model boats of their types. They were intended strictly for pleasure boats to use in L[ong] Is[land] Sound for short excursions. Are rather lightly built, but quite strong enough for the purpose intended, are double planked, a short deck forward with raised house having cabin room enough for shelter in case of rain and a toilet room. Aft of this there is a large open cockpit with the motor in the middle. The boats are 50ft o.a., 10 1/2ft extreme beam, about 3ft draft, high freeboard, and very easy lines below water. They are propelled by 20-25HP 'Standard' engines and have a speed of nearly 10 knots.
We are just building a similar boat [#248p TODDYWAX] except longer --- 60ft o.a. --- which will be used around Newport next summer.
We have built a number of electric driven launches to go in our yachts. They are in lengths from 20ft [#218p CARMEN, #217p MAISIE and #221p] to 14ft [#190101ep, #190201ep, #190202ep, #190302ep, #190304ep, #190305ep] and 1 1/2 to 1/2 horse power motors. We fit them with light batteries so that they can be easily hoisted at the davits and can run from 1 to 1 1/2 hours on a charge. The 20ft boats have a speed of 6 statute miles and weight at the davits about 1000lbs. The 14ft boats with 1/2hp will speed 4 1/2 miles and weigh about 500lbs. They are very useful little craft to the yachtsmen. When attached to st[eam] yachts which have electric generating plants on board for charging their thums[?]. I do not know what speed has been attained with electric power launches. We have only fitted light powers and batteries for short runs believing the boats usefulness would be destroyed if loaded with the batteries & motors of light[?] power. With the experience we have had with gasoline we still think steam power most reliable and satisfactory.
" (Source: Capps, Admiral W.L., Bureau of Construction and Repair, Navy Dept. (incl NGH reply). Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_00520. Correspondence, Folder 1_14, formerly (84). 1905-11-08.)
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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 Description:] (Postcard?) photo of early HMM wharf showing #616s BAMBINO, #580s TRIVIA, #599s INDIAN and #248p THANIA ex-TODDY WAX" (Source: Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_2150. Photograph. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Box 1), Folder [no #], formerly 178?. No date (1980s ?).)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #248p Toddy Wax [Toddywax] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Toddy Wax (HMCo-made index card)
• Toddy Wax (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: Toddy Wax
Type: Steam [sic, i.e. gasoline]
Length: 59'8"
Owner: Hinszey, W. P.

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

• Toddy Wax
• 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: Toddy Wax
Type: 59' 8" steam
Owner: W. P. Hinszey
Row No.: 686

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: 1905
E/P/S: P
No.: 248
Name: Toddy Wax
OA: 59' 8"
LW: 53' 6"

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.

"Toddy Wax was built for William P. Henszey, a business man and steam locomotive engineer from Philadelphia who also was a part-owner of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Henszey died in 1909, only three years after Toddy Wax had been delivered, but the yacht stayed in the family. The Social Register of 1915 shows her to be owned by Thomas G. Ashton, of Philadelphia and Jamestown, RI, who was married to Mary L. Henszey. Ashton continued to own Toddy Wax throughout the 1910s and 1920s, but in the 1930s was reported as owning another, larger yacht also named Toddy Wax, suggesting that he had parted with the first one by that time. Note, that the same Social Register of 1915 also reported Ashton as the owner of the Newport 15 #652s Carbilana ex-Snipe which had been contracted for only a few weeks before Toddy Wax. Both boats were subsequently owned by the Daniel A. Newhall family (summer neighbors of the Asthons in Jamestown), followed by the (related) William Smythe family and both have survived to this very day." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. June 18, 2016.)

"Date this vessel was finished was estimated as May 31, 1906, the date this boat was measured by the U.S. Custom House inspector as per the 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." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 9, 2020.)

"In the absence of better available data displacement was estimated by using the figure for Gross Register Tons (17) from the 1928 List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. (Net Register Tons were reported as 11) and converting to lbs by dividing through 2000 (short tons). Note that this figure can only be a rough estimate because register tons as reported in Yacht Registers correlate only loosely with actual displacement figures." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 17, 2015.)

"Donated in 1971 by Daniel A. Newhall 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.