HMCo #430s Bonnie Doon

"[1893-05-18] Thu 18: ... Launched Bonnie Doon #430.
[1893-05-26] Fri 26: Trial of ... Bonnie Doon #430.
[1893-05-27] Sat 27: ... Delivered Bonnie Doon [#430s]. Went in tow of Kalolah [#173p]." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1893. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection.)

"The new steel schooner in the 90-foot class, the possibility of which was mentioned in these columns soon after the New York cruise, has materialized [NAVAHOE was originally intended to be a schooner]. The Herreshoff will design and build her, and though the Bristol firm, with their customary conservatism, say that she is a 'cruising schooner for a New York gentleman,' there is little doubt but that she will be designed to beat anything in the class.
It will be most interesting to see how far the GLORIANA model is followed in this, the largest sailing craft which the Herreshoffs have yet been commissioned to produce.
The 'New York gentleman' who places the order is believed to be Mr. Royal Phelps Carroll, whose racing record in the 40-footer GORILLA of Cary Smith design is well remembered. It was for Mr. Carroll that the plans of the GLORIANA were originally drawn. ..." (Source: Anon. "Steel 90-Foot Schooner. Herreshoffs Will Build It. Royal Phelps Carroll is Supposed Owner." Boston Globe, September 11, 1892, p. 9.)

"... The Herreshoffs are putting the cabin joiner work in the 90ft. steamer [#173p Kalolah], the 30 [#430s Bonnie Doon] and 25-footer [#428s Merry Thought] are about completed, and they have lately received orders for a catboat [apparently #433s Mojave] and jib and mainsail boat [?], each 20ft. long, for New York." (Source: Anon. "New Yachts." Forest and Stream, December 22, 1892, p. 545.)

"With one large cutter [#429s Navahoe] on the stocks, another keel [#435s Colonia] ready to lay and a probable order for a third [#437s Vigilant], to say nothing of more than the usual number of small racers and steam yachts, the Herreshoff shop is a busy place just now. ...
The general work of the Herreshoffs includes several steamers, the largest [#175p Louise] for Chas. B. Hayden, of Columbus, O., is 102ft. over all, 14ft. beam, and intended for lake and inland work. ...
The next steam yacht [#173p Kalolah] will be of similar model but 92ft. over all and 76ft. l.w.l. ... A third steam yacht for Mr. R. M. Riddle [#174p Loon] will be 62ft. over all, 10ft. beam. Beside these is a 28ft. navy launch for the Enterprise [#176p Launch for Massachusetts school ship Enterprise].
Little was heard last season of a 30ft. centerboard racer sent in July to Great South Bay for John W. Masury [#426s Edith M.], but the boat proved so successful that the firm are now building another for John Gibb [#430s Bonnie Doon], for racing in the same waters. She will be similar to the famous Alpha [#416s] but with a wooden board, and will have the usual South Bay summer cabin [i.e. curtains instead of windows]. The rig will be similar to Dilemma [#412s], with two headsails, and the boat will be built of mahogany, like that craft and El Chico [#418s]. There is also a 25ft. shoal draft cat [#428s Merry Thought] for an unknown owner [John P. Crozer], a racing boat; and two 21-footers [#433s Mojave and #434s Kite] of the Alpha [#416s Alpha ] type [sic, Alpha was a sloop, Mojave and Kite catboats]. Miss Sutton, owner of Wee Win, has ordered a 1-rater [#431s Mirwena (Morwena)], a fin-keel, and another [#436s Bubble] has been ordered by an Austrian yachtsman. There is also a 17ft. l.w.l. centerboard racer [#432s Viola] for an unknown owner [Howard Marston]." (Source: Anon. "Building." Forest and Stream, January 19, 1893, p. 61.)

"... The 30-footer Bonnie Doon [#430s] which Mr. Bryan Alley of New York will sail in the Great South bay, left the works a week ago, and is reported as arriving safely after a pleasant passage. Mr. John B. Herreshoff, on his way to New York in the firm's steam yacht Kaloolah [#173p], towed the Bonnie Doon as far as Point Judith. ..." (Source: Anon. "Approaching Completion." Boston Globe, June 4, 1893, p. 22.)

"... Bonnie Doon's [#430s] victory over Berkeley in the Great South Bay Yacht Club's fifth annual regatta recently, is still the talk of the South Shore sailors of both the kid glove and clam shell variety. ... Considering that the Bonnie Doon is a boat of the latest and most approved design and built by the Herreshoffs, the really remarkable fact about the race was that she only beat Commodore Swan's comparatively old boat by one minute and thirty six seconds over a twenty mile course. Mr. Swan still has the satisfaction of knowing that he possesses the fastest sloop of the conservative type on the bay, let what new fin keels and radical innovations come as they may. Mr. Arthur Gibb's enterprise, however, will, I fancy, revolutionize racing down there by introducing fin de siecle competition in building. Heretofore the yachtsmen were satisfied to race with what craft they happened to possess, but now they must build in order to win...." (Source: Anon ("The Governor.") "Among the Clubs." Brooklyn Life, August 12, 1893, p. 20.)

"Final Contest on the Great South Bay to Determine the Supremacy of the Two Crack Yachts. --- Mr. Gibbs Herreshoff Craft Opens Up a Gap of Nearly Two Miles in a Twenty Mile Course. --- A Clever Measurer From the Land Locked Sea.
When Alden S. Swan's sloop yacht Berkeley was defeated in the Groat South Bay Yacht club regatta last month by Arthur Gibb's Bonnie Doon, the boatmen and skippers of the bay took the matter much to heart, and were free to say that there must have been some mistake. The Berkeley was built by a South bay yachtsman and was sailed by a South bay skipper and according to the traditions of that locality this combination is unbeatable, even by a Herreshoff boat; no, not if Herreshoff made the boat a dozen times. The talk following the contest was hot until it came to the time for the annual regatta of the Sayville Yacht club, on Saturday last, when the club offered a special prize for a class in which both the Berkeley and the Bonnie Doon might finally decide the question of supremacy. In the Great South bay regatta the Bonnie Doon beat the Berkeley something over a minute in the twenty miles. But this minute was not all the Bonnie Doon bent the Berkeley, for the official timer of the Great South Bay Yacht club measured the Bonnie Doon itself and everything that was appended to the Bonnie Doon so that on his sheet she was longer than the Berkeley by eight-tenths of a foot. In reality the Bonnie Boon's racing measurement as taken by the officials of the Atlantic and other yacht clubs is 31 1-10 feet, while the Berkeley's, if properly recorded, should be in the vicinity of forty feet. This, on a basis of handicap, such as is the rule in the larger clubs, would have required a time allowance from the Berkeley to the Bonnie Doon of nearly fifteen minutes. Instead of that the wily measurer of the Great South Bay Yacht club, taking advantage of a new rule of the club, measured both the bow and stern overhang of the Bonnie Doon and then added the width of the stern rail and the brass cap of the bowsprit. This made the measurement of the clever Great South bay expert 44 feet over all, or two feet more than Herreshoff measured for the boat and charged for. If Herreshoff had known the boat was 44 feet he no doubt would have charged more for it. Thus in the Great South bay regatta the Bonnie Doon was supposed to be 34.8 feet sailing measurement and the Berkeley 34 feet. According to corrected time the Bonnie Doon won this race, as has been indicated, by something over a minute. The defeat would have been far more decisive, except that the skipper of the Bonnie Doon did not know how much sail to use on her, and the wind being half a gale the experiments had to be made with caution and while the race was being run. In this way fully ten minutes was lost on the first tack.
Saturday last both boats agreed to forego measurement and sail, as it were, at catch weights, both starting from scratch. Bryan Alley, who held the tiller for the Bonnie Doon, got to the line just us the starting gun was fired and so had a clear field of the twenty other craft in the various classes of the regatta. The Berkeley got over the line forty seconds later. It was a sort of go as you please for the Bonnie Doon and she had the Berkeley beaten on the first leg. On the second leg the distance became a painful gap for the bay boatmen to look at, and the third leg on the way home was all but finished by the Bonnie Doon when the Berkeley rounded the buoy and started for the line. The Bonnie Doon went over the line 9 minutes and 46 seconds before the Berkeley, making the defeat a matter of about a mile and three-quarters in actual water.
The victorious boat went to its moorings, picked up its tender and returned to the judges' boat before the Berkeley had crossed the line. Had the finish been decided on the handicaps of the big yacht clubs, which would have allowed the Bonnie Doon at least fourteen minutes, the actual defeat from a yachting standpoint of the Berkeley would have been officially recorded as in the neighborhood of half an hour.
Mr. Gibb is especially pleased with the success of the Bonnie Doon, because he did not have the boat built in the first place as a racer, but as a pleasure boat for the women of the family. As a matter of fact it is not on racing models at all so far as the inside is concerned, for it is wide and roomy and eminently comfortable. In fact, Mrs. Gibb has a party of friends aboard daily from the cottage at Islip, and Mr. Gibb has refrained from racing except in nearby regattas that the Bonnie Doon might save its purpose for comfort and not for racing. This fact is in direct denial of the bay boatmen's declaration that the Bonnie Doon is nothing but a racing machine. She is a cruiser and a pleasure boat first and foremost, and the fact that she has surprising speed was only a secondary matter so far as either her designer or her purchaser contemplated.
Apropos of the Great South bay regatta, of which mention was made above, a correction is due to the Bonnie Doon. In the account of the regatta it was said that the Edith M. [#426s] came in fully fifteen minutes ahead of the other boats, and then in the summary the time was corrected to 3 hours 18 minutes, while the Bonnie Doon's was correctly given as 3 hours 12 minutes and 46 seconds. Thus, even if the Edith M had been eligible, it is clear that she would have been beaten on time allowance. Mr. Gibb is now satisfied that he has not only the roomiest and most comfortable boat on the bay, but also the fastest, and from present indications it will be a long time before the bay boatmen or the bay builders catch the Bonnie Doon." (Source: Anon. "Bonnie Doon Wins Again. Alden Swan's Berkeley Suffers a Second and Signal Defeat." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 21, 1893, p. 2.)

"... Mr. John Gibb's Herreshoff sloop, the Bonnie Doon, which is the fastest boat in the Great South Bay, has afforded her owner a great amount of pleasure during the last summer. The Bonnie Doon, beside being a fast boat, is surprisingly roomy and comfortable, and well adapted for cruising. ..." (Source: Anon. "Society." Brooklyn Life, September 22, 1894, p. 9.)

"... Arthur Gibb has withdrawn his famous Herreshoff sloop Bonnie Doon from the first-class sloops in order to let other boats have a chance, but is very anxious to race the winning yacht if a match can be arranged. ..." (Source: Anon. "Yachting Notes." New York 22, August 22, 1896, p. 4.)

"... In all these departments of summer sport the Gibbs are leaders. In yachting Arthur Gibb's Bonnie Doon, a Herreshoff sloop, 43 feet over all, and 29.9 1/4 water line, and L. M. Gibb's half rater, Dearie, 14 1/2 feet water line, are cracks of the bay and among the very best the Penataquit-Corinthian Club can put forward. The Bonnie Doon, indeed, is one of the very nearly invincible sloops of the entire South Side. She yet holds her former prestige though the yachtsmen of the surrounding territory are building craft directly against her now, to force her from her high post. Ex-Mayor Schieren with his Lorelei has been one of her fiercest competitors for several years. ..." (Source: Anon. "Brooklynites and Their Summer Homes." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 19, 1900, p. 29.)

"... Several small protests --- small in the yachting world ---have been on tap for the last month. Perhaps the most important of these was the protest by H. O. Havemeyer, against Arthur Gibbs in the race for the championship of the Great South Bay. Mr. Gibbs' aspirant, Bonnie Doon, has held the title for a number of years. H. O. Havemeyer, determined to down the Bonnie Doon, gave two orders --- one to Herreshoff [#530s Electra] and the second to another builder --- the one which built the fastest boat to receive a bonus. At the fall regatta of the Penataquit-Corinthian Yacht Club, on Labor Day, the Bonnie Doon met Mr. Havemeyer's best, Impatience, on a time allowance basis. The Impatience people, seeing that they were undoubtedly outfooted, protested upon an imaginary foul. The regatta committee, however, refused to uphold the protest, and the Bonnie Doon is still the champion." (Source: Anon. "Yachting." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 16, 1900, p. 26.)

"[Item Transcription:] [Penciled list of sailing boats built by HMCo in the winter of 1892/1893:]
428 [#428s] MERRY THOUGHT. 25ft w.l. Cat. Crozer
429 [#429s] NAVAHOE. 84ft w.l. Sloop. Carroll
430 [#430s] BONNIE DOON. 30ft w.l. Sloop.
431 [#431s] MORWENA. 1 Rater. England
432 [#432s] VIOLA. 176t w.l. Cat. Boston
433 [#433s] MOJAVE. 20ft w.l. Cat. Murray
434 [#434s] KITE. 20ft w.l. J[ib] & M[ainsail]. Peet
435 [#435s] COLONIA. 85ft w.l. Sydicate
436 [#436s] BUBBLE. 1 Rater. One-Rater. Sail New Draft. Austria
437 [#437s] VIGILANT. 85ft w.l. Sydicate
438 [#438s] MENEEN. 2 1/2 Rater. Jackson." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Penciled List. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_04410. Folder [no #]. No date (1893-07 or later).)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #430s Bonnie Doon even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Bonnie Doon (HMCo-made index card)
• Bonnie Doon (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: Bonnie Doon
Type: J & M
Length: 30'
Owner: Gibb, J. W.

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

• Bonnie Doon
• 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: Bonnie Doon
Type: 30' sloop
Owner: J. W. Gibb
Year: 1893
Row No.: 90

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: Oct
Day: 3
Year: 1892
E/P/S: S
No.: 0430
Name: Bonnie Doon
LW: 30' 0"
B: 12'
D: 2'
Rig: J & M
CB: y
Ballast: Lead
Amount: 3750.00
Notes Constr. Record: Lead ballast inside. D. 426
Last Name: Gibb [?]
First Name: Jno [?]

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.

"Bonnie Doon sailed out of Great South Bay Yacht Club under the command of Arthur Gibb. She sailed her first race on 1893-07-29." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 2, 2008.)

"Built in 227 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $17/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.