HMCo #439s Alerion I

"[1893-11-06] Mon 6: ... Commence #439 [Alerion I], 32'wl fin for self.
[1893-11-27] Mon 27: ... Began to set up #439 [Alerion I] for self.
[1893-12-05] Tue 5: ... Began planking #439 [Alerion I].
[1893-12-13] Wed 13: ... Finished planking #439 [Alerion I].
[1893-12-18] Mon 18: ... Turned over #439 [Alerion I].
[1894-01-03] Wed 3: ... Deck laid on #439 [Alerion I], ...
[1894-04-10] Tue 10: ... Hoisted #439 [Alerion I] on dock for keel.
[1894-04-18] Wed 18: Very fine. Mod[erate] N to NE [wind]. Calm in evening. Launched Alerion, #439.
[1894-04-24] Tue 24: ... Put spars in Alerion [#439s].
[1894-04-28] Sat 28: Very fine & warm in a.m. L[igh]t rain in p.m. ... Tried Alerion [#439s] under sail.
[1894-04-29] Sun 29: Very fine & cool. Fresh NE & E [wind]. Off in Alerion [#439s].
[1894-05-08] Tue 8: Bent sails on Alerion [#439s] after altering[?] and pickling.
[1894-06-02] Sat 2: Laid Alerion [#439s] ashore to clean.
[1894-06-03] Sun 3: Very fine. Fresh SW to W [wind]. T[hunder]&L[ightning] last night [and] a.m. Off in Alerion [#439s] with Sidney and Nat.
[1894-06-10] Sun 10: Very fine & warm. Mod[erate] SSW [wind] in p.m. Off with family in Alerion [#439s] to Dyers[?] Island.
[1894-06-14] Thu 14: Sold Alerion #439 to Mr. [James] Murray [of Philadelphia, a Summer resident of Jamestown and Commodore of the Jamestown Yacht Club]. ..." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1893 to 1894. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection.)

"Proposed Names. ... Alerion ..." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. [Page in 1892 Diary with Proposed Boat Names.] Diary, 1892. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"Nov. 8th 1893. #439 (1st Alerion) Memory.
Disp[lacement] of hull to deep w.l. on back of model as on preceding pg. [of design booklet] 14240lbs - 17.55 sq.ft.
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, Nathanael Greene. [Design booklet entry.] November 8, 1893.)

"My Own Boats. Except a few that will be mentioned as half-owner. ...
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1894 ALERION #439 - 33 ft. w.l. fin and bulb keel. This craft had the keel originally made for DRUSILLA (#417) but proved too light. She had full sloop rig, and was too large and complicated for my single-handed sailing, and I sold her after about two months and her name was changed to MEMORY." (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.)

"The following winter [1893/1894], I made plans and had built for myself a yacht designed to have the discarded keel taken off DRUSILLA and replaced by a heavier one. This boat, named ALERION, was thirty-two feet waterline, about forty feet overall, and eight feet four inches wide and rigged to carry [a] topsail and a jib topsail. She proved too large and complicated for single-handed sailing and I very soon sold her and her name was changed to MEMORY." (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. 60.)

"His next boat or yacht was the first of his yachts to be named 'Alerion.' She was built in 1894 and had for her keel the fin and bulb that had originally been made for Mr. E. D. Morgan's 'Drusilla,' building No. 417, but was found to be too light for the sail area of No. 417. This 'Alerion' was thirty-three feet W.L. and had two headsails --- what Captain Nat called a full sloop rig --- but he found her too large for his use as he sometimes liked to go singlehanded, so he sold her during her first season and her name was changed to 'Memory." (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.)

"Nat Herreshoff's private fin-keeler which was built last winter, was launched Tuesday [April 17, 1894]. The hull was slung upon the immense derrick at the end of the pier and the heavy fin and hull attached to it, her lines were then shown to an advantage and demonstrated the fact that she is a very fast boat, while she is constructed with a view to speed she is well fitted for a family cruiser.
The Alerion is 45 long over all, 32 feet on the water line, 8 feet beam and 9 feet draught , including fin.
Her hull is of yellow pine painted white above the waterline. The fin is of Tobin bronze to which an additional weight of several thousand pounds of lead is attached. The deck is of white pine and the house oak.
The rigging will consist of a mainsail, jib, forestaysail and topsail and will have a large spread of canvas.
She will be given a trial trip in the harbor as soon as her rigging is completed." (Source: Anon. "The Alerion. Nat Herreshoff's New Yacht. A Fast Family Cruiser." Bristol Phoenix, April 21, 1894, p. 2.)

"The new finkeel built for his own use by N. G. Herreshoff is named Alerion. Her dimensions, as reported, are 45ft. over all, 32ft. l.w.l., 7ft. beam and 9ft. draft, with pole mast and three lower sails." (Source: Anon. "Dacotah. The Allan Ten-Rater." Forest and Stream, May 5, 1894, p. 389.)

"BRISTOL, R.I., May 23 [1894]. --- The Herreshoff shops have started up, after quite a shutdown, and a good force of men is busy in finishing the three twenty-one-footers so far ordered for the Larchmont's new class. ... It is considered certain here that N. G. Herreshoff will be on the Vigilant [#437s] in her races abroad, and that 'Ned' Willard of New-York will also be there. Mr. Willard and Mr. Herreshoff had a sail in the latter's new thirty-three-foot fin keel Alerion last Sunday, and then went to New-York to look at the Vigilant. The Alerion is a handy boat under a small, rig and is much like the thirty-footer Handsel [#422s], built two years ago for J. R. Hooper of Boston. She has 5 feet 9 inches cabin head room under a low house, and, like the Handsel, has two cockpits, a small and shallow one aft for the helmsman and a larger and deeper one next the cabin for passengers. Both are inclosed in one coaming. The Alerion has a pole mast long enough for the setting of jib-topsail and club topsail. Without the light sails she is a good single-hander for an afternoon's sail.
Mr. Herreshoff is frequently accompanied in his sails by Sidney, his seven-year-old son, who takes as naturally to a boat as his father and is already up on many of the fine points in steering. ..." (Source: Anon. "The Twenty-One-Footers. Herreshoff Shops Opened to Complete the New Yachts for Larchmont." New York Times, May 24, 1894, p. 3.)

"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.)

"... Last year [1894] Nat Herreshoff built two boats by way of experiment. The first was the Memory [#439s ex-Alerion I], a thirty-footer. This boat could sail like a witch. When Mr. Herreshoff went to Europe to help get the Vigilant in trim he sold the Memory to Commodore Murray of the Jamestown Yacht Club, and he raced her very successfully during the Summer. Later in the Summer, on his return from England, M. Herreshoff built the Alerion [#446s], another thirty-footer, which he sailed himself during August and September, and every one who saw the yacht declared that she was the fastest they had ever seen. These two boats were of the fin type, and were simply racing machines. ..." (Source: Anon. "May Be A Big Fin Keel." New York Times, February 3, 1895, p. 15.)

"... The fin keel sloop Memory that has been sold by Vice-Commodore Joseph E. Fletcher, of the Bristol Yacht Club, to Edward N. Norton, of the Atlantic Yacht Club, has been launched at Bristol. She will be taken to New-York, to be delivered to the purchaser. She was designed five years ago by 'Nat' Herreshoff, for his own use, and was the first racer in Bristol waters which carried the cross-cut sails. ..." (Source: Anon. "The Craft And Those Who Sail Them." New York Tribune, May 4, 1899, p. 4.)

"... The championship of the 36-foot yawl class [of the season of 1901] was won by the Herreshoff fin keel Memory, which proved herself very fast under the yawl rig which was given her in place of her original sloop rig. The experiment of a yawl rig on a boat of her type was watched with considerable interest, and the result of her racing seems to prove the success of the experiment. Memory is owned by Mr. W. N. Bavier, of New Rochelle. She is 47 ft. on deck, 32 ft. on the water, 8.6 beam and 7 feet draught." (Source: Anon. "Long Island Sound Champions." Rudder, May 1902, p. 249.)

"Through the agency of Mr. Frank Bowne Jones, of this city, the following sales of yachts have recently been made: ... The racing yawl Memory by Mr. T. J. Preston, Jr., to Mr. H. Mason Raborg. ..." (Source: Anon. "Yachts Changing Hands." New York Sun, April 18, 1904, p. 10.)

"FOR SALE: --- Yawl 'Memory' one of Herreshoff's fastest creations. Champion Long Island Yacht Racing Assn. 1902-1905 33 ft class. Comfortable cruiser, 47 ft. over all. Price $2,500. Can be run comfortably with one man. H. M. R., 3 Broad St, New York. [With photo.]" (Source: Anon. [Sale Ad.] Boating Magazine (Cleveland, Ohio), March 1906, p. 54.)

"No. 3299 --- For Sale --- (See illustration). Racing yawl with cruising accommodations; designed and built by Herreshoff Mfg. Co., 1894. 47 ft. o, a., 32 ft. w.l., 8 ft. 8 in. breadth, 7 ft. draught; steel fin with 5 ton lead bulb. She has oak frames and keel, double cedar planking, copper fastenings, hull and deck diagonally steel strapped between planking and frames, white pine decks, laid straight, covered with canvas, as is also the cabin top. She has a deep cockpit providing comfortable accommodations for 6 or 8 people. Cabin gives 5 ft. 10 in. headroom, has 2 transoms on each side, fitted with air cushions; toilet, food and dish lockers; berth forward for man. Mainsail, mizzen, jib and running rigging new in 1905, has spinnaker, balloon jibs and storm jibs, anchors and cables, cabin fittings, etc. She has been champion of her class L. I. S. Y. R. A., 1901-'02-'03 &'05. Did not race in 1904. Condition is perfect and owner only offers her as he has purchased a larger boat. Inspectablc New York. Address Stanley M. Seaman, 220 Broadway, New York. [Though not explicitly identified as Memory ex. Alerion I, she can be clearly identified from her dimensions, history and photos. See also a similar advertisement in Rudder, March 1912, p. 166.]" (Source: Rudder, March 1906, p. 154.)

"... Gielow & Orr ... report the following transfers: ... The 47 foot Herreshoff yawl Memory has been sold for R. Halliday Nexson to the Lubschansky brothers. ..." (Source: Anon. "Cone Goes to Great Lakes." New York Sun, March 16, 1903, p. 5.)

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled sketch (original sketch?) of a midship section marked '# 441'. Sections are marked 5.32sqin and 5.48sqin. Fin keel scantlings are marked '3/16 or 7/32'. Keel plate is marked '7/16'. Deck beams are marked '1 1/2 x 11/16'. Note: 441 would have been the centerboard catboat ACIS but the drawing certainly shows a fin keel. This might be #439s ALERION I (it is not DAKOTAH). Undated. Filed with other material from 1893/1894 and other fin keel boats from that time should be examined." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE05_00510. Folder [no #]. No date (1893 ??).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled sketch on brown wrapping paper with a preliminary plan with displacement curve, half-breadth plan, profile and sections of an unidentified early fin keel boat. With calculations and notes indicating the keel plate to weigh 1440lbs, a weight of the circular-section bulb that appears to be 7500lbs and a note along the displacement curve showing 15000lbs. Judging from other Herreshoff fin keel boats of similar displacement this would suggest a waterline length of about 32 to 33ft. Only one fin keel boat between 31ft and 34ft waterline length was built by HMCo, #439s ALERION I. A comparison of this plan with the extremely faint penciled construction plan of ALERION I at Hart Nautical Collections appears to suggest a match, but this cannot be confirmed and is uncertain. On verso an inked address ' Mrs. N. G. Herreshoff, Bristol, R.I.', a stamp ' W. A. Crett, Cloaks to Order, Providence, RI', a sticker 'Forwarded by Earle & Prew's Express from Providence, RI' and another small penciled sketch of what may be a sailplan. Undated, ALERION I was designed in the fall of 1893." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE02_07490. Folder [no #]. No date (fall of 1893 ???).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled sketched sailplan on the inside of an envelope showing what appears to be a fin keel gaff sloop with topsail. With calculations arrving at a total sail area of 1275sqft. On verso of an envelope to NGH in Bristol, postmarked October 2, 1893 with additional calculations, one mentioning bulb angles, and a midship section with scantlings of a yacht with a pronounced bulb keel as well as too outboard profiles showing two different bulb keel and rudder configurations. (This probably relates to the design of #439s ALERION I of which similar sketches were made during the same time frame.)" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE05_01510. Folder [no #]. No date (after 1893-10-02).)
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"[Item Description:] re conversation we had on #437s VIGILANT, am thinking of building this winter a small boat for knocking around the Sound & racing, draft not more than 7 feet as I want the boat to be able to lie off my place in Pelham Bay, I want more of a boat than a fin keel would be & I should think that either a 30 or 35 foot waterline would fill the bill, would like some idea as to about what such a boat would cost & also some idea as to what you would consider sufficient beam & headroom below &c, hope you are all right after the exciting races we had [on VIGILANT]. [Three days later, on October 27, 1893, NGH finished a model for #439s ALERION I which was built the following winter for himself. ALERION I drew 7ft and was 32ft long on the waterline and it is tempting to see her having been designed in response to Butler Duncan's original request.]" (Source: Duncan, W. Butler, Jr. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_46340. Correspondence, Folder 101. 1893-10-24.)
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"[Item Description:] in answer to your letter, am not interested in a fin keel but in a deep centerboard boat which would be easier to sell after I am through with it, 34-36ft size, times are hard and am afraid I am after a cheap build, think a #437s VIGILANT type would make a very good boat, am not quite ready to go ahead, how long would it take to build. [May this be a reference to #439s ALERION I which the following winter NGH would build for himself but may have been prompted by a letter from Butler Duncan from October 24, 1893 asking for the design of a boat with ALERION's dimensions?]" (Source: Duncan, W. Butler, Jr. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_46300. Correspondence, Folder 101. 1893-10-27.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections titled 'New model. finished Oct[ober] 27 [18]93. 31 3/4ft w.l. for fin keel [#439s ALERION I]. 1in per ft = 198cuft disp[lacement]'. With two displacement curves comparing this boat at 198cuft = 12780lbs with DILEMMA at 116.2cuft or 7474lbs displacement. This must be one of the first times that NGH used pantograph sections to determine a design's displacement. Prior to this, from December 1886 on, he had used his model weighing apparatus that determined the weight of water displaced by an immersed model. His design notebook shows that on Novemer 2, 1893 he also used this method for ALERION I and arrived at a total displacement of 196cuft = 12600lbs, a difference of 1%!" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE05_00830. Folder [no #]. 1893-10-27.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled preliminary sailplan of an unnamed fin keel gaff sloop. Untitled. With calculations arriving at sail areas of 1175.4, 1190.2, 1225, 1230, 1020 and 1800[?] sqft, respectively. On inside of an opened envelope from 'J.M. Smith, Gold's Steam Heating Apparaturs' in Providence to NGH in Bristol, postmarked October 26, 1893. Undated, date of postmark and sail area size suggest this to be the original sketch of #439s ALERION I whose design NGH began on November 6, 1893." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE05_00430. Folder [no #]. No date (ca 1893-11 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections with calculations titled 'New model finished Nov 1 [18]93. 31 3/4[ft] w.l. for fin keel. #439 [ALERION I] for self'. With note 'See other side'. On verso another set of penciled pantograph hull sections titled 'Dec 3rd [1893]. Model for #439 (to upper w.l. on back of model). 32ft 7in long'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE05_00850. Folder [no #]. 1893-11-01.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections marked 'Trial'. Careful overlay of these sections with those titled 'Dec 3rd [1893]. Model for #439 [ALERION I] (to upper w.l. on back of model). 32ft 7in long' show them to be from the same model but with a different waterline." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE05_00890. Folder [no #]. No date (ca 1893-11-03).)
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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 Transcription:] I received your letter and was delighted to learn that you are building another boat [#439s ALERION I] for yourself, and I hope very much that I shall have a sail in her sometime or another with you and Mrs. Herreshoff.
I think that ALLERION or ALERION as it is spelled in the old books of Heraldry, and which I like much better, would be a very pretty name for a boat. The Alerion is an heraldic eagle, displayed without beak or feet. Displayed means in the language of heraldry what is usually denominated in this country a 'spread eagle'.
The eagles in the arms of France, Russia, Austria, and Germany are all displayed. The eagle in the arms of the United States is not properly displayed, although it was when it was first adopted and on the earliest coins it is correctly displayed. The Alerion was first found emblazoned in the arms of the Dukes of Lorrain, and of the ancient Duchy of Lorraine, and the name is supposed to have been derived from that of Lorraine. I did not intend, my dear Nat, when I started, to inflict on you a lecture on Heraldry, but I thought if you adopted the name you might like to know something of it derivation.
I was greatly disappointed at not seeing you when I was in New York. I should certainly have gone down to Bay Ridge to see you but I expected to come every day for i left so much sickness in the house that I was almost afraid to head home at all, and I had to forego seeing the last race [when [which #437s VIGILANT won against VALKYRIE].
I did not like the finish of the stern of the VIGILANT, carried out as it was to a feather edge, any more than I did when you showed it to me in the model of the NAVAHOE [#429s].
I think the neat small counter of VALKYRIE had a much more finished appearance. You know I have always liked the counters of the English yachts. But this did not hinder the whole thing from being magnificent triumph for you, and you may be sure my dear Nat, that I rejoiced in it all as much as if I had been in your jacket.
I have no doubt from what you show me of Sidney's proclivities that he will inherit the family bent.
I hope he will inherit the family ability with it.
Miss Gilmor desired me to send her kindest love to your wive and to Mrs De Wolfe and Miss Hovey[?] to which I beg that you add mine, and believe me my dear Nat,
your affectionate friend, ..." (Source: Young, William. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_46370. Correspondence, Folder 102, formerly RtDB. 1894-01-30.)
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"[Item Description:] EYC races; #439s MEMORY ex-ALERION I" (Source: Buck, Henry H. (Eastern YC). Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_01490. Correspondence, Folder 1_14, formerly 236. 1894-08-01.)
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"[Item Transcription:] My father and I intend going to Bristol this week Friday (Aug. 31) to see you with regard to building a boat similar to 'ALERION' [#439s].
If it would not inconvenience you, my father would like to take a short spin on your boat. We shall probably reach Bristol about 11 or 12 o'clock.
Yours respectfully ... [This will become #449s ANOATOK.]" (Source: Owen, George, Jr. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_01250. Correspondence, Folder 1_14, formerly 237. 1894-08-27.)
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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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"[Item Description:] Penciled preliminary sailplan sketch of an unidentified 30ft LWL gaff sloop with long overhanging ends and deep keel. Marked in lower right corner '30ft w.l.'. With calculations arriving at a total sail area of 1071sqft. With half section showing a pronounced bulb keel. On verso of a torn-off part of an empty 'Statistics of American Yachts for the American Yacht List. ... Proprietor Thomas Manning' form. Undated, 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 preliminary of #439s ALERION I and has been determined to date from about November 8, 1893. (This also suggests that this 30ft LWL design might have been intended for NGH --- and subsequently evolved into the fin keel ALERION I.)" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE05_01460. Folder [no #]. No date (ca 1893-11-08).)
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"[Item Transcription:] Not having heard further from you I presume that you are busy enough.
Iselin [of the syndicate for #452s DEFENDER whose contract to build will be signed in two days] telegraphed me asking if I cared to race with him this season & I answered by telegraph that I could not spare the time.
Gould [owner of #437s VIGILANT] has as you know offered VIGILANT to the cup committee & they have accepted her, so I presume will race her as they wish & whether they get most out of her or not I think that it was just the best thing that Gould could do & showed his spirit. There is no chance that I can learn[?] of any other cup defender & so yo must beat the Britisher with the new one. I sincerely hope that you will.
Please tell me if you care to sell ALERION [#446s] & if so what price you would make quietly to count[?] Sanderson, also does she in to the 30 rating class L.Y.C. [Larchmont YC]?
The MEMORY [#439s ex-ALERION I] as I understand is 32 W.L. & undoubtedly over that class --- is she not? I trust that you are all well & happy & that Miss Florence reached home safely." (Source: Willard, Edward Augustus. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_22150. Correspondence, Folder 66. 1895-01-21.)
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"[Item Description:] have been thinking over a craft for you, an enlarged #461s COCK ROBIN would be very good for you, able and very fast, arrangements compared to #449s ANOATOK, 44ft overall, advise rig similar to ANOATOK, if you prefer topsail this could be set on polemast as on #439s MEMORY ex-ALERION I, cannot give you definite price as my brother is away, around $4,000, it looks as if the proposed [by Herman Duryea] 46 foot class [#189702es Unbuilt Special 46ft Class of 1898] will not mature and if so would be pleased to take up the matter at once [Owen subsequently contracted for #487s ONWARD], (fragment)" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Letter to George Owen. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_12840. Correspondence, Folder 36, formerly 189. 1897-10-04.)
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"N/A"

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #439s Alerion I even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Alerion I (MIT Museum-made index card)
• Memory ex-Alerion I (HMCo-made index card)
• Memory ex-Alerion I (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: Alerion
Type: J & M
Length: 32'
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.

• Alerion I
• Memory ex-Alerion I
• 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: Alerion I
Type: 32' 5" fin keeler
Owner: N. G. Herreshoff
Year: 1894
Row No.: 13

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: Feb
Day: 9
Year: 1893
E/P/S: S
No.: 0439
Name: Alerion
LW: 32'
B: 8' 6"
D: 7'
Rig: J & M
K: FK
Notes Constr. Record: W>N> Murray?;"Memory"?
Last Name: H.
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.

"Over the decades, the Bavier family owned three Herreshoff yachts which were all re-named Memory: the fin keel yawl #439s Memory ex-Alerion (built in 1894), the New York 40 #778s Memory ex-Black Duck (built 1916), and the Fishers Island 31 #1521s Memory built in 1946." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 26, 2014.)

"Built in 142 days (setup to launch; equivalent to 99 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"In the absence of better available data displacement was estimated by using the figure for Net Register Tons (7) from the 1903 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (Gross Register Tons were reported as 7) and converting to lbs by dividing through 2000 (short tons). Note that this figure can only be a rough estimate because register tons as reported in Yacht Registers correlate only loosely with actual displacement figures." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 17, 2015.)

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