HMCo #623s Schelm [Schelm IV, Schlern, Schlem]

"No. 623 [#623s].
Oct[ober] 1904.
Frame spaces 8 1/4".
Frames moulded 13/16 at head, increasing 3/32" per foot.
Frames sided 13/16 7/8 [sic].
Planking double 9/32 + 7/32 = 1/2".
Deck 1/2".
Sheer heights given are to upper side of deck.
Keel 1 3/8 plank. Generally about 1 1/16 above rabbate, but modify to suit." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Penciled note in Offset Booklet HH.4.146.] October 1904. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"Bristol, Dec. 18 [1904]. --— ... In the shops, completed in nearly every particular, is a small raceabout boat of 18 foot waterline for a customer in Germany. She is rigged with a mechanism in the cockpit for reefing or increasing sail, while the steersman keeps his seat at the after end of the boat. Besides, the spinnaker pole will be made to do duty as a staysail spar, forward, when the craft is on the wind, and this same spar can be used as a spinnaker pole with the staysail attached as a spinnaker when the craft is steering down the wind." (Source: Anon. "Herreshoff Busy With Boats for Foreign Yacht Owners." New York Sun, December 19, 1904, p. ?.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., Dec. 25 [1904]. --- The racing sloop [#623s Schelm] of eighteen-foot water-line length which was built by the Herreshoffs for a yachtsman in Germany will not be shipped across the Atlantic until Spring. Not much is known of her qualities as a racer beyond her general appearance, but it would not be surprising if the boat should show great sailing powers for one of her length of water line. She is fitted with an apparatus for shortening and increasing sail, which is operated from the cockpit by the steersman. ..." (Source: Anon. "Yacht Building At Bristol. Racing Sloop for Germany Not to be Shipped Until Spring." New York Times, December 26, 1904, p. 5.)

"... The same designers [Herreshoff] are also building an 18' racing boat for Germany. She will carry a roller reefing gear. ..." (Source: Alden, John G. "Things Doing in Boston Town." Sail and Sweep, February 1905, p. 87.)

"... Herreshoff has recently completed a small racing boat which has been sent to Germany. One of her competitors will be the Crowninshield design Heimschen [sic, i.e. Heimchen], in the seven-meter class, which is said to be sailing well. ..." (Source: Anon. "Notes from the Week's Log." Boston Globe, June 4, 1905, p. 48.)

"Zu verkaufen: Rennyacht 'Schelm' 6 S-L. 1905 von Herreshoff & Co. in Amerika aus Mahagoniholz gebaut. Rob. Kirsten, Dovenhof Hamburg. [For sale: Racing yacht 'Schelm' (racing class) 6 S-L. Built 1905 in mahagony wood by Herreshoff & Co. in America. Rob. Kirsten, Dovenhof Hamburg.]" (Source: Die Yacht, Issue 21, May 5, 1906, p. 501.)

"Rekonstruiertes Yachtregister [at the Union Yacht Club Traunsee in Austria] fuer 1930: ... 35qm Rennklasse ...
[Name:] Windspiel X
[Sail Number:] D 27
[Class:] 35er ex 6-SL
[Dimensions:] 1600kg, 8.64m, 1.87m, 35sqm
[Builder:] Herreshoff
[Built: 1905
[Owner:] Dr. S.H. Natter. ... [Though not identified by name this can only be a reference to Schelm.]"(Source: Simek, Rudolf. Union Yacht Club Traunsee. Festschrift zum 125jaehrigen Jubilaeum, 1888-2013. Wien 2013, p. 129.)

"Verzeichnis der Segellängenyachten, die in die 35-qm-Rennklasse vermessen wurden oder sich an deren Klassenregeln orientierten [List of sailing length yachts that were measured in the 35 sqm racing class or were based on their class rules]: ...
[Name:] Windspiel X
[Built:] 1905 Herreshoff
[Sail Number] D 27
[Sailing Lengths (m)] 6
[Former Owners:] A. Werthner (1908); S.H. Natter (1926-36)
[Club:] UYC Traunsee
[Dimensionsions:] 8.64m x 1.87m
[Weight:] 1600kg
[Sail Area:] 48.61sqm (1908). ... [Though not identified by name this can only be a reference to Schelm.]" (Source: Simek, Rudolf. https://www.yachtsportmuseum.de/themen/klassennotizen/35qm-2.html, retrieved June 25, 2020.)

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections of an unidentified deep-keel boat titled 'Preliminary 18 1/2 [ft] w.l. Sept 24, 1904'. Weight calculations show a total of 5300lbs. Length and date suggest this to be a preliminary design for SCHELM [#623s] but there is not enough similarity in size and sections." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_00460. Folder [no #]. 1904-09-20.)
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"[Item Description:] Ink on linen sailplan of a gaff / sliding gunter sloop titled only '3/8in scale' and showing dimensions but no other notes. Using the sail dimensions as a scale, the boat appears to have an LWL of 17.3ft and an LOA of 28.4ft and bowsprit that extends just 9in beyond the stem. These dimensions provide a good match with #623s SCHELM as does SCHELM's sail cutting plan HH.5.10029 (127-161) from October 21, 1904." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Inked Sailplan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0334. WRDT04, Folder 30, formerly MRDE09. No date (1904-10 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections and calculations titled '#623 [SCHELM]. 17 1/2ft w.l. for 6m class. German rule. note --- 17ft 2 1/4in w.l. was used, making draft 3/8in less. With rating calculation and weight calculations (total = 3070lbs). Undated, SCHELM's ballast keel sections were drawn on October 5, 1904." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_00430. Folder [no #]. No date (1904-10 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph lead sections and calculations titled 'No. 623 [#623s SCHELM]. 6m German Class. Oct. 5, 1904'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Lead Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0616. WRDT08, Folder 46. 1904-10-05.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #623s Schelm [Schelm IV, Schlern, Schlem] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Schelm (HMCo-made index card)
• Schelm (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: Schlern [sic, i.e. Schelm]
Type: J & M
Length: 17'2 1/2"
Owner: Kirsten

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

• Schelm
• 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: Schlern [sic, i.e. Schelm]
Type: 17' 2 1/2" J & M
Owner: Mr. Kirsten
Row No.: 602

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: Sept.
Day: 13
Year: 1904
E/P/S: S
No.: 0623
Name: Schlern [sic, i.e. Schelm]
LW: 17' 2.5"
B: 6' 1"
D: 3' 9.5"
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead O.
Amount: 1900.00
Notes Constr. Record: Shipped to Germany.
Last Name: Kirsten
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.

"Exported to Hamburg, Germany. Dimensions from title of construction plan." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 2, 2008.)

"Die Yacht, Issue 9, November 20, 1904, p. 214 shows a photo of Schelm III. This is not the Herreshoff-built Schelm which is listed in the 1906 yearbook of the Kieler Yacht Club as Schelm IV." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. November 3, 2015.)

"Schelm had a battery of rather advanced below-decked winches to haul and take up halyards and a roller-furling jib. See special plans." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 16, 2019.)

"Robert Kirsten was co-owner of the well-known shipping line A. Kirsten from Hamburg which existed from 1878 to 1975." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 28, 2019.)

"The Club History of the Union Yacht Club Traunsee in Austria (Simek, Rudolf. Union Yacht Club Traunsee. Festschrift zum 125jaehrigen Jubilaeum, 1888-2013. Wien 2013, p. 129) lists Windspiel X, a boat active in the club in 1930 and built by Herreshoff to the German 6-SL (6m sailing length) rule which can only be #436s Bubble. In another publication (Simek, Rudolf. Die 35-qm-Rennklasse. 2007, p. 13. https://www.yachtsportmuseum.de/themen/klassennotizen/35qm/SimekDie%2035er%20FKY.pdf, retrieved June 25, 2020), a photo shows Windspiel X said to be ex-Schelm sailing on the Traunsee in 1930, still under gaff rig. The same publication, however, also shows (on p. 5) the August 8, 1911 participants of a regatta on Attersee which among others include Schelm (6,00m), Windspiel X (6,00m) and Schelm III (5,95m). This suggests that Schelm is the Herreshoff-built Schelm and Windspiel X is Bubble and the 1930 Traunsee photo thus shows Bubble rather than Schelm." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 19, 2022.)

"Built in 91 days (contract to finished; equivalent to $21/day, 31 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"[Sail area 360sqft.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Inked Sailplan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item 2004.0001.0334. No date [ca. October 1904.].)

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