HMCo #498s Wiz [Whiz]

"[1898-06-15] Wed 15: ... Had order yesterday for 21' knockabout (#496) [sic, i.e. #497s Gadfly] and 13' spritsail (#497) [sic, i.e. #498s Wiz]." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1898. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection.)

"... Dude [#474s] was built on the moulds of Coquina [#404s], Nathanael Herreshoff's own favorite daysailer. Dude used Coquina's steering method; instead of a tiller there was a continuous rope running through blocks in the transom leading to the back end of the rudder. On the plan, there seems to be a larger rudder with a normal head penciled in. Perhaps it was made for Dude or perhaps it was for Wiz [#498s], a sister boat made for A. C. Harrison in 1898. Eventually Herreshoff built five boats [#497s Gadfly, #498s Wiz, #501s Quakeress, #565s Quakeress II, and #676s Quakeress III]] for A.C. Harrison and his brother, Frazier. Wiz was #498 on the Herreshoff list; #499 was the two-time America's Cup defender Columbia. These spritsail boats cost $325, including two sails and two sizes of hollow spars. That is only a little more than the reported cost of the Explorer. ...
There was a penchant at that time for cash prizes and special silver cups. In 1898, A.C. Harrison gave three purses for a spritsail race open to both classes. It was won by Wiz, the new Herreshoff boat described earlier, which belonged to the Harrisons. The breeze was very strong and several boats dropped out. The report said that Wiz beat Dude by over five minutes and that 'clearly demonstrated her superior sailing qualities.' The writer apparently did not know that they were sister boats and there was no difference in their sailing qualities. I think that the difference was Sam Cahoon. Years later Sam Cahoon had a Cape Cod Knockabout called Whiz with the H. ..." (Source: Littell, Browne. "Early Days of Racing in Woods Hole." In: Woods Hole Historical Collection (Publisher). Spritsail, Volume 10, Number 2, Summer 1996, p. 18, 20. http://www.woodsholemuseum.org/woodspages/sprtsl/v10n2-EarlyRace.pdf, retrieved February 10, 2011.)

"[Item Description:] Ink on paper and penciled dimensioned sail cutting plan titled '2nd sail (large) for Buz[zards Bay] #498 [WIZ]. July [18]98'." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0456. WRDT08, Folder 37, formerly MRDE09. 1897-07.)
① ②

"[Item Transcription:] [Handwritten (in ink) specifications memorandum:] Jan[uar]y 4, 1900
Memo of Order Shop No 537 [#537s GEE]
1- Sailing Boat for the 13ft spritsail class of Woods Hole, Mass. To be complete with two sails, mast and oars.
To have wash board as wide as one put on WIZ #498.
'I think the large sail should not be over 11ft or 12ft hoist. I want her if possible to be faster than the WIZ'.
Delivery May 1st, 1900." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Specifications. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_00810. Folder [no #]. 1900-01-04.)
①

"[Item Transcription:] [Handwritten (in ink) letter marked in pencil by NGH 'Information for 13 1/2ft Spritsail boat #537 [GEE]:] Woods Hole Jan 11 - 1900
Herreshoff & Co
In regards to the Rules.
The largest sprit sails shall not be any longer on the luff than the length of the boat when she is measured, shall not have any battens or club or boom, no shroud, but can carry a head stay, the width of the boat has nothing to do with the measurement, they are allowed to carry what [p. 2] ballas[sic] they want (ballas is not restricted), the measurement of the boat shall be from the wood ends furtherest forward to her stern, if she is one inch over 13ft she must give allowance to a 13 footer, 1 sec to 3/10 to a mile as near as I can remember the WIZ [#498s] is 13ft 4 inches she would have to give a 13 footer 5 sec 2/10 to a mile, most of the boats measure 13ft 2 inches to 6, if you do well on this one the chances are you will mul[?].
Yours truly,
Thos. Hinckley" (Source: Hinckley, Thos. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_00790. Folder [no #]. 1900-01-11.)
① ②

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #498s Wiz [Whiz] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Wiz (HMCo-made index card)
• Wiz (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: Wiz
Type: Sprit
Length: 21'
Owner: Harrison, A. C.

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

• Wiz
• 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: Wiz
Type: 12' spritsail
Owner: A. C. Harrison
Row No.: 764

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: June
Day: 14
Year: 1898
E/P/S: S
No.: 0498
Name: Wiz
LW: 13' 6"
B: 5'
Rig: Sprit s'l
CB: y
Amount: 325.00
Notes Constr. Record: Moulds of 474.
Last Name: Harrison
First Name: A. C.

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.