HMCo #391p Katoura

"[1929-06-28] Fri 28: ... Mr Tod has ordered of HMCo a 95' power cruiser [Katoura #391p] from [Charles] Nystrom's design.
[1930-06-22] Sun 22: ... Aboard Katoura [#391p] after dinner, just in [and] disabled. ..." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1920-1930. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"After sailing 'Thistle' for two years Mr. Tod got it into his head that he was too old for sailing so he had Captain Nat design him a power yacht, ninety-three feet long. This yacht was also named 'Katoura,' and I think was the third yacht of that name he had had. She was ninety-two feet on the water line, with a beam of sixteen feet five inches and draft of five feet. She was driven by two large six-cylinder Sterling engines, and the most remarkable feature of this yacht was that she was planked with teak and was perhaps the longest vessel built in America planked with teak, though many large sailing ships had been built in England of copper-sheathed teak between 1775 and 1875 when teak was more plentiful. So it might be said that Mr. Tod had the largest straight pleasure yacht that was plated with bronze and the largest American built yacht with teak planking, and these two yachts with normal care should last many years." (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. 311.)

"#391.
93' Diesel yacht for Mr. Robert E. Tod.
Frame spaces 12 3/4".
Sheer height indicated to top of covering board and in red.
Beam changed in the ratio of 15'-4" to 16'-0".
Deck at side, Ravvet, Bottom of Keel > In red at bottom of page.
[Penciled sketch of a shrink scale.]." (Source: Nystrom, Charles? [Penciled notes in Offset Booklet HH.4.052.] No date (ca. June 1929?). Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"The 93-footer power boat Katoura, built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co, for Robert E. Todd, which has been in the north construction shop awaiting the placing of her Diesel engines, was launched from that shop on Saturday [February 8, 1930] and towed around to the Walker's Cove yards where the boat will be finished. Little Louise Nystrom, daughter of Charles G Nystrom, construction manager of the plant, christened the yacht.
The removal of the Katoura from the north shop will give the necessary space for the setting up of the frame's of the J P Morgan and George Nichols syndicate yacht Weetamoe [#1147s] to be built at Herreshoff's as a contender for the honor of defending the America's cup in the International races next September, off Newport. ..." (Source: Anon. "Work on Syndicate Yacht Weetamoe Contender For Honor of Defending America's Cup, Will Now Be Pushed." Bristol Phoenix, February 11, 1930, p. 3.)

"Ship brokers report more inquiries for seagoing craft of from sixty to one hundred feet than ever before. Besides, a large number of such boats are being built in the ... shipyards along the coast.
One, a ninety-foot mahogany boat with teak planking, built for Robert E. Tod at the Herreshoff plant in Bristol, R. I., already has been launched, taking an icy plunge into Narragansett Bay, where, with canvas wind breakers around her, she is being fitted out." (Source: Robbins, James. "Yachting Has Boom; Boats In Demand." New York Times, February 23, 1930, p. 157.)

"[Abstract of register or enrollment. Pos. 1925:]
Katoura, oil screw yacht, of Bristol. Built at Bristol, 1930.
71 tons; 91 ft. x 16.4 ft. x 6.9 ft. One deck, one signal mast, plain-head.
Enr[olled] and Lic[ensed], (consolidated) ([as] (yacht) Apr. 3, 1930. Owner: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol. Master: Robert E. Todd. Surrendered Apr. 24, 1930 at New York, N.Y. ([Record at:] C[ustom] H[ouse, Providence])." (Source: Survey of Federal Archives, Work Projects Administration. Ships Documents of Rhode Island. Providence. Ship Registers and Enrollments of Providence Rhode Island, 1773-1939. Providence Rhode Island, 1941, s.v. Katoura.)

"The 93-foot Diesel-powered yacht La Reine of C[arlisle] V. Watson, Cape Elizabeth and Boothbay Harbor, is being commissioned for the season at the docks of the Marine Service, Inc., Boothbay. The oil-heated yacht, one of the most comfortable afloat, includes a large dining saloon, ... staterooms, huge galley with a restaurant size refrigerator, ..., air conditioning." (Source: Anon. "93-Foot Diesel Yacht La Reine Launched." Sunday Telegram And Sunday Press Herald, Portland, Maine, June 12, 1949, p. 30.)

"1930. ... Building interest centered around the Herreshoff plant. ... Besides Enterprise [#1146s] and Weetamoe [#1147s], Herreshoff was building a 93-foot steel diesel-powered yacht, another Katoura [#391p], for Robert E. Tod, who sold the yawl Thistle [#1078s] built the year before, three of the Fisher's Island 31-foot class sloops [probably #1153s Savage, #1154s Qu Tee and #1155s Wild Goose], one of them for Charles B. Rockwell, the Wild Goose, and some smaller craft. ..." (Source: Davis, Jeff. Yachting in Narragansett Bay. Providence, 1946, p. 48.)

"Patriot (PYc 47 ex-PC-455
Submarine Chaser/Coastal Patrol Yacht: Built in 1930 as the yacht Katoora by Herreshoff Mfg., Bristol, RI; Acquired by the Navy, 20 September 1940; Converted for Naval service by the Greenport Basin and Construction Co., Greenport, Long Island, NY; Placed in service as PC-455, 27 February 1941; Reclassified as a Patrol Yacht, coastal and named, Patriot (PYc-47), 16 June 1943; Placed out of service, 28 September 1944 and laid up at Quincy, MA to await delivery to the Maritime Commission; Struck from the Navy Register 14 October 1944; Transferred to the War Shipping Administration, 14 March 1945 and sold to her original owner. Fate unknown.
Specifications: Displacement 83 t; Length 96' 6"; Beam 16' 5"; Speed 18k, Armament one 3"/50 gun mount, two machine guns, two depth charge tracks." (Source: http://navsource.org/archives/12/010455.htm, retrieved March 17, 2007.)

"From: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol.V p 228
Patriot
A person who loves and ardently supports his country.
(PC--455: dp. 83; 1. 96'6"; b. 16'5"; dr. 6'; s. 18 k.; a. 1 3", 2 dct., 2 mg.)
The second Patriot (ex- Katoora) was built in 1930 by the Herreshoff Mfg. Co., Bristol, RI.; purchased by the Navy, for $1.00, from Mr. A. Loomis, New York City, 20 September 1940; converted at the Greenport Basin and Construction Co., Greenport, L.I., N.Y. ; designated PC-455, 4 November 1940; and placed in service 27 February 1941.
On 1 March 1941 PC--455 departed New York for Boston where she reported for duty in the 1st Naval District. There she conducted coastal patrol assignments as PC--455 until 16 June 1943 when she was named Patriot and redesignated PYc--47. As Patriot she continued her patrols until placed out of service 28 September 1944. She was then laid up at Quincy, Mass., to await delivery to the Maritime Commission. Struck from the Navy List 14 October 1944, she was turned over to WSA 14 March 1945 and subsequently sold to her former owner for the initial purchase price of $1.00." (Source: http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/patrol/pc455.htm, retrieved visit March 17, 2007.)

"[Item Description:] Penciled table showing Material, Test Piece, Gagelength, Breaking Strain[?], Elongation for Tobin Bronze 2in Keel Bolts, Extruded Tobin Bronze Angle Bar, Bronze Castings, Reg. Her[reshoff?] Material, and Everdur. Apparently related to #391p KATOURA." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.145. Table. Box HAFH.6.5B, Folder Trials and Tests. 1929-09-25.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled calculations titled 'Estimated Displacement & Trim 93ft w.l. yacht [#391p KATOURA]'." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.080. Estimates. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder One Design [???] 93 Foot Hull No. 391p. No date (1929-10 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Blueprint graph titled 'Curves of Form. 92.3 x 14.9 x 3.75ft Motor Yacht [#391p KATOURA]' showing 'Transverse Met.-Cen. Powr Moment to Change Trim' and All Curves Not Otherwise Notes' and ' Displacement Tons' on the Y-Axis and 'Mean Draft to Base Line' on the X-Axis." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.080. Blueprint. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder One Design [???] 93 Foot Hull No. 391p. No date (1929-10 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled table titled 'Summary. Weight Estimate 92ft M[otor] Y[acht] [#391p KATOURA]'." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.079. Estimates. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder One Design [???] 92 Foot Motor Yacht [Hull No. 391p]. 1929-10.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Penciled notes titled '391 [#391p KATOURA' time trial
Herreshoff Wharf to Howes wharf 1 1/8 Nautical Miles'." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.145. Notes. Box HAFH.6.5B, Folder Trials and Tests. 1930-04-19.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled table titled 'Trial of [#391p] KATOURA over lower half mile of Poppasquash course. Depth of water about 19ft. Wind SW about 12 mi[les] per h[ou]r. Propeller 30in D x 28in P.' showing times, rpm, Speed and slip in %." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.145. Table. Box HAFH.6.5B, Folder Trials and Tests. 1930-07-18.)
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"[Item Description:] Spreadsheet listing original contracts (from 1923 to 1940) by HMCo in the collection of HMM (apparently from the gift of Everett Pearson). Listed boats are: #380p, #381p, #388p, #389p, #391p, #392p, #393p, #395p, #886s, #933s, #934s, #954s, #955s, #962s, #983s, #999s, #1002s, #1017s, #1054s, #1055s, #1057s, #1074s, #1078s, #1122s, #1125s, #1130s, #1131s, #1147s, #1152s, #1153s, #1154s, #1156s, #1157s, #1164s, #1170s, #1173s, #1174s, #1175s, #1175s, #1176s, #1177s, #1179s, #1180s, #1191s, #1192s, #1193s, #1195s, #1196s, #1198s, #1199s, #1200s, #1201s, #1202s, #1203s, #1206s, #1207s, #1208s, #1209s, #1210s, #1211s, #1212s, #1213s, #1214s, #1215s, #1216s, #1217s, #1218s, #1219s, #1220s, #1222s, #1224s, #1236s, #1226s, #1227s, #1228s, #1230s, #1232s, #1234s, #1237s, #1238s, #1240s, #1241s, #1243s, #1244s, #1245s, #1246s, #1247s, #1248s, #1249s, #1250s, #1251s, #1252s, #1253s, #1254s, #1255s, #1256s, #1257s, #1258s, #1259s, #1260s, #1261s, #1262s, #1263s, #1264s, #1265s, #1274s, #1275s, #1277s, #1279s, #1280s, #1281s, #1282s, #1283s, #1284s, #1285s, #1286s, #1287s, #1302s, #1303s, #1315s, #1508s." (Source: Rickson, Norene (creator). Table. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_4220. HMM Library Rare Books Room (HMCo Contracts), Folder [no #]. No date (2010s ?).)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #391p Katoura even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Katoura (MIT Museum-made index card)
• Katoura (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.

• Katoura
• 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: Katoura
Type: 93' power
Owner: Robert E. Tod
Year: 1930
Row No.: 339

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: 1930
E/P/S: P
No.: 391
Name: Katoura
OA: 92'

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.

"[See also:] Weight estimates (1929). In: Technical and Business Records pertaining to the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Series VI, Folder HH.6.79 (One Design [sic] 92 Foot Motor Yacht), Box HAFH.6.2B." (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.)

"[See also:] Estimated displacement - Sketch of curves of form. In: Technical and Business Records pertaining to the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Series VI, Folder HH.6.80 (One Design [sic] 93 Foot), Box HAFH.6.2B." (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.)

"[See also:] Timeline for 391 (4/19/30) - Trial of Katoura (7/18/30) and (9/25/29) - Memoranda (3/21/29) - Metlab (3/25/29) - Resolute incline test - Specimen test log - Materials and fitting test (1898-1944). In: Technical and Business Records pertaining to the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Series VI, Folder HH.6.145 (Trials and Tests), Box HAFH.6.5B." (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.)

"The vessel name index card in the Hart Nautical Collections at M.I.T. carries a note, apparently in the handwriting of then-curator William Baker '#391 turned over to to No. Amer. Aviation 1963 by U.S. Navy for oceanographic work. Plans supplied 4 & 10 / [19]63. See covers[?].' [North American Aviation, Inc. later became part of Rockwell International which became part of Boeing.]" (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 17, 2015.)

"Note that while L. Francis Herreshoff writes in his father's biography that #390p Katoura was designed by NGH, NGH himself clearly writes in his own diary that Katoura was designed by HMCo employee Charles Nystrom." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 17, 2015.)

"Both, #329p Carola V and #391p Katoura were built from offsets recorded in the same offset booklet. #329p is known to have built been built from model 931 which suggests that the designer of model 931 is also the primary designer of #391p Katoura. Carola V is believed to have been designed by NGH (although even that is not perfectly clear and there are some indications it might have been Ralph Winslow who drew many of her plans or A. Loring Swasey with whom Winslow had long been associated) while NGH himself once noted in his diary that #391p Katoura was designed by Charles Nystrom. For the time being reference to model 931 has been added to #391p Katoura although this remains questionable. Note, that another offset booklet with partial offsets for #391p Katoura carries a note 'These partial offsets of #391 were lifted from loft by Mr. Hodgdon so lines at 1/2in = 1ft could be drawn up for displacement & stability work. E.B.'. Note also that a model of #391p Katoura is in the collection of the MIT Museum (obj. no. XA2-1_15)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. April 29, 2021.)

"Contract date 1929-06 from N.G.H. diary entry of June 28, 1931." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 1, 2021.)

"Approx. Disp[lacement] 120000 lbs [120000 / 2000 = 60 short tons]" (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Penciled Note on General Arrangement Plan 119-076 (HH.5.09798). Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Musum, Cambridge, MA.)

"Displacement 83 [long or short?] t [83*2000 = 166000 lbs]." (Source: http://navsource.org/archives/12/010455.htm, last visit March 17, 2007.)

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