HMCo #512s Oiseau [Osseau]

"[1899-01-22] Sun 22: Very fine & mild. L[igh]t SW [wind], changing to fresh NW in PM. At home all day. Started model for #572 [sic, i.e. probably #512s Oiseau. #572s would have been the BB30 Wahtawah]. ...
[1899-03-28] Tue 28: SW to E [wind]. Rain in PM. Turned over #512 [Oiseau]
[1899-05-06] Sat 6: Very fine & cool Strong SSW [wind]. Hauled Defender out into stream and launched Oiseau #512.
[1899-05-10] Wed 10: Very fine. Tried Oiseau #512. ...
[1899-05-13] Sat 13: Very fine [in] AM, SSE & l[igh]t rain [in] evening. ... [Mr. J. R.] Maxwell here to try new boat [#512s Oiseau].
[1899-05-21] Sun 21: Strong N to NE [wind] (?) showers & cold. Off in Oiseau #512.
[1899-05-26] Fri 26: Very fine. Str[ong] SSW [wind] & cool. ... Agusta [sic, i.e. #146p Augusta] towed Oiseau to Hempstead." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1899. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"No. 512.
25[ft] waterline keel
Frame spaces 12"
Planking finished 7/8"
Timbers 1 5/8 x 1 5/8
Sheer height is to underside of deck
Deck finished 7/8"
Deck beams 1 3/8 x 1 7/8
Keel 2 1/4 deep[?] --- 3/8" below rabbet
2 5/8 square timbers." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Penciled note in Offset Booklet HH.4.115.] February 1899). Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"These are hustling times at the shops of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, and many more men than usual are employed. ... there is a 25-foot water line yacht [#512s Oiseau] in process of construction. It will be a racer and will be the property of a member of the New York Yacht Club. ..." (Source: Anon. "Hustling At Herreshoff's." Bristol Phoenix, April 28, 1899, p. 1.)

"Hauled out last week on the Herreshoff railway at Walker's cove, Bristol, was the 25-footer Oiseau, which later will be sailed at the western end of Long Island. It is generally believed that in her general lines, particularly at the bow and in the sweep of the stem from deck to keel, she closely resembles Columbia. The accompanying picture is from a photograph, and is given with much of the blocking and staging around her purposely left out so as to show her lines. She is an extremely well-turned and fine-lined craft, and promises speed even unider the moderate knockabout rig she carries. Her outside skin is of mahogany and she is finished bright above the waterline." (Source: Anon. "Herreshoff Boat that Looks Like Columbia." Boston Globe, May 21, 1899, p. 26.)

"... The Herreshoff 25-footer Oiseau, illustrated in The Globe last Sunday [May 21, 1889], is for Henry L. Maxwell of New York, son of J. Rogers Maxwell. She has been delivered to her owner. She is 42 feet over all, 25 feet water line, 10 feet beam and 6 feet draft. She will be raced in the same class as the Hemin boat built and designed by Lawley. ..." (Source: Anon. "Yachts and Yachtsmen." Boston Globe, May 28, 1899, p. 29.)

"... The dimensions of the new racer Oiseau, which has just arrived from the Herreshoff yards, and which appeared on Tuesday [May 30, 1899] at the Sea Gate races, are as follows: Forty-two feet over all, 35 feet water line, 10 feet beam and 6 feet draught. She has been ordered by J. Rogers Maxwell for his son, Henry L. Maxwell. ..." (Source: Anon. "Of Interest to Yachtsmen." New York Tribune, June 4, 1899, p. A2.)

"Crated up for transportation there arrived yesterday at Bay Ridge the new hollow spars for the crack 30-foot waterline racer Oiseau, which was turned out last spring for J. Rogers Maxwell by 'Nat' Herreshoff. The Oiseau was almost invincible last summer, but several racers have been since built to defeat her, and these hollow masts are part of her preparation for her coming struggles." (Source: Anon. "Yachting. The Craft And Those Who Sail Them." New York Tribune, April 23, 1900, p. 5.)

"Oiseau, a Herreshoff boat, built last year [1899] for the twenty-five foot knockabout class, had her ballast lowered and her rig increased to the limit of the 30-foot class; and Alerion, an older Herreshoff boat, also had her rig increased after sailing a few races. ..." (Source: Mower, C.D. "The Racing on Long Island Sound." Rudder, November 1900, p. 400.)

"J. Rogers Maxwell sold his thirty-foot sloop Oiseau to Gordon L. Pirie, and Mr. Pirie sold his new Herreshoff twenty-one-foot raceabout Oonagh to Mr. Maxwell. Oonagh has not been particularly successful in her races so far, and yachtsmen will watch with interest her future career in this lively class under a new skipper." (Source: Anon. "Steam and Sail Craft Change Hands" New York Times, July 13, 1901, p. 8.)

"Almost every club at the west end of Long Island Sound sent one or more yachts yesterday to compete in the annual regatta of the Sea Cliff Yacht Club, so that when the starting signal was given at 1:05 p. m. from Paul Grimm's steamer, the Melba, twenty-eight yachts of all types and sixes crossed the line, and sailed a good race in every class.
For the big sloop Hebe, the yawl Memory and the 30-foot sloops Oiseau and Possum, the course was from the starting point off the clubhouse in Hempstead Bay to and around Execution east buoy, thence around Matinicock buoy and home.
...
The summary follows:
SLOOPS --- 30 FOOT CLASS --- START. 1:05.
Oiseau. G. L Pirie 5:12:37 [Finish H.M.S.] 4:07:35 [Elapsed time H.M.S.]
Possum, H. R. Maxwell 5:21:27 [Finish H.M.S.] 4:16:27 [Elapsed time H.M.S.]" (Source: Anon. "Sea Cliff Yacht Club Regatta." New York Tribune, July 28, 1901, p. 9.)

"The speedy Herreshoff racer that is to be sent from the yards of Frank Wood, City Island, to Kiel measures 24 feet 10 inches on the waterline, and may certainly be regarded as a representative American racer. She has sometimes had a mishap, which created for the day a blank in her racing record, but for three seasons she has been a practically unbeaten boat, being excellent in light airs and also fairly fresh breezes. Things were not so easy for her in last summer's racing, as she was pretty well caught in the later designing, but still there will be few who will expect her to be defeated by anything that Germany or England can produce in her class. She has sometimes done better than the Herreshoff 70-footers when sailing, of course in a different class, in same conditions and waters.
Her record, as given by 'Manning's Yacht Register,' shows, in 1899, the year of her debut, fourteen races, in which she took nine first prizes, three seconds and two blanks. Her second year, speaking from recollection, was about equally good, and she was always handled at the top notch by her owner, the celebrated amateur, J. Rogers Maxwell, president of the Central Railroad of New-Jersey, or by one of his sons. In purchasing the Oiseau for some good sport at the imperial regattas in Germany, Isaac Stern, of the New-York Yacht Club, makes no mistake, and when he accompanies her in his huge steam yacht the Virginia, the little craft will compete under stylish attendance.
Captain Leander Jeffrey, the skipper of the Virginia, will sail the small flyer. He is a yachtsman of the older school. He was formerly the skipper of the schooner Columbia, which in 1871 successfully defended the big Cup, and is still kept in commission by her present owner, Commodore Joseph De F. Junkin, of Philadelphia. The name of the Oiseau has given much trouble to people who are not French scholars and in City Island she is called the 'Wah-zoo,' but whenever a new boat has attempted to raise her out of her glories she generally makes good her nickname, 'Oh-i-see-you.' " (Source: Anon. "The Oiseau A Speedy Craft." New York Tribune, April 13, 1902, p. A10.)

"The following is a complete list of sales made by Messrs. Gardner & Cox this spring. ... The racing sloop Virginia II, formerly Oiseau, for Mr. Gordon L. Pirie, to Mr. Isaac Stern, both of New York. She is 43ft. over all, 25ft. waterline, 10ft. breadth and 6.5ft. draft. Virginia II was designed and built by the Herreshof Mfg. Co. in 1899. ..." (Source: Anon. "Yachting News Notes." Forest and Stream, April 26, 1902, p. 337.)

"LONG ISLAND SOUND CHAMPIONS. ... Oiseau won out [the 1901 Long Island Sound Championship] in the thirty-foot sloop class after some hot racing with last season's champion, Alerion. Both are Herreshoff boats, Oiseau being owned by Mr. G. L. Pirie, who purchased her early in the season from her original owner, Mr. J. R. Maxwell, Jr. Her dimensions are: length over all, 41 feet 6 inches; water line, 25 feet 6 inches; beam, 10 feet; draught, 6 feet." (Source: Rudder, May 1902, p. 249.)

"The races for the challenge cup for 30-footers, offered by the Manhasset bay yacht club, will commence tomorrow off Port Washington, in Long Island sound. There will be three races. ...
Oiseau, the challenger of the Indian harbor yacht club, is owned by H. L. Maxwell. She is a Herreshoff boat and was raced at the Kiel regattas last year, under the name of Virginia II. Oiseau is 43 feet over-all, 25 feet on the water line and 10 feet beam. ..." (Source: Anon. "Manhasset Races." Boston Globe, June 28, 1903, p. 40.)

"... Oiseau [Boat], H. L. Maxwell [Owner], Indian Harbor Y. C. [Club Represented], N. G. Herreshoff [Designer], Herreshoff Mfg. Co. [Builder], 1899 [Year], 43 [O.A.], 25 [L.W.L.], Breadth [10], Draft [6.4], 29.85 [R. L'gth.] ..." (Source: Anon. "Description Of Boats That Participated In The Races For The Manhasset Bay Challenge Cup." Forest and Stream, July 11, 1903, p. 32.)

"[Raced in 1902 under the name of Virginia II in Kiel, Germany, then came back to the U.S. to sail again under the name Oiseau.]" (Source: The Rudder, August 1903, p. 452)

"[For sale] No. 976 --- Pole mast sloop; a well-known racer, built by the Herreshoffs; dimensions: 43 feet over all; 26 feet water line; 10 feet beam; 6 feet 4 inches draught; construction mahogany, double planked; about 6,000 pounds of outside lead; has a large cabin and can be used for cruising; has won more prizes than any boat of her class; two full suits of sails, one as good as new. Frank Bowne Jones, Yacht Agent, 29 Broadway, New York. [Even though Oiseau was not explicitly named in the accompanying advertisement text, she could be identified as her photo had appeared previously in The Rudder.]" (Source: Rudder, March 1904, p. 172.)

"It is reported that Mr. Harry L. Maxwell, N.Y.Y.C., has sold his Herreshoff knockabout Oiseau to a member of the Seawanhaka Yacht Club, and that the club on behalf of the owner will challenge for the Manhasset Bay Y.C. Cup." (Source: Anon. "Yachting Notes." New York Herald, March 26, 1904.)

"Manhasset Bay Challenge Cup. By C. D. Mower The first special event of importance on Long Island Sound this season was the series of races for the Manhasset Bay Challenge Cup, sailed for by the Y. R. A. 30-foot class. The cup, which was offered last year as a perpetual challenge trophy, is a handsomely-wrought piece of silver, valued at five hundred dollars, and the Alert [HMCo #580], owned by James W. Alker, of the Manhasset Bay Y. C, successfully defended it against six challengers from the different clubs along the Sound. ... Bobtail [HMCo #580], Nike [HMCo #512] and Alert were Herreshoff productions, and Mimosa a Crowninshield craft. Alert and Bobtail were built for the Bar Harbor thirty-foot class when the Hyslop rule was first adopted and are quite similar in design and general appearance. Nike, formerly Oiseau, is an older Herreshoff boat and has had a long and very successful racing career. Originally built for the twenty-five-foot restricted knockabout class in 1899 for John R. Maxwell, Jr., she was raced successfully in the restricted class for a year, then sailed in the regular thirty-foot class. In 1902 she raced at Kiel under the name of Virginia II, winning easily the events in which she was entered there. On her return to this country she was bought and raced by Mr. H. L. Maxwell. This season she is owned bv Mr. Victor L. Cumnock, of the Seawanhaka-Corinthian Y. C. The Mimosa is owned by Commodore Trenor L. Park, of the American Y. C, and was built from a design by B. B. Crowninshield in 1902. [Mimosa won the cup, followed by Alert, Bobtail, and Nike.] (Source: Rudder, August 1904, p. 453-455.)

"[For-sale advertisement.]" (Source: Rudder, March 1906, p. 230.)

"[For-sale advertisement.]" (Source: Yachting, March 1907, p. 120.)

"Hollis Burgess has purchased the Herreshoff 25-foot water-line sloop Nike, formerly owned by Victor I. Cumnock of New York. Mr. Burgess has renamed her Yankee Girl, and will use for racing and cruising along the Atlantic coast this summer. Yankee Girl was formerly named Oiseau and Virginia II, and was at one time owned by Harry Maxwell, the present owner of the schooner yacht Queen [#657s]. She is 43 feet over all, 10 foot beam, 6 feet 5 inches draught and has a comfortablo cabin." (Souce: Anon. "Hollis Burgess Buys Herreshoff Sloop Nike." Boston Evening Transcript, May 13, 1910, p. 14.)

"Hollis Burgess has purchased of Victor I. Cumnock, of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Y. C, the 30-foot sloop yacht Nike which he will race on Narragansett and Massachusetts bays. Nike was originally the sloop Oiseau which was built for Harry L. Maxwell by Herreshoff, and which was the crack of her class. She is 43 feet over all, 30 feet on the waterline, 10 feet beam and 6 feet 6 inches draft. She will in future be known as Virginia." (Source: Anon. "Burgess to Race 30-Footer." Forest and Stream, May 21, 1910, p. 823.)

"The record made by the sloop yacht Virginia, owned and sailed by Hollis Burgess, is probably the best made by any one yacht this year. Out of fifteen starts in the regattas of the Boston Y. C. and the Inter Club Association, Virginia won thirteen firsts, one second and one sixth. Virginia won the Boston Y. C. championship in the first special rating class with a perfect percentage, which means a victory in every race sailed. She won the Corinthian club's midsummer series prize with three straight firsts and won the trophy for the highest number of points scored on the daily runs of the Boston Y. C.'s cruise from Marblehead to Boothbay Harbor; won the trophy offered by the Quincy Y. C. for the annual run from Quincy to Marblehead; won the trophy offered by the Corinthian Y. C. for the smaller class in the midnight ocean race from Marblehead to Boston Lightship, thence to Eastern Point and return to Marblehead; distance, thirty-five miles.
Virginia is easily the fastest 25-footer in local waters, and is very fast in all conditions. She has often beaten the new Class P boats, boat for boat, although they are seven feet longer on the waterline, and with the regular time allowance, which she receives, is a good match any time for any of the class P boats.
Virginia, formerly named Nike, had been laid up for three- years in Cold Spring Harbor where she was purchased by Mr. Burgess and was formerly owned by Victor T. Cumnock, of New York. She was built by Herreshoff ten years ago, is forty-one feet over all twenty-five feet-waterline, ten feet beam and six feet draft. She carries almost 1,100 feet of sail, has about 9,000 pounds of lead on keel and has a large cabin, making her a good cruising boat as well as a racing boat. Virginia has a locker filled with valuable trophies as a result of this season's racing, and her remarkable record has attracted much attention in the yachting world." (Source: Anon. "Virginia's Fine Record." Forest and Stream, October 8, 1910, p. 583.)

"No. 3452 --- For Sale --- Well-known sloop yacht Virginia. Designed by Nathaniel G. Herreshoff and built by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. at Bristol, R. I. 41 ft. 5 in. o. a., 25 ft. w. l., 10 ft. beam, 6 ft. 5 in. draught. Beautifully constructed with double mahogany planking, copper fastenings, canvas deck, etc. 8,000 lb lead on keel. Water-tight cockpit 9 ft. long. Large cabin which can comfortably accommodate six persons, with 5 ft. 6 in. headroom. Sails made by Wilson & Silsby of the very finest duck, almost new and in perfect condition. Two jibs, two spinnakers, balloon jib, etc. Good cruising equipment with tender, two anchors and cables, cushions, stove, dishes, blankets, and all other necessary articles. Hollow mast, boom and gaff of the finest construction. Best plough steel wire rigging and bronze fittings throughout. In 1910 out of 15 starts Virginia won 13 firsts, 1 second, 1 sixth. Won championship of Boston Y. C. with a percentage of 100, not losing a race. Won Corinthian Y. C's Midsummer Series prize, Boston Y. C's annual, cruise prize and many other valuable trophies. Though Virginia is a noted prize winner she is also a splendid cruising boat, and there is no better all-around fast cruiser afloat. Only reason for selling is that owner is going to sail a larger yacht next season. Inspectable near Boston. Reasonable price. Apply to Hollis Burgess Yacht Agency, 15 Exchange St., Boston, Mass." (Source: Anon. "For Sale." Rudder, March 1911, p. 182.)

"The Hollis Burgess Yacht Agency has sold ... the fast Herreshoff racing sloop Virginia, owned by Hollis Burgess, to Charles L. Joy, of Dorchester, Mass.; ..." (Source: Anon. "Yacht Sales." Rudder, June 1911, p. 22.)

"William A. Norcross of Providence has purchased from William H. Hanley of South Boston the fast Herreshoff 21-footer Nike for use on Narragansett Nau next season. [This may or may not be a reference to #512s Oiseau which was not a 21-footer but a 25-footer and is known to have been named Nike only between the years 1904 and 1910.]" (Source: Anon. "Yachts and Yachtsmen." Boston Globe, October 28, 1917, p. 54.)

"N/A"

"[Item Transcription:] Typewritten (carbon copy) table titled 'Memorandum' with penciled additions listing boats built 1898/1899 with columns labeled 'No.', 'W.L.', 'Rig', 'To deliver', followed in some cases by penciled data for Boat Name and Actual Delivery Date. Relevant contents:
#512s OISEAU [OSSEAU] [W.L.:] 25ft [Rig:] J.&.M. Keel. [To deliver:] During latter part of May [1899]. [Note:] Cabin. Restricted class." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.. (creator) and Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Memorandum. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_01300. Folder [no #]. No date (1898-04 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections titled '1st trial. #512 [OISEAU]. 25ft L[ong] Is[land] Sound. 1899'. With calculations arriving at a displacement for 'body part' of 175.75cuft and for 'keel part' of 20.95cuft [for a total of 196.7cuft] = 12650lbs. (NGH started working on OISEAU's Model 1014 on January 22, 1899, suggesting that these sections were made slightly later.)" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_04640. Folder [no #]. 1899(-01-23 ca).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections titled 'Feb[ruary] 21st 1899. #512 [OISEAU]. Final. 41ft 5in overall. 25ft waterline' with note '1in light w[ater] l[ine] is 24ft 4 1/2in and disp[lacement] 900lbs less = 11300'. With calculations arriving at a displacement of 189.7cuft = 12200lbs. On verso a second set of penciled pantograph hull sections titled 'Feb[ruary] 8th [1899]. #512. 25ft L[ong] Is[land] Sound. 2nd model, unfinished' with calculations arriving at a displacement of 190.95cuft = 1227lbs." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_04750. Folder [no #]. 1899-02-21.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph lead sections titled 'No. 512 [#512s OISEAU] Lead. Feb[ruary] 22nd [18]99'. With calculations arriving at 5590lbs and c.g. = 22.02 aft of zero." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Lead Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_09480. Folder [no #]. 1899-02-22.)
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"[Item Description:] so you are actually building another Cup Defender! [#551s CONSTITUTION], will keep anything I know about #499s COLUMBIA to myself for you trusted me with the information, how I should enjoy working on the new one!, am busy here [at New York Sipbuilding in Camden, NJ], I see an enlarged #512s OISEAU going up in the South Shop, was sorry to hear about Walker's Cove fire [on Oct 21, 1900], #532s RAINBOW seems to have acted remarkably well in just clearing the South wharf in the North Wester [RAINBOW had gone ashore on Nov 9, 1900], have you been out in #404s COQUINA lately, I wish I could be up there trying to catch you in the TIP tomorrow" (Source: Packard, Alpheus A. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_20350. Correspondence, Folder 58. 1900-11-17.)
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"[Item Description:] wishes for health improvement, Bermuda will be paradise, reference to article on Bermuda in Rudder by Burgess, hotel recommendation, promoting 1911 Boston - Bermuda race, #698s VAGRANT will race, have just sold #512s VIRGINIA and will now helm #539s ALTAIR" (Source: Burgess, Hollis. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_04370. Correspondence, Folder 15, formerly 107. 1911-03-20.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #512s Oiseau [Osseau] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Oiseau (HMCo-made index card)
• Nike ex-Oiseau (HMCo-made index card)
• Nike ex-Oiseau (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: Ossean [sic, i.e. Osseau]
Type: Knockabout
Length: 25'
Owner: Maxwell, J. R.

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

• Oiseau
• Ossean Oiseau
• Virginia II ex-Oiseau
• Nike ex-Oiseau
• Virginia ex-Oiseau
• Yankee Girl ex-Oiseau
• 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: Oiseau [sic, i.e. Osseau?]
Type: 25' knockabout
Owner: J. Rogers Maxwell
Year: 1899
Row No.: 489

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.

Year: 1899
E/P/S: S
No.: 0512
Name: Osseau
LW: 25'
B: 10'
D: 5' 11"
Rig: Knockabout
K: y
Ballast: Lead [sic, i.e. Lead outside]
Amount: 3300.00
Last Name: Maxwell
First Name: J. R.

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.

"#512s Oiseau from 1899 is apparently the very first Herreshoff conventional deep keel boat to have been designed and built with a single steam-bent keel plank. Previous keel boats were built with more complex backbone structures which combined a fore keel timber, a middle keel plank and an aft keel timber.
This single sprung plank technique would come to define the construction of most small and medium-sized Herreshoff yachts built from then on. It was particularly well-suited to the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company's typical upside-down construction because the frame assemblies provided a natural bending jig for the keel plank and that may have been the primary reason why HMCo gravitated to keels of this type. Another advantage was that there was no deep bilge and the frames didn't have to take the sharp reverse bends to create the tuck. Frame failure in the tuck is common in boats whose 'keel parts' are planked instead of being made up of deadwood. A final advantage was that fewer pieces were used in creating the backbone which resulted in fewer scarfs to make and fewer stopwaters that might leak.
Historically, there appears to have been a natural progression in N.G. Herreshoff's using this construction method. In the early 1890s, HMCo built many fin keelers and the upside-down construction method was already well established. Type of boat and type of construction just lent itself to using steam-bending keel planks. In addition to the fin keelers some small centerboard boats were also built this way, followed by boats which combined lead keels and centerboards. Thus, it came only naturally that this method began to be used for some small boats with deep keels --- the first being #512s.
More substantial boats, like the 46.5ft LOA Buzzards Bay 30 class of 1902 continued to be built with 3-part keel planks but soon the similar sized Bar Habor 30s (1903) and New York 30s (1905) were also fitted with single steam-bent keels. In the end, even large boats like the New York 40s (1916) were constructed with single keel planks. But there was a size limit because with increasing keel length their width became so excessive that shrinkage and swelling risked creating splits and the strains weakened the backbone fastenings. Thus, the New York 50s of 1913 were built with 3-part keels. The 69ft LOA #641s Alice II from 1905, the 60ft 7in #634s Suzetta III from 1905 and then the 59ft LOA NY40s may have been the largest HMCo boats using the steam-bent single keel construction.
There seems to have been a transitional period when some boats like the smaller #616s Bambino from 1904 and #646s Kotic still had 3-part keels while the larger Bar Harbor 31s from 1903 and NY30s from 1905 already had 1-part steamed keels. But Bambino and Kotic were descendants of #578s Azor from 1902 which, like the Bar Harbor 31s from the same year, still had a 3-part keel plank.
In later years 3-part keels became rather seldom in boats smaller than 60ft LOA. #703s Flying Cloud from 1910 and Sidney's Rofa and Harlequin from 1925 seem to be such exceptions." (Source: van der Linde, Claas and Maynard Bray. November 24, 2021.)

"Oiseau's model was made 1899-01-22, suggesting that she was contracted for around the same time." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. November 16, 2011.)

"Built in 104 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $32/day, 109 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.