HMCo #684s Alarm

"[1909-02-01] Mon 1: Set up #684 Sonder class [#684s Alarm].
[1909-05-19] Wed 19: Alarm #684 delivered & sailed." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1909. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"No. 684.
32ft overall.
20ft waterline keel racing jib & mainsail boat.
Frame spacing 8".
Planking 5/8" and no less single.
Timbers at head 7/8" x 7/8" at heel 7/8" moulded 1 3/8" sided. Taper from head 1/8" per foot.
Keel 1 5/8" (1 1/4" above rabbate).
Sheer top of beam." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Note (in ink) in Offset Booklet HH.4.163.] Undated, ca. November 1908. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"Of the smaller sailboats built by the Herreshoff Company during these years were the sonder boats 'Skiddoo,' built for Herbert M. Sears; 'Alarm,' built for Max Agassiz; 'Toboggan,' built for R. W. Emmons; and 'Bibelot,' built for Harry Paine Whitney." (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. 271.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., March 20 [1909] --- ... The work of setting up the new sonder-racer for Max Agassiz at the Herreshoff shops has been started. ..." (Source: Anon. "Bristol Notes." Boston Globe, March 21, 1909, p. 47.)

"BRISTOL, R I, April 10 [1909] --- The prospect of yachtsmen receiving their boats from Herreshoff's early this season are brighter than usual, as not more than half a dozen racing yachts are under construction in the shops. It has been a dull winter here, and those orders that came last fall or late in the winter were easily cared for. So when a few orders were placed with the Herreshoffs this spring there was ample space to 'lay down' and begin the work of construction.
In less than ten days the Agassiz sonder craft will be completed, and from what is known of the little racer her peculiarities of design with long overhangs and her apparent lack of shear she will be easily recognized. ..." (Source: Anon. "Bristol Notes." Boston Globe, April 11, 1909, p. 47.)

"Max Agassiz's new boat Alarm was launched on Monday [May 10, 1909] at the Herreshoff works at Bristol, R. I., and had her builder's trial yesterday morning, Mr. Agassiz being aboard. She was handled by Nat Herreshoff most of the time during the two hours' trial. Alarm is easy to handle and quick in stays and her performance in light wind proved very satisfactory. Mr. Agassiz will go to Bristol again Saturday in the hope of getting a strong wind for a hard trial. This is Herreshoff's only sonder class boat this year, and she is different from any the Bristol builder has yet turned out. At the conclusion of the trials Alarm will be stripped and shipped here." (Source: Anon. "Yachts And Yachtsmen." Boston Evening Transcript, May 13, 1909, p. 8.)

"The Sonder boat built at Herreshoff's for Max Agassiz, was launched last Monday [May 10, 1909]. Nearly all the new boats for this class are ready for launching." (Source: Anon. "Yachting Notes." Forest and Stream, May 15, 1909, p. 782.)

"Mr Max Agassiz' new sonder boat Alarm, which has just been built, was launched at Bristol, R I, on Monday [May 10, 1909]. The new yacht, which has a waterline or 21 feet, is a craft with fast lines and differs radically from other boats of that class. The Alarm, which Mr Agassiz will race in the trial races for the sonder cup off Marblehead, is a handsome yacht and is planked with mahogany." (Source: Anon. "Table Gossip." Boston Globe, May 16, 1909, p. 50.)

"Bristol, R.I. May 15 [1909]. - ... The new sonderboat Alarm, which is to race with Eel, Spokane, Demon and Lady in Massachusetts waters, was given a trial spin Wednesday in a light wind and the second one yesterday with the owner, Max Agassiz, on board each time. The Alarm is a dangerous-looking craft and the breadth of beam carried aft makes her able. Next week the Alarm is to be towed around the cape by the schooner yacht Kirin, owned by Mr. Agassiz. ..." (Source: Anon. "Bristol Notes." Boston Globe, May 16, 1909, p. 41.)

"Out of the 14 sonder boats built this year, eight were constructed by yacht builders of Massachusetts, five at Manchester, two at Marblehead and one at South Boston. Four of the other six were built at New York, and one at Bristol, R I.
This latter boat, from the Herreshoffs, was the first of the outside boats to arrive at Marblehead. Although her owner, Max Agassiz, had his schooner Kirin towed around to Marblehead from Newport, the sonder boat was sent by rail.
This boat, named Alarm, has been in the water two weeks and has been out under sail every day of the last seven. Every afternoon this week the boat has been sailed against the Gardner-designed Wag, owned by Rudolph Agassiz, and in the light chances the Alarm has shown considerable speed.
Since the Alarm has been at Marblehead she has attracted much attention because of her odd appearance. No boat ever seen around here looks just like the Alarm; she seems to be a combination of the designs of the Skiddoo [#659s], a Herreshoff sonder boat of 1906, and the Sally VIII. Her bow quirks up in the air the same as the Sally's, while her general lines and size are those of the Skiddoo.
The Alarm is probably the smallest boat built this year for the class, and it is a question just what she will do against the other boats. [Article includes photo.]" (Source: Anon. "Alarm Has Them Guessing." Boston Globe, June 11, 1909, p. 4.)

"Manager Pierson of the [Newport] shipyard has purchased from Mr. Max Agasiz the Herreshoff sonderklasse boat Alarm and will fit her for use about here this season. She had been laid up at Castle Hill since the close of last season." (Source: Anon. "Yacht Notes." Newport Daily News, August 12, 1910, p. 10.)

"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections with pinpricks titled 'No. 659 [#659s SKIDDOO]. Scale 1/2[in]. For 21ft w.l. = 6.5 Breadth + 4.5 Draft = 32 [Sonder Class Rule] Roosevelt Cup boat. M[ar]ch 2, 1906'. With six displacement curves, two of which are '#659' and 'Dec 1 1908 [possibly for #684 ALARM penciled in at a later date]', respectively. With calculations arriving at a total displacement of 90.2cuft = 5770lbs and a wetted surface of 161sqft." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_01720. Folder [no #]. 1906-03-02.)
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"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled sketch of a midship section with a few calculations titled '684 Sonder class' [#684s ALARM]. Undated, probably December 1908 after NGH had carved ALARM's model 323." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0396. WRDT04, Folder 34, formerly MRDE08. No date (ca 1908-12 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections titled '#684 Sonder Class ALARM. From finished model. Scale 1in. 20ft w.l. Dec[ember] 20, 1908'. With rating calculations and calculations arriving at a displacement of 69.1cuft = 4420lbs [in] salt water and a wetted surface of 156.5sqft." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_01420. Folder [no #]. 1908-12-20.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph lead sections titled 'No 684 [#684s ALARM]. Sonder Class. Scale 1/4 size. Dec[ember] 21 1908'. With calculations and note 'Required 1970lbs lead with c.g. at .557 of l.w.l. ...' and concluding with note 'With lead 17 3/8 deep. … 1970lbs with c.g. at .553 of l.w.l'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Lead Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_08770. Folder [no #]. 1908-12-21.)
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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:
§98: Work Order [For] #684s. [When wanted] 1st of May. Rigging [3 pages] (1909-01-06)." (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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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #684s Alarm even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Alarm (HMCo-made index card)
• Alarm (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: Alarm
Type: Cutter
Length: 20'
Owner: Agasiz [sic, i.e. Agassiz], M.

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

• Alarm
• Twinkle ex-Alarm
• 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: Alarm
Type: 20' sonder boat
Owner: Max Agassiz
Year: 1909
Row No.: 10

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.

"Sonderklasse Rule boats were the result of a German measurement rule that limited the sum of a boat's waterline length, beam, and draft to 32'. In addition, the sail area was fixed at 550 square feet, the displacement had to be at least 4,035 lbs, the boat was to be single-planked with a minimum plank thickness of at least 5/8", and the boat could not cost more than $2,400." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 26, 2015.)

"Built in 167 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $14/day, 24 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"Sail area (550sq ft) as per Sonderklasse rule limit." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 26, 2015.)

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