HMCo #417s Drusilla

"[1891-11-05] Thu 5: ... Mr. M[organ] ordered 35 ft. jib & mainsail boat [#417s Drusilla].
[1892-03-26] Sat 26: Mr. Morgan [owner of among others #409s Gannet, #411s Gloriana and #417s Drusilla] here.
[1892-05-27] Fri 27: Launched #417 [Drusilla] & took on wharf. ...
[1892-05-28] Sat 28: Launched Iris [#406s], #423 Vanessa, also #417 [Drusilla] from wharf. ...
[1892-06-04] Sat 4: Tried Drusilla, #417.
[1892-06-05] Sun 5: Went to Newport in [#417s] Drusilla.
[1892-06-06] Mon 6: Yacht [Goelet] cup race [in #417s Drusilla. Drusilla started but did not finish the race, being beaten before the wind].
[1892-06-07] Tue 7: [#417s] Drusilla delivered. ...
[1892-07-28] Thu 28: Put new keel on Drusilla [#417s]. ...
[1892-07-31] Sun 31: Off in Drusilla [#417s].
[1892-08-04] Thu 4: Went to Newport in Drusilla [#417s].
[1892-08-05] Fri 5: Yacht cup race [in #417s Drusilla?].
[1896-04-09] Thu 9: ... Launched Judy [#162p] & Drusilla [? #417s]. ..." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1891 to 1896. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection.)

"35ft jib & mainsail boat.
Length o[ver] all 52'. Beam 9' 5".
Frame spaces 14".
Deduct for timbers
deduct for 1 to 6 inclusive 1 1/4"
deduct for 7 to 12 inclusive 1 3/8"
deduct for 13 to 27 inclusive 1 1/2"
deduct for 28 to 34 inclusive 1 3/8"
deduct for 35 to 39 inclusive 1 1/4"
deduct for 40 to aft inclusive 1 1/8"
Make timbers 1/16" large and sided 1/8" small.
Planking 7/16 & 3/8"
Keel 2 3/8" deep, reduced to 2 1/8" after of # 34 frame.
Sheer heights are to under side of deck." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Penciled note in Offset Booklet HH.4.076.] Undated, ca. November 1891. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"July 28th 92. #417 Drusilla. Took off original keel plate & lead, also rudder blade, and put on new larger ones. New keel plate 7/8in thick, and angles 11/16 thick, 4x6, plate 1 foot longer than original. Rudder blade 5/16 thick and about 1/2 more are than original. Following is a comparison of weights:
Original. New. [lbs]
Plate Keel & angles, 2065, 3407.
Lead, 6688, 8125
[Sum], 8753, 11532
Rudder 140, 165
[Sum] 8893, 11697
Diff[erence] 2804 making total disp. 18645[lbs]." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael Greene. [Design booklet entry dated July 28, 1892 which is inserted just prior the entry for November 16, 1891.])

"There were nearly a dozen fin keel boats built, in which two of them, HANSEL [#422s] and DRUSILLA [#417s], I sailed in races, but as usual, [I] tried out all before delivery. ... I was one of the afterguard in WASP for the New York Yacht Club Cruise around the Cape and the Eastern Yacht Club races, and I sailed DRUSILLA, [a] thirty-five feet waterline fin keel [yacht], that we built that spring [1892], in the Goelet Cup Race. She did well to windward, but was hopelessly beaten off the wind. [She was] a failure as a racing craft.
A few comments on DRUSILLA may be interesting. She was built for Commodore E. D. Morgan especially for afternoon sailing, and fitted with a good sized rig of mainsail, forestaysail, and jib. The hull [was] very richly built with mahogany planking and light weight, without cabin or fittings, about forty-eight feet overall and intended for thirty-five feet waterline. [She] was somewhat wider and shallower than other fin keel craft, with more stability by form, and rather lighter bulb. On trial, she proved too light and would not stand up to a breeze. So, the entire keel was removed and a heavier one with [a] heavier lead bulb was substituted, and with this keel, she was over thirty-seven foot waterline. This gave her fine windward ability in a breeze, but [she] was very dead off the wind and on any course in light airs." (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.)

"It was with the fin keelers that the full spoon bow was developed, and among the first sizable fin keelers was the thirty-five foot water line 'Drusilla,' built for E. D. Morgan, rigged with long battens in the sails with which General Paine had started to experiment several years before." (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. 166.)

"Business is brisk at the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co's Works. Mr. Edwin D. Morgan, owner of the Gloriana [#411s], has ordered a new 35-foot water line boat [#417s] --- a racer --- designed by the Herreshoffs, which will soon be commenced. The Company has also received an order, from a gentleman in Scotland, for a Herreshoff 2 1/2 rater [#415s Wenonah], to compete with the racing boats of that type in England and Scotland. Both of these craft are to be constructed with mahogany planking outside and pine inside. Several other boats are in course of construction at the boat works, and business is booming in boat building." (Source: Anon. "Local Affairs." Bristol Phoenix, November 21, 1891, p. 2.)

"The Herreshoffs are also building for Mr. Morgan a 35-footer on the lines of the Dilemma, which is a boat somewhat like the old Evolution, whose lines are shown in [Dixon Kemp's] Yacht Architecture. She has a canoe shaped hull with nearly a flat floor, an extreme rocker to the keel, and an overhang bow and stern. Her stability is secured by a steel plate bolted to the center of the keel, and weighing 800 pounds, the lower edge of which is attached a cylinder of lead, sharp on both ends and weighing almost 2 tons. The dimensions of this boat are: 35 ft, L. W. L.; 50 ft. O. A.; 8 ft. beam, and 8 ft. draught." (Source: Anon. "The Forty-Six for Ninety-Two." Rudder, December 1891, p. 15.)

"THE visitor, whether yachtsman or mechanic, who turns aside from the familiar paths of travel between New York and Boston for a visit to the clean and well-ordered shops of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company at Bristol, R. I., is certain at any time to be well repaid for his journey; and just now in particular the trip is of special interest, from the presence of two racing craft which are likely to become famous next summer. The first of these [#414s Wasp] is for the same class as the renowned Gloriana...
The other racing craft, Mr. Morgan's 35-footer [#417s Drusilla], is now set up in the new shop; a very different boat from Gloriana. She is an enlarged Dilemma [#412s], the 25ft. racer that has been so much talked about this fall, and consequently is almost a huge canoe, and in fact is being built as a canoe is, on moulds, keel upward. ... The Morgan boat will be 35ft. l.w.l., about 50ft. over all, 8ft. beam and 8ft. draft. She is building on the system long used by the firm for their small boats and yacht yawls, a solid mould of plank is got out for each frame, spaced some 15in. apart; the two timbers for the frame are steamed and bent on this mould, being held by iron dogs, and the floor knee is then bolted to them. The series of moulds, each with a complete frame attached, is then set up on the floor in the proper positions; the oak keel piece, after being rabbeted, is stretched on top, the frames are then beveled, ribbands are run around them, and the boat is planked up; being then turned over and the moulds removed, after which the deck frame is put in. Last week the moulds and frames were in place, the keel fastened to them, and the work of beveling had just commenced. ..." (Source: Anon. (W. P. Stephens?) "Building at Bristol." Forest and Stream, December 10, 1891, p. 421.)

"Providence, R. I., Dec. 26 [1891]. --- ... This is a very busy time at the Herreshoff Works. The thirty-five footer [#417s Drusilla] which is being built for E. D. Morgan of New-York is nearly planked. ..." (Source: Anon. "A New Steam Yacht Building. To Be Used on the St. Lawrence by a New-York Gentleman." New York Times, December 27, 1891, p. 6.)

"... The Morgan 35-footer [#417s Drusilla] and the two-and-a-half rater [#415s Wenonah] for Scotland attract the most attention, next to the 46-footer [#414s Wasp], and are both well along. They have been placed right side up, and workmen are busy laying the decks and putting in such slight interior fittings as will be required. ...
A close look at the boats fails to show any difference between them except in size and the heaviness of frames thereby made necessary. Both are framed with extreme lightness, and both have a light double planking, of which the outer skin is mahogany.
The joiner work on the outside surface is like that in fine cabinet work, and no racing shell ever had a smoother surface than these boats can be made to present.
The frames at the chain plates and runners are very much heavier than elsewhere, and the strain at these points, where most of the strain comes, is carefully looked after.
The decks are of white pine, but are very light, with light oak deck beams. Strength is, however, sufficiently secured by four diagonal straps, which also aid in tieing the hull together and prevent straining and working under canvas. ...
The rig of the Morgan boat will be similar [to that of #415s Wenonah], but, of course, larger. There will also be a small cabin below and a forecastle forward, in which a couple of hammocks can be swung. Both boats will have metal rudders and steer with a tiller.
As for their model it can be best described as that of a big canoe with long overhang and a ballast fin to give it stability and lateral resistance. The lines are full, but easy, and there isn't a hollow in them from stem to stern. No second look at such a hull is needed to show that it can be driven at great speed with the utmost ease. All that is needed is to keep it right side up and give proper lateral resistance. This the ballast fin accomplishes.
Neither boat has as yet received its fin, but both are in process of construction. That of the Morgan boat will be of a plate of heavy steel, nearly an inch in thickness, while that of the Scotchman will be lighter and of Tobin bronze.
The fins will have a much sharper slope on the forward edge than indicated in the sheer plan of the Dilemma given two weeks ago in these columns [Boston Globe, January 10, 1892, p. 23], and the lead will not project beyond them either forward or aft. Heavy bolts of Tobin bronze will secure the fins to the oak keel when the proper time comes. An opinion from Mr. Herreshoff as to the safety and solidity of such construction has already been given. Certainly, from the wide experience in construction which the firm has had, that opinion is a weighty one. ..." (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.)

"The new Morgan 35-footer is well advanced, the decks being laid and the joiner work partly in. The accompanying sketch we take from the Providence Journal. The yacht will be 52ft. over all, 35ft. l.w.l., about 8ft. beam, and about 2ft. depth of hull, with nearly 6ft. of steel fin, or over 7ft. 6in. total draft. The frames are all steamed and bent, of oak; the deck beams are also of oak, narrow and deep, and spaced but 9in. They and the frames are crossed by galvanized steel straps running diagonally. The deck is of 1/2 in. pine, 2 1/2 in. wide, laid with a new ship lap, the two edges riveted together, leaving a seam for marine glue. The outside planking is a fine piece of work, all of mahogany, and will be varnished above the waterline. The fin is a plate of 9/16 in. steel, about 16ft. 6in. on the upper and 8ft. 6in. on the lower edge, the lead cylinder being in two halves bolted to the plate. The headroom is of course limited, being about 4ft. under the flush deck, but fore and aft there is plenty of room for berths, galley, etc. The yacht will be rigged with a pole mast, bowsprit, staysail and jib. The rudder is of the peculiar shape shown." (Source: Anon. (W. P. Stephens?) "Building at Bristol." Forest and Stream, January 28, 1892, p. 93.)

"... Little remains to be done on the Morgan 35-footer [#417s Drusilla] or the Kersey 25-rater [#418s El Chico]." (Source: Anon. "Herreshoffs Are Busy. Many Boats Steadily Growing in the Bristol Shops." Boston Globe, March 13, 1892, p. 17.)

" ... Yachtsmen Anxious to See a Performance by the Fin Keel Boats.
Bristol, R. I. April 18 [1892]. --- ... Com. Morgan's 35-footer [#417s Drusilla], Mr. Kersey's 25-rater [#418s El Chico], and the 30-foot catboat [#413s Sayonara] are ready for delivery at any time. ..." (Source: Anon. "Tried on all Tacks." Boston Globe, April 19, 1892, p. 11.)

"35ft W.L. Cutter of North Shop (Morgan, Drusilla).
Built at Bristol, RI, by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.
8.51 net tons; 42.8 ft. x 9.6 ft. x 4.3 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
One deck, one mast, plain head, transom stern.
Surveyed and measured, April 29, 1892." (Source: U.S. Customs Department, Bristol, R.I. Custom House Record Book, 1870s to 1904 (Collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum), s.v. Drusilla.)

"... Providence, May 2 [1892]. --- ... Ten new boats are in the Herreshoff works. ... Mr. Morgan's thirty-five-footer has not yet had her keel adjusted. ...Two or three fin keels are standing around waiting to be attached to the racers. [Note: A reference to Drusilla, which after her trial sails, was found to require a new fin keel.]" (Source: Anon. "Wasp Sails For The Hudson." New York Times, May 3, 1892, p.3.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., May 11 [1892] --- The new Herreshoff boats are getting afloat one by one, and the present outlook is for a clearing of shops early in the season, save for the steel steamer [#172p Truant] for Mrs. Newberry of Detroit, which will not be ready until late in the summer. ...
Com. Morgan's 35-footer [#417s Drusilla] is ready to go overboard any time when her owner wants her. ..." (Source: Anon. "New Yachts Afloat." Boston Globe, May 12, 1892, p. 2.)

"Bristol, R. I., May 28 [1892]. --- The Herreshoffs are nearing the end of their season's work, and in a few weeks only the big steel steamer [#172p Truant] for Mrs. Newberry of Detroit will be left in the shops out of the many boats which have crowded them during the winter. The season has been a busy one, and now the firm are awaiting the outcome of the racing with great interest.
Com. Morgan can have his 35-footer [#417s Drusilla], at any time he wants her, for she is ready for launching and rigging in short order. She is the largest of the fins turned out by the firm, and is expected to be very fast. Her fin is a steel plate of 9-16 of an inch in thickness and about 5 feet 6 inches depth. With the lead it weighs about 4 1/2 tons. ..." (Source: Anon. "With The Herreshoffs. Season's Work of Bristol Firm Drawing to a Close." Boston Globe, May 29, 1892, p. 1.)

"Newport, Aug. 5 [1892]. The eleventh annual yacht race for the Goelet Cups [was held] off Newport harbor to-day... The entry of the Drusilla was a surprise to to every one. She is a 35-foot fin-keel boat, owned by Vice-Commodore Morgan, and it was generally supposed that she was too small to be enrolled among the club's fleet which is limited to boats of fifteen tons and over. However, the Regatta Committee accepted her entry, and Nat Herreshoff and his brother John, who designed [sic] and built her, said she was fifteen tons [sic; N.G. Herreshoff recorded her displacement as 18645lbs with crew while her displacement was never listed in any yacht register], and she was allowed to start. Nat Herreshoff was on board and sailed her. She was outclassed both in size and rig, but did some wonderfully fast work to windward. In going before the wind she was out of it entirely [prompting her to withdraw from the race], as she is rigged like the El Chico [#418s], one of the 25-raters, without a topmast, and she greatly resembles the El Chico. William Gardner the designer of the Alcaea [which also competed on this day], was also on board of the Drusilla.
The race would probably have never been started if the Vamoose [#168p] and another steam yacht had not turned themselves into tug boats and hauled the Atlantic and Constellation out of the harbor. It was shortly after 11'o clock when the judges' bout, Ituna, anchored off Vice-Commodore Morgan's home in Brenton's Cove, signalled that the race would be started at 12 o'clock. ..." (Source: Anon. "Boston Takes The Cups. The Merlin and Harpoon Beat the Pick of the N.Y.Y.C.'s Fleet." New York Sun, August 6, 1892, p. 5.)

"Drusilla, 35ft. fin-keel, has been sold by Vice-Com. Morgan to Rutherford Stuyvesant, and is now at Tebo's Docks [in New York]." (Source. Anon. "Yachts News Notes." Forest and Stream, December 22, 1892, p. 545.)

"68. DRUSILLA. The 'Drusilla' is a thirty-five-foot water-line fin-keel, designed and built by Herreshoff in 1892 for Mr. E. D. Morgan of New York. She has a pole mast and cutter rig. Her dimensions are: Length over all, 52 feet; length, l.w.l., 34.7 feet; beam, 9.4 feet; draught, 8.3 feet. The 'Drusilla' was started in the Goelet cup race. She sailed well to windward, but gave up at the Block Island stake-boat." (Source: Peabody, Henry G. Representative American Yachts. Boston, 1893, p. 18.

"Fin keel sloops Drusilla [#417s], E. D. Morgan of Newport, owner, and Memory [#439s ex-Alerion I], owned by Wm. J. Murray of Jamestown, arrived here on Monday last and quartered at Herreshoff's Works for-light repairing." (Source: Anon. "Home News." Bristol Phoenix, August 4, 1894, p. 2.)

"NEWPORT. R. I.. Sept. 5. [1894] --- The long-talked-of match race between the fin-keeled sloops Drusilla, owned by Lewis M. Rutherfurd, and the Memory, owned by James Murray of Philadelphia, a Summer resident of Jamestown, was sailed to-day. Both are Herreshoff boats, and are fliers. The wind blew half a gale from the southwest, and in the bay the sea was choppy and outside it was much rougher. The course planned was from a line between Mitchell Rock, off Rose Island, and the stakeboat, to and around Point Judith Buoy and return, a distance of twenty-two miles. When Mr. Murray saw the conditions of sea and wind, he wanted to sail in the bay, but Mr. Rutherfurd held him to the original plan.
Sailing on the Drusilla were L. M. Rutherfurd, Thomas Hitchcock, Ralph N. Ellis, H. B. Duryea, and Harry Martland as pilot. On the Memory were James Murray, N. H. Emmons, and Tom Shea as pilot. F. P. Sands was judge.
The preparatory signal was given at 11:50, and the scratch start was five minutes later. The Drusilla got over the line first, and she had a full spread of canvas, mainsail, jib, and flying jib. The Memory carried only mainsail and jib. It was a dead beat out, and the Drusilla began at once to outpoint and outfoot the Memory, which fell off to leeward in the heavy sea. The Drusilla rounded at 1:55. The Memory was fully twenty minutes behind, but could not be timed owing to the mist.
Both boats set spinnakers, and the Memory her topsail for the run home. The Memory outfooted and gained fully ten minutes on the Drusilla, but the leg was not long enough for her. The times are as follows:
Name. Start. H.M.S. Finish. H.M.S. Time Elapsed.H.M.S.
Memory 12:00:00 4:10:24 4:10:24
Drusilla 12:00:00 3:5918 3:59:18
The boats raced on time allowance, but the victory was so decisive that this was not considered to-day, as they have not been measured. There are two more races in the series, which is understood to be for $200 a side. Mr. Murray says he can win in lighter weather." (Source: Anon. "Drusilla Won Easily. Beat The Memory In A Hard Blow Off Newport." New York Times, September 6, 1894, p. 3.)

"Drusilla, fin-keel sloop, has been sold by L. M. Rutherford to A. G. Tyler, of New London." (Source: Anon. "Yacht News Notes." Forest and Stream, April 20, 1895, p. 320.)

"[Drusilla (Sail, F K) owned by Augustus C. Tyler, Port: New London; LOA 52ft; LWL 34.1ft; Beam 9.5ft; Draft 8.4ft; designed by N. G. Herreshoff and built by Herreshoff Manufact'g Co in 1892.]" (Source: Stebbins 1896 Yachtsmen's Album, p. 38)

"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.
There were large Herreshoff fin-keelers as well as small ones. Drusilla built for E. D. Morgan, was on the large side. She was a disappointment as a racer, however; even NGH admits it: 'A failure as a racing craft. Did well to windward, but hopelessly beaten off the wind.' It seems that she was designed especially for afternoon sailing, and therefore was made wider and shallower than most fin-keelers. This gave her initial stability and therefore more comfort from sailing with less heel. With more stability from hull shape, she was given a lighter-than-usual ballast casting, or bulb. The ballast keel proved too light (there was insufficient stability in a breeze) and was replaced with a heavier one which provided the needed stability but caused the boat to float deeper in the water, added considerable wetted surface, and caused her to be dead when sailing off the wind.
If Drusilla wasn't much of a racer, she was even less of a cruiser. Although she had 52 feet of deck length, her hull lacked depth under the flush deck for anything like full headroom. Other than having two settees and an enclosed toilet room, Drusilla's interior was empty. ..." (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 54.)

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled specifications titled '35ft [#417s DRUSILLA] for E.D. Morgan'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Specifications. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_00820. Folder [no #]. No date (1891-11 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled preliminary sailplan and midship section titled 'Original sketch of 35ft w.l. for E.D. Morgan [#417s DRUSILLA]. Nov[ember] 1891'. With calculations showing toal sail area of 1215sqft and total weight of 16000lbs and 15980lbs (of which 7100lbs lead)." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Sailplan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0536. WRDT08, Folder 43. 1891-11.)
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"[Item Transcription:] We have today arrived at Wheatly & received your letter w[hic]h I enjoyed extremely.
We have had a very anxious time lately having been detained in town by the illness of our boy a continuation of teething & gastric trouble w[hic]h kept his temp[erature] at 104 for a week, he is now we believe all right but very much pulled down.
I am surprised to hear that Mr. B[rooks] is considering a racer [#189104es Unbuilt Schooner for Brooks] again. I am very much interested and hope to hear very soon that you have got the order. I saw Archie Rogers [soon-to-be owner of #414s WASP] at the horse show & he asked my opinion of [Charlie] Barr. I consider him first rate. I am glad to hear that there was something tangible to account for loss of speed in the JAVELIN [#164p] & hope somebody else will get the brencfet[?] of it.
The 35 [#417s DRUSILLA?] interests me very much & I am plan[?] you like her well. Enough to take the 25 raters similar[?]. How I envy you the sail in the 'COQUINA' [#404s]. I trust that Mrs. H[erreshoff] & the children are well & enjoying themselves. I have not seen the Forest & Stream lately but will look up the 'Sampans'." (Source: Morgan, E.D. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_77750. Correspondence, Folder 98. 1891-12-09.)
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"[Item Description:] HMCo Plan HH.5.05635 (077-033). Blueprint rig detail for travellers, chainplates and throat halyard band titled 'Galvanized Steel Forgings for 35ft Cutter [#417s DRUSILLA]'." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Blueprint. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0186. WRDT08, Folder 18, formerly MRDE06. 1891-12-21.)
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"[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 ?).)
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"[Item Transcription:] I have your letter of the 5th.
I have sent word to [my engineer] Taylor to take up some of that gray paint of mine to put on the bottom of the '35' [#417s DRUSILLA]. I think the w.l. should be straight a little higher than the true w.l. say two inches. I am very anxious to see her but cannot get on just now. I see by the papers that you are going to build a 'GLORIANA No 3'. I hope it is true. We have a very pleasant Holiday been[?] with a house full of our friends but they have all gone now & we ave taken up the regular routine. I trust that you and your family had a Merry Xmas & Mrs Morgan joins me in wishing a Happy New Year for you all." (Source: Morgan, E.D. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_77790. Correspondence, Folder 98. 1892-01-06.)
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"[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).)
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"[Item Description:] Note with penciled list of photos on verso and recto of Amerian and British yachts including #411s GLORIANA (Rounding SW spit on Goelet Cup day), #416s ALPHA, #423s VANESSA, #417s DRUSILLA, #414s WASP, HARPOON, ELFIN, LUZETTE, YSEULT, DORA, VALKYRIE II, AILSA, BRITANNIA, #450s ISOLDE, #453s VAQUERO, VALKYRIE III, together with image and frame sizes. Undated (August 1892 and later)." (Source: Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRRT_080. Note. Unidentif. / Non-Cataloged, Folder MRRT. No date (1892-08 and later).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled preliminary sailplan sketch titled '35ft [o.a.]. 32[ft] w.l. DRUSILLA's [#417s] bulb'. With calculations arriving at a total sail area of 1204sqft. This is a preliminary sketch for #439s ALERION I. On verso of a torn-off part of an empty 'Statistics of American Yachts for the American Yacht List. ... Proprietor Thomas Manning' form. Filed with other sailplans of boats of similar sizes from around 1893/1894, particularly the other half of the 'American Yacht List' form which shows a design for a 30ft LWL yacht which may be a precursor of #439s ALERION I. Undated (see NGH design booklet entry dated November 8, 1893 beginning with '#439 (1st Alerion) Memory. ... Designed to use first keel plate and bulb made for #417 [DRUSILLA] but to be cut off on top to an exteme depth of 5ft below bottom of keel amidships. ...')." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE05_01490. Folder [no #]. No date (ca 1893-11-08).)
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"[Item Description:] Invites NGH to race his #439s MEMORY ex-ALERION I against #417s DRUSILLA [the latter would eventually win]." (Source: Murray, Wm. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_01550. Correspondence, Folder 1_14, formerly 236. No year (1894-08-31).)
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"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Four handwritten (in ink) pages with tabulated data listing 'Shop No', 'Name', '[Tons] Gross' and '[Tons] Net' for a total of 100 HMCo-built boats and classes. Tonnage data is usually precise to two digits behind the decimal. Random comparisons suggest source of tonnage data to be official Custom House data. Boats mentioned are: #664s, #663s, #625s, #665s, #634s, #658s, #657s, #646s, #641s, #617s, #626s Class, #624s, #621s, #616s, #619s, #590s, #591s, #586s, #592 Class, #618s, #605s, #578s, #560s Class, #580s, #553s, #551s, #552s, #546s, #541s, #545s, #538s, #534s, #533s, #532s, #529s, #534s, #530s, #531s, #435s, #437s, #452s, #499s, #429s, #426s, #424s, #481s, #422s, #417s, #414s, #451s, #215p, #213p, #222p, #235p, #230p, #229p, #236p, #224p, #244p, #247p, #249p, #231p, #232p, #228p, #252p, #250p, #251p, #248p, #168p, #164p, #118p, #142p, #174p, #173p, #194p, #189p, #193p, #183p, #178p, #179p, #181p, #182p, #175p, #163p, #148p, #149p, #172p, #155p, #170p, #186p, #188p, #206p, #207p, #205p, #208p, #209p, #210p, #211p, #212p, #216p. Undated (the latest boat listed, WINSOME, was launched in 1907)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Handwritten List. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_00220. Folder [no #]. No date (1907 or later).)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #417s Drusilla even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Drusilla (HMCo-made index card)
• Drusilla and #417p BPT29 (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: Drusilla
Type: J & M
Length: 35'
Owner: Morgan, E. D.

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

• Drusilla
• 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: Drusilla
Type: 34' 9" fin keel sloop
Owner: E. D. Morgan
Year: 1892
Row No.: 172

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.

Month: Nov
Day: 6
Year: 1891
E/P/S: S
No.: 0417
Name: Drusilla
LW: 35' 0"
B: 9' 5"
D: 6' 4"
Rig: J & M
K: FK
Ballast: Lead
Amount: $3800.00
Last Name: Morgan
First Name: E. D.

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.

"Built in 203 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $19/day, 92 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"[Sail area 1,522sq ft as per Seawanhaka rule.]" (Source: Anon. "Dacotah. The Allan Ten-Rater." Forest and Stream, May 5, 1894, p. 389.)

"[Sail area 1600sqft.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. Measuring and Measurement Rules (Box 2), Folder B2F04, formerly MRDE15. No date (1892-01-19 or later).)

"Displacement 18645lbs reflects new keel and is from NGH design booklet entry dated July 28, 1892 (which is inserted just prior the entry for November 16, 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.