HMCo #379p Mariette

" 'Mariette' was built for J. F. Brown who had previously had the steel schooner 'Mariette' that we have spoken of, but this 'Mariette' was a twin screw houseboat driven by gasoline engines and was eighty-nine feet nine inches long, twenty feet five inches beam, and only three feet nine inches draft. Mr. Brown lived aboard her much in the next ten years or so." (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. 306.)

"... The old engines have been taken out of J. Fred Brown's power houseboat Mariette and a pair of 100-horsepower Lathrop motors installed and a new steering shelter constructed [at the Baker Yacht Basin in Quincy, Massachusetts]. ..." (Source: Anon. "Dorchester and Quincy Yards Have Much Work." Boston Globe, April 28, 1929, p. B21.)

"THE Benson Boat Works at Fort Lauderdale is busy servicing small boats engaged in Naval and Coast Guard duty. A. T. Benson, the proprietor, recently sold the 90-foot motor houseboat Mariette, formerly owned by Henry Fownes, to the Crossland Fish Company. They are rebuilding her for use as a cargo vessel in the West Indies. It is surprising the number of these shoal draft houseboats built solely for use on protected waterways that are being converted to seagoing cargo carriers. ..." (Source: Anon. "Southward Ho!" Motor Boating, December 1942, p. 53.)

"... Another motor houseboat to go into the freight service is the 101-foot Mariposa ... She has been bought by the Crossland Fish Company of Miami. It is planned that Mariposa and the Mariette which belonged formerly to Henry Fownes of Stamford will be used between Florida and Puerto Rico. ..." (Source: Anon. "Southward Ho!" Motor Boating, August 1943, p. 56.)

"The 154-foot diesel yacht Elda ex-Avalanche ... has been bought by Eastern Shipping Ltd. of Miami and will be put into the freight carrying service between Florida and the West Indies. Jack Crossland, president of the line ... reports that the company is also operating several other former yachts. They include Henry Fownes' diesel houseboat Mariette, ..." (Source: Anon. "Southward Ho!" Motor Boating, October 1945, p. 70.)

"[Item Description:] Weight summary (2 copies, one typed, one penciled) for #379p MARIETTE." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.004. Weight Estimates. Box HAFH.6.1B, Folder Hull No. 379p. No date (ca1922).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled calculations to determine Long. and Transverse Metacentres and other calculations for #379p MARIETTE." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.004. Calculations. Box HAFH.6.1B, Folder Hull No. 379p. No date (ca1922).)
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"[Item Description:] Schedules of shapes and plates for #379p MARIETTE." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.004. Lists. Box HAFH.6.1B, Folder Hull No. 379p. No date (ca1922).)
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"[Item Description:] have received your note, HMCo is in condition as bad as other boat builders but prospects are quite good, HMCo status report, received order for 12 1/2 today making 4 in all, good prospects for 89ft house boat [#379p MARIETTE] and for 125ft wl power yacht [unclear], enclosing my weekly report to Mr. Emmons as of April 1st and memo of prospective receipts and expenditures to June 1st, 1922, 'I am progressing towards normal slowly, its now one year since I was stricken down, and am thankful that I now am able to do my work again though its difficult on some damp or stormy days: Next Monday completes the thirty sixth year of my connection .vith the office, coming to work on the 10 th day of April, 1886', Dane boat [#377p ARA] seems to be closing well and it will be nearly completed by 1st. of May the contract date, Vandervoort boat [#376p ESLOMA] was sold to Thompson, estate has settled up contract" (Source: Young, Charles Wesley (Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. Secr.). Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_50310. Subject Files, Folder [no #]. 1922-04-04.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Typewritten (carbon copy) contract draft:] Rough Draft
Contract, of two parts, made and entered into this [blank] day of 1922, by, and between the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Inc. a corporation, created under the laws of the State of New York and doing business in Bristol, State of Rhode Island, hereinafter called the party of the first part, and Mr. J. F. Brown of Boston, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, his heirs and assigns, hereinafter called the party of the second part, Witnesseth:
1st:- The said party of the first part hereby contracts and agreed to design, make all drawings for, purchasing of all material necessary to the construction of the hull of one House Boat [#379p MARIETTE], of the following general dimensions, viz:-
Length about 90 feet 0 inches
Length on Water Line:- not less than 85 feet 0 inches
Beam. not less than 20 feet 0 inches
Draft not less than 3 feet 0 inches
Contract includes one power Dingey [#192202ep]
2nd:- The said party of the first part hereby agrees to supply all materials and perform all work and labor pertaining to the construction of Said house boat Hull and Joiner work, also all work and labor of installing the machinery to be furnished by the party of the Second Part, the furnishing and installing of all detail parts of said machinery not supplied by the party of the second part, to make the installation complete, the launching, making of trials, do all final painting and completion.
3rd:- In consideration of the premises the said party of the second party hereby covenants and agrees to and with the said party of the first part as follows, that is to say:-Payments to be made on monthly accounts as rendered, to include proportionate part of rental of shops, office expense, fuel and supplies, that the work on this contract bears to the total overhead of the H. M. Co. plant. The direct work done on this contract, plus 15% [p. 2] the direct cost of material used on this contract plus 10% [corrected in pencil 5%]. The final payment to be made when the boat is completed, and trial made to the satisfaction of the party of the second part.
4th:- It is further agreed by the respective parties to this contract that the boat shall be completed ready for delivery on September 7, 1922, it being understood that if through any negligence of the party of the 1st part in the construction, or management, that the boat be not ready for delivery as set forth, the said party of the first shall pay to the said party of the second part a penalty of $40. per day for each and every day. Sundays and Holidays, excepted that completion and delivery is delayed subsequent to September 7, 1922.
5th:- It is still further agreed, and understood, by the said party of the second part that the said party of the first part shall not be held responsible for delays caused by reason of, or due to, strikes, fires, acts of God beyond our control, receiving materials, or obtaining sufficient or efficient mechanics to properly perform first class work. In the two latter cases alleged, a statement, in writing at the time of each monthly payment and agreement arrived at by conference between the two parties to this contract, [added in pencil: and a referee]." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.. (creator). Contract Draft. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_00250. Folder [no #]. No date (1922-05).)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Penciled contract draft marked 'Proposed by NGH but not accepted:]
Contract, of two parts, made and entered into this [blank] day of May 1922, by, and between the H[erreshoff] M[anufacturing] C[ompany], Inc. a corporation, created under the laws of the State of New York and doing business at Bristol in the State of Rhode Island, hereinafter called the Party of the First Part, and Mr. J. F. Brown of Boston, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, hereinafter called the Party of the Second Part, Witnesseth:
That for, and in consideration of, the payments to be made as hereinafter provided the said party of the fist part agrees to
to design, and construct for the said party of the second part, of first class materials and in a thoroughly workmanlike manner, in accordance with specifications to be, and hereby are considered as forming part of this contract, a House Boat [#379p MARIETTE], of the following general dimensions:
Extreme length 90ft 0in
Length on water line not less than 85ft 0in
Extreme breadth 20ft 0in
Draft 3ft 0in [p. 2]
It is further agreed by the party of the first part that the said vessel shall be ready for delivery at Bristol, R.I. on October 7th, 1922.
In consideration of the premises the said party of the second part hereby covenants and agrees to and with the said party of the first part as follows, that is to say:-
The contract price to be paid by the second party of the second part for the said House Boat, as specified shall be [blank] $ [blank], same to be payable in [blank] installments viz
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th or final
It is further agreed that the party of the second part shall reimburse the said [p. 3] party of the first part, the amount of the government tax (if any) imposed under sections 900 and 904 (Revenue Act of 1921).
In witness whereof the respective parties have set their hands, and seals the day and year first above written.
[blank]
Specifications to be supplied." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Contract Draft. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_00220. Folder [no #]. 1922-05.)
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"[Item Description:] am surprised at what you say about HMCo building without contracts, Paul Hammond [#861s SHEILA] situation okay, Brown [#379p MARIETTE] started with unsatisfactory contract, due to change from wooden to steel frames ordered by Mr. Brown project is delayed by several weeks, 'Methods of operation to which you are accustomed, as I tried to explain to you in New York, are only possible where you are personally present. Under this condition, they are the best in the world; but under them, the moment you leave the works, everything stops', incl. NGH reply: yesterday sailed Roosevelt S-boat [#870s SURINAM] against SHEILA which appeared a great success and all Sidney's new gear stood perfectly, was not worried about Paul Hammond having not signed contract, with Brown it is different, he is an older man not in sound condition similar to Vandervoort [#376p ESLOMA] but while the latter declared he would pay Gorvernment Tax Brown will not sign agreement to that extent, tax is levied on the builder and not the purchaser and Brown's attitude puts us in a very doubtful position" (Source: Nichols, George (incl NGH reply). Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_18660. Correspondence, Folder 51, formerly 54. 1922-05-19.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Typewritten signed letter on 'Alfred Johnson, 36 Monmouth Steeet, Brookline, 47, Massachusetts' stationery:] Will you please accept my hearty thanks for your kindness in writing me so fully about the loss of my old sloop, The MARIETTE. I am very much interested to have this last chapter in her career. She was an able boat, and fast, for a boat of her type, she went from Newport, R.I. to Bermuda in three hours less than three days.
You will be interested to know that I have just returned from Jacksonville, having made the trip down in the House-boat MARIETTE [#379p], you built for Mr. Brown. We had ample opportunity to try her out, especially on the outside run from Beaufort to Georgetown. It was rough, and blowing, feather-white all round us, when we went through the Cape Fear Slue, but in spite of the heavy launch and three other boats on her upper deck, she wallowed through like a Bull-moose. She only slopped a little water into the after-bunks, none on decks, and everything about her decks staid in place.
I have seen most of the house-boats, between here and Miami and, in my humble opinion, she is second to none of her size in comfort and sea-worthiness.
Again thanking you, I am , with high regard,
Yours sincerely, ..." (Source: Johnson, Alfred. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_05610. Correspondence, Folder 20, formerly 136. 1923-01-03.)
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"[Item Description:] report as written followed the substance of the verbal report to the directors [of HMCo], executive committee never had full information, Loring Swasey's reports were irregular, vague and ceased entirely when you returned, Winton boat [#377p ARA] was more complicated than any built by the men in charge, detailed description of how the #379p MARIETTE order could get awry, 'you assumed full power and therefore full responsibility', 'I strongly advised you to confine yourself to designing and oversight of construction and to leave the business management to others, and you did not take that advice'" (Source: Nichols, George. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_07140. Correspondence, Folder 24, formerly 211. 1923-02-27.)
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"[Item Description:] I have yours of 13th, in relation to the Brown affair, I suppose you know I never approved of that singular argreement drawn up by him for the building of the houseboat [#379p MARIETTE] I was in the South at the time and the matter never was referred to me. After I got home and saw the papers I was astounded and I pleaded with Brown to have proper contract but he was stubborn and would not accept any suggestion, for he well knew he had the H.M.Co. by the neck. I then took the matter up with George Nichols who was then Chairman of the Directors' Committee. His reply was the agreement was approved by the directors and our attorney and would have to stand. Since then I have had nothing to do with it. I will not sign anything relating to a matter and didn't approve [sic], and I don't think you can blame me for it, hope you can get Mr. Peters interested in my boat [#378p HELIANTHUS III] and will be glad to show her to him if he will come here" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Letter to Emmons, Robert W. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRRT_310. Unidentif. / Non-Cataloged, Folder MRRT. (1924)-(07 ??)-16.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #379p Mariette even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Mariette (MIT Museum-made index card)
• Mariette (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: Mariette
Type: Gasoline Houseboat
Owner: Brown, J. F.

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

• Mariette
• 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: Mariette
Type: 85' power
Owner: Jacob F. Brown
Year: 1922
Row No.: 410

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: 1916 [sic, i.e. 1921c ?]
E/P/S: P
No.: 379
Name: Mariette

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.

"Date not given in Construction Record, but construction plan dates suggest Mariette to have been contracted for in early 1922 and finished by December 1922." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. September 16, 2008.)

"[See also:] Weight summary (2 copies) - Schedule of shapes and plates - Notes. In: Technical and Business Records pertaining to the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Series VI, Folder HH.6.4 (Hull No. 379), 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 that of 71 surviving plans made exclusively for #379p Mariette 37 were approved by A. Loring Swasey and only 1 by A.S.DeW. Herreshoff (the remainder was not marked approved). The model for #379p Mariette is annotated to have been made by ASDeWH, but is it possible that the actual design was by Swasey?" (Source: van der Linde, Claas. April 29, 2021.)

"In the absence of better available data displacement was estimated by using the figure for Net Register Tons (106) from the 1923 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (Gross Register Tons were reported as 156) 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.)

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