HMCo #412s Dilemma

"[1891-09-01] Tue 1: Began work of[sic] 25-rater for self [#412s Dilemma].
[1891-09-17] Thu 17: Finished planking and turned over 25 f[oote]r for self [#412s Dilemma].
[1891-10-08] Thu 8: Heavy rain last night. Clearing in p.m. Launched my 25 ft. Dilemma [#412s] & rigged in p.m.
[1891-10-11] Sun 11: Cloudy, light N [wind] till afternoon, then heavy NE & cold. Went to Newport in Dilemma [#412s] in company of Alice [#405s].
[1891-10-14] Wed 14: Very heavy NE [wind] thru a.m., very high tide. Dilemma [#412s] beat Alice [#405s] 3[min]-35[sec] in 6 miles. Fresh breeze. A[lice] beat D[ilemma] 2 3/4[min] in 4 m[iles] light[?].
[1891-10-16] Fri 16: Fine. Strong WNW [wind] all day. Dilemma [#412s] beat Alice [#405s] twice 3[min]-50[sec] in 6 miles, strong breeze.
[1891-10-19] Mon 19: Strong NE [wind] thru a.m, very high tide. Hauled Dilemma [#412s] into shop to change fin[?]. Load of coal arrived.
[1891-10-24] Sat 24: Fine & cool, fresh NW [wind]. A little ice seen this a.m. ... Launched Dilemma [#412s].
[1891-10-25] Sun 25: Very fine & cool. Went to Newport in Dilemma [#412s].
[1891-11-01] Sun 1: Strong W to NW [wind] from 7 a.m. Went to Newport, and outside to N[arragansett] Pier in Dilemma [#412s].
[1891-11-15] Sun 15: White frost. Very fine & cold. Eclipse of moon in [the] evening. Went to Newport in Dilemma [#412s].
[1891-11-16] Mon 16: Strong SE to S [wind]. H[eav]y rain in [the] evening. Hauled up Dilemma [#412s]. ...
[1892-04-24] Sun 24: Very fine & warm. Strong NW [wind] in [the] evening. Attempted to launch Dilemma [#412s].
[1892-05-06] Fri 6: Light NE [wind] [in] a.m., fresh SW [in] p.m., cloudy. Tried El Chico [#418s] and Dilemma [#412s].
[1892-05-08] Sun 8: Cool a.m., fine. Fresh N [wind]. Went to Newport in Dilemma [#412s].
[1892-05-14] Sat 14: ... Sold Dilemma [#412s] to G[overnor] Kortright. ...
[1892-05-16] Mon 16: ... Delivered Dilemma [#412s] to Mr. Kortright. ...
[1892-06-12] Sun 12: Very warm, S & W [wind]. Went to Newport in [#412s] Dilemma.
[1892-06-22] Wed 22: Very warm. Strong NW [wind] in p.m. Went to see R[hode] I[sland] Y[acht Club] race in [#412s] Dilemma.
[1892-06-27] Mon 27: Strong SE [wind] all day, threatening. Rigged [#412s] Dilemma with large sails.
[1892-09-21] Wed 21: Very fine. Light SW [wind]. Dilemma [#412s] taken in my charge for winter.
[1892-10-02] Sun 2: Very fine & cold. Fresh NNW [wind]. Went to Newport in Dilemma [#412s] with [sister-in-law] Flossie and [son] Sidney.
[1892-10-23] Sun 23: Very fine. Strong W to NW in p.m. Went to Narragansett Pier & Newport in Dilemma [#412s].
[1892-11-06] Sun 6: 1st black frost. Very fine & cool, mod[erate] NW & SW [wind]. Sailed around Rhode Island in Dilemma [#412s].
[1892-12-02] Fri 2: Fine, fresh SW [wind]. Hauled up Dilemma [#412s].
[1893-05-06] Sat 6: ... Dilemma [#412s] taken away by Com. [Latham] Fish. ..." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1891 to 1893. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection.)

"My Own Boats. Except a few that will be mentioned as half-owner. ...
13
1891 DILEMMA #412 - The first "fin and bulb" boat, jib and mainsail rig. Sold in 1892 to Gouverneur Kortwright and a larger rig added. I used her a little in fall of 1892 before becoming property of Latham Fish. [DILEMMA is on exhibit at the Herreshoff Marine Museum.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "My Own Boats. Except a few that Will be Mentioned as Half-Owner." Bristol, (originally compiled 1892 with additions in) 1929. In: Pinheiro, Carlton J. (ed.). Recollections and Other Writings by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Bristol, 1998, p. 115.)

"Dear Mr. Foster,
... In sailing on Gloriana in the Summer of 1891, I worked out the plans of my first bulb-and-plate-keel boat, Dilemma, and I built her that Fall just as an experiment. She proved very successful except that she was dull in light airs. We built about one hundred of that type in the decade following 1892. ...
Sincerely yours,
Nathanael G. Herreshoff" (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene. Letter to Charles H. W. Foster, dated March 6, 1932. Quoted in Foster, Charles H. W. The Eastern Yacht Club Ditty Box, 1870-1900. Norwood, Mass., 1932, p 139-141.)

"June 12, 1930 ...
Dear Mr. Stevens: [corrected to Stephens]
... I certainly do not agree with your silly remarks about DILEMMA 'that if I had fortitude to have her burned.' Far from it. The plate and bulb keel boats have their place, and they may crop out again when rules are favorable to lighter displacement craft. Of course the fin keel or catamaran are not type[s] for cruising yachts, any more than your canoes were. Nor a type for big yachts. But as I look back to the past, I enjoyed sailing my catamarans more than any type I ever had, and the fin keels come next. ...
Very truly yours,
Nathanael G. Herreshoff" (Source: Letter 3. From N. G. Herreshoff to W. P. Stephens, dated June 12, 1930. In: Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene and William Picard Stephens. "Their Last Letters 1930-1938." Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, R. I., ca. 1999, p. 19-21.)

"While sailing [GLORIANA], I conceived DILEMMA, and had her built and tried her out that fall and [the] following year." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Boats and Yachts that I have been Especially Interested in by Sailing and Some of Which I Have Owned." Bristol, April 1932. In: Pinheiro, Carlton J. (ed.). Recollections and Other Writings by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Bristol, 1998, p. 109.)

"That fall (1891), I had built, for myself, the DILEMMA as an experiment to get greater stability with moderate weight and wetted surface, and was the first of the fin and bulb type of which the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company built a large number in the following decade.
DILEMMA was about thirty-eight feet overall, twenty-seven feet waterline, and seven feet wide, with a rather large and heavy iron fin keel that had angle irons riveted to [the] upper edge [and] was held by vertical bolts that passed up through [the] floor timbers and sister keelsons. At the lower edge, there was a fish shaped lead of heavy weight cast over it. [The] rig was simple jib and mainsail. She proved very satisfactory and fast except in light airs, when [her] speed was not remarkable. ... I rerigged DILEMMA and sold her in the fall to Gouverneur Kortwright." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Some of the Boats I Have Sailed In." Written 1934. In: Pinheiro, Carlton J. (ed.). Recollections and Other Writings by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Bristol, 1998, p. 56-57.)

"Naturally the next step to securing sail carrying ability without increasing L.W.L. was the fin keeler. The first of these, Dilemma, was designed and owned by my father. She came out in 1891 and was soon followed by a great many others and they cleaned up nearly all the important classes in both England and this country. ... But if outside ballast had given trouble in hull structure when it was first used, the fin keeler gave much more trouble, so the Wise Men of the Club barred out fin keelers in toto, but it must be admitted that nearly all of these yachts that had been designed by the original inventor did not leak a particle, for their keels were scientifically secured to deep floor timbers. Not so, however, with the many imitations which leaked like crates." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. The Common Sense of Yacht Design. Vol. II. New York, 1948, p. 41.)

"Captain Nat's next sailboat was the famous finkeeler 'Dilemma' built in 1891. She was the first so-called fin and bulb keel boat, but as I am to describe her in a following chapter I will only say now that he used her but one season." (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. 117.)

"While Captain Nat was sailing 'Gloriana' his active mind worked out the structural problems which made the fin keeler possible. He used to say he did not invent the fin keel, that it had been invented before his time, but there is no doubt N. G. Herreshoff designed the first sizable boat that was to use a fin keel. Of course there had been many model yachts previously with a plate and bulb keel: there had been experiments with heavily weighted centerboards, and there had been some ill-shaped cast-iron keels tried which with a stretch of imagination might be called fin keels. But Captain Nat's 'Dilemma' was the first successful fin keeler. 'Dilemma' was built for himself and came out in the fall of 1891, the same year as 'Gloriana.' Her sail plan may look old-fashioned nowadays, the sails are of about the proportions then in vogue with the smaller yachts descended from the Sandbaggers. 'Dilemma' was a decided success and was followed by many other fin keelers. The Herreshoff Company built about one hundred of them in all, and in the few years before they were barred from racing they quite took the place of all other types." (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. 164-166.)

"When the designer of Gloriana was steering her in the races of 1891, his thoughts and imagination were stimulated and he conceived both the fin and bulb keels as means to acquire the stiffness to get more driving power from the sails, or to be able to carry more sail. ...
The first fin keeler was named Dilemma. She came out late in the season of 1891 and must have been built very quickly, but, as Mr. Herreshoff designed her for himself and had her built in his own yacht yard, I suppose they could proceed with the work at once without the delays of contracts, specifications, et cetera, but it seems remarkable to me that two such yachts as Gloriana and Dilemma should come out in the same year. Dilemma, although her low, long sails look old-fashioned today, was a very fast boat for her time. While Mr. Herreshoff said he did not invent the fin keelers, still everyone at the time considered Dilemma the first successful full-size yacht to have a fin keel. It is probable that model yachts and toy boats had been made with fin keels before, and experiments had been tried with weighted centerboards, but Mr. Herreshoff was the first to work out the problems of construction which allowed the fin keel to be safe and satisfactory on a sizeable boat." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. An Introduction to Yachting. New York, 1963, p. 100.)

"A novel and interesting feature of the yachting season of 1892 was the 'fin-keel' boat, a production of N. G. Herreshoff.
It will be seen from the cut below that some of the peculiarities of the 'Gloriana' form are embodied in this singular craft --- namely, the long overhang and the rounded elongation of the bilge to the extreme limits of the bow and stern.
The chief characteristic, however, is the fin, or in effect a fixed centreboard carrying a weight of lead on its lower edge sufficient to give the craft stability enough to balance the rigging and press of wind in the sails.
The most successful fin-keel boats have a length on water equal to three-and-a-half beams, and as the section of the hull is round or nearly so, stability is gained in a manner already explained.
The first of this style of craft was built and launched in the autumn of 1891, and was called 'Dilemma'; she had a very moderate-sized rig, the jib-stay being secured to the extreme point of the bow, but with this she easily beat the old style of cat-boat, and showed, besides unusual speed, many other desirable qualities.
In 1892 the fin-keel boat was generally introduced, three or four sailing in Boston waters, while New York, the Lakes, and Buzzard's Bay claimed one each to two in their home waters of Narragansett Bay.
The 'Wenona' [#415s] and 'Wee Winn,' [#425s] the first in the North and the latter in the South of England, showed our friends on the other side of the sea what their racing qualities were, which are soon told by referring to their record. ... The value of the fin-keel type in adding to the resources of yachting is limited; the type does not contribute anything of living value to yachting, it serves only as a means to show that old types can easily be beaten, but that it takes a 'machine' to do it. Fin-keels are, it is true, very pleasant to sail in, and they work beautifully, but the design is probably limited in size to 35- or 40-ft. water-line in length, for above that size the fin becomes a very troublesome adjunct in its handling and adjustment. When the boat is afloat the fin is not objectionable, but in taking the bottom by accident, or in hauling it out, it makes the boat most troublesome to handle.
Larger fin-keel boats have been projected, and one of 45 ft. length on water-line has just been built, but their success from a general view-point is highly questionable." (Source: Herreshoff, Lewis. "Yachting in America." In: Yachting. The Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes. Vol. II, Chapter VI. London, 1894, p. 267-270.)

"Bristol, Oct. 10 [1901]. --- For some time past the Herreshoffs have been engaged in the construction of what was generally conceded to be a novel craft. The utmost secrecy has been observed and absolutely no information could be obtained about the new craft. With still the same secrecy the new boat was launched yesterday [sic, i.e. on October 8, 1891], but no one knew anything about it, and only two or three workmen were present.
From the fact that the peculiar construction of the keel of this boat would not admit of its touching the floor of the shop, the boat was hoisted up in midair by the aid of the iron derricks that are used for hoisting boilers that are being constructed in this shop.
When all was in readiness the derricks were rolled along the iron tracks which run the length of the building, and with their queer burden were brought to the end of the building until the boat was fairly hanging over the deep water in the small canal which is located at the west end of the construction shop. She was then lowered easily until she rested on the water, and was drawn outside the building alongside the wharf. No mistake was made when this craft was named the 'Dilemma,' for it is a dilemma, at least to many of the old sailors for which the town is noted, and there were many expressions of wonder when the lines of the craft were seen.
The boat is 25 feet in length on the water line and about 39 feet over all. She is 7 feet beam and has for her keel about 875 pounds of iron and two tons of lead. Her stern is very similar to that of the Gloriana [#411s], and has an overhang of about 15 feet. She is a single-sticker without a bowsprit, and will only carry a mainsail and jib. As will be seen by the [accompanying wood]cut, the keel is nearly square from the side view and is of iron, while on the bottom are the two tons of lead moulded into the form of a cone and attached to the iron, making a knife-blade keel or centre board. Without this load of iron the hull of the craft looks like a dory.
The boat was probably built as an experiment, and if it is successful a larger one will probably be built. There is no cabin, a roomy cockpit being at the stern that will accommodate about five persons.
The Dilemma had a trial trip this afternoon and showed wonderful speed, and, it is said, will more than fulfil all expectations. [With woodcut showing sketched side view, section, and keel detail.]" (Source: Anon. "A Queer Boat is This. It Was Built for Speed and Is Known as the Dilemma." New York Sun, October 11, 1891, p. 18.)

"On Oct. 9 [1891] a new and curious craft was launched from the Herreshoff shops at Bristol, a 25-footer, designed by N. G.Herreshoff and named Dilemma. The hull is 39ft. over all, 25ft. l.w.l. and 7ft. beam, with a bow similar to Gloriana. The depth of hull is moderate, but underneath the main, keel is hung a steel plate, nearly rectangular in shape, to the bottom of which is bolted a cigar-shaped mass of lead. The steel plate weighs 883lbs, and the lead about 2 tons. The rig is a simple mainsail and jib, with no bowsprit. Of course the yacht has no cabin, merely a large cockpit." (Source: Anon. "A New Racing Machine." Forest and Stream, October 15, 1891, p. 261.)

"The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, of this quaint old town is just now enjoying a good deal of publicity and receiving no end of attention from the press on account of the launching this week of another 'wonder' in naval architecture, which is said to have been built in secret, under lock and key, by workmen whose lips have been sealed by a cast-iron, chilled-steel demand for absolute silence on the part of the company, says a Bristol (R.I.) special to the Boston Herald. It was asserted, recently, that a new 46-footer was being secretly built, and, later, that it was a new steam yacht, contracted for a successful rival of the Vamose [#168p], which was being built under lock and key. Nat Herreshoff was interviewed by the Herald correspondent to-day on that subject. He declared that there was not a word of truth in the story, and that it was a 'fake' pure and simple. The sliding doors of big boat-house were partly open at the time, and it needed but a glance to prove that Mr. Herreshoff was not making a misleading assertion.
'The boat so much fuss is being made made about is not what it is claimed to be. I built the Dilemma for my own use about the bay, in connection with my own boating business. You may say for me, and emphatically, that she has not been built for any outside party, and that she in not a race [sic]. I think very little of her model, and would not advise a larger or costly yacht to be built on her general lines. She is but 25 feet long on the water line, and is small-rigged. I built her as an experiment, and I am not satisfied with the results; but I did not build her under lock and key. The Dilemma is 39 feet over all and 7 feet beam, with iron keel weighted with more than 800 pounds of lead. Her overhung resembles that of the Gloriana [#411s], and she carries, as I have intimated, a small rig consisting of a jib and mainsail. She has no bowsprit.' ... 'Don't say much about the Dilemma, she is not worth noticing. She is my own property, is not a racer, wasn't intended for one, and I don't think much of her. I've said all this before; I'm simply emphasizing it to prevent the boating public from being misled.' " (Source: Anon. "The Herreshoff Dilemma. A 25-Footer With An Overhang Like That of The Gloriana." San Francisco Call, November 1, 1891, p. 3.)

"Mr. Herreshoff has designed a most peculiar craft, which is doubtless in the nature of an experiment. She is 38 feet over all, 25 feet on the water line, with a beam of 7 feet 6 inches, and a draught of only 20 inches. She somewhat resembles the half of a rather long watermelon with sharpened ends. Her ballast is in the shape of a cigar-shaped mass of lead suspended to a steel plate 4 feet deep forming a sort of stationary centreboard. She has excited the keenest sort of curiosity, and yachtsmen wonder what is coming next.
The old-fashioned school declares that this is the era of 'freaks' and 'contraptions.' When the scow-like Chippewa defeated the Burgess cutter Beth last August there was much surprise. When Mr. Thomas Clapham. of Roslyn, L. I., designed the remarkable boat he was the subject of a good deal of good-natured chaff, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the Chippewa's victory over everything in her class demonstrated that Mr. Clapham's ideas were correct. He is certainly the originator of the watermelon type of boat --- one of his queer craft indeed bearing that name; but the leaden cigar on a stationary steel centreboard is a purely Herreshoff adjunct. It would be impertinent for me to criticise anything emanating from the brain of Mr. Herreshoff. We must wait and see." (Source: Kenealy, A. J. "Yachting." Outing, November 1891, p. 25.)

".... Dilemma was designed and built late in the season by Mr. N. G. Herreshoff for experimental purposes, and though embodying an old idea, she is a novel and interesting craft. The hull is much like a canoe, long, narrow and of little depth, with a nearly flat floor and quick bilge, though with a strong rocker to the keel and an overhang to each end. Like a canoe, she has no proper keel, but has the same flush deck with a high crown and an elliptical opening for the crew.
The chief feature is the appendage by which she obtains her stability, her beam being but 7ft. and the hull proper drawing only a couple of feet. Underneath the center of the keel is securely bolted a steel plate, some 4ft deep and 6ft. long, to the lower edge of which is bolted a cylinder of lead with pointed ends, some 10in. in diameter. The plate weighs 883lbs. and the lead cylinder two tons, the total draft being between 5 and 6ft. The after overhang is quite long, and the sections are flat, as in Gloriana, but the bow is by no means so long. At the same time it overhangs the waterline considerably, while the full round sections give it the same character as Gloriana's, though at a mere glance the overhang is very different. The boat is rigged with a mainsail and jib only, the jib tack being fast to the stemhead. She is very fast, also very comfortable to sail in, being always on an even keel, or nearly so; and so far as safety from capsizing, speed, and ease of handling, the type is admirable for day sailing and racing. What would happen if the long vertical edge of the keel, either in this type or in the 46, bring up against instead of on a rock, is an interesting subject for conjecture. ..." (Source: Anon. (W. P. Stephens?) "Building at Bristol." Forest and Stream, December 10, 1891, p. 421.)

"... The Dilemma [#412s], the first of the type, was undoubtedly built, as has been previously pointed out in these columns [Boston Globe, January 10, 1892, p. 23], as an experiment, in view of the order for a two-and-a-half rater [#415s Wenonah] from abroad, where boats with fin keels, though not of so pronounced a type, were then in use.
The experiment was a success, and so the foreign order was filled with the second of the firm's ballast-fin productions. ..." (Source: Robinson, William E. "Has Come To Stay. Herreshoff's Opinion of the Ballast Fin. Shrewd Yacht Designer Tells Why He Believes in the New Type. Order for a 25-Footor for New York. Work on Hand at the Bristol Shops." Boston Globe, January 24, 1892, p. 22.)

"Gouverneur Kortright of the New-York Yacht Club has bought the Herreshoff twenty-five-foot racing machine Dilemma, the first of the Herreshoff fin-keel boats. The Dilemma was the forerunner of the new forty-six-foot yacht Wasp, and all of the finkeel boats of this year. She was built last Fall, and proved to be remarkably fast in all kinds of weather. The boats of this type are best described by saying they are like a canoe with a lump of lead suspended from the bottom to give sail-carrying power."(Source: Anon. "The Dilemma Sold." New York Times, May 11, 1892, p. 2.)

"Mr. Latham A. Fish, owner of the schooner Grayling, has bought the fin-keel Dilemma, designed by Nat G. Herreshoff for Commodore Morgan. Mr. Governeur Kortright, of the New York Yacht Club, owned her for a time, and had some splendid sails in her. She was fully described and illustrated in the July, 1892, number of Outing. Being the first ballast-fin craft turned out by the Bristol firm, her change of ownership is an interesting item of news. Commodore Fish has recently devoted his leisure hours to sailing a catboat in the waters near his lovely country seat at Greenpoint, L. I. Some of the old-fashioned boatmen thereabouts will think their eyes deceive them when they gaze at the witch-like way the Dilemma walks to windward. She is not, however, near so fast as the Drusilla [#417s], also a Herreshoff craft." (Source: Kenealy, A. J. "Yachting." Outing, June 1893, p. 53.)

"Dilemma, launched by Herreshoff on October 9, 1891, ... is a 25-footer, and though embodying an old idea, she is interesting. Her hull is much like a canoe, long, narrow, and of little depth (the hull being 39 feet over all, the length load waterline being 25 feet and the beam 7 feet), with a nearly flat floor and quick bilge, though with a strong rocker to the keel and an overhang to each end.
Like a canoe she has no proper keel, but has the same flush deck with a high crown and an elliptical opening for the crew. The chief feature is the appendage by which she obtains her stability. Underneath the main keel is hung a steel plate, 4 feet deep and 6 feet long, nearly rectangular in shape, to the bottom of which is bolted a cigar-ghaped mass of lead some 10 inches in diameter. The plate weighs 883 lbs., and the lead cylinder 2 tons, the total draft being between 5 and 6 feet. The after overhang is quite long, and the sections are flat as in Gloriana, but the bow is by no means so long. At the same time it overhangs the waterline considerably, while the full round sections give it the same character as Gloriana, though at a mere glance the overhang is very different. She is very fast, also very comfortable to sail in, being always on an even keel or nearly so; and as far as safety from capsizing, speed and ease of handling the type is concerned, she is admirable for day sailing and racing. [This section copied verbatim from 'Forest and Stream,' Dec. 10, 1891.]
The 'Ballast Fin,' just described, has been spoken of by laymen as something quite unique in naval architecture, while in the 'Transactions of the Institute of Naval Architects,' numerous modifications of this idea can be found long before Dilemma was constructed.
There can be but little doubt that for a racing machine the 'Ballast Fin' is an excellent adjunct." (Source: Mott, Henry Augustus. Yachts and Yachtsmen of America. New York, 1894, p. 97.)

"SHELTER ISLAND HEIGHTS, N.Y., July 21 [1894]. --- The second special regatta of the Shelter Island Yacht Club was sailed this afternoon over a course in Deering Harbor and Gardiner's Bay. The wind was fairly steady, a trifle too slack at times, but, aside from that, the afternoon was ideal for sailing, and every yacht and craft in the harbor not in the race was out to see the contest. About twenty boats were entered, of which eighteen finished. The feature of the race was the test of new fin keels which were added to the club this year for the purpose of defeating Edmund Fish's racer, Dilemma, which has been master of the sea in her class for the past three seasons.
The Wildcat, Mr. Olmstead's new fin keel, did not finish, but broke her rigging on the second round, and dropped out. The other two new ones, the Consternation, owned by John W. Stearns, and Commodore Lynch's boat, Lynx, were not in it with the Dilemma from the start, and Mr. Fish easily won, with the Lynx second. The Dilemma was designed by Herreshoff, and is the first fin keel ever sailed in these waters, and is likely to be the fastest of her kind for some time. ..."(Source: Anon. "The Dilemma Won. The Fin-Keel Boats Failed to Beat Mr. Fish's Crack." New York Times, July 22, 1894, p. 3.)

"I fancy that the virtual walkover of Mr. Latham A. Fish's Dilemma in the races of the Shelter Island Yacht Club last Saturday, has rather knocked the interest out of fin keel racing in that locality for this season, and considering the disastrous failure of the enterprising members of the club who endeavored to build something to beat her, it seems doubtful whether any other attempt of the kind will be made for some time to come. If so, it would seem that the Herreshoffs must be called into requisition, for the victory was a decided triumph for them. Mr. Fish remarked, it is said, that the Dilemma was to be his last effort in the boat building line, and that he intended she should distance everything in her class. Last year she was barred from all the races of the Shelter Island Yacht Club, though she went over the course several times with the other boats, or rather left them all behind, and clearly showed her superiority. Since then three other fin keels have been built --- Eidolon and Consternation, built by Olmstead for Mr. R. H. Crosby and Mr. John N. Stearns respectively, and the Wild Cat. These four yachts were put in a class by themselves. Mr. Edmund Fish sailed the Dilemma himself, and though the newspapers made much of his proverbial seamanship, the disparity between his boat and the others was so great that that factor was scarcely to be estimated." (Source: Anon ("The Governor.") "Among the Clubs." Brooklyn Life, July 28, 1894, p. 14-15.)

"GREENPORT, L. I., Oct. 10 [1894]. --- The damage to shipping here is very heavy. L. A. Fish's fin-keel yacht, designed by Herreshoff, was swept from her moorings, and struck on the stone breakwater. She is a total wreck. ..." (Source: Anon. "Severe on Long Island. Damage Done in Many Localities. Great Number of Yachts Lost." New York Times, October 11, 1894, p. 1.)

"The famous yacht Dilemma, built by the Herreshoffs and owned by Nathan [sic, i.e. Latham] A. Fish of New York, and commanded by Capt. Norman Perry, dragged her anchorage off Mr. Fish's cottage, L. I., on Wednesday [October 10, 1894] morning in the heavy gale, and was dashed against the breakwater and became a total wreck. She was the fastest 21 footer built by the firm and was never beaten in a race." (Source: Anon. "Home News." Bristol Phoenix, October 13, 1894, p. 2.)

"The famous fin keel yacht Dilemma, which was wrecked off Greenport, L. I., in one of the gales last month, is to be rebuilt. 'Ed.' Fish, who owns the boat, says one side of the yacht was saved. This was sent to Parker Hollock's yard at Centre Moriches, and a new Dilemma will be constructed on the lines of the old boat. Capt. Terry is superintending the work. The Dilemma was built by the Herreshoffs, and had never been beaten." (Source: Anon. "Dilemma to be Rebuilt." New York Times, November 18, 1894, p. 3.)

"... In small boats Mr. Herreshoff has certainly been very successful with his fins. The Dilemma, the first of her type, was still champion of her class up to the time she was wrecked last year. ..." (Source: Anon. "May Be A Big Fin Keel." New York Times, February 3, 1895, p. 15.)

"... Capt. Terry is working at the Dilemma, and thinks he can make her nearly as good as new. If he does, it will be a big feather in his cap, and her owner can get considerable fun out of her yet. ..." (Source: Anon. "News of Yachts and Yachtsmen." New York Times, March 6, 1895, p. 6.)

"The fin keel Herreshoff racer Dilemma is well known to many Brooklynites who make Shelter Island or Greenport their rendezvous during the summer season. In many respects the Dilemma is a phenomenon. She was built some three years ago at the Herreshoff works, Bristol, R. I. , and is the property of Latham A. Fish, one of the leading spirits in yachting-circles who is also the owner of the famous schooner yacht Grayling. In the production of the Dilemma the owner and builder spared neither time nor money to make her what she really proved to be, one of the fastest boats of her size afloat. Many yachts have been built after her lines, but none has yet succeeded in beating her. She is 20 feet 6 inches over all and her peculiar appearance would at once strike the experienced eye of one versed in the building of racers. There is not a square corner or angle on the entire boat from stem to stern and when she skims over the water under full sail an observer can not but admire her working qualities: She is fitted with a fin keel at the lower edge of which is a cigar shaped lead bulb some 10 feet in length and about 1 foot in diameter at the center. She carries jib, mainsail and an immense spinnaker, which is used on racing occasions , but even then she rarely sets the last named sail, her speed being so great that it is usually unneccessary. In all she has won some dozen races in which were the fast racing yachts Consternation, Lynx, Wild Cat and others. The Wild Cat, alhough a very fast boat, was wholly unable to rate with the Dilemma. Captain Norman L. Terry, who last year served as sail trimmer on board the Vigilant, in her great races with the Valkyrie, and who will be on board the new Defender in the coming races this season, has charge of the Dilemma in her races, and is at present at Greenport preparing her for the summer campaign. The Dilemma of the present day is a second edition, however, and it remains to be seen whether she will sustain the wonderful record of the former boat, which broke away from her mooring in the harbor in the vicinity of Mr. Fish's summer home during the great gale of last September and was dashed to pieces on the big breakwater erected by the government at the entrance to Greenport harbor. After the gale had abated, the fin and one side of the ill fated yacht were recovered and towed on a float to Fordham's ways, where early last fall the remnants were taken to Moriches, L. I., and Builder Hallock, an experienced shipwright, rebuilt the present Dilemma from the old lines. The new edition is an exact counterpart of the old one and it now remains to be seen whether she will be as swift a craft as the former." (Source: Anon. "The New Dilemma. Built From the Lines of the Wrecked Yacht." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 20, 1895, p. 5.)

"Last Saturday Latham Fish, of [schooner] Grayling fame and international yacht racing fame, accompanied by the 'skipper,' his son, Captain Terry, who was responsible for Vigilant's wins against Valkyrie II in 1893, and a few boom companions of the 'skipper,' quietly took train for Greenport to 'try out' Dilemma II, built this winter in a small but very select little shipyard on the south side of Long Island. Dilemma I, it will be recalled, was driven upon the rocks at Greenport last fall in a heavy blow. One of her sides was completely demolished by the sharp rocks; the other was not so much as bruised, nor was the fin damaged beyond a few dents, though pounding upon the rocky bottom during the entire storm. With the one side intact it was not a difficult matter to get a mould and all necessary measurements. The trial of the new boat was very satisfactory, and she will need but little 'tuning up' in order to skip over the beautiful waters about Shelter Island with the sun beam quickness of Dilemma I, unconquered save by a storm and the fastest boat of her inches Herreshoff ever sent off the ways at Bristol." (Source: Anon. "Sports of the Amateur". Brooklyn Life, May 25, 1895, p. 14.)

"Mr. Edward Fish's new Dilemma, built on the lines of the boat which swept all before her in the races of the Shelter Island Yacht Club last season, proved herself, if not as fast as her predecessor, quite able to outsail anything which the members of the club can at present bring against her. This was last Saturday in the postponed Fourth of July regatta, when she beat her two fin keel rivals, R. B. Lynch's Lynx, and John N. Stearn's Consternation, by about half a mile, leading from the start. ..." (Source: Anon. "Sports of the Amateur". Brooklyn Life, July 20, 1895, p. 14.)

"... However, before building these boats [#416s Alpha, #420s Reaper, and #423s Vanessa], the Bristol designer had turned out the most radical boat for years, the ballast fin 25-footer, the Dilemma. Inquiry about her at the office of the Herreshoffs by a wideawake newspaper man, who was on the editorial staff of the Providence Journal at that time, brought forth the reply from the president of the Bristol house: 'The Dilemma is only an experiment. She is hardly worth giving serious thought to.' I have quoted my journalist coworker with care, to show how the Bristol man tried to throw off an innocent newspaper man, and the latter acknowledged to me that he did it with success.
To those who follow the study of yacht and naval architecture this excuse went for but little, because the elements of the ballast fin in favor of speed were so many that an exhaustive study of the type of boat was not needed. So far as I know, the Dilemma led off in the ballast fin, as known today. True, Gen. Gerrard of Fronte-nac, Minn., has letters patent on it issued at Washington, D. C, in 1885, and besides, he built ballast fins years before Herreshoff did. Gen. Gerrard is an intelligent gentleman, a graduate of Harvard College, and I strongly believe, he is entitled to the credit of being the first man to take out a patent on the type of boat.
Unlike the ballast fin of the Herreshoffs, where the fin is made of Tobin bronze, with the lead bulbs attached to the bottom, the bulb and fin of Gen. Gerrard's boats, were cast in one piece and were made of iron.
I had a talk with Designer Herreshoff over the patent, and he said. 'I do not claim to have a patent on it, or to have invented it. My father used bulb fins on boats in Narragansett bay years ago, and they were used by others before he used them.'
If Gen. Gerrard invented the ballast fin, Designer Herreshoff improved on it, and the ballast fin boat as raced today is justly his, because, he struck out on original ideas of build and attachments, which others have since copied. So, when the statement is made, that Designer Herreshoff in the Dilemma, struck out into an advanced originality and produced a yacht of a type and style never before built, it is in accord with facts. ..." (Source: Mcvey, A. G. "Are World Famous. The Herreshoffs and Their Speedy Boats. Review of the Work of the Noted Builders." Boston Herald, ca. July 1895, no page (undated newspaper article from a yachting scrapbook compiled by A. S. Thayer, Claas van der Linde collection).

" 'DILEMMA,' THE FIRST FIN KEEL
An Early Racing Machine by the 'Wizard of Bristol' By CLIFFORD D. MALLORY
To any American yachtsman who remembers the 90's or early 1900's, even though he may have been in short pants at the time, the name Dilemma stands for an era in yachting that is of the greatest importance.
Dilemma was designed, I believe, for Bert and Eddie Fish by N. G. Herreshoff and built at Bristol in 1891. She was such a departure from the existing type of racing yacht that she was looked upon askance and commented upon as being a freak. Dilemma was the first of the spoon-bowed, fin keel yachts built in this country. Her ends were long for that era and the forward overhang was exactly opposite in model to those of all the racing yachts of the period. Their lines forward were hollow, some of them having straight stems and others having what were called 'clipper bows,' whereas this modern 'freak' appeared with full, round sections carried out into what was called a 'spoon bow.' For lateral plane, a bronze plate with a lead bulb on the lower edge was used. This was a decided departure from either the centerboard. with which many yachts of this size were equipped, or the ballasted wooden fins which blended into the hull form. The rudder was not attached to the keel, as in the normal keel boat, but was a separate appendage made of bronze, somewhat the shape of a spade, with some area forward of the rudder stock providing for a balancing effect. The boat was 38' 1 1/2" in length over all, 27' 6" on the water line, 7' 2 1/2" beam, 5' 9" draft of keel, 1' 8 1/2" draft of hull.
About four years ago, Hugh Savage, a young friend of my son Clifford, told me the astonishing news that a boat named Dilemma was on the beach or shore front of Mortimer Buckner's place on Fishers Island. I could hardly believe my ears, as I presumed that Dilemma had been destroyed many years before. I got in touch with Mr. Buckner, who informed me that Miss Julia Fish, a sister of Bert and Eddie, had presented the yacht to him about ten years previously. I told Mr. Buckner of the historical importance of Dilemma's preservation as an example of the modern type and asked him if he would he willing to present the boat to The Mariners' Museum at Newport News. This museum makes a specialty of preserving small vessels typical of all sections of the world. Mr. Buckner said that he would be glad to do this, provided Miss Fish approved; he got in touch with her and she gave her consent.
Captain Roger Williams, of The Mariners' Museum, and I visited Fishers Island in the summer of 1938 and inspected Dilemma in her position on the east side of the island near a small rock-bound cove. We were astonished to find that, although she lacked paint, her seams were still closed and, as far as we could see, she was sound and would float without any repairs being made. Captain Williams readily accepted the offer that Mr. Buckner made to present the yacht to the Museum and arrangements were made to move her from her precarious position where she was exposed to every storm. Without too much difficulty, she was floated to the west side of the harbor and arrangements were made to tow her from New London to New York with one of our small tramp vessels. As the fin keel and rudder had been removed, we had some difficulty in towing her but it was accomplished without disastrous results. Dilemma was then loaded on one of our tramp vessels and delivered to Newport News, where The Mariners' Museum took possession. She was later removed to the yard of the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company where she is being reconditioned by five apprentices, working in their spare time. A new lead bulb has been cast and a suit of sails ordered from Ratsey. It is expected that she will be in commission this summer.
All this was accomplished only a few weeks before the terrible hurricane of September 21st, 1938. Without question, if the Dilemma had not been removed, there would not have remained enough of her to distribute as mementoes of a fine vessel.
In view of the missing keel, it was most desirable that drawings of the original keel and rudder be located so that the Museum might replace them. Sidney Herreshoff and his mother, Mrs. Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, both became much interested in the matter and eventually located the original drawings, not only of the keel and rudder but also of the spars and rigging. All these have been delivered to the Museum, for use in restoring Dilemma to her original condition. The mast, boom and gaff and, I believe, a short bowsprit, were in Mr. Buckner's possession and went to the Museum with Dilemma.
Writing in 1894, Lewis Herreshoff said: 'The first of this style of craft was built and launched in the autumn of 1891, and was called Dilemma; she had a very moderate-sized rig but she easily beat the old style of cat boat and showed, besides unusual speed, many other desirable qualities.
In 1892, the fin keel boat was generally introduced, three or four sailing in Boston waters, while New York, the Lakes, and Buzzard's Bay claimed one each to two in their home waters of Narragansett Bay.
The Wenonah and Wee Winn, the first in the North and the latter in the South of England, showed our friends on the other side of the sea what their racing qualities were, which are soon told by referring to their record. Out of twenty starts made by Wenonah, she won 17 firsts, 2 second and 1 third prizes, and her sister in the South was even more fortunate, winning 20 first and 1 second prizes out of 21 starts. ... The value of the fin keel type in adding to the resources of yachting is limited; the type does not contribute anything of living value to yachting, it serves only as a means to show that old types can easily be beaten, but that it takes a 'machine' to do it.'
Note: This article, which in published posthumously, was delayed in publicalion pending the reconstruction of the yacht by the Mariners' Museum. Mr. Mallory was responsible for the presentation of the yacht to the Museum and for her rehabilitation.
Illustr.:
'Dilemma' was the first of the spoon-bowed, fin keel yachts built in this country. (Courtesy Miss Julia A. Fish)
As she lay on the beach at Fishers Island, she looked battered but her seams were still tight. (Courtesy Mariners' Museum.)
She had a canoe-like hull, with her ballast concentrated in a lead bulb on the lower edge of a deep bronze fin which provided the necessary lateral plane. Her rig was long on the base and low, according to today's standards, and her sail area was about 760 square feet. This sail plan is dated 1892 and the original rig is presumably that shown in dotted lines. Note the 'pivot jib' and the curved gaff." (Source: Mallory, Clifford D. " 'Dilemma,' The First Fin Keel. An Early Racing Machine by the 'Wizard Of Bristol.' " Yachting, July, 1941, p. 45-46.)

"'DILEMMA,' BROUGHT UP TO DATE
By ALEXANDER C. BROWN
AN interesting article by the late Clifford D. Mallory on the Herreshoff fin keel yacht Dilemma, launched in October, 1891 (Yachting, July, 1941, pp. 45-6), makes it appropriate to continue the account to chronicle the successful rehabilitation of this historic vessel for The Mariners' Museum. Mr. Mallory stated that the yacht was designed by Captain N. G. Herreshoff for the Fish brothers but, on tracing her ownership in Lloyd's, it appears that Captain 'Nat' kept her himself for the first season (1892) and that G. Kortright owned her the year following. But, in 1894, she is listed as belonging to Edmund Fish, of Brooklyn, and later to Latham A. Fish.
As stated by Mr. Mallory, some time after the yacht reached Newport News, Va. (incidentally, as deck load on a Mallory Line steamer), she was turned over to a group of Apprentice School students in the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company who, under the 'master-carpentership' of William H. Osborne, knuckled down to rebuild the boat in their spare time. Jack Stevens drew up the working plans from data obtained from the Herreshoffs and elsewhere and the following young men did the actual work: T. J. Morgan, J. H. Nicholson, Jr., J A. Maclay, Jr., W. A. Walls, L. R. Holliday, L. V. Mitchell and R. J. Osborne.
Anyone connected with the shipbuilding industry will realize that today spare time is a rare commodity; the successful culmination of the job was directly due to the interest and enthusiasm of the apprentice group. Equally important was the cooperation extended by shipyard personnel and officials, from President Homer L. Ferguson and Vice President Captain Roger Williams down.
Among many others who contributed to the restoration the following must be mentioned: T. A. McMillan, of W. H. McMillan's Sons, who contributed gratis blocks and hardware for the boat; Ernest Ratsey, of Ratsey & Lapthorn, and Merriman Brothers, Inc., whose prices for furnishing new sails and equipment made it possible for them to be acquired on the Museum's slim budget.
Although she was turned over to this Institution in 1938, Dilemma's restoration did not begin until the fall of 1940 when the boat was taken over to a quiet corner of the Newport News Shipyard and the work of getting her in shape was started. Taking stock of the vessel as she lay, it was found that, in addition to lacking the fin keel with its lead bulb, the yacht was without both standing and running rigging and sails; the stringers were cut in the way of the keel, the planking was stove in places, and two frames were broken.
Work went on steadily during the winter and spring and, finally, all spick and span in her new paint, Dilemma was relaunched on July 19th, 1941, and towed to a mooring off the Hampton Yacht Club, to be rigged. Shortly afterwards, she had her first trial spin and demonstrated handily that she had retained the turn of speed for which she was famous half a Century ago.
Dilemma was in commission and used through the summer but will ultimately come to The Mariners' Museum. Here she will be permanently displayed as a Joint memorial to the designing genius of Captain Nathanael Greene Herreshoff and to the yachting enthusiasm and skill of Clifford D. Mallory who was, in fine, the person responsible for the preservation of this historic vessel.
Illustr.:
Six of the Apprentice School students working on the old boat in a corner of the great Newport News yard. (Photo courtesy. The Mariners' Museum.)
Rebuilt and rerigged as she was in 1892, 'Dilemma' goes out for a sail-stretching spin. She slips along easily in the light air and seems to have retained her old speed. Note the manner in which the jib is rigged, like the 'pivot jib' of the Chesapeake canoes, and the high peaked mainsail and long boom. (Photo courtesy. The Mariners' Museum.)" (Source: Brown, Alexander C. " 'Dilemma,' Brought Up To Date." Yachting, November 1941, p. 35, 72.)

"In 1891, besides setting the yacht-racing fraternity on its ear with the revolutionary sloop Gloriana, NGH designed the first fin-keeler, the 25-foot LWL sloop Dilemma [#412s], which is preserved at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia. (A fin-keeler consisted of a scowlike, shallow-bodied hull from which hung a thin vertical, steel plate with a heavy, streamlined lead casting fastened along its lower edge. This short keel, located near the middle of the boat, combined with a spade or pendant-type separated rudder aft of it, resulted in an extremely quick-turning --- and therefore exceptionally sporty --- boat.) The Herreshoff Mfg. Co. built fin-keelers throughout the 1890s. Other builders soon followed suit, and as a type the fin-keelers became popular all up and down the East Coast. ..." (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 54.)

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled offset booklet, untitled, with note on first page '25ft w.l. for N.G.H. [#189105es] June 1891. Sale 3/4in to ft. Frame spaces 12in'. On second page there is also a heavily crossed out note 'Offsets for DILEMMA [#412s], the first fin keel boat built in fall of 1891'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Offset Booklet. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE02_01900. Folder [no #]. 1891-06.)
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:] Penciled half-breadth plan and inboard profile of what appears to #412s DILEMMA. Undated, but this may well be the original sketch made for DILEMMA which might date it around the summer of 1891." (Source: Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0629. Penciled Half-Breadth Plan. WRDT08, Folder 47. No date (1891-07 ???).)
① ②

"[Item Transcription:] Handwritten (in ink and pencil) notes booklet titled in ink '33ft LWL Cutter [#188702es Unbuilt Centerboard Cutter for N. G. Herreshoff]. 1887. Mr. Nat'l Herreshoff. R.M.[?] Dunbars[?] Ast. [this name crossed out]'. Relevant contents:
§19: #412s DILEMMA Blocks & Cleats (1891-09)
§21: #412s DILEMMA Rig Weights." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Notes Booklet. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE07_03290. Folder [no #]. 1887-05 to 1891-09.)
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:] Colored ink on paper construction plan with plan view, midship section and inboard profile titled 'DILEMMA. #412. Scale 3/4in = 1ft'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Inked Construction Plan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0261. WRDT04, Folder 24, formerly MRDE08. No date (1891-09 ?).)
①

"[Item Description:] Penciled spar plan detail showing the stack at the mast head and position of eyes for quarterlifts. Titled 'DILEMMA [#412s]'. With instructions 'Put on iron ring, then Headstay, then port and starboard shrouds, with throat halliard pennant on top'. On verso a penciled dimensioned sketch of quarter lifts." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0631. WRDT08, Folder 47. No date (1891-09 ?).)
① ②

"[Item Description:] Penciled spar plan titled 'DILEMMA [#412s]. Sept 1891. Spars for 25ft rater for N.G.H.'" (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Spar Plan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0646. WRDT08, Folder 47. 1891-09.)
① ②

"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections with radials titled 'Enlarged from DILEMMA [#412s]'. On verso of upper half of blank form titled 'Statistics of American Yachts, For the American Yacht List'. Undated, the form has a printed note 'Form 112-3000-15, 2, [18]92' suggesting a date of 1892 or later." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE05_00770. Folder [no #]. No date (1892 or later).)
① ② ③

"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections with radials and calculations titled 'DILEMMA, #412, scale 3/4in. [blank] Length w.l.'. On verso of lower half of blank form titled 'For Steam Yachts' (upper half, filed elsewhere) is titled 'Statistics of American Yachts, For the American Yacht List'). Undated, the the upper half of this form has a printed note 'Form 112-3000-15, 2, [18]92' suggesting a date of 1892 or later." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE05_00800. Folder [no #]. No date (1892 or later).)
① ② ③

"[Item Description:] Typewritten and penciled table with data for 'Date of Order', '[Hull] No.', 'Name', 'Length on W.L.', 'Beam', 'Draft', 'Rig', 'Keel or Centerboard Keel', 'Ballast' for #400s CONSUELO, #401s ROMP, #402s CLARA, #403s CALYPSO, #404s COQUINA, #405s ALICE, #406s IRIS, #407s BIRD, #408s PELLICAN[sic], #409s GANNET, #410s MAB, #411s GLORIANA, #412s DILEMMA, #413s SAYONARA, #414s WASP, #415s WENONAH, #416s ALPHA, #417s DRUSILLA, #418s EL CHICO, #419s COQUINA 2ND, #420s REAPER and #421s BEE. Undated (data until 1891 is typewritten, thereafter penciled, suggesting that the table was prepared in January 1892 before EL CHICO, the first boat with a penciled year, was contracted for)." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Construction Record Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_04530. Folder [no #]. No date (1892-01 ?).)
①

"[Item Description:] Untitled, penciled table providing data for L (WLW), D (Displacement in Tons net), T (measurement tens[? or tons?], S (Sail area), L * sq-rt(S) / 15* cube-rt(D), L * sq-rt(S) / 18* cube-rt(D), and (sq-rt(S) + L) / 2 on the X-axis for the following boats: DILEMMA [#412s], 2 1/2 rater [apparently #415s WENONAH], 35ft E.D. Morgan [#417s DRUSILLA], GANNET [#409s], PELICAN [#408s], ALICE [#405s], CLARA [#402s], CONSUELO [#400s], COQUINA [#404s], BIRD [#407s], 21' [#???s], GLORIANA [#411s], 46 Rodgers [#414s WASP], GRACIE, KATRINA, SHAMROCK, and HURON. Two penciled tables on verso: One showing max speed in miles and kots and wind required for lengths ranging from 35 to 80ft, the other appearing to show required wind speeds for max hull speeds for boats ranging from 30 to 80ft. On envelope labeled 'Immediate. United States Weather Report.' Undated, but postmarked 'Jan 19, 1892.'" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_72740. Measuring and Measurement Rules (Box 2), Folder B2F04, formerly MRDE15. No date (1892-01-19 or later).)
① ②

"[Item Description:] Penciled sketch titled 'Jibboom for DILEMMA [#412s]. April 1892. #412'. On verso a rough dimensioned sketch of a cockpit section" (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0630. WRDT08, Folder 47. 1892-04.)
① ②

"[Item Description:] Colored ink on paper sailplan with no dimensions titled 'DILEMMA, Number 412 [#412s]; 27 June [18]92'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Inked Sailplan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0628. WRDT08, Folder 47. 1892-06-27.)
① ②

"[Item Description:] Two sets of annotated displacement curves, untitled. Some of the annotations from the first set read 'Above lead 89ft w.l.', '89ft w.l. keel total', '89ft w.l. Body part', 'Lead #450 [ISOLDE]', and '#450'. Some of the annotations from the second set read '90ft (body)', '34.3[ft] w.l. made Dec[ember] [18]93', '#450', '# 339 [???]', '#412 [DILEMMA]', '#440 [DAKOTAH]', and 'Torpedo boat'. Undated (the latest boat mentioned, ISOLDE, was contracted for November 12, 1894)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Displacement Curves. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_09540. Folder [no #]. No date (1894-11 or later).)
① ②

"[Item Description:] Almost unreadable penciled table on the back of an envelope comparing a number of boats and giving data for LWL, SA, displ., etc. for a number of unreadable craft including #412s DILEMMA, #414s WASP and #437s VIGILANT. Undated (1890s?)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_71390. Measuring and Measurement Rules (Box 1), Folder B1F06, formerly MRDE15. No date (1890s ?).)
①

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled table listing w.l., Displacement in lbs and cuft, cube-root of displacement in cuft, w.l. divided by cube-root of displacement in cuft, % of displacement in keel & rudder and sqrt(SA) / cube-root(Disp in cuft) for #463s [Newport 30] class, #412s DILEMMA, #440s DAKOTAH, #446s ALERION, #450s NIAGARA and #453s VAQUERO II. On verso rating and design-related notes and calculations titled '[Newport] 30ft class'. Undated; the Newport 30 class was designed in December 1895 and January 1896." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_04230. Folder [no #]. No date (1895 or later).)
① ②

"[Item Description:] reminiscences of #412s DILEMMA, #411s GLORIANA, sailing on #437s VIGILANT on the Solent, James Herreshoff, old workshop, roles were changed back then and Herreshoff helped Sharpe not Sharpe helps Herreshoff, hopes the war has left no scars, also postcard" (Source: Sharpe, Lucien, Jr. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_04150. Correspondence, Folder 15, formerly 107. 192(3)-04-03.)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦

"[Item Description:] #437s VIGILANT, AMERICA, THISTLE, VALKYRIE II, TITANIA, SVERIGE, MARIA, RAINBOW, SEA WITCH, MISCHIEF, PRISCILLA, SHAMROCK I, SHAMROCK III, #412s DILEMMA, #400s CONSUELO, #402s CLARA, #409s GANNET, WHIRLWIND; [This letter published as 'Letter Four' in Herreshoff, Stephens. Their Last Letters 1930-1938. Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, RI, 1988, p. 25.]" (Source: Stephens, William P. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_20600. Correspondence, Folder 59. 1930-07-10.)
① ②

"[Item Description:] feel strongly that it is nice to be remembered, went to Butler [Duncan]'s funeral the other day and those who had been interested in the International Races seemed to come out in a group together but apparently I had been forgotten, have passed some of the time in writing up some of my recollections, DILEMMA [#412s] and our interest in the first of the little fin keels, those were the great days, weren't they?, what a pioneer the PELICAN [#408s] was, the model you gave me, I admire it more and more every day, I even think more about it than the [#411s] GLORIANA because the PELICAN was the pioneer and the GLORIANA was the result, NGH reply: you and Ollie Iselin were most important for the International Races, my eyes are poor and Ann will read to me, I owe my life and good health to her care and oversight, some few years ago I thought my knowledge of yacht rules would be valuable and foolishly worked up rules that I thought would be of use to the present yachtsmen, but not a single one has been accepted, but reading over the British Int'l Dinghy Rules I was struck by certain faults and this prompted me to make some rules for 14ft dinghies, based on my experiences in sailing small light-displacement boats that can be kept out of the water, a recreation that I was very fond of, think of me as an admiring and loving friend" (Source: Morgan, E.D. (incl NGH reply). Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_38960. Correspondence, Folder 77, formerly 62. 1933-05-19.)
① ②

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #412s Dilemma even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Morgan, Tom. "The 1940 Restoration of Dilemma." Herreshoff Marine Museum Chronicle, Fall 1998, p. 2-4. (71 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Herreshoff Marine Museum. Vessel biography. Restoration report.
• Pinheiro, Carlton J. "Dilemma Returns to Bristol." Herreshoff Marine Museum Chronicle, Fall 1998, p. 1, 2, 4. (150 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Herreshoff Marine Museum. Vessel biography. Restoration report.

• Dilemma (HMCo-made index card)
• Dilemma and #412p Ostrich (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: Dilemma
Type: J & M
Length: 25'
Owner: Herreshoff, N. G.

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

• Dilemma
• 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: Dilemma
Type: 26' 6" sloop; the first bulb fin keeler built and now in museum at Newport News.
Owner: N. G. Herreshoff
Year: 1891
Row No.: 159

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: 1891
E/P/S: S
No.: 0412
Name: Dilemma
LW: 25' 0"
B: 7' 4"
D: 5' 9"
Rig: J & M
K: FK
Ballast: Lead
Notes Constr. Record: Keel blade steel; Lengthened 28" 18[??]
Notes Bray: Now at Mariners Museum, Hampton Roads, VA (1993)
Last Name: Herreshoff
First Name: N. G.

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: William P. Stephens Collection (Coll. 91), Manuscripts Collection, G. W. Blunt White Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Box 2, Folder 29. Papers pertaining to the yacht DILEMMA, built by Nat Herreshoff in 1891, including letters and a clipping; 1941." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. September 2, 2010.)

"The HMCo Construction Record lists Dilemma's contract date as 1891-02-27. But note that N. G. Herreshoff himself says in his diary that work began only on 1891-09-01." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. November 14, 2011.)

"Built in 37 days (setup to launch; equivalent to 216 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"[Sail area (760 sq ft).]" (Source: Mallory, Clifford D. " 'Dilemma,' The First Fin Keel. An Early Racing Machine by the 'Wizard Of Bristol.' " Yachting, July, 1941, p. 46.)

"Displacement 8003lbs from actual weighing as per NGH design booklet entry dated September 4, 1891." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. September 17, 2014.)

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