HMCo #477s Raccoon

"[1896-05-06] Wed 6: Turned over #476 [Carolina] and set up frames for #477 [Raccoon]. ...
[1896-05-16] Fri 15: ... Turned over #477 [Raccoon].
[1896-06-16] Tue 16: Launched #477 Raccoon, ...
[1896-07-18] Sat 18: ... Went to see race of 30-footers in Alerion [#446s].
[1896-08-15] Sat 15: Race of 30-footers at Van Wickles.
[1896-08-22] Sat 22: Race of [Newport] 30-footers at Potters Cove. ...
[1896-09-07] Mon 7: Scrub race of [Newport] 30-footers in harbor; Vaquero [#468s] best.
[1896-09-08] Tue 8: Race of 30-footers in harbor; Asahi [#463s] best." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1896. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection.)

"... Newport 30 [Name], 463+ [Building Number], 30.3 [Rating], 29.6 [Waterline], 28.7 [L = length at 1/4 beam as for Universal Rule], 7.8 [B = breadth of waterline as for Universal Rule], 7.2 [d = draft of water as for Universal Rule], 165 [D = displacement in cubic foot as for Universal Rule (= 10,528 lbs or 4.7 long tons)], 1017.5 [Sail Area], 1500 [Sail limit Present rule], -482.5 [Diff.], 1015 [Sail limit Proposed rule], 2.5 [Diff.], [Notes] ..." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Formula for Obtaining the Limit of Sail-Area in Yachts when Measured by the Universal Rule Formula." Bristol, R.I., July 13, 1907 with later additions. Original handwritten (in ink) document with penciled additions. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_00080.)

"Coconut Grove, Fla. N. G. Herreshoff Bristol, R. I. May 7, 1928. {1928/05/07} Dear Francis, ... The Newport 30 footers (fin keels.) had over 1000 (square)' sail, on hulls near 40' x 7'. As I recollect their hulls weighed 2000 lbs. They were raced very hard for about 10 years and many were around after 25 years." (Source: Mystic Seaport Museum, L. Francis Herreshoff Collection, Box 17, Folder 4: Letter from N. G. Herreshoff to L. F. Herreshoff.)

"Nathanael G. Herreshoff Coconut Grove Miami, Florida Nov 23, 1930. {1930/11/23} Dear Francis, ... In the old days of the Newport 30', there was very keen racing by [p4] class of men of intelligence and fine sporting abilities. They very soon found that no reefs were wanted, for the fellow that carried all sail in a 2 or 3 reef breeze w'ld be sure to win. Those boats were with plate & bulb keels, and of course of quite moderate displacment, and had a sail area of 1050 sqft. After getting into intense racing, it was soon discovered, new sails just put on would win. This made great business for our sail-loft. It was also found that heavy canvass always beat the lighter standard weights, so from 9 oz duck they went up #9 and I think #8 = 13 oz. and that in those light weight craft! The races were all in afternoons, after the sea-breeze had struck in, so only very few races were in light airs. They found it paid to carry double head stays and halyards, - for regular and baloon jibs. ... Your affect - Father." (Source: Mystic Seaport Museum, L. Francis Herreshoff Collection, Box 17, Folder 6: Letter from N. G. Herreshoff to L. F. Herreshoff.)

"Nathanael G. Herreshoff Coconut Grove Miami, Florida Dec 7 - 1930. {1930/12/07} Dear Francis, ... Refering to your letter of Nov. 26. {1930/11/26} about the Newport 30s sails [p2] I think the original were of 9 oz. duck - and they were much lower, or less distance between boom and gaff than are the R class boats boom to mast and to compare, the R sails should be at least 10 oz or #9. One puzzling thing was, - the new sails, wrinkled and not smoothed out did not prevent them winning. ... Your affect - Father." (Source: Mystic Seaport Museum, L. Francis Herreshoff Collection, Box 17, Folder 6: Letter from N. G. Herreshoff to L. F. Herreshoff.)

"Coconut Grove, Fla - March 26 1931 {1931/03/26} Dear Francis ... I think the Newport 30s got thru their racing before the N.Y.Y.C 30s were built. I cannot recollect of their sailing togather. My impression is the Newports' might have been a little faster to windward & reaching in moderate to fresh breezes, and possibly in strong winds, for they soon found reefed boats were beaten by those with all sail, even in 2 or 3 reef breezes. In drifting airs & down wind the plate & bulb Keelers never appeared to be very fast. I have not their dimensions with me, but as well as I can recollect, they were 42' oa. 30' w.l. 7' beam. Wgt of hull about 1800. Keel 5000. Rig & equip 900 and about 136 cuft displ.. ... [p2] The Newports had about 1000 sqft sail and the N.Y.Y.Cs 1085. The racing of the Newports was very keen and sporty. It was a remarkable sight to see 12 or 15 around the starting line, after the owners got used to them, - They w'ld get bunched up very close and weave in & out with seldom a foul. Having short plate keels and balanced rudders that w'ld swing to athwartships they w'ld turn in a very small space. $1000. does seem big price for the Development boats. But it appears to be so on all classes of boats soon as there is competition. The wealthy ones will pay most any price to win. ... Your affect - Father." (Source: Mystic Seaport Museum, L. Francis Herreshoff Collection, Box 17, Folder 7: Letter from N. G. Herreshoff to L. F. Herreshoff.)

"Then the notable Newport Thirty Foot Class of fin keels was built this year and many others. The next year (1897), there were several built for this class and for the Buzzards Bay Twenty-One Foot Centerboard Class." (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. 68.)

"Perhaps the most notable of the late fin keelers were the so-called Newport one-design Thirties. They came out in 1896 and were forty-two feet O.A., twenty-nine feet six inches W.L., eight feet four inches beam, and seven feet one inch draft. They cost $2,850 complete, including one suit of sails and this was considered expensive then, but it is doubtful if any builder could duplicate one of them today for $25,000. They were beautifully built, double planked with mahogany over cedar, and each frame was steamed over a separate mold so that many consider them the first really one-design class with perhaps little or no variation in their speeds, weights, or dimensions. ... It was in the Newport Thirties that some of our best sailors, both amateur and professional, got their training, and some of both afterward graduated into the New York Yacht Club Seventy-foot Class." (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. 197-198.)

"While the Newport Thirties raced some on the Sound, and occasionally in the ocean, most of their racing was in Narragan-sett Bay near Newport where there are many ledges and islands, together with some flow of tide, so that to a great extent working the tides by tacking close inshore was necessary. While this no doubt added much to the excitement of the racing, the Thirties often struck bottom very hard, but their hulls were so light and scientifically built with the weight mostly in the lead that the concussion was absorbed in the denting of the lead at the bottom of their fins.
The Thirties could turn very quickly and were wonderful boats to maneuver so they could approach dangers more closely, and sail in closer formation, than most any other class of yachts either before or since." (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. 199.)

"... perhaps Captain Nat's fin keelers of the eighteen-nineties were the quickest turning of any sail boats that had moderate displacement. The reasons for this were that they had short keels nearly amidships, together with very rounding sections forward and aft, and because they had good-sized balanced rudders which could be put hard over instantly with little effort." (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. 200.)

"A carload of spars for the Herreshoff company, arrived here Saturday [December 7, 1895] morning from the Boston Spar Company. They will be used for the 30-footers to be built at the shops and were selected by Charles F. Herreshoff last week." (Source: Anon. "Bristol and Vicinity." Bristol Phoenix, December 10, 1895, p. 2.)

"Capt. Nat Herreshoff says the reports printed in the Providence papers from Bristol correspondents that the 30-footers are to be raced in the harbor, thereby bringing a large number of prominent yachtsmen here, is all nonsense. The new boats are being taken away as fast as their owners call for them. Some of them have already gone and the others will be launched and turned over to their owners whenever orders are received to do so.
The 30-footers built at Herreshoffs are exactly alike, and each one has been given a number, known only to the builders. Each owner of a boat has drawn a number, and when his number is presented, the boat bearing the corresponding number is turned over to him. None of the men sent here to take away any of the 30-footers know just which one is theirs until it is pointed out to them." (Source: Anon. "Yachting Notes." Bristol Phoenix, May 12, 1896, p. 1.)

"... Special 30-Foot Class
No Time Allowance
Racing Number
W 1 Vaquero III [#468s]
W 2 Wawa [#469s]
W 3 Musme [#467s]
W 4 Departure [sic, designed by William Gardner]
W 5 Hera [#471s]
W 6 Mai [#464s]
W 7 Asahi [#463s]
W 8 Esperanza [#475s]
W 9 Carolina [#476s]
W 10 Argonaut [designed by H.C. Wintringham]
W 12 Dorothy II [#466s]
W 14 Racoon [#477s] . ..." (Source: Larchmont Yacht Club. "Seventeenth Annual Regatta. July Fourth. 1896." (Booklet with Race Instructions, Sail Numbers, etc.) Larchmont, 1896.)

"Raccoon (No. 1) (Sail, K) owned by Theo. Hostetter, Port: New York; LOA 42ft; LWL 29.6ft; Beam 8.4ft; Draft 7.1ft; designed by N. G. Herreshoff and built by Herreshoff Mfg. Co in 1896." (Source: Stebbins 1896 Yachtsmen's Album, p. 43.)

"THE thirty-foot class sprung suddenly into existence at the opening of this season as the result of a well-directed plan conceived by certain members of the Larchmont Yacht Club to develop competitions between one-design yachts; to eliminate as far as possible the factor of boat differences and to excite emulation among helmsmen competing on equal terms. ...
These boats are simply large, decked canoes, without bulkheads, open from end to end, with no interior fittings save a couple of seats. There is not sufficient head-room to stand erect. One would never stay in such a cabin except to keep out of the wet. But in these boats the skipper is never out of the wet when the win blows. It is safe to say that they are about the wettest boats afloat. To windward or to leeward, in a sea, the wash from under the bows breaks over both decks; the back-stays plowing through the sea send a shower of spray into the cockpit and over the unhappy helmsman. One who has served successfully as the skipper of one of these boats has admitted that at times he has scarcely been able to see the cabin-house, eight feet ahead of him, through the drenching sheet of spray. In view of these facts, the cordial suggestion of the rules that 'a lady, however, may also be carried' is very comforting.
Added to these drawbacks the Herreshoff thirties --- I know some of them and believe all of them --- were turned out with a lee helm. Every sailor-man knows what a source of annoyance this condition affords. It is decidedly unpleasant for one to drop his tiller for a moment in an emergency, and have his boat fly off the wind and jibe on its own account. Old-fashioned writers used to say that this would be all wrong and positively dangerous; that such a boat was out of trim, or her centers incorrectly figured. The Herreshoff boats which have entered the races in Long Island Sound and their owners are as follows: Asahi [#463s], Bayard Thayer; Mai [#464s], O. G. Jennings; Musme [#467s], J. M. Macdonough; Hera [#471s], Ralph N. Ellis; Esperansa [#475s], A. S. Van Wickle; Carolina [#476s], Pembroke Jones; Wawa [#469s], James Stillman; Vaquero III [#468s], Herman B. Duryea; Raccoon [#477s], Th. R. Hostetter, and Dorothy II [#466s], H. P. Whitney. ... The Herreshoff boats, which constitute a majority of the class, are of a type which would anywhere attract notice. It cannot be claimed that they are beautiful boats, though their mahogany top sides and clean, natural-wood decks give them an up-to-date appearance. ..." (Source: Burchard, R. B. "The Thirty-Foot Class." Outing, September 1896, p. 412-419.)

"Raccoon, aloop, the Herreshoff 30-footer, has been purchased by N. D. Lawton, of the Atlantic Y. C." (Source: Anon. "Yachting News Notes." Forest and Stream, June 26, 1897, p. 515.)

"The 'Newport thirties' mentioned under one-design classes, were originally started as a restricted class, but the Herreshoff boats which were all alike proved so much superior to the others that the latter soon dropped out and it became to all intents and purposes simply a one-design class; the same thing applies to the 'Larchmont twenty-ones,' originally a very large class built a few years before the thirties, and four Herreshoff members of which are still racing, but for about the last ten years as one-design boats." (Source: Hoyt, C. Sherman. "The Professional and the Amateur in Yacht Racing." Outing Magazine, September 1907, p. 755.)

"NEWPORT. R. I., June 4 [1909]. --- For three seasons the Newport fleet of thirty-footers has been resting in the Newport shipyard. To-night William G. Roelker, Jr.. appealed to the owners to bring the boats out this Summer and resume the sport, in which a number of the women of the Summer colony have taken active part, including Mrs. Royal Phelps Carroll, Mrs. Elsie French Vanderbilt, who owns the Caprice [NY30 #647s ex Anemone II?], and Mrs. John R. Drexel, whose husband owns the Raccoon [#477s].
Col. C. L. F. Robinson is ready to bring out the Wawa [#469s], owned by Reginald Brooks. Pembroke Jones, owner of the Carolina [#476s], the largest winner of the fleet, and the Breeze [#???s], owned by Mr. Roelker, will be brought out if the others are put in commission. Mrs. Vanderbilt will be home from Europe in July, and may order her boat to be fitted out. H. Havemeyer, Jr., is soon to arrive, and his Esperanza [#475s] would be a welcome addition to the fleet.
There are at the Newport shipyard Vaquero III [#468s], owned by Payne Whitney; Barbara [#???s], owned by Winthrop Rutherford; Puck [#465s], belonging to E. D. Morgan, and Eleanor [#463s ex Asahi], owned by Joseph E. Widener. As matters stand now, there will be a concerted attempt to revive thirty-root racing in Newport waters this season." (Source: Anon. "Yachting At Newport. W. G. Roelker, Jr., Starts Effort to Bring Out Thirty-Footers for Racing." New York Times, June 5, 1909, p. 7.)

"NEWPORT, R. I., Aug. 14 [1909]. --- The first race of the thirties of the Newport fleet was held between the Carolina, Esperanza, Puck, and Racoon, starting from Bretons Cove to a bouy off Coddington Cove, Jamestown, and thence to the starting point, a distance of twelve miles.
Pembroke Jones, Jr., sailed his father's Carolina [#476s], and finished first, handling the craft splendidly, followed by the Esperanza [#475s], sailed by H. O. Havemeyer, Jr., a minute behind the Carolina. Then followed closely the Puck [#465s], sailed by Commodore Edwin D. Morgan and the Racoon [#477s], sailed by John R. Drexel.
This is the first race of the Newport thirties in three years, and the owners propose to sail races three times a week." (Source: Anon. "Carolina 'Thirty' Wins Race." New York Times, August 15, 1909, p. S3.)

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled table titled 'Galv[anized] Wire Rope for 30 footers [Newport 30s #463s, #464s, #465s, #466s, #467s, #468s, #469s, #470s, #471s, #475s, #476s, #477s]. Dec[ember] 19 [18]95'. Listing lengths, diameters, type (p.s. = plow steel, c.s. = crucible steel) and breaking strengths." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Penciled Note. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_04510. Folder [no #]. 1895-12-19.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Penciled list of Newport 30 class building numbers, owner names, boat names and delivery dates, probably made on the occasion of the lottery which assigned boats to their owners. Untitled, undated, probably late April or early May 1896:]
No. [Boat owner.] Name. Deliver May.
471 [#471s]. Ellis. HERA. 5 or 6
463 [#463s]. Thayer. ASAHI. 7 or 8
468 [#468s]. Duryea. VAQUERO III. 11 or 12
469 [#469s]. Stillman. WAWA. 13 or 14
464 [#464s]. Jennings. MAI. 15
467 [#467s]. J.M. MacDonough. MUSME. 18
475 [#475s]. Van Wickle. ESPERANZA. 21
476 [#476s]. Pembroke Jones. CAROLINA. ?
466 [#466s]. H.P. Whitney. DOROTHY II. 25 or 26
477 [#477s]. Hostetter. RACCOON. Jun 20
464 [#465s]. E.D. Morgan. PUCK. July 1
470 [#470s]. Vanderbilt. [blank, VEDA]. [blank]
Ramie Sails[:]
1) Vanderbilt
2) MacDonough
3) Stillman
4) B. T. Thayer
5) Jennings
6) H.P. Whitney
Small boats[:]
Ellis
Whitney
Gaffs[:]
1) Duryea (2)
2) Ellis" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled List. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_04110. Folder [no #]. No date (1896-04 or 1896-05 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled diagram titled 'Diagram of spring of keels. 30 footers [Newport 30 class: #463s, #464s, #465s, #466s, #467s, #468s, #469s, #470s, #471s, #475s, #476s, #477s]'. With calculations. Undated (May 9, 1896 as per note in design book)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Diagram. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_05970. Folder [no #]. 1896-05-09.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #477s Raccoon even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Burchard, R. B. "The Thirty-Foot Class." Outing, September 1896, p. 412-419. (1,098 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: No. Very detailed description of the class which consisting of the Herreshoff Newport 30s and one boat each by Gardner and Wintringham. Photos. Sketch.

• Raccoon (HMCo-made index card)
• Raccoon (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: Raccoon
Type: J & M
Length: 30'
Owner: Hostetter

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

• Raccoon
• 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: Raccoon
Type: 30' bulb fin sloop
Owner: T. R. Hostetter
Year: 1896
Row No.: 559

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: Apr
Day: 24
Year: 1896
E/P/S: S
No.: 0477
Name: Raccoon
LW: 30'
B: 8' 4"
D: 7' 2"
Rig: J & M
K: FK
Ballast: Lead
Amount: $2850.00
Notes Constr. Record: Newport 30 fin
Last Name: Hostetter
First Name: T.

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.

"Sail No. 3 in 1899." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 2, 2008.)

"Built in 53 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $54/day, 199 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"[Sail area info.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Formula for Obtaining the Limit of Sail-Area in Yachts when Measured by the Universal Rule Formula." Bristol, R.I., July 13, 1907 with later additions. Original handwritten (in ink) document with penciled additions. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_00080.)

"[Displacement (164.5 cubic feet = 10,528bs).]" (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Formula for Obtaining the Limit of Sail-Area in Yachts when Measured by the Universal Rule Formula." Bristol, R.I., July 13, 1907 with later additions. Original handwritten (in ink) document with penciled additions. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_00080.)

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