HMCo #580s Trivia

"[1902-05-31] Sat 31: Fine & cool. Clear [with] NE [wind] in AM. SSW [in] PM. Turned over #580 [Trivia]." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1902. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"Feb[ruary] 1902.
No. 578 [#578s Azor] --- c[enter]b[oard].
Also no. 580 [#580s Trivia] Keel.
Also no. 586 [#586s Nellie] Keel.
Frame spaces 13 1/3".
Sheer height given is to upper side of deck. Deduct 1 1/8" for thickness of deck.
Timbers 1 7/8" x 1 7/8" at head, increasing moulded ways 1/8" per foot.
Planking 1 1/4".
Crown [of] deck 6" in 12'.
Crown [of] House 2 1/2" in 6'. ...
See last part of book for No. 608 [#608s Rugosa] ..." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Penciled note in Offset Booklet HH.4.135.] February 1902. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"Fourteen Buzzards Bay Thirty Footers were built in 1902. Also [built were the] thirty-five footer AZOR for "Mac" Forbes, [the] thirty-five footer TRIVIA [TRIVIA is on exhibit at the Herreshoff Marine Museum] for Harold Vanderbilt (his second cruiser), and nearly a dozen smaller yachts." (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. 68-69.)

"Two other fine, wholesome sailboats of 1902 were 'Trivia,' built for Harold S. Vanderbilt (the first yachts of his that I remember having built at Bristol), and 'Azor,' built for J. M. Forbes, which made her home port Naushon Island in Buzzards Bay for several years.
Another nearly identical yacht, 'Nellie,' was built for Morton F. Plant in 1903. Their principal dimensions were L.O.A., forty-six feet; L.W.L., thirty-four feet; beam, twelve feet three inches; draft, six feet; and these three were among the nicest all-around sail boats of their size ever built. I believe one or two of them are still sailing now, nearly fifty years later, 'Nellie' afterward having the names of 'Ishkoodah' and 'Butterfly.' " (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. 227.)

"Trivia, sloop #580, of [blank].
Built at [blank] [sic, i.e. Bristol at HMCo].
13.99 gross tons, 10.97 net tons; 36.5 ft. x 18.2 ft. x 5.9 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
One deck, one mast, overhanging head, overhanging stern.
Surveyed and measured, June 23, 1902. [With note: Not completed.]" (Source: U.S. Customs Department, Bristol, R.I. Custom House Record Book, 1870s to 1904 (Collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum), s.v. Trivia.)

"Bristol, R. I., June 28, 1902. A new cruising sloop [#580s Trivia] is being constructed at the Herreshoff shops for Harold Vanderbilt, to be completed and ready to go in commission in 10 days. Young Mr. Vanderbilt placed an order with Capt. Nat Herreshoff for a new pleasure craft several weeks ago, but the 25-foot waterline craft, the Terrapin [#573s], went to another party. Harold Vanderbilt, who is the youngest son of William K. Vanderbilt, has been a student at St. Clark's school, Southboro, Mass., and has just begun his summer vacation. He was here Thursday afternoon inspecting the progress of construction on his new cruising sloop, about half completed in the Herreshoff shops. After a couple of hours' inspection of the sloop he left for Newport.
The new sloop has a 34-foot water-line. She will have a pole mast and high freeboard, and will resemble to a great degree the Azor. The cabin will be larger than that of the Azor, and she will be the finest cruising sloop of her length on the coast. Capt. Isaiah Crowley of this place has been engaged as sailing master. There will be two or three seamen on board.
Last season Harold Vanderbilt had the 25-foot knockabout Alyce for a pleasure craft, and cruised in her extensively. The Alyce has been sold, and is being overhauled in the Herreshoff yard. ..." (Source: Anon. "Harold Vanderbilt's Boat. Fine Sloop Under Way at Herreshoff's. Other Boats in the Yard." Boston Herald, June 29, 1902, p. 21.)

"The hull of the new 34 footer, now being built for H.Vanderbilt at Herreshoffs, spoken of in the PHOENIX a short time ago, was placed in the run at the shops this week and the lead keel was bolted to it. It is expected that the yacht will be launched next week. Capt. Isaiah Crowley of this town is to be her skipper." (Source: Anon. "Bristol and Vicinity." Bristol Phoenix, July 4, 1902, p. 2.)

"... A view of Harold Vanderbilt's new cruising sloop shows that she is intended for an able and comfortable cruising craft, with a weighty lead keel and a cabin of good dimensions, with a rounding top. She is to be put overboard the coming week.
The work on new yachts in the Herreshoff shops is drawing so near to an end that there are only two boats under construction, besides the ocean cruiser of 34-foot water line that is nearly finished for Harold Vanderbilt. By the middle of the present month there will be few pleasure yachts in and about the Herreshoff yards excepting those coming in to refit. ..." (Source: Anon. "Notes for Yachtsmen." New York Times, July 7, 1902, p. 8.)

"... BRISTOL, R.I., July 20 [1902] --- ... Harold Vanderbilt's new cruising sloop Truia [sic, i.e. Trivia] is to be launched and rigged tomorrow. The boat was floated from the north shop at the Herreshoff works a few days ago and taken into the south shop to be finished. The Truia, which is to take the place of the knockabout Alyce, is a 34-foot water line cruiser, and much larger than Alyce. The craft is very much like the Azor [#578s], recently built at Bristol for Col. Forbes. She has very short overhangs, bluff bows, wide beam, and an all-round able appearance. She is sloop-rigged, with a pole mast and of moderately heavy rig. The cabin is large, in fact, much larger than that of the Azor, and in every appointment is fitted for a long cruise for a boat of such size. ..." (Source: Anon. "British Yachting News." New York Times, July 21, 1902, p. 8.)

"NEWPORT, R.I., July 21 [1902]. -- ... A new cruising sloop, the Trivia, for Harold Vanderbilt, son of Mrs. O. H. P. Belmont, was launched at the Herreshoff works, Bristol, to-day. The Trivia is a thirty-four foot water line boat, with short, bluff bows, and wide beam, and has generally an all-round able appearance. She is sloop rigged, with a large cabin and every appointment for a long cruise. The Trivia is to replace the knockabout Alyce, which Mr. Vanderbilt has sailed for several years, and is much larger than that boat. ..." (Source: Anon. "Notes for Yachtsmen." New York Times, July 22, 1902, p. 9.)

"[License issued to vessel under 20 tons. Pos. 267:]
Trivia, sloop yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, 1902.
10.97 tons; 36.5 ft. x 18.2 ft. x 5.9 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
No specifications shown.
Lic[ensed] ([as] yacht) July 21, 1902. Owner: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol. Master: N. G. Herreshoff. ([Record at:] C[ustom] H[ouse, Providence])." (Source: Survey of Federal Archives, Work Projects Administration. Ships Documents of Rhode Island. Bristol. Ship Registers and Enrollments of the Port of Bristol - Warren Rhode Island, 1941, s.v. Trivia.)

"The new 34 footer Trivia, built by Herreshoff for Harold Vanderbilt, was given a trial spin in the harbor Wednesday [July 23, 1902] afternoon." (Source: Anon. "Bristol and Vicinity." Bristol Phoenix, July 25, 1902, p. 2.)

"Harold Yanderbilt's sloop yacht Trivia, of which Capt. Isaiah Crowley of this town is the skipper, arrived here Friday [September 19, 1903] afternoon to be hauled out at Herreshoff's Walker's cove yards for the winter." (Source: Anon. "Bristol and Vicinity." Bristol Phoenix, September 23, 1903, p. 2.)

"Harold Vanderbilt's cruising and racing sloop Trivia is being fitted out by Capt. Crowley, the skipper, who has a crew of four men assisting in putting the craft in first-class condition for cruising, when young Mr. Vanderbilt comes home from Europe. It will be a rather short season for the Trivia, as Mr. Vanderbilt will not be home until Aug. 1 [1904], when the craft goes into commission at Bristol." (Source: Anon. "Yachts and Yachtsmen." New York Times, July 4, 1904, p. 7.)

"Bristol, R. I., August 6. --- ... The sloop yacht Trivia, owned by Harold Vanderbilt, was placed in commission yesterday, on the arrival of Mr. Vanderbilt, who has been in Europe. The craft has started for a cruise along the coast. ..." (Source: Anon. "Activity at Bristol." Boston Herald, August 7, 1904, p. 23.)

"... The sloop yacht Trivia, with her owner Mr. Harold Vanderbilt, was anchored off Jamestown [apparently to visit the Jamestown exposition] the greater part of last week. ..." (Source: Anon. "Social and Travel Notes." Town & Country, August 3, 1907, p. 6.)

"... The young yachtsman [Harold S. Vanderbilt] is an excellent sailor, however, who has had many years of experience on the water. In his college days at Harvard he roamed the coast from Grand Manan to Cape Henry in the sloop yacht Trivia, another Herreshoff creation with quite a turn of speed.
Young Vanderbilt likes yachting. When a boy it was found necessary to curb his ambition sometimes, as he was a helmsman whose aim was to carry a good sail area in a blow, even at the risk of taking out the spars. A story is told by a sailing master, who had charge of the Trivia a few years ago, when Mr. Vanderbilt and two of his college friends were on board on their way over Nantucket Shoals to the Maine coasts. The skipper, it is related, went below for a nap soon after the Trivia passed Pollock Rip Lightship, and gave orders to carry a double reef in the mainsail, no matter what were the wind conditions.
Harold Vanderbilt took the tiller and everything went well for an hour, when the skipper, it is declared, was aroused from his nap by the uncomfortable angle at which the Trivia was heeling.
The skipper found himself stretched on the edgeboard of his bunk, and going on deck found the wind had in creased in volume almost to a gale, while Vanderbilt held a weather helm, meanwhile entertaining his companions. The second squint of the skipper showed the reason of the big heel of the craft. Both reefs in the mainsail had been shaken out in the skipper's watch below, and the seas, driven before a young gale, were boarding the Trivia forward and washing the craft fore and aft.
Explanations were asked for hurriedly, the craft brought to the wind and three reefs taken in the main sail for the balance of the trip over the shoals. Orders were given then to steer a certain course with just the area of sail that the craft was then carrying, while the skipper went below to finish a well-earned nap. ..." (Source: Anon. "Vagrant Entered For Bermuda Race." Nautical Gazette, June 2, 1910, p. 376.)

"For Sale --- Herreshoff polemast cruising sloop, built 1902, 45x33.6x12x7. Lead keel. Constructed of finest materials throughout, as invariably used by this firm; mahogany deck trimmings. Well lighted and ventilated cabin, offering four comfortable berths. Neatly finished in butternut, mahogany trim, gives 6 ft. 3 in. headroom. Toilet room; galley; foc'sle for two men. Complete cruising outfit, including Herreshoff sails new, 1906. 11-ft. Herreshoff tender [#190208es], binnacle and compass, interior fittings and furnishings, etc. While built as a cruiser, she sails well with Buzzards Bay 30-ft. class, although heavier construction and shorter overhangs make her a better sea-boat. Has cruised outside from Bar Harbor, Me., to Norfolk, Va., proving a fine craft under all conditions. Low price. Address Stanley M. Seaman, 220 Broadway, New York City." (Source: Anon. [For Sale Ad.] Rudder, March 1909, p. 180.)

"Bristol, R.I. May 15 [1909]. - ... Harold Vanderbilt has sold his sloop Trivia, which is now being fitted out for the new owner in one of the Herreshoff yards, and Mr. Vanderbilt is having a new yacht with a 43-foot waterline sloop[sic] built in Boothbay, Me. ..." (Source: Anon. "Bristol Notes." Boston Globe, May 16, 1909, p. 41.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., June 12 [1909] --- ... Harold Vanderbilt's former sloop yacht Trivia, which he sold recently to Edward B. Alvord of Brookline, Mass., has gone into commission and is at Marblehead. ..." (Source: Anon. "Bristol Notes." Boston Globe, June 13, 1909, p. 41.)

"... Among the yachts fitting out at Lawley's are ... Trivia, Edward B. Alford." (Source: Anon. [Title?] Boston Globe, May 18, 1913, p. 56.)

"Dear Mr. Herreshoff,
The other day I ran into George Granberry and he told me of your recent letter to him. This reminded me that I had been intending to write you for some time in regard to the sloop [#580s] TRIVIA.
You designed and constructed her a good many years ago for William Vanderbilt. I acquired her last spring from her more recent owner, Mr. Alvord.
I thought you would be interested in knowing her latest berth. She has her original rig except for the fact that I took four feet off her boom and had the mainsail re cut accordingly. I find that this brings everything almost inboard --- which makes her very much handier to reef. Also, this change gives her a perfectly balanced helm.
I think she is just about the finest combination of comfort and sailing ability I have ever experienced. Apparently she is just as sound as the day she was built, and I am looking forward to a number of years to enjoy her.
I am wondering if you still have her lines, and if so, would I be asking too much to have you send these to me. I have bragged so much about her that many people have asked me detailed questions in regard to her exact measurements, and I would like to have the information if this is available." (Source: Wallace, George N. [Letter to N. G. Herreshoff.] Herreshoff Marine Museum Correspondence Folder 59 (new). Access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff. September 8, 1936.)

"Nathanael Greene Herreshoff designed TRIVIA in 1902 for Harold S. Vanderbilt's 16th birthday. Under ownership of Vanderbilt, she had an illustrious racing record. Successive owners continued to race her with much pleasure over the years. TRIVIA was at one time the flagship for the Cruising Club of America. In 1981, the firm of Halsey C. Herreshoff Inc. did extensive refit and restoration of TRIVIA. In 1982, she won Class D at the Classic Yacht Regatta in Newport as well as the Sappho Trophy for the best-corrected time in the fleet. At the time, she also had the honor of being the oldest competing yacht (80 years). In 1987, Dr. Edward S. Fleming donated TRIVIA to the Herreshoff Marine Museum." (Source: Herreshoff Marine Museum. "Trivia." [Plaque on display at the museum.] Bristol, RI, no date [ca. 2013].)

"Frank Bernheisel owned Trivia and did so for many years. I believe he had her in the 60's and maybe before that. [He bought Trivia in 1957 as per a subsequent Email dated December 21, 2018.] I was a carpenter and worked at Zahniser's. Trivia was a boat that was always assigned to me. Frank Berheisel lived and kept her in Cuckhold Creek on the Patuxent River. Sailed her often and lived aboard when he was a teacher in Cambridge Md. It had the gaff rig changed to Marconi in the 30's. Around 1981 he came to me and said he was ready to sell her at $5,000 financed at 5% interest. My income at the time wouldn't allow me to put the required money into her that was required. Also at that time we were working on an aluminum sloop that was going south for the charter season in the islands. It was owned by a man named Fleming. And about the same time Halsey Herreshoff came to the yard to meet Mr. Fleming and gave him two Rosenfeld prints of old J boats. I encouraged Mr. Bernheisel to entertain the idea of trying to get the boat to a museum and introduced him to Fleming and Herreshoff. It went well and Mr. Bernheisel let the boat go to Fleming and Herreshoff and gave an additional sum for some upkeep. Off it went to New England--- Happy Ending for all." (Source: Cook, John. Private Email to Maynard Bray. December 17, 2018.)

"Trivia and the other racer/cruisers ... are typical midsized Herreshoff sailing craft of this era. Even today they represent a reasonable combination of performance and accommodation. ... Trivia was built for young Harold S. Vanderbilt as the first of several Herreshoff yachts he would own, each one larger than the last and culminating in the Cup defenders Enterprise and Rainbow of the 1930s. Trivia's building contract, signed in January 1902 by Vanderbilt and JBH, indicates in quite specific terms what the boat would be like. To quote, in part: 'All, or nearly all, ballast to be on the outside, and of lead cast to form. Framing to be of best white oak. All fastening below deck frame to be of bronze and copper. Planking to be of yellow pine, to be double from below the turn of bilge to sheerstrake, the inner thickness to be of cypress. Deck to be of selected white pine, deck seams to be filled with marine glue.' The cost would be $6,300, to be paid in four installments as the work progressed. Delivery would be on or before July 1 [1902]. The Herreshoff Mfg. Co. would provide life jackets, cockpit awning, dishes, mattresses, and pillows, as well as a lapstrake dinghy. Contracts such as this leave the oft-repeated story of the Herreshoffs doing just about as they pleased, customers be damned, as nothing but folklore. Indications are that the Herreshoff Mfg. Co conducted its business in a businesslike way, even if the paperwork was not always as complex as current practice.
Trivia was a powerful boat having the wide beam of the keel/centerboarder Azor [#578s], whose model she was built from, and carrying the same 1,251-square-foot sail plan, but fitted with a full keel. Besides Trivia and Azor, there was Nellie [#586], a keelboat like Trivia, also using the same model. Trivia is now on display at the Herreshoff Marine Museum's 'Hall of Boats.' " (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 71.)

"N/A"

"[Item Transcription:] [Penciled note with specifications for #580s TRIVIA, made apparently after a first meeting with TRIVIA's future owner Harold S. Vanderbilt:] Harald[sic] Vanderbilt. St. Marks' School
About 34ft w.l. 11 3/4 beam. 6ft full head room. Keel, cabin longer than in [Buzzards Bay] 30s with short forecastle and shorter cockpit, steer with wheel sitting astern ofib[?].
(Cockpit floor about 6 1/2ft.)
Hatch in deck aft of c.p. with light partition (with doors) at aft end of cabin. 4 berths. Large skylight over cabin & hatch over w.c. & galley. Swinging table in cabin, with leaves to swing down leaving stationary part narrow as possible. Cabin of bright wood finish --- pine & mahogany or possibly Spanish cedar.
Wants sketch of cabin arrangement to approve. [Undated, TRIVIA was contracted for January 24, 1902.] " (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Note. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_02600. Folder [no #]. No date (ca 1902-01).)
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"[Item Description:] #580s TRIVIA sale contract and specifications, with annotations and JBH and Harold S. Vanderbilt signatures." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.. (creator). Contract. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Acc. 86.51. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Box 1), Folder [no #]. 1902-01-24.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections with pinpricks and displacement curves titled 'No 578 [#578s AZOR]. 34 1/2 w.l. cruiser. Final. Scale 1/16. Feb[ruary] 9 1902' and added to that '580 [#580s TRIVIA]. Keel 1ft 6in deep below model. '586 [#586s NELLIE]. Keel 1ft 6in deep below model'. With calculations arriving at a displacement of 405cuft = 25900lbs." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_04200. Folder [no #]. 1902-02-09.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph lead sections titled 'No 578 [#578s AZOR] and 580 [#580s TRIVIA]. Scale 1/8 size. M[ar]ch 14, 1902'. With calculations marked 'No. 580 Keel' arriving at 12400lbs of lead' and calculations and note 'No. 578 c.b. Total [require] lead 13450[lbs] [of which] Outside 12000[lbs] ... Calculated [lead] 12250lbs [plus] Inside lead 1200[lbs]'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Lead Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_07950. Folder [no #]. 1902-03-14.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Order book with carbon copy duplicates of instructions given by NGH. Relevant contents:
§32: Work Order '[For] 578 [#578s AZOR] & 580 [#580s TRIVIA]. Rigging loft. [When wanted] June. Wire rigging list …' (1902-03-17)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Order Book. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE07_01320. Folder [no #]. 1897-01 to 1905.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled sketch titled 'TRIVIA [#580s]. Sketch of Trim. June 26, 1906'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0373. WRDT04, Folder O.S. 3, formerly MRDE08. 1906-06-26.)
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"[Item Description:] Handwritten notebook. This booklet had two lives: In 1907-1908, 1908-1909 and 1909-1910 it was used for winter storage records, listing name of boat, owner, storage location, billed amount, and dates of storage. Listed were for the winter of 1907/1908: #235p MIST, ORIANA, #571s LARIKIN, EAGLET, #453s VAQUERO II, #580s TRIVIA, #663s ISTALENA, COSSACK, #666s AVENGER, #220p ATALA (for sale), #207p MIRAGE, #224p EUGENIA, #146p AUGUSTA, #247p SEA URCHIN, #105p COSETTE, ARLINE, #213p FLORENCE, #208p FLORETTE, #249p SISILINA, #591s IROLITA, #481s SPALPEEN, DUCHESS, #669s ELEANOR, #460s KILDEE, #647s CAPRICE, #408s PELICAN, #243p SWIFTSURE, #617s COCK ROBIN, #177p VANISH, #446s ALERION, and #591s IROLITA I, for the winter of 1908/1909: #666s AVENGER, #663s ISTALENA, #481s SPALPEEN, #580s TRIVIA, #617s COCK ROBIN, COSSACK, #177p VANISH, #242p #242, #243p SWIFTSURE, SKIP, #446s ALERION, CHEWINK II, DUCHESS, #571s LARIKIN, #460s KILDEE, #679s PEPITA, EAGLET, #408s PELICAN, #453s VAQUERO, #146p AUGUSTA, #224p EUGENIA, COYOTE, #264p SARAH WEBB, #207p MIRAGE, ARLINE, #213p FLORENCE, #208p FLORETTE, #249p SISILINA, #591s IROLITA I, CASSANDRA 27ft Launch, and #263p CASSANDRA 34ft Launch, and for the winter of 1909/1910: #252p WANECHE (no further boats were listed). At some later time, the same book was turned upside down and inscribed with a new title in ink '200Ft Submarine Destroyer [#191802ep Unbuilt 200ft Submarine Chaser]. Data + Calculation Book. Herreshoff Mfg Co.' on its now-new front cover (formerly its back cover), followed by weight data estimates and calculations for this submarine destroyer." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Notebook. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.087. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder Submarine Destroyer 200-Footer. 1907-1908, 1908-1909, 1909-1910, 1918-06.)
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"[Item Description:] Four handwritten (in ink) pages with tabulated data listing 'Shop No', 'Name', '[Tons] Gross' and '[Tons] Net' for a total of 100 HMCo-built boats and classes. Tonnage data is usually precise to two digits behind the decimal. Random comparisons suggest source of tonnage data to be official Custom House data. Boats mentioned are: #664s, #663s, #625s, #665s, #634s, #658s, #657s, #646s, #641s, #617s, #626s Class, #624s, #621s, #616s, #619s, #590s, #591s, #586s, #592 Class, #618s, #605s, #578s, #560s Class, #580s, #553s, #551s, #552s, #546s, #541s, #545s, #538s, #534s, #533s, #532s, #529s, #534s, #530s, #531s, #435s, #437s, #452s, #499s, #429s, #426s, #424s, #481s, #422s, #417s, #414s, #451s, #215p, #213p, #222p, #235p, #230p, #229p, #236p, #224p, #244p, #247p, #249p, #231p, #232p, #228p, #252p, #250p, #251p, #248p, #168p, #164p, #118p, #142p, #174p, #173p, #194p, #189p, #193p, #183p, #178p, #179p, #181p, #182p, #175p, #163p, #148p, #149p, #172p, #155p, #170p, #186p, #188p, #206p, #207p, #205p, #208p, #209p, #210p, #211p, #212p, #216p. Undated (the latest boat listed, WINSOME, was launched in 1907)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Handwritten List. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_00220. Folder [no #]. No date (1907 or later).)
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"[Item Transcription:] Order book with carbon copy duplicates of instructions given by NGH titled 'Herreshoff Mfg. Co. Orders from N.G. Herreshoff'. Relevant contents:
§24: Work Order [For] #576s, #583s, #578s, #580s. [When wanted] May 1, 1902. Chain cables (1902-03-04)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Order Book. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE08_03460. Folder [no #]. 1900-02 to 1909-10.)
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"[Item Description:] The other day I ran into George Granberry and he told me of your recent letter to him. This reminded me that I had been intending to write you for some time in regard to the sloop [#580s] TRIVIA. You designed and constructed her a good many years ago for William Vanderbilt. I acquired her last spring from her more recent owner, Mr. Alvord. I thought you would be interested in knowing her latest berth. She has her original rig except for the fact that I took four feet off her boom and had the mainsail re cut accordingly. I find that this brings everything almost inboard --- which makes her very much handier to reef. Also, this change gives her a perfectly balanced helm. I think she is just about the finest combination of comfort and sailing ability I have ever experienced. Apparently she is just as sound as the day she was built, and I am looking forward to a number of years to enjoy her. I am wondering if you still have her lines, and if so, would I be asking too much to have you send these to me. I have bragged so much about her that many people have asked me detailed questions in regard to her exact measurements, and I would like to have the information if this is available; incl. penciled by NGH names, building numbers, owners and dimensions of #578s AZOR, #586s NELLIE, #580s TRIVIA, #608s RUGOSA, and #616s BAMBINO" (Source: Wallace, George N. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_20810. Correspondence, Folder 59. 1936-09-08.)
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"[Item Description:] (Postcard?) photo of early HMM wharf showing #616s BAMBINO, #580s TRIVIA, #599s INDIAN and #248p THANIA ex-TODDY WAX" (Source: Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_2150. Photograph. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Box 1), Folder [no #], formerly 178?. No date (1980s ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Correspondence between Shaw Mudge and Halsey Herreshoff / Carlton Pinheiro re #580s TRIVIA and #586s BUTTERFLY ex-NELLIE, as well as donation of bronze centerboard of champion Larchmont Yacht Club class B frostbiter ICEPICK to HMM." (Source: Mudge, Shaw. Letters to Herreshoff, Halsey. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_7010. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Box 5), Folder 179A. 1996-03-26.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #580s Trivia even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [Contract for #580s Trivia.] Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection. Acc. no. 86.51. HMM Library Rare Books Room (Box 1), Folder(new) [no #]. Bristol, RI, January 24, 1902. (1,604 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Copyright holder: Herreshoff Marine Museum. Original building/sales contract. Vessel description, scantlings, payment terms, delivery date, specifications.
• Customs House Surveyor of the Port of Bristol, R.I. "Tonnage Admeasurement of the Sloop #580 Trivia." Customs House Record Book for the Port of Bristol, R.I., 1887 - 1904. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection. HMM Library Rare Books Room. Bristol, RI, June 23, 1902. (678 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: No known copyright restrictions. Copyright holder: Herreshoff Marine Museum. Customs House Tonnage Admeasurement form.
• Bernheisel, David. "Trivia Under the Bernheisel Family Stewardship 1958-1981." Private recollections, December 28, 2018. (329 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: David Bernheisel. Recollections of Trivia when owned by the Bernheisel family between 1958 and 1981.

• Trivia (HMCo-made index card)
• Trivia (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: Trivia
Type: J & M
Length: 34'6"
Owner: Vanderbilt, H. S.

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

• Trivia
• 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: Trivia
Type: 33' 5" cutter
Owner: Harold Vanderbilt
Year: 1902
Row No.: 692

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: Jan.
Day: 24
Year: 1902
E/P/S: S
No.: 0580
Name: Trivia
LW: 34' 6"
B: 12' 1"
D: 7'
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead O.
Amount: $6300.00
Last Name: Vanderbilt
First Name: HG.

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 178 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $35/day, 148 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"Donated in 1987 by Dr. Edward S. Fleming to the Herreshoff Marine Museum." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 8, 2012.)

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