HMCo #459s Vireo [Viero]

"[1896-06-02] Tue 2: Launched #459 Vireo for Mr. Forbes.
[1896-06-06] Sat 6: Merlin [106ft LOA Edward Burgess-designed schooner ownerd by Vireo's owner William H. Forbes] here & towed off #459 Vireo." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1896. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection.)

"... W. H. Forbes, owner of the Merlin, has placed an order with the Herreshoffs' for a knockabout to be used at Naushon. ..." (Source: Anon. "Yachts and Yachtsmen." Boston Globe, March 8, 1896, p. 29.)

"... One of the Woods Hole yachtsmen who raced his Herreshoff-built VIREO (HMCo 459) in the larger class was Ralph Emerson Forbes. Forbes, whose family had owned Naushon Island since 1856, and whose mother was the great essayist Emerson’s daughter, would become a key player in the story of yacht racing at Quissett. (VIREO #459) is listed in the HMCo Construction Record as VIERO. Both the QYC records and Browne Littell in his 'Early Days of Racing in Woods Hole' written in 1996 record the name as VIREO and that was the name of another 17-footer of unknown origin owned by Forbes. ... [HMCo lists William Hathaway Forbes (1840-1897) as owner of Vireo. He was the father of Ralph Emerson Forbes (1866-1937).]" (Source: Cooper, Douglas E. and Carol R. Suitor. "One Hundred Years of the Herreshoff 12 1/2 at Quissett." In: Herreshoff Marine Museum (publ.). Proceedings. The 6th Classic Yacht Symposium. May 2- 3, 2014. Bristol, RI, 2014, p. 2.)

"N/A"

"[Item Transcription:] [Penciled table:]
EDITH [#456s] 456 - 1150,- 1400
VIERO [#459s] 459 - 1050,- 1300
L[ITTLE] R[OBIN] [#559s] 559 - 985,- 1150
[The first numbers show hull numbers, the second numbers dollar prices as recorded in the Construction Record, the third numbers may be adjusted prices to reflect higher costs at some later time.] [Undated, 1901 or later given mention of LITTLE ROBIN. Given that this paper was filed together with other R.W. Emmons correspondence leading to the new Buzzards Bay 21 class, particularly the first letter which is believed to be from September 21, 1903 and specifically mentions EDITH as a possible role model, one might be inclined to believe that NGH wrote these notes in response to Emmons' inquiry as to the possible cost of the new BB21 boats.] " (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Note. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_39160. Correspondence, Folder 79, formerly 71. No date (1903-09-23 or later ?).)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Handwritten (in ink) signed letter:] On thinking it over I have decided that the 18ft class [Buzzards Bay 18] is rather too large for our needs. I hope instead you can make for us a boat [#622s CURLEW] of the VIREO's [#459s] model [Model 200 at HMM], but with the following modifications: an increased over-hang at the stern and a [p. 2] very little more at the bow if necessary to offset the longer stern. Thus, in order to get the same sized boat as the VIREO, it would be necessary to cut down the water-line length, and so I suggest that the L.W.L. be from 16-17 ft. & the over-all length from 23-24 ft. This purposely gives you leeway for getting proper proportions. The next change [p. 3] is to have a house of the same length & height as those of the 18 footers, and of a width proportionately the same with the width of the boat, Beside this I think we want t a medium rig, a stout mast, no runners & not to long a boom out over the stern.
I am writing to Mr. John Herreshoff about the price.
If you can finish such a boat as described [p. 4] July 1st I should be very glad, but I recognize that I have been late in giving the order. I hope to see you again in a few weeks, and I want to thank [you] for your kindness & attention to me the other day.
Very sincerely,
Henry S. Forbes" (Source: Forbes, Henry S. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_23210. Correspondence, Folder 68. 1904-05-12.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Handwritten (in ink) signed letter with 'Naushon' letterhead:] I have been meaning to tell you before this that the little knockabout CURLEW [#622s CURLEW] is thoroughly satisfactory from stem to stern. She steers & balances splendidly & is stiff in a strong breeze.
She is an improvement on the VIREO [#459s], we think [p. 2] with her house & longer stern. The tender [#190422es], also, is first rate & is great fun to have with the AZOR's [#190207es].
Thanking you for your time & thought, I am
Very sincerely yours,
Henry S. Forbes" (Source: Forbes, Henry S. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_23140. Correspondence, Folder 68. (1904 ?)-07-31.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #459s Vireo [Viero] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Vireo (HMCo-made index card)
• Vireo (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: Viero
Type: J & M
Length: 17'
Owner: Forbes, W. H.

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

• Viero
• 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: Viero
Type: 17' J & M
Owner: W. H. Forbes
Row No.: 720

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: Sept
Day: 25
Year: 1895
E/P/S: S
No.: 0459
Name: Viero
LW: 17'
B: 7' 6"
D: 2' 7"
Rig: J & M
K: K
Ballast: Lead
Amount: $1050.00
Last Name: Forbes
First Name: W. 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.

"LOA 24' 6" taken from data for #456s Edith which was built from the same construction plan." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 19, 2021.)

"Built in 62 days (contract to finished; equivalent to $17/day, 69 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"#459. M[ain] S[ail] 349, Jib 69, [Total] 408[sqft]. Spinnaker 224[?], Balloonjib 102." (Soure: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Note on plan HH.5.10327 (130-025) No. 484 Sail Plan Opossum (1897-04-19). Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

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