HMCo #427s Fin

"[1892-03-25] Fri 25: Re[ceive]d order for 30f[t] racing boat #426 [Edith M] and 16 1/2' fin keel #427 [Fin].
[1892-07-02] Sat 2: Delivered #426 Edith M. Launched & rigged #427 Fin.
[1892-07-04] Mon 4: Tried #427 Fin.
[1893-03-31] Fri 31: Bent sails on #427 [Fin]." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1892 to 1893. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection.)

"May 23rd, [18]92.
#427 Fin Keel.
Length over all about 28' 1".
Length on w.l. 16' 8".
Beam 5' 8".
Depth 2' 6".
Frame spaces 8".
In making moulds deduct for
planking 7/16"
timbers at head 3/4".
Timbers will increase in size (moulded) from 3/4" at head to 1 1/4" - 2 1/2' down.
Scale length 9/8 x 1/12.
Scale b[eam] & d[epth] 1/12." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Note (in ink and pencil) in Offset Booklet HH.4.084.1.] Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"The new fin-keel for Mr. Howard Stockton, for racing on Buzzard's Bay, has been named Fin. She is 17ft, lwl. The Herreshoffs have just sent away a centerboard 30-footer similar to Alpha, to be raced about New York." (Source: Anon. "Yacht News Notes." Forest and Stream, July 14, 1892, p. 35.)

"At Bristol the Herreshoff works are nearly cleaned out, excepting the steel steam yacht [#172p Truant], which is fast nearing completion, the cabin finish being under way and machinery nearly all in. The 17-foot fin keel, Fin [#427s] for Mr. Stockton was taken to Buzzard's bay a week ago. ..." (Source: Anon. "At the Herreshoff Works." Boston Globe, July 17, 1892, p. 11.)

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled sailplan titled '#427 [FIN]. Not used'. Undated (the final sail plan is dated June 11, 1892)." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Sailplan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0535. WRDT08, Folder 43. No date (1892-06-11 or earlier ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled righting arm calculations for #429s [NAVAHOE], #435s [COLONIA], #437s [VIGILANT] and, on a separate pinned-on sheet of paper, for #427s [which would be FIN but appears to be an error]. Undated (the latest yacht mentioned, VIGILANT, was built in 1893)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Calculations. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_01410. Folder [no #]. No date (1893 or later).)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #427s Fin even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Fin (HMCo-made index card)
• Fin (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: Fin
Type: J & M
Length: 16'6"
Owner: Stockton, H.

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

• Fin
• 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: Fin
Type: 19' 11" fin keel
Owner: L. M. & H. Stockton
Year: 1892
Row No.: 224

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: Mar
Day: 25
Year: 1892
E/P/S: S
No.: 0427
Name: Fin
LW: 16' 6"
B: 5' 0"
D: 4' 0"
Rig: J & M
K: FK
Ballast: Lead
Amount: 600.00
Last Name: Stockton
First Name: H.

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 99 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $6/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

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