HMCo #327p C368

"They built two steel twin screw patrol boats of about one hundred and ten feet length, and two smaller wood steamers for the same service, besides several gasoline patrol boats and torpedo retrieving craft, but as these craft were principally designed by Captain Nat's oldest son, A. Sidney DeW. Herreshoff, they are now only spoken of briefly." (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. 305.)

"... The new 40-foot power boats to be built by Herreshoff for the United States Navy will be known as 'retrievers,' to accompany the navy destroyer fleet and perform all outside work necessary in warfare on the water. It is stated that the craft will be of moderate speed, heavily constructed, fit for all sorts of weather. The boats, which are to be built off one set of moulds, were designed by A. Loring Swasey and are to be equipped with 60-horsepower Sterling engines. ..." (Source: Anon. "Notes from the Week's Log." Boston Globe, September 16, 1917, p. 54.)

"Work has been started on the construction of the new 40-foot 'retrievers' for the United States Navy at Herreshoff's. At first five will be built and later probably two others." (Source: Anon. "Notes from the Week's Log." Boston Globe, October 7, 1917, p. 60.)

"One of ten new Navy Department 40-foot 'retrievers' has been fitted with her deckhouse and another of the type has been planked at the Herreshoff shops.
A Loring Swasey, one of the officers of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, who as a lieutenant in the Naval Coast Reserve, is engaged in Government work, visited the yard last Monday." (Source: Anon. "Yachts and Yachtsmen." Boston Globe, October 21, 1917, p. 39.)

"... Two of the new 'retrievers' built by Herreshoff's for the Government were launched last Monday afternoon [December 31, 1917]. The ice in Bristol Harbor had to be broken before the craft could be put overboard. Tuesday the boats were given tests in the ice-strewn Narragansett Bay and proved satisfactory in every way. They are heavily built, 40 feet in length, and fitted with 60-horsepower Sterling engines. ..." (Source: Anon. "Notes from the Week's Log." Boston Globe, January 6, 1918, p. 36.)

"[Item Description:] machine shop is improving, #321 engines are now erected, Brechin has #323 nearly ready to frame, #321, had #312 [STINGER] running at the dock, the first 40ft launch [#324p] is practically completed, three others [#325p, #326p, #327p] are planked, and the 5th [#328p] and last will be in frame next week, the completed boat makes a very good appearance and will go overboard in a day or two, #306 [SP-1841] will hopefully be complete next week, design for the French [patrol] boat is as follows [150ft LOA, 18ft beam, other dimensions], will also bid on smaller 18kn boat, Swasey still seems confident to close up the Richards boat [this will be #329p CAROLA], have not yet received a cent on the 40 footers, bank account is getting pretty short, [financial summary by building no], risk of not completing the steel boats promptly, your young friend from Bermuda McCallan is here and working in Mr. Brechin's gang" (Source: Swan, James. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_50860. Subject Files, Folder [no #]. 1917-12-01.)
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"[Item Description:] Navy Dept. ordered ten aeroplane lighters [#191801es, #191802es, #191803es, #191804es, #191805es, #191806es, #191807es, #191808es, #191809es, #191810es], 58ft x 16ft, sort of a small floating dock arranged to carry an aeroplane, $15,000 each, built special construction shed [sketch], want six if possible by March 1, first class job for Brechin, will delay #323p [SP-2840] which is framed and being plated, #306p [SP-1841] and #308p [SP-2232] are finished and waiting for gov't action, Tod has paid for his boat [#308p SP-2232] in full, #321p [SP-2235] is almost done, one 40-fter [apparently #324p C365] has been delivered to Newport but ice is holding the other two [apparently #325p C366 and #326p C367] here and I had them picked up by shears and put on wharf, the last two [apparently #327p C368 and #328p C369] are nearly finished, they have proved expensive boats and we shall no more than make overhead on them, store house is done except cement work in vault, destroyer launch [#330p] is almost finished and is a fine little boat, hope we can build more like her, order for an aeroplane hull or pontoon [#341p NC-4], [Ernest] Alder has gone to Curtiss Works to observe and is now laying the boat down, work has commenced on Richards boat [#329p Carola], the RESOLUTE launch has been sent to Bob's [Emmons] ship the Mt. Vernon as tender" (Source: Swan, James. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_50930. Subject Files, Folder [no #]. 1918-01-08.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #327p C368 even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• C368 (HMCo-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: C-368
Type: Gasoline Torpedo retrieving launches for Newport
Length: 40'
Owner: U.S. Navy

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

• C365 C366 C367 C368 C369
• 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.

Year: 1917
E/P/S: P
No.: 327
Name: C.368 (Navy nos.)
OA: 40' 0"
LW: 38' 7"

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.