HMCo #485s Fly

"[1897-05-05] Wed 5: ... Turned over #485 [Fly].
[1897-05-21] Fri 21: Launched & rigged Fly, No 485 [#485s].
[1897-05-22] Sat 22: Fly [#485s] delivered & sailed for Marblehead. ..." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1897. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection.)

"Dec[ember] 1896.
No. 480.
Frame spaces 10 1/2".
Planking finished 3/4".
Timbers sided 1" at top increasing 1/16" per foot for full length. Moulded to be not less than 1 inch in any part when finished.
Deduct in making moulds
for timbers 1 1/16"
for planking 3/4"
Total 1 13/16".
Keel 1 7/8" thick." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Penciled note in Offset Booklet HH.4.101.] Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"BOSTON, May 1 [1897]. --- ... The boat [Hazard #480s] in the same [knockabout] class which the Herreshoffs have built for H. M. Sears of this City is ready for launching, but will not be put over just yet, as her owner will wait for W. O. Gay's boat [Fly #485s] to be finished, when a race to Boston round the Cape will be in order. The Gay boat will be ready about the middle of May. The fourth Herreshoff knockabout [Sally III #482s], built to the order of D. C. Percival, Jr., will be launched early in May. ..." (Source: Anon. "Trial of the Cockatoo. Herreshoff's Knockabout Built for C.S. Eaton Sails Well." New York Times, May 2, 1897, p. 4.)

"Bristol, R. I., May 4 [1897]. --- Two more of the four 21-foot knockabouts ordered from the Herreshoffs by Boston yachtsmen were launched this morning, the Hazard [#480s] for H. M. Sears, who last year owned and raced the Water Lily, and the Sally III [#482s] for D. C. Percival Jr. who thus comes into possession of the third boat which he has owned and raced in the class.
With C. S. Eaton's Cockatoo [#483s] delivered to her owner and on her way around the cape, this leaves only the boat [#485s Fly] for W. O. Gay uncompleted. There has been some delay in finishing her, and it is possible that she may not be delivered in time for the race around the cape with the Hazard which had been proposed by the owners.
Sally III is in every way a duplicate of the Cockatoo, except possibly slight changes in the sail plan. Hazard is, however, a bit different in design, having less displacement, a flatter floor and generally a closer approximation to the fin keel type. The differences do not show much above water, except that the Hazard is a little longer over all. Outwardly the boats are so much alike that it will take close watching to tell them apart when under way.
The Gay boat is to be a duplicate of the Hazard in model, but will have a racing cockpit and no cabin.
The boats are painted white, and look able and speedy." (Source: Anon. "Two More Knockabouts. Only One Boat Ordered by Boston Yachtsmen from the Herreshoff's Remains to be Launched from Bristol." Boston Globe, May 5, 1897, p. 9.)

"BOSTON, May 15 [1897]. --- The knockabout race around the Cape from Bristol, which W. O. Gay and H. M. Sears had arranged between their new Herreshoff boats [#485s Fly and #480s Hazard], has been given up, for the reason that the Herreshoffs could not deliver the Gay boat earlier than the contract time, May 20. They had hoped to do so, but were unable to. The Sears boat was ready last week, and her owner was waiting until this week, when it was expected that the Gay boat would be done. When it was found that she would not be ready until the 20th, however, Mr. Sears felt that he could not wait longer, and so the race was declared off.
... Mr. Gay will have his man bring his boat around next week. He will name her the Fly, as being in line with Cock Robin, Jenny Wren, Sparrow, and other knockabout names. ..." (Source: Anon. (W. J. H.) "Buzzards Bay Knockabouts. A New Class Which Promises to Furnish Good Sport." New York Times, May 16, 1897, p. 20.)

"A new knockabout was launched at Herreshoffs Friday [May 21, 1897] at noon. She is a counterpart of the knockabout Cockatoo [#483s], owned by C. S. Eaton of Boston. The new boat's name is Fly, and it was built for a Boston man. [Fly and Cockatoo were both 21ft LWL knockabouts, but they were built from different models.]" (Source: Anon. "Bristol and Vicinity." Bristol Phoenix, May 25, 1897, p. 2.)

"... Yachtsmen also had a chance to find out the cost of a Herreshoff suit of sails. The Bristol designer had provided the Fly originally with a long and low sail plan that was good in heavy weather but useless in light. Mr. Gay wanted a new and higher sail plan, and got a new suit of sails and spars at cost --- $225. Nevertheless, cost was not a question with Mr. Gay, and he again went to Herreshoff next season for a boat [#493s Jilt] and was again a winner." (Source: Robinson, W. E. "From Knockabout to Raceabout." Rudder, May 1900, p. 193.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., June 12 [1909] --- ... Two 21-ft knockabouts of Massachusetts bay, the Fly [#485s] and Fancy [#482s ex-Sally III], owned by Clarence W. Barron of Boston, arrived here in charge of Capts Grasse and Oleson last Tuesday to be overhauled and fitted out at Herreshoff's for the season's racing at Marblehead. These boats were built at Herreshoff's some 12 years ago. They came from Cohasset, leaving there June 5, harboring later at Provincetown for two days, and leaving Hyannis harbor on Tuesday morning last, reached here the afternoon of the same day without accident and, according to the skippers, making very good weather. ..." (Source: Anon. "Bristol Notes." Boston Globe, June 13, 1909, p. 41.)

"The first race of season off the Marblehead station of the Boston yacht club, a club race, will be sailed this afternoon, with the preparatory signal at 2:15. In addition to the regular classes ... a class for the 21-foot knockabouts will be sailed.
Early this year Frederick L. Gay, a member of the club, offered a special cup for racing among the boats of the club that conformed to the restrictions of the old 21-foot knockabout association, and today's race is the first arranged for the class. In former years, when this class was active in the racing, no better sport was seen anywhere along the coast than that provided by these boats, which were limited to 21 feet on the water line and carried 600 square feet of sail.
Mr Gay's idea in offering his trophy was to revive interest in this class, which produced a good wholesome boat that, was quite fast.
In today's race it is expected that at least the Clitheroe, formerly the Cock Robin [#461s], and now owned by Walter L. Dean, the Nike, the Aspinet, the Fly [#485s] and the Fancy [#482s ex-Sally III] will start. The Cock Robin, which was designed and built by Herreshoff for C. S. Eaton back in the early [18]'90s and which was raced by William P. Fowle, never lost a championship while in the class. ..." (Source: Anon. "Revival Of Old Class. Event for 21-Foot Knockabouts Will Be a Feature of Boston Y. C, Race Off Marblehead Today." Boston Globe, July 3, 1909, p. 4.)

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Printed but untitled rules for what is apparently the 21ft Raceabout Class. Marked in pencil at top 'Re'd of Mr. Gay [apparently William O. Gay, owner of #485s FLY and the soon-to-be-built #493s JILT] Jan 11th 1898'. Including definition, length LWL (not to exceed 21 feet), beam LWL (at least 7ft for keel boats, at least 7ft 9in for centerboard boats), freeboard and house, ballast and draft, scantlings, sails (not to exceed 600 sqft of which 480 sqft in mainsail), equipment, crew (not to exceed 3), other boats accepted (all boats now complying with the present rule of the Beverly YC as well as all boats built on the lines and specifications of W. B. Stearns as accepted by the Seawanhaka YC and carrying not more than 550 sqft of sail)" (Source: Gay, W. O. (sender). Correspondence (measurement rule) to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_71170. Measuring and Measurement Rules (Box 1), Folder B1F06, formerly MRDE15. 1898-01-11.)
①

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #485s Fly even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Fly (HMCo-made index card)
• Fly (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: Fly
Type: J & M
Length: 21'
Owner: Gay, Wm. O.

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

• Fly
• 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: Fly
Type: 21' knockabout
Owner: Wm. O. Gay
Row No.: 233

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: 1897
E/P/S: S
No.: 0485
Name: Fly
LW: 21'
B: 8' [sic, i.e. 7'8"]
D: 3' 6" [sic, i.e. 5'7"]
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead
Amount: 2150.00
Last Name: Gay
First Name: W. O.

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.

"Built in 101 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $21/day, 59 lbs displacement/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.