HMCo #494s Sintram

"[1898-05-16] Mon 16: ... Launched Edith [apparently #486s] from cove and Sintram #494.
[1898-05-17] Tue 17: ... Rigged #488 & 494 [#494s Sintram].
[1898-05-20] Fri 20: T[hunder]&L[ightning] with mod[erate] rain most of night. Very fine W to NE [wind] & hot. L[igh]t rain in evening. #494 Sintram delivered to Mr. Fowle. ...
[1901-01-04] Fri 4: Very fine & cool. ... Launched Altair [#539s], Effort [#541s] & Sintram [#494s] from n[orth] shop after repairing, and hauled out 2 last at cove." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1898 to 1901. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection [1898]. Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff [1901].)

"Feb[ruary] 1898.
493 [#493s Jilt] & 494 [#494s Sintram]
Sheerline to be raised 3/4 above figures for sheer in book.
Timbers (not less than 1 sq[uare] inch section).
Sided 15/16" moulded 1 1/8" except nos. 19-20-21-22-23-24 to be moulded 1 1/16" at head and increasing 1/8" per foot for full length.
Planking 3/4" finished.
Deck 3/4 finished.
1 5/8" thick keel 1 3/8" above rabbet.
...
#417 [Drusilla] beam mold for top deck
floor 8 feet." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Penciled note in Offset Booklet HH.4.109.] Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"Two new boats were launched this week [between May 16 and May 19, 1898] from the Herreshoff shops. One is a 21-feet water line keel knockabout, built for a yachtsman in Buzzard's Bay. Her name is Sintram, and she is a duplicate of Jilt [#493s], that was launched and taken to Cohassett, Mass., not long ago. The other boat launched was a small catboat [either #488s Alpha or #489s Omega] of 15 feet water line length, without a cabin. Her name and destination are not known." (Source: Anon. "New Boats Launched." Bristol Phoenix, May 20, 1898, p. 1.)

"The following description of the new additions to the Boston raceabout fleet is from the Boston Globe:
The three Herreshoff boats in the 21ft. raceabout class are for W. O. Gay [#493s Jilt], ex-Com. William P. Fowle [#494s Sintram], of the Corinthian, and S. V. R. Thayer [#495s Typhoon], who last year raced the Herreshoff 30-footer Asahi [#463s] in the Y. R. A. races. The first two boats are keels, and the third is a centerboard. The arrival of Jilt, Mr. Gay's boat, has already, been told in these columns. Mr. Fowle's boat, Sintram, is now at Marblehead, and Mr. Thayer's boat is nearly ready for delivery. With three new Herreshoffers in the fleet the Boston-designed boats will be given a hustle.
The Sintram is the boat mentioned in these columns a fortnight ago. She was sailed around the Cape from Bristol by her owner, accompanied by Arthur Foss, and had a slow but by no means uninteresting voyage. The wind was light most of the way and the boat had but one chance to show her speed. That was on the run to Marblehead from the whistling buoy off Highland Light. The run was made in a freshening southeasterly breeze, in which a spinaker was carried, and the distance was covered in five and one-quarter hours, or a speed of nearly seven knots, which isn't at all bad for a small-sailed 21-footer.
The yacht left Bristol Friday forenoon, and after a stop at Newport went on to Vineyard Haven, where Friday night was spent. Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday forenoon were spent in beating up the Cape against a light northeasterly wind, but when Highland Light was passed the wind went more to the southward, and a quick run home was the result.
Mr. Fowle can as yet form little opinion of the boat's abilities, except that she is well balanced and handles easily. He has strong hopes of her, though, in light to moderate airs, but doubts if she does as well as the deeper boats in a strong breeze. Like Jilt she is only about 5ft. draft, while Cock Robin and last year's boats draw 6." (Source: Anon. "The New Raceabouts." Forest and Stream, June 11, 1898, p. 471.)

"A most interesting fleet is that of the 21-foot race-abouts. There are a dozen new boats, and already the racing has shown that no one boat is to have a walkover, but that championship honors will be won only by the hardest kind of work. Herreshoff boats were last year beaten by Boston-designed boats, so this year the Bristol designer has made a special effort to recover the laurels won for him by Cock Robin [#461s], champion in 1896. Sintram, Jilt [#493s] and Typhoon [#495s] are his contributions this year, Sintram is owned by Ex-Com. William P. Fowle of the Corinthian club, and is a keel boat with all the characteristics of a fin-keel. She is as close to the minimum allowed water-line beam of the class --- 7 feet --- as she can be built, and is of 5 feet draught instead of 6, as were last year's boats. The Jilt, W. O. Gay, is much like the Sintram, but the Typhoon, built for S. V. R. Thayer, and sailed by Capt. 'Nate' Watson, is a centerboard of 7 feet 9 inches waterline beam; 3 feet 6 inches draught; and carrying 3,000 pounds of lead instead of 3,500 as by the keel boats. These are class restrictions, and all the boats are built as closely to them as possible. It promises to be an interesting contest between the keel and centerboard types as well as between individual boats." (Source: Robinson, W. W. "Racing Fleet of 1898, Yacht Racing Association of Massachusetts." Rudder, August 1898, p. 272.)

"... The old raceabout Sintram, owned by Sterling & Brodrick of the Columbia Y. C, which is raced in class B inter-club, recently lost her mast in a hard blow. This boat, which was purchased this winter from H. B. Green, had her original mast replaced by a new one, made by Sheldon this spring. She is now in the basin at Lawley's for another new mast. ..." (Source: Anon. "Notes From The Week's Log." Boston Globe, June 27, 1909, p. 40.)

"... In 1906 Mr. Burgess 'discovered' Sintram, a 21-foot raceabout that had occupied a berth several years in a Marblehead shed, apparently forgotten and with her record obscured by events which, with adoption of rules and new classes, come quick in yachting. She was put into the Q class for the Lipton cup, but along came the new Orestus with things all her way, and Sintram, slick, speedy and graceful, went up into Class P. Under Burgess' fine handling the boat landed the championship in her class in the Corinthian Y. C. with 902 per cent., out of a possible 1,000 per cent., which carried with it a handsome trophy. He also won the splendid trophy offered by the same club in Class P in the mid-summer series, won all manner of other prizes and captured the championship in her class in the Boston Y. C While Sintram was being sailed by this wizard among amateur racing skippers, she was a comfortable boat in which to cruise. Designed by Herreshoff, Sintram was regarded as one of the fastest boats ever built in Bristol. ..." (Source: Anon. "Hollis Burgess." Forest and Stream, August 6, 1910, p. 224.)

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections titled '#461. 21ft. Final. Dec[ember] 6 [18]95. COCK ROBIN'. With calculations arriving at a total displacement of 6150lbs. With three displacement curves, one marked '#492 & 493 [sic, i.e. probably #493s JILT and #494s SINTRAM]' and '48.5cuft' and a note 'Total disp. 6260lbs. Disp. body part 5130[lbs]'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_06210. Folder [no #]. 1895-12-06.)
① ② ③ ④

"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections amd pantograph lead sections titled '5th trial #493. Feb[ruary] 10 [18]98. Keel moved aft 1 1/2in. JILT [#493s] & SINTRAM [#494s]. (See 6th trial for body part.)'. With calculations arriving at a displacement for the body part of 78.4cuft = 5045lbs plus an estimated 465lbs for the keel part [for a total displacement of 5510lbs]." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_05340. Folder [no #]. 1898-02-10.)
① ②

"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections titled '6th trial #493. Feb[ruary] 11 [18]98. (Changed slightly from # 5.) JILT [#493s] & SINTRAM [#494s]'. With calculations arriving at a displacement for the body part of 78.7cuft = 5060lbs plus an estimated 465lbs for the keel part for a total displacement of 5525lbs. On verso another set of crossed out penciled pantograph sections of the same design, with slightly slacker bilges and a bulb ballast keel added and a note 'see other side'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_05300. Folder [no #]. 1898-02-11.)
① ② ③ ④

"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph lead sections titled 'Lead for #493 [JILT] & #494 [SINTRAM]. M[ar]ch 5 [18]98'. With calculations arriving at 9020.0cuin = 3700lbs lead and 'Note. With top of lead 1-11-6 sp[?] W[ei]g[h]t should be very nearly 3500lbs' and another note '.855in more[??] on top of #494 lead'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Lead Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_09460. Folder [no #]. 1898-03-05.)
① ②

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #494s Sintram even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Sintram (HMCo-made index card)
• Sintram (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: Sintram
Type: J & M
Length: 21'
Owner: Fowle, W. P.

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

• Sintram
• Dorothy ex-Sintram
• 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: Sintram
Type: 21' sloop
Owner: W. P. Fowle
Year: 1898
Row No.: 631

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: 10
Year: 1898
E/P/S: S
No.: 0494
Name: Sintram
LW: 21'
B: 7' 3"
D: 5'
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead (o)
Amount: 2000.00
Notes Constr. Record: Moulds of 493. Lead changed.
Last Name: Fowle
First Name: W. 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.

"Built in 95 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.