HMCo #473s Alfrida [Alfreda, Elfrida]

"[1896-04-09] Thu 9:... Set up no 473 [$473s Alfrida].
[1896-05-14] Thu 14: Launched #473 [Alfrida], cb racing boat. ..." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1896. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection.)

"No 473
March 1896
21ft light c[enter] b[oard] racing boat.
Frame spaces 8".
Timbers moulded 7/8" at head, tapering to 1 3/16 in 2' 6" then 1 3/16" to lead. Sided 3/4".
Planking 7/16.
Keel, 1 3/8" thick, 7" wide at bottom in middle part with 3/4" hip.
Floor 3"01"-0.
#417 beam mold [to be used for this boat]." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Penciled note in Offset Booklet HH.4.099.] Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"BRISTOL, R I, May 17 [1896] --- ... There was a very quiet launching at the Herreshoff works Friday [May 16, 1896], when a new centerboard boat was put overboard from the north shop. It was built for a person in the west, and is to be sailed in inland waters. Her lines are a strong departure from any of the boats turned out at the Herreshoff works this season. She is very broad amidships, and tapering out to a sharp point at the bow, resembling for the deck plan very much a pumpkin seed cut off square at the large end. ..." (Source: Anon. "From Bristol Shops. New York 30-Footers Being Delivered to Their Owners." Boston Globe, May 18, 1896, p. 7.)

"ALFRIDA
Lake Minnetonka and White Bear Lake in the State of Minnesota are two of the liveliest sheets of water so far as yacht racing is concerned in the western stales. Each lake has its champion, and inter-lake races are indulged in freely. Alfrida was the champion of White Bear Lake in 1896. She was built for a syndicate of yachtsmen, members of the White Bear Yacht Club, to try and beat the Tartar of Lake Minnetonka. This she failed to do, but nevertheless she is a flyer. She was designed and built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company and is of the very lightest possibIe construction, with hollow spars and cross-cut sails." (Source: Photo caption, Rudder of March 1898, p. 101.)

"The Scow is Born
... On White Bear [Lake], this rivalry between builders began in 1896 with the arrival of Alfrida. While visiting his father in Providence, Rhode Island, earlier that year, St. Paul businessman Lucius Pond Ordway saw boat builder Nathanael Herreshoff to order a yacht for his friend and fellow sailor Milton Griggs. (Sailors often bought boats from established East Coast builders before local builders opened their shops and perfected their art.) While in Providence, Ordway and Herreshoff discussed the designs of flat-bottomed boats. Herreshoff had been successful with this design in smaller boats, and Alfrida would be an experiment on a larger scale.
Alfrida appeared on White Bear Lake in 1896. She was a lightweight boat with ribs running fully across the hull, canoe-style. John O. Johnson once said that, in his opinion, the real idea for the racing scow came from the Alfrida." (Source: Hodgson, Thomas A. https://www.ilya.org/index.php/centennial-book/centennial-book-chapter-2.html, retrieved 2019-04-29.)

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Two sets of penciled pantograph hull sections from different models, marked 'May 31' and 'June 3rd [1895]', respectively. With calculations marked '15ft w.l. model made May 31 [18]95 [Model 1313]' arriving at a displacement of 16.95cuft =1090lbs and marked 'June 3 [1895]. 16ft w.l. model [Model 223]' arriving at a displacement of 16.592cuft = 1065[lbs]. With five displacement curves marked '1/2 area. .78. 19ft w.l. #472 [GNOME from 1896]', '1/2 area. 1.98. 21 1/2ft w.l. #473 [ALFRIDA from 1896]', 1/2 area. 1.05', '1090lbs [Model 1313]', '1065lbs [Model 223]. Dotted line', respectively. Also an unrelated penciled lead section marked 'Trial 89ft [i.e. #452s DEFENDER and not OLITA]. Jun 5 [1895]'. (Note that these sections are dated later than OLITA's construction plan and that overlaying them with those on the construction plan did not result in a definitive match. Furthermore, the Construction Record states that OLITA was 15ft lwl while the Model 223 from which OLITA is said to have been built was for a 16ft boat.)" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_06350. Folder [no #]. 1895-05-31.)
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"[Item Description:] [Paper with penciled notes on both sides:] 1st as to classification ..., 2 as to measured[?] load what[sic] can be carried in races abort[sic] ..., 3 for time allowance she is measured ith her measured load both live & dead .... [Filed with Lucius P. Ordway 1896 correspondence and believed to be related to Rules for Minnesota Sloop Championship Contests and #473s ALFRIDA.] Undated (ca early 1896)." (Source: Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_72430. Note. Measuring and Measurement Rules (Box 2), Folder B2F02, formerly MRDE15. No date (1896 ?).)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Mimeograph or carbon copy. Labeled in pencil 'From L. P. Ordway. St. Paul, M'. Believed to have been prepared by Ordway to provide intelligence for the upcoming design and construction of #473s ALFRIDA to be sent to White Bear Lake in Minnesota:] Memorandum of Rules covering Races of Minnesota Sloops.
At the time the above rules were made no boat on either Lake was supposed to measure above the limit of boats then on the water, to be allowed to sail.
When it came to accurate measurements at the time of the races last year, the MARIE, the boat entered by lake Minnetonka, was found to be 23ft 6in; she was obliged to pay for this, however, in time allowance in the regular way. The MARIE has proven to be the fastest boat at Lake Minnetonka during the past season, having beaten the KITE [#434s] and others in the majority of races. She is a boat somewhat similar in general outline to the ALPHA [#434s] and KITE, and appears to have her greatest depth about 2ft further aft; is lighter in construction, and is undoubtedly superior in speed especially in heavy winds. She carries 640 square feet of sailing area, which is about 75ft less than carried by the KITE; she carries no fixed ballast excepting a heavy center board weighing about 350#; she carries her sails fully as easy as the KITE and ALPHA without the fixed ballast they carry; she seems to be very buoyant and very hard to capsize, never having tipped over, while the KITE has been to the bottom of the Lake two or three times. She has considerable free board, and measures 30ft 6in over all and 8ft wide. With her 360# center board and 1120# live weight, measures 23ft 6in, with 2in above the water line. At Mast step she is 6ft 2in aft, width at Stern 4ft 4in, no seats, narrow Cock Pipe, high Free Board, about 16in, low bow. Center Board raised by tackle on the floor in bow; wire rope running from wheel at Center Board Box. Seems to have rather deep Transom; that is the bottom seems pretty well carried out aft; she has easy lines everywhere, and is rigged rather low; one set of Side Stays, Back Stays, no fore Stay. Undated (ca early 1896)." (Source: Ordway, Lucius P. Correspondence (memorandum) to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_72460. Measuring and Measurement Rules (Box 2), Folder B2F02, formerly MRDE15. No date (1896 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Printed leaflet titled 'Rules to Govern the Races of the Minnesota Sloop Championship Contests'. Marked in pencil in upper margin 'From L.P. Ordway, St. Paul, Minn.'. Filed with other Ordway correspondence and believed to have been sent in preparation for the design and construction of #473s ALFRIDA. Undated (ca early 1896)." (Source: Ordway, Lucius P. (sender). Correspondence (leaflet) to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_72480. Measuring and Measurement Rules (Box 2), Folder B2F02, formerly MRDE15. No date (1896 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled preliminary plan with plan view, half sections and profile. Untitled. Marked 'Scale 1in. Jan[uary] 19, 1896' in lower left corner. (This appears to be a preliminary sketch of #473s ALFRIDA)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sailplan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0507. WRDT04, Folder 41, formerly MRDE10. 1896-01-19.)
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"[Item Description:] Typewritten (carbon copy) contract and specifications for #473s ALFRIDA [first page only]." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.. (creator). Contract and Specifications. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_01380. Folder [no #]. 1896-01-26.)
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"[Item Description:] Two sets of penciled pantograph hull sections titled '21 1/2ft w.l. for 23ft Class [#473s ALFRIDA, Model 1133]. White Bear Y.C. Preliminary, Feb[ruary] 9, 1896'. One set with calculations arriving at a displacement of 24.82cuft = 3190lbs, the other set with calculations arriving at a displacement of 24.08cuft = 3110lbs." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_06190. Folder [no #]. 1896-02-09.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections with displacement curve titled 'No. 473 [#473s ALFRIDA apparently from Model 1133]. M[ar]ch 14, 1896'. With calculations arriving at a displacement of 52.2cuft = 3262lbs. With note 'Model was slightly cut away at quarters after laying this out and 2ft of overhang aft cut off' and marked 'Not used'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_06130. Folder [no #]. 1896-03-14.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled offset booklet, untitled, with note on first page 'No 473[?]', this crossed out and overwritten with 'Not used', followed by 'Mc 1896. 21 1/2ft c.b. [centerboard] racing boat. Frame spaces 8in'. This is a reference to #473s ALFRIDA for whom two models, Model 1133 (Made for #473 but not used. Measured M[a]r[c]h 15, 1896) and Model 526 (No 472 Scale 1/16 March 1896 ALFRREDIA [i.e. #473s ALFRIDA] were made." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Offset Booklet. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE02_02580. Folder [no #]. 1896-03-(15 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled sailplan titled 'Made for 21 1/2 ft w.l. M[ar]ch 15 [18]96. But not used'. (This plan is based on Model 1133 marked '"Made for #473 [ALFRIDA] but not used. Measured M[a]r[c]h 15, 1896')." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sailplan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0449. WRDT08, Folder 36, formerly MRDE09. 1896-03-15.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections titled 'Model 34in deck[?]. M[ar]ch 16' and marked in upper margin '1895?'. With calculations arriving at a total displacement of 36.32cuft = 2270lbs. Though dated 1895, these sections bear very strong similarity to those made on March 14, 1896 for #473s ALFRIDA apparently from Model 1133. Note, that the displacement on March 14 was calculated as 3262lbs whereas on March 16 it was calculated as 2270lbs. By March 22, 1896, NGH had carved a new Model 526 for ALFRIDA which displaced 2960lbs." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_06310. Folder [no #]. (1896 ?)-03-16.)
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"[Item Transcription:] As the prospective Captain of the new boat you are building for the [Lucius] Ordway syndicate [#473s ALFRIDA], I take the liberty of writing you a line.
I have been over in Minneapolis this week & find the boys there are much excited over our getting a new Herreshoff.
Mr. Park[?] has stirred them up with the observation that if you are thoroughly posted on the conditions of of our lake sailing and take the time to model & construct a boat special for those conditions, rules etc, the chances are much in favor of our getting a winner.
When Ordway left to see you I have him all the points I could in the matter and I presume he has given you all the ideas he could get together.
The other boats are built particularly on the theory that 'winning' ability counts for most than splferiouly[?] --- in other respects --- on our triangular courses --- its boats are low-found'[?] and a top of the water & race without lifting their bows excessively. They do not stand on[?] end when a heavy puff hits them, but keep accelerating their speed. Their sail spread is not large, so that boats of greater power & larger sail area sometimes beat them in light winds.
The[?] does[?] not build on strictly scientific principles.
He gets a fine wuliance[?] easy lines and flat bottoms well carried out astern & chops her off.
It is my opinion that [#434s] KITE and [#416s] ALPHA can beat any boat he eche[?] turned out on a reach[?] though to windward & straight return course or the triangular the odds are the other way --- and the more it blows the easier his boat can beat them.
I suppose you have perhaps started our craft but I couldn't resist putting in my[?] oar[?] a little & letting you know that there is great interest n the coming boat.
We want a good alround boat and will do our best to sail her worthily --- light construction is a great thing.
They are building 5 first class sloops at Minnetonka this winter & we are building 2 here at White Bear.
In hope yours will be queen of them all, yours ..." (Source: Griggs, C. Milton. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_71350. Measuring and Measurement Rules (Box 1), Folder B1F06, formerly MRDE15. 1896-03-20.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections with displacement curve titled 'No. 473 [#473s ALFRIDA apparently from Model 526]. Final. M[ar]ch 22, [18]96'. With calculations arriving at a displacement of 47.4cuft = 2960lbs." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_06090. Folder [no #]. 1896-03-22.)
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"[Item Transcription:] I have been very glad to receive your kind letter of Sept. 3rd, as I can understand there from that your yachts have great successes and I beg to congratulate you thereon.
COCK ROBIN [#461s] was my favorite --- I always thought her to be very fast, as she certainly ought to be, having such niche, sweeping lines, especially the deck line.
Don't you think ALFRIDA [#473s] has a little too short a counter for such a wide, flat boat?
When heeled over in a strong wind and sea, her high transom must be immersed, thus obstructing her speed.
We have had some very grand racing hereabout this summer, beginning in Kiel, and then to Copenhagen, Gothenburg and Stockholm, one week in every place. We have raced against Watson, Sibbick, and Fife yachts, all new and modern, but you bet the Swedish yachts beat them all.
Especially so the Watson and Fife boats but the Sibbick 36-footer BLENDA was very fast in light airs and usually took first prize then, but was badly beaten in strong wind by the Swedish keel boats (not fin keel), which is to be wondered at.
Fife told the owner of his yacht MARIATTA (36-footer L.V.L.) that no keel boat in the Baltic Sea would beat her, but she was beaten on every occasion by the swedish yacht ARIADNE, also a keel boat.
Next summer there will be a grand exhibition and big races.
I should like to convince you to come over to us for a rest, where you would be sure of splendid sailing and a most hearty welcome, as every yachtsman here would be happy to make the time for you to pass as pleasantly as possible. And then you would learn the charm of a swedish summer night, light, warm and balmy, as I nowhere else have found it.
And the voyage is not so long after all, only 10 days.
Hoping to soon have something from you , I remain ..." (Source: Liljegren, Charles O. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_34050. Subject Files, Folder 41, formerly 28-30. 1896-10-04.)
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"[Item Description:] Ink on paper sail cutting plan marked in ink 'Skale[sic] 1/4inch = 1 foot. J.O.J.' and marked in pencil 'Sails for C.M. Griggs --- M[ar]ch 1901'. 'J.O.J.' was quite certainly John O. Johnson (1875 - 1963), the Norwegian-born, American boat builder and early adopter of scows from White Bear Lake, Minnesota. C.M. Griggs was C. Milton Griggs, captain of #473s ALFRIDA. Undated (compare with blueprint sail cutting plan item 2004.0001.0188 titled 'C.M. Griggs Contract for Jib and Main Sail of 6 1/2 oz' from March 19, 1901)." (Source: Johnson, John O. (creator). Sail Cutting Plan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_00200. Folder [no #]. No date (before 1901-03-19 ??).)
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"[Item Description:] Blueprint sail cutting plan marked in pencil 'C.M. Griggs Contract for Jib and Main Sail of 6 1/2 oz. (? (?) March --? 1901 [or 1907?]. Working Drawing March 19 [1901 or 1907]. On verso calculations comparing sail areas of two boats. (C.M. Griggs was C. Milton Griggs, captain of #473s ALFRIDA for which these sails were probably intended)." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Blueprint. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0188. WRDT08, Folder 18, formerly MRDE06. 1901-03-19.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled sail plan marked in upper left corner in NGH's hand 'Re[ceive]d from C.M. Griggs, St. Paul. M[ar]ch 26 [1901 or 1907] for estimate]. (C.M. Griggs was C. Milton Griggs, captain of #473s ALFRIDA for which these sails were probably intended)." (Source: Griggs, C. Milton (?) (creator). Sail Cutting Plan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_01340. Folder [no #]. (1901 or 1907 ?)-03-26.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #473s Alfrida [Alfreda, Elfrida] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [Typewritten (carbon copy) contract and specifications for #473s Alfrida.] Bristol, January 21, 1896. (350 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. Original building/sales contract with vessel specifications for #473s Alfrida (first page only).

• Alfrida (HMCo-made index card)
• Alfrida (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: Elfrida
Type: J & M
Length: 21'6"
Owner: Ordway, L. P.

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

• Alfrida
• 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: Elfrida
Type: "S" boat
Owner: L. P. Ordway
Row No.: 852

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
Day: 21
Year: 1896
E/P/S: S
No.: 0473
Name: Elfrida
LW: 21' 6"
B: 8'
D: 9"
Rig: J & M
CB: y
Ballast: Lead
Amount: $1500.00
Last Name: Ordway
First Name: L. P.

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.

"For racing on White Bear Lake in Minnesota." (van der Linde, Claas. March 20, 2017.)

"Launched 1896-05-14 as per NGH diary or 1896-05-16 as per Boston Globe, May 18, 1896, p. 7." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. October 21, 2010.)

"Built in 114 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $13/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.