HMCo #608s Rugosa

"[1903-04-18] Sat 18: Very fine [with] SW [wind] in forenoon. Heavy NW in PM. ... Set up #608 [Rugosa], cruiser for Mr. Grinnell.
[1903-04-24] Fri 24: Fair. Fresh SW [wind in] PM. ... Began planking #608 [Rugosa]." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1903. 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] ... [From last part of book:]
No 608. M[ar]ch 1903.
To be made similar but smaller than #580.
Linear dimentions[sic] to be 13/16 as long = (9 3/4) / 12.
Frame spaces 10 5/6".
Sheer height raised 3" (common rule)
5 3/8" crown 10-9-0 Deck
1 1/2" crown 4-0-0 House." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Penciled note in Offset Booklet HH.4.135.] February 1902 and March 1903. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

... John G. Alden reports the following sales: The 29-foot waterline Herreshoff cruising sloop Regusa [sic, i.e. Rugosa] for Harold E. Barlow of Providence to John Adams of Boston for use at Marion ..." (Source: Anon. "Notes From The Week's Log." Boston Globe, February 1, 1920, p. 47.)

"No. 272 --- For Sale --- Keel cruising sloop, designed and built by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. 38.10 ft. oyer all, 28.9 ft. water-line, 8 ft. beam, 6 ft. draught. Lead ballast. Commodious cabin with four berths. Toilet; galley. Full furnished for cruising. The only craft of her type available. Whole outfit in first-class condition. Price reasonable. Apply to Simon Fisch, Yacht Broker, 31 East 27th Street, New York. Telephone Madison Square 4008. [While not identified by name, the only possible fit to the provided dimensions appears to be #608s Rugosa. Note, however, that the beam in the advertisement --- 8ft --- is very much at odds with her actual beam of 9ft 9.5in. A few weeks prior to the publication of this advertisement Rugosa had already been reported as having been sold. Again, one might conclude from this that Rugosa is not the right fit for the advertisement, but, again, there is no other Herreshoff-built vessel that would otherwise nearly fit the description and the accompanying photo.]" Source: Anon. [Classified ad.] Rudder, March 1920, p. 58.)

"1903 Nat Herreshoff 40' SLOOP. Love and labor have kept boat in very good condition. Must sell. Offers, 714-299-3573. 1633 Cypress Avenue, San Diego, CA 92103. [Size and location suggest this to be #608s Rugosa.]" (Source: Anon. "Boats for Sale." Wooden Boat Magazine #31, November/December 1979, p. 112.)

"1903 Herreshoff said boat. The inside has received about $40,000 of new hardwood alone. Everything is there and just needs the right person to finish the project to have her sailing again. Currently I am willing to accept offers and I will reposting with better pictures over the next few days. Registered measurements 39.5 length, 9.8 beam, 6 draft and 53ft Sloop Single Mast. 'Sally Ran' Call Mike after 5pm PST for more info 619-717-4693. [Size and location suggest this to be #608s Rugosa.]" (Source: Craigs List San Diego, http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/boa/1638617690.html, retrieved March 12, 2010.)

"Year: 1903. Length: 39'. Engine/Fuel Type: Single. Located In: San Diego, CA. Hull Material: Wood. YW#: 78589-2392963.
Current Price: US$ 29,000
Six boats were built from Model #115 in 1902. They include #578 AZOR #580 TRIVIA, #586 NELLIE, #608 RUGOSA, #616 BAMBINO, #646 KOTIC.
This boat is a restoration project.
In 1984 all lower single planks have been replaced with Honduran Mahogany, Frames were sistered or replaced with new full-length laminated frames. Floor timbers were replaced and a new extended length mast step fit to the vessel.
Please contact Peter K. Sterrett, Herreshoff Yacht Sales at (401) 396-9931." (Source: YachtWorldCom. "Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. 608, San Diego, CA." November 17, 2014. http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1903/Herreshoff-Manufacturing-Co.-608-2392963/San-Diego/CA/United-States#.VN73fyyCaTM, retrieved February 14, 2015.)

"I am the owner of this vessel. Living in San Diego. Wondering how to get the word out if I wanted to sell in the near future? Contact Richard Snow. 6092715020." (Source: Snow, Richard. Post to the Herreshoff Forum, October 20, 2021. https://herreshoffregistry.org/forum/index.php/topic,1212.msg6364.html#new, retrieved November 17, 2021.)

"N/A"

"[Item Transcription:] [Mimeographed specifications memorandum:] Memorandum of boat wanted for Mr. Russell Grinnell.
A boat [#608s RUGOSA] modelled after the 1902 Buzzards Bay 30ft Class built on a 25ft water line. To have a boat that Mr. & Mrs. Grinnell could handle alone and would want a model that would not require more than a moderate sail plan. Should prefer a single head rig. The draft should not exceed 5ft 6in and prefer 5ft, beam to be in same proportion as Buzzards Bay 30 footers. To have the same style deck house and same style cabin plan. Cockpit could be shortened to obtain this if necessary.
[With penciled notes by NGH:] Model of #578 [AZOR] at scale 9 3/4 / 12 of original = 13/16. Making length on deck 37ft 10in, w.l. 28ft 3in, Beam 9ft 9in, Draft hull 2ft 8 1/2in, Draft keel 5ft 8in, Freeboard at [mid-section symbol] 2ft 1 1/4in, [mid-section symbol] body 13.5[square symbol] Total [mid-section symbol] about 17sqft, Disp[lacement] 14000lbs, 217cuft, Sail about 850sqft, Frame spaces, 10 15/16 nearly, (3in added to free board)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Specifications Memorandum. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_02550. Folder [no #]. No date (1903-02 ?).)
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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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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #608s Rugosa even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Hickey, Peggy. "The Redoubtable Sally." Lakeland Boating, April 1961, p. 19, 38, 39, 47. (2,585 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Peggy Hickey. Humorous account of sailing #608s Sally ex-Rugosa on Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico in the early 1960s. Though initially leaky she still wins.
• Hickey, Sean. "Sally (ex-Rugosa - HMCo – #608)/ How a Boat Determines the Course of Your Life." Unpublished, Pensacola, Florida, November 15, 2022. (59 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Sean Hickey. Childhood memories of cruising and racing in Rugosa on Lake Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

• Rugosa (HMCo-made index card)
• Rugosa (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: Rugosa
Type: J & M
Length: 28'9"
Owner: Grinnell, Russell

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

• Rugosa
• 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: Rugosa
Type: 28' 10" sloop
Owner: Russell Grinnell
Year: 1903
Row No.: 582

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: 7
Year: 1903
E/P/S: S
No.: 0608
Name: Rugosa
LW: 28' 9"
B: 9' 10"
D: 5' 11"
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead O.
Amount: 5250.00
Last Name: Grinnell
First Name: 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.

"Dimensions from construction plan." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 1, 2011.)

"As per November 2021, this boat was still in existence in San Diego, CA. See discussion at https://herreshoffregistry.org/forum/index.php/topic,1212.msg6364.html#new, retrieved November 17, 2021.)" (Source: van der Linde, Claas. November 17, 2021.)

"N/A"

"Disp[lacement] as designed 251 cu.ft = 16010 lbs. Feb. 22, 19[??]." (Source: Anon (N.G. Herreshoff?). Penciled note on Construction Plan 076-049 (HH.5.05508) for Rugosa. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

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