HMCo #418s El Chico

"[1892-01-18] Mon 18: Closed order from Kersey for 25' fin keel boat [#418s El Chico].
[1892-02-01] Mon 1: Began planking 25ft #418 [El Chico].
[1892-02-13] Sat 13: Turned over 25ft #418 [El Chico]. ...
[1892-05-03] Tue 3: ... Launched #418 [El Chico] & 420 [#420s Reaper].
[1892-05-05] Thu 5: Tried #418 El Chico and also #416 [Alpha] & #420 [Reaper].
[1892-05-06] Fri 6: Tried El Chico [#418s] and Dilemma [#412s].
[1892-05-07] Sat 7: Off trying El Chico [#418s] and [Reaper] [#420s]. ...
[1892-05-16] Mon 16: ... Off in #418 [El Chico] and #413 [Sayonara].
[1892-05-21] Sat 21: [#418s] El Chico left in charge of Mr. Kerry & Willard." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1892. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection.)

"The Providence Journal contained recently the following interview with N. G. Herreshoff, the Bristol yacht designer:
' Nat G. Herreshoff, the designer of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, was at the office of the company. He was asked to say something about the performance of his designs on Memorial Day at Boston, Marblehead, and New-York. The three boats which raced on that day were the twenty-one-footer Alpha [#416s] of Boston, the thirty-footer Handsel [#422s] at Marblehead, and the twenty-one-footer El Chico [#418s] at New-York. Alpha and Handsel, it will be recalled, were victorious in the races they entered, but El Chico was beaten, and she has been more talked and written about at New-York this season than any other Herreshoff boat excepting Mr. Archibald Rogers's Wasp [#414s], the forty-six-footer. ... El Chico, a two-and-a-half-rater, was beaten by one of William Gardiner's [sic, i.e. Gardner] designs. Mr. Herreshoff said:
... ' 'About the New-York race there isn't anything worth saying. There were light, fluky winds, and then nothing is certain in yacht racing. It depends on luck and the weather. This wasn't a race of any account. I don't know Pyxie, except that she was after a design of Gardiner's.'
' 'The designer prefaced his talk with the statement that he had not heard from the owners of either El Chico or Alpha. ..." (Source: Anon. "Mr. Herreshoff Interviewed." New York Times, June 7, 1892, p. 3.)

"Other notable fin keelers of 1892 designed by Captain Nat were the 'Handsel,' thirty feet W.L., owned by Mr. J. R. Hooper at Hull, Massachusetts; the 'El Chico,' twenty-five feet W.L., owned by H. M. Kersey of New York, and a sister yacht to the famous two and one half-rater 'Wenonah,' which was owned by Henry Allen and cleaned up on the Clyde." (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.)

"PROBABLY Mr. John B. Herreshoff, now that the Bristol firm, of which he is the head, has received an order for a fourth boat [#418s El Chico] of the ballast-fin type, has something more than faith in the ultimate success of his own ideas to give him confidence when he says:
'The type has come to stay.'
...
'I think it a little unjust to call boats of this type 'machines,''said Mr. Herreshoff, 'and I would like to show you why I think the term misapplied.'
...
'In the first place, then,' continued Mr. Herreshoff, good naturedly, 'I call no boat a 'machine' which is faster under smaller sail area than any boat of her length of the old type, and which is at the same time a safer, abler and more easily handled one.
'All this and much more may be truthfully said of the ballast-fin type as built by us, and therefore we think that so long as we turn out a fast, able, comfortable and safe boat, we think we are above the charge of building 'machines.'
'As for what there may be new in the type we claim nothing more than what our ideas have shown as to the best way of reaching an end.
'There is, indeed, nothing new under the sun, but I think we may fairly claim our implication of the principals of the type as original.
'If these boats should be barred out, as has been suggested, it would reduce racing to a slower and less desirable class, something which progressive racing men will not stand.'
'Fast your boats undoubtedly are, but are they as safe, able and desirable as you claim?' was asked.
'I think I can show you that they are,' was the reply.
'Of their safety there can be no question under proper construction, nor of their ability to carry their sail better than craft of the older type.
'They will stand up to their work longer, will go with dryer decks and will be found better and abler sea boats in every way. Then, too, it needs but a look at their simple sails and gear to show at once the increased ease of handling.'
'Can a fin keel be made as strong as the ordinary one?'
'Stronger,' was the emphatic response. 'To my mind that single iron plate properly secured is much more desirable to hang lead upon than the ordinary combination of oak and bolts.'
'And in ease of running ashore?'
'I had rather take my chances knocking around among the rocks with an iron fin keel below me than the ordinary double construction of wood. In one case you strike only the iron fin, while in the other you run every risk of making a hole in the construction I have just referred to.
'The lead may roll up a little, but that is easily straghtened out.'
'But granted, Mr. Herreshoff, that boats of this type can be built as strong and safe as you say, does not the criticism still lie that their shallow hulls and lack of interior accommodations make them undesirable as cruisers?'
'There, I frankly admit,' replied the designer, 'is some room for criticism.
'It is apparent that you cannot get the same interior accommodations, length for length, as in boats of the old type, but after all most of these boats are intended merely for an afternoon's or a day's sailing, and interior accommodations are not so much needed.
'Even if the same accommodations are demanded, it is after all only a question of getting a boat a size larger to secure what is wanted.
'The Morgan boat [#417s Drusilla] has four feet and a half of head room under the deck. Put a low house on her, and you have as much room as in the avorage 30-footer, and a better boat for all-around sailing.
'If you must race, your house can be easily arranged to be replaced by a racing hatch, and there you are.
'In boats of 40 and forty-six foot water line there would be much less need of any gaining of head room by means of a house.'
'Would you then agree to build a perfectly strong and safe 40-footer of the ballast-fin type?'
'Certainly, I would,' was Mr. Herreshoff's prompt reply. 'I would agree to make a better, abler and faster, as well as more desirable boat than the 40-footer [#414s Wasp] now in the shops.' ..." (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 only other sailing yachts to be built [besides [#414s Wasp, #417s Drusilla and #413s Sayonara] are the 25-footer, or rather 2 1/2-rater, for the Clyde [#415s Wenonah], and a similar craft [#418s El Chico] for an American owner, neither of which have been commenced. ..." (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, 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.
Then Com. Morgan, owner of the Gloriana and a firm believer in things Herreshoff, looked upon the Dilemma's performance, and saw that it was good. An order for a 35-footer [#417s Drusilla] followed, and the third and largest of the type was matured.
And now comes a New York gentleman, a racing yachtsman, who wants a boat to compete with the Gardner 25-footers, and the firm will give him the fourth of the ballast fins [#418s El Chico].
She will be a duplicate of the one now building to go abroad [#415s Wenonah], and will be just of the rating to compete with the Gardner craft. Her owner will be Mr. D. Maitland Kersey, agent of the White Star line, an enthusiastic small boat sailor abroad, who now proposes to have a try at the sport in America.
The boat will be 25 feet water-line, 7 feet beam and 6 1/2 feet draught. She will have an English racing skipper and will be sailed to win. ..." (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.)

"... 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 [Drusilla #417s], Mr. Kersey's 25-rater [El Chico #418s], and the 30-foot catboat [Sayonara #413s] are ready for delivery at any time. ..." (Source: Anon. "Tried on all Tacks." Boston Globe, April 19, 1892, p. 11.)

"... Providence, May 2 [1892]. --- ... Ten new boats are in the Herreshoff works. ... Mr. Kersey's two-and a-half-rater El Chico is completed. ..." (Source: Anon. "Wasp Sails For The Hudson." New York Times, May 3, 1892, p.3.)

"Yachtsmen who saw the Marine and Field Club's fourth annual regatta yesterday were furnished with an abundance of food for reflection. It was a grand day for a race down the bay. The sky was clear, and a fresh and steady sou'-sou'east breeze coming in from the ocean kicked up enough sea to give life to the regatta, and gave the yachtsmen all they wanted to do in handling their craft.
Indeed, the wind was so strong outside the Hook that it toot the topmast out of the thirty-five-foot sloop Saona just after she turned Sandy Hook Lightship. But it was not too strong for that queer-looking Herreshoff fin-keel boat El Chico. This new creation --- a canoe-like body with a fin keel attached --- was in her element and gave a wonderful exhibition of sailing. Although less than 25 feet long on the water line, she beat the thirty-five-footer Tigress boat for boat in the sail from Gravesend Bay to the Sou-west Spit Buoy. She had as competitors the Freyja, a twenty-five-footer built by H. C. Wintringham as a stock boat before the days of fin keels hereabout and sold recently to her present owner; the Iroquois, a jib-and-mainsail boat of common appearance, and Wahneta, the new twenty-one-footer built by Wintringham. But there was only one boat in the contest, and that was El Chico. ..." (Source: Anon. "Wasp Defeats Nautilus. Fine Weather For The Marine And Field Club Regatta. ... Wonderful Performance of The Herreshoff Fin Boat El Chico." New York Times, June 12, 1892, p. 8.)

"... We recently [December 3, 1892] published a letter from Mr. Allan testifying to the excellent qualities of Wenonah [#415s]. In the last issue of the Field the following letter relating to another fin-keel appears:
'As the owner of El Chico, the first 'fin-keel' built by the Herreshoffs [sic, i.e. one of the first], and sister ship of Wenonah, I can thoroughly indorse all that Mr. Henry Allan says of these much-rated-at 2 1/2-raters in your issue of Dec. 3 [1892]. El Chico is a splendid sea boat in all sorts of weather, and, although I have raced and sailed her the whole summer in New York and Newport waters, I have never seen her ship solid water, and she has frequently been out when big bouts have been running for shelter. Like Wenonah, she has never leaked a drop, although she was on one occasion three hours on the rocks with a fresh breeze and lump of sea. My man has lived on board throughout the summer, although he had the choice of a bed on shore. After a day's trial before taking her from the builder's I had the fin shifted 3in. aft. which practically did away with the weather helm referred to by Mr. Allan, and El Chico, like all Herreshoffs' boats, big and small, steered, beautifully. She has been sailed passages of 60 and 70 miles single-handed, and is altogether the most perfect little boat imaginable. She will shortly be shipped to Halifax, N. S., the fin being unbolted in a couple of hours or so, and laid on deck. H. Maitland Kersey.'" (Source: Kersey, H. Maitland. "The Herreshoff Fin-Keels." Forest and Stream, January 19, 1893, p. 61.)

"REPRESENTATIVE AMERICAN YACHTS
TWENTY-FIVE-RATERS.
90. EL CHICO. "El Chico" is a Herreshoff fin-keel, designed for Mr. H. Maitland Kersey of New York. She is a sister boat to the 'Wenonah,' which has been raced so successfully on the Clyde. She was designed to sail in the twenty-five-rater class of New York, and is the fastest boat in the class, having proved superior to the 'Pyxie' [designed by Gardner] on the average, though the latter is faster in light winds. 'El Chico's' dimensions are: Length over all, 38 feet; length, l.w.l., 25 feet; beam, 7.1 feet; draught, 6.5 feet." (Source: Peabody, Henry G. Representative American Yachts. Boston, 1893, p. 22.)

"... Mr. Fred H. Murray, who purchased the Herreshoff fin boat El Chico, intends to sail her on Lake Champlain. Halifax yachtsmen are disappointed. They thought he would race in their waters. The El Chico was owned by Mr. H. Maitland Kersey, and last year won nine out of the ten races in which she sailed. ..." (Source: Anon. "Yachtsmen and their Boats." New York Times, May 9, 1893, p. 12.)

"In May [1892] the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company launched El Chico, a fin-keel yacht, for H. Maitland Kersey. Her dimensions are:
Length over all, 39 feet.
Length load waterline, 25 feet. Depth, 3 feet 4 inches.
Draft, 6 feet 6 inches.
Beam, 7 feet 1 inch.
Like most of the racing yachts launched by this firm, El Chico proved very fast; her record is most enviable. In 1892 El Chico beat Nameless 3 minutes in the opening race of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club in a light breeze. On May 30th, in the Larchmont opening, El Chico was disqualified. Pyxie, a yacht yet to be spoken of, won. In the regatta of June 4th, Larchmont, El Chico won a $75 Cup by 12 min., 34 sec. in a fresh northeast breeze and sea. On June 11th she won another $75 Cup by 38 minutes in a fresh southeast breeze and sea in the Marine and Field Club Regatta. On June 14th she won $30 by 6 min., 34 sec. in the Atlantic Yacht Club Regatta in a fresh southwest wind and sea.
On July 2nd, in the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club Regatta she won two prizes of $25 each in a moderate southwest wind and sea.
On September 10th she won a $75 Cup at the Larchmont Regatta by 35 sec, there being four entries.
In the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club race held October 1st, she won a $50 special Cup given by R. A. Osborne, by 6 min., 42 sec. in strong north wind, there being four entries.
Owing to her brilliant record, El Chico was purchased by E. M. Fulton, and taken up to Lake Champlain." (Source: Mott, Henry Augustus. Yachts and Yachtsmen of America. New York, 1894, p. 70.)

"[El Chico (Sail, K) owned by Willard E. Case, LOA 38ft; LWL 25ft; Beam 7.1ft; Draft 8.4ft; designed by Herreshoff Manufact'g Co. and built by Herreshoff Manufactur'g Co in 1892.]" (Source: Stebbins 1896 Yachtsmen's Album, p. 50.)

"Under the length and sail area rule the three Gardner boats [Nameless, Smuggler, and Needle, all built in 1891] rated 25, so were known as the 25 rater class. In 1892 two new boats came out, one from Gardner's design and one from the Herreshoffs that easily defeated these boats.
The Gardner boat was the Pixie, having more pronounced biges and a lateral plan cut away so her keel was but a short wooden fin supporting the lead ballast which considerably reduced the wetted surface. The Herreshoff boat was the El Chico, owned by H. Maitland Kersey, she was sold in 1893 to Halifax M. S. Forties [spelling?]. She was a most beautifully built canoe shaped hull forward with sawed off flat transom aft, built of mahogany and varnished.
Her lateral plane reduced the wetted surface to a minimum, it was a bronze metal plate on the bottom of which was moulded a cigar shaped lead bulb. Her rig was that of a knockabout, where the jib stay sets up at the stem head.
Pyxie easily defeated the keel boats but the El Chico beat her in most of the races in which they met with the same ease. El Chico was a result of experiments carried out by the Herreshoffs with the canoe shape Dilemma. The newspapers at the time this wonderful boat came out attempted to describe her and give the secrets of her great speeds. The cuts they printed of her shape slandered her. The Herreshoffs were men who had such a reputation they could afford to experiment, for they were geniuses enough to develop a new idea to the point of success in their brain before they started to built it.
In their hands a fin keel boat, as this type afterwards became bamed, was a success but they carried out a series of experiments by shifting Dilemma's fin forward and aft along her keel until there was not much to be learned that they did not know the actions of fin keel boats and the same is true of the so called shovel nosed bow which the Gloriana made famous in 1892." (Source: Davis, Charles G. "Recollections of Boats and Boatbuilders about New York. 1884 to 1914." Handwritten manuscript in the Collection of Mystic Seaport Museum. No date (1920s), p. 37-39.)

"[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 Description:] Penciled specifications for 'A sloop rigged yacht for the 25-rating class. To have a plate keel of Tobin Bronze with lead on its lower edge'. With scantlings, cockpit arrangement, sized of hatches and dimensions. Dimensions and description (cockpit and hatches) suggest this to be either for #415s WENONAH or #418s EL CHICO. The latter is much more likely, because the former was always referred to as a 2 1/2-rater rather than a 25-rater. Undated (EL CHICO was contracted for on January 18, 1892)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Specifications. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_00960. Folder [no #]. No date (ca 1892-01-18).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled sail cutting plan on brown paper titled 'Sail Plan 418 [#418s EL CHICO]. Herreshoff Mfg. Co'. With notes 'Sizes from Blue Print', 'Sizes from May 18th [1892 ?]', 'Red line size as finished', etc. With additional small sailplan marked 'Measures taken from sails May 17th [1892 ?]'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Sail Cutting Plan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_01500. Folder [no #]. (1892 ?)-05-17.)
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"[Item Description:] [#418s] EL CHICO is currently owned by E. M. Fulton and in first rate order, think he would take $750, he has an offer for $500, I am sorry not to build [a new boat] but times are too hard" (Source: Duncan, W. Butler, Jr. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_46250. Correspondence, Folder 101. 1893-12-04.)
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"[Item Transcription:] We have very pleasant memories of our visit to Bristol & hope to see you at out home in N.Y. before long. Let me know when you propose coming in for any special reason & come to us.
Thank Mrs. H[erreshoff] for her kindness & hospitality. I sent some candy for the children. Ask Miss Devory[?] to let me see the pirate[?] engine[?] when determined.
Bennett has done nothing yet [about #189401es Unbuilt Sloop for James Gordon Bennett]. Told Iselin that he would write to me when he did.
Our measurement committee of L.Y.C. [Larchmont Yacht Club] will meet on 18th inst.
There is a feeling against fin keels that I don't share in & would like to get Sanderson to see[?] PIXIE & try one to race in L.I. Sound. [PYXIE was a 25-rater designed by William Gardner and built by Wood & Sons for Oswald Sanderson of New York. Except in light winds she was slower than her rival, the Herreshoff-built #418s EL CHICO. LOA 36-5ft. LWL 23-5ft. Beam 7-7ft.] He is one of the best racing men & has a strong influence in moulding[?] Larchmont opinion. I propose adding him to the Comm. in place of his brother you[?] to[?] cuope[?].
Would you sell him ALERION [#446s] at a moderate price delivered later when you are through with her or take PIXIE in part pay[men]t? What are ALERION's dimensions & how much head room & how wide house & deck outside & how long evred[?] house be?
Have not seen Geo. Gould yet.
May come down some Sat. night for a sail returning Sunday night. Does race[?] Rim[?] Bristol was run in Sunday morning?" (Source: Willard, Edward Augustus. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_00930. Correspondence, Folder 1_14, formerly 239. 1894-10-10.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Typewritten measurements memorandum:] EL CHICO's [#418s] Measurements Are:
L. W. L. 24.96
Aft side of Mast to end of M. Boom 26.90
Aft side of Mast to end of Jib Stay 13.60
D. K. to Upper Peak Sheave 24.22
D. K. to Throat 20.22
D. K. to Top M. Boom 1.60
Length Gaff 15.74
15.74 [minus] Length 8/l0th Masthead 3.20 [=] 12.54
Baseline + 12.54 -- 53.04 --
(Net perp. x 53.04 -- 599.88 Sqr. ft. sqrt(24.492)) / 2
Measures for rule 24.73
To help you out I may tell you that, providing the W. L. is not by soakage or other influence lengthened, the base of the forward triangle may be increased by 2 feet without putting the boat out of the 25 ft. class. This would give you close on to 25 feet more area of sail. This is probably the solution of your problem. I am,
Very truly yours,
(Signed) John Hyslop. [Undated (between 1892 when EL CHICO was built and 1919 when Hyslop died)." (Source: Hyslop, John. Correspondence (measurements memorandum) to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_01510. Folder [no #]. No date (1892 to 1919).)
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"N/A"

"[Item Description:] I am greatly interested in your mention of the cruise on the French rivers and the Thames, John MacGregor, Rob Roy canoe, I knew Tom Clapham very well, I inherited him from Kunhardt when the latter went off mining in 1883 and I took his place on Forest and Stream. We were very good friends personally but, as was the case with Captain Roland F. Coffin, deadly enemies in print, CHIPPEWA and #418s EL CHICO, I turned up recently a page from The Spirit of the Times of November 24, 1877, with a picture of #187704es TARANTELLA and a long letter by N. G. Herreshoff describing a cruise to and up the Hudson and back, modern development of woodworking tools, SPRUCE, ETHELWYNN, SNIKERSNEE, I do not know whether the Seawanhaka history will be published; [This letter published as 'Letter Twenty-Two' in Herreshoff, Stephens. Their Last Letters 1930-1938. Annotated by John W. Streeter. Bristol, RI, 1988, p. 139.]" (Source: Stephens, William P. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_20730. Correspondence, Folder 59. 1936-06-07.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #418s El Chico even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• El Chico (HMCo-made index card)
• El Chico and #418p BPT30 (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: El Chico
Type: J & M
Length: 25'
Owner: Kersey, H. M.

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

• El Chico
• 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: El Chico
Type: 25' fin keeler
Owner: H. M. Kersey
Year: 1892
Row No.: 188

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: Jan
Year: 1892
E/P/S: S
No.: 0418
Name: El Chico
LW: 25' 0"
B: 7' 0"
D: 6' 0"
Rig: J & M
K: FK
Ballast: Lead
Amount: 1900.00
Last Name: Kersey
First Name: H. M.

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.

"El Chico was still extant in 1925 as indicated by plan 130-143 'Leg-O-Mutton Plan for El-Chico' (1925-12-29)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. April 26, 2015.)

"El Chico's owner H Maitland Kersey was the American representative of Lord Dunraven, owner of Valkyrie III, during the America's Cup of 1896." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 14, 2016.)

"Built in 106 days (contract to finished; equivalent to $18/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"[Sail area 615sqft.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled specifications for 'A sloop rigged yacht for the 25-rating class'. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. MRDW02_00960. No date (EL CHICO was contracted for on January 18, 1892).

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