HMCo #710s Oleander

"[1911-08-12] Sat 12: At home. [illegible] Launched my little boat Oleander [#710s].
[1911-08-13] Sun 13: Off sailing in Oleander [#710s] in forenoon. ...
[1911-08-26] Sat 26: Went to Newport in Roamer [#215p] with Oleander [#710s] in PM.
[1911-12-11] Mon 11: Oleander [#710s] shipped to Bermuda via Fall River & NY. ...
[1911-12-12] Tue 12: Left home with Nat for Bermuda at 9:30. John took us to Prov[idence] in auto. Passed the night at Francis's, 620 West End Ave[nue]. Boat Oleander [#710s] at st[eame]r dock all night. Fog & warm.
[1911-12-15] Fri 15: Temp[erature] 75deg. rising to 76deg. L[igh]t SW wind. Sighted Bermuda about 10:45. Arrived at channel [at] 12 & docked [at] 1:15. Met by [Mr.] McCallan & towed Oleander [#710s] to St. Georges leaving cradle at (?) in the way.
[1911-12-16] Sat 16: At St. George Hotel. At work rigging Oleander [#710s] at Mr. McCallan's wharf. Had to pay $71 duty at Custom House. Very warm & fine weather. Temp[erature] 75deg. [with] SW [wind].
[1911-12-17] Sun 17: Very fine & warm [with] fresh WSW [wind] & clear. 78deg. Finished rigging Oleander [#710s] & took a sail to Grog Har[bor] in forenoon. In afternoon took Mr. McCallan & visited the sanitarium.
[1911-12-18] Mon 18: Fair with strong WSW [wind]. Temp[erature] 77deg. Called on Mrs. Hunter to see rooms, then to Oleander [#710s] to clean [her] up & sail in PM. Went to St. Davids Is[land] with 2 reefs.
[1911-12-20] Wed 20: Very fine & cool. Fresh N [wind in] forenoon, moderate NE [in] PM. [Took] short sail in AM. [In] PM visited Castle Is[land] in Oleander [#710s].
[1911-12-21] Thu 21: L[igh]t SE [wind with] occasional l[igh]t r[ain] in PM. Had a yacht race in which we took part and easily won against Dr. Higinbotham's and Mr. Darrell's [boats], both about same size [as Oleander [#710s]].
[1911-12-25] Mon 25: Strong NNE [wind] & cool. (?) Oleander [#710s] to dry sails in AM. Took dinner with the McCallans & later over to St. Davids with them in [their] launch.
[1911-12-26] Tue 26: Very calm. Off in Oleander [#710s] [in] AM. In PM join party of Mr. & Mrs. McCallan in launch & Oleander [#710s] to beach near Tucker Town. A very pleasant day. ...
[1912-01-02] Tue 2: Strong SW [wind] all day. Short sail in Oleander [#710s] in AM [with] 3 reefs. Walked to [the] 'swing bridge' in PM.
[1912-01-05] Fri 5: Fully 2in. [of] rain fell. Mod[erate] W gale [in] AM. Very heavy gale [in] PM. Had to leave Oleander [#710s] at McCallans in PM.
[1912-01-07] Sun 7: Calm in AM. Walk into St. George to get Oleander [#710s]. Sail in PM. Fresh SSW [wind] in evening. About 60deg. [and] cloudy.
[1912-01-11] Thu 11: Fine day [with] l[igh]t W [wind] to calm. 60deg. to 65deg. [and] overcast at night. ... Yacht race in PM. Oleander [#710s] won over Mobile in very light air.
[1912-01-15] Mon 15: Wind strong S to SW. Rain last night. Showers in PM. Temp[erature] 68deg. to 70deg. Fixed c[enter]b[oard] of Oleander [#710s] and launched about 4:30 PM and took her to moorings. ...
[1912-01-16] Tue 16: Wind very strong, WSW to W. Overcast but cooler & dry air. Did some varnishing & dried sails of Oleander [#710s]. ...
[1912-01-18] Thu 18: Very fine day but generally overcast. Temp[erature] 58deg. to 62deg. To town in AM in skiff. Later, [took] a short sail in Oleander [#710s]. A race was announced for 2:30 PM. Waited till 3:45. Then only a brush with Mobile & Oriole. Beat them badly in l[igh]t breeze.
[1912-01-19] Fri 19: Fine SE breeze [and] generally overcast day. 64deg. to 68deg. Took long sail in Oleander [#710s] [to] Hamilton in 1 h[our] 40 m[inutes] covering 7-1/4 k[nots] in 65 m[inutes] = 7.7 miles per h[our]. Total dist[ance] about 35 miles. ...
[1912-01-25] Thu 25: Very fine [with] mod[erate] W to fresh W [wind]. Nearly clear [and] 65deg. To town in Oleander [#710s] in AM. Race at Y[acht] C[lub in] PM. ...
[1912-01-28] Sun 28: Very strong NW [wind &] nearly clear. 60 to 58deg. Dried sails & did some varnishing on Oleander [#710s] [in] AM. ...
[1912-01-29] Mon 29: L[igh]t W to SW [wind &] part[ly] cl[oudy]. 59deg. to 63deg. Sailed to town in Oleander [#710s] in AM. ... Took a sail nearly to Flatts in light wind in PM. Inspected & made sketches of Victory sailing dinghy in AM with McCallan.
[1912-01-30] Tue 30: Strong SW [wind &] clear. 68deg. to 69deg. ... Fixed pickle [preservative] & dipped Oleander's [#710s] sail covers[?] in PM. ...
[1912-02-04] Sun 4: Fine [with] fresh SW [wind &] nearly clear. 65deg. to 60deg. Went to St. George in Oleander [#710s] & called on McCallans. ... Wind too strong for sailing in afternoon.
[1912-03-23] Sat 23: Wind ch[anged] to NE & cooler. To McCallans in AM and overhaul Oleander [#710s]. Packing. Sail in PM out thru Reach with mainsail only. Overcast & temp[erature] 62deg. - 64deg.
[1912-03-29] Fri 29: Vey fine with fresh SSE to S [wind]. Sailed to Hamilton [wht] single reef m[ain]s[ail] & small jib [in] 1 h[our] 40 m[inutes]. Ashore & arranged about shipping Oleander [#710s] home. ...
[1912-03-31] Sun 31: Very fine [with] mod[erate] NE [wind]. To the MCCallans for dinner & tea. Took sail in PM in Oleander [#710s] with the McCallans. ...
[1912-04-01] Mon 1: Very fine [with] mod[erate] NE [wind]. Unrigged Oleander [#710s] at her mooring in Deep Bay. Took all day.
[1912-04-03] Wed 3: Strong SW [wind] & warm. ... Took Oleander [#710s] in tow at Deep Bay. Rather rough & wet trip to Agar[?] H[arbor] at 1:10. Put cradle under Oleander [#710s] in PM and I [went] to the American House.
[1912-04-04] Thu 4: Strong N [wind] & cold. To Agues[?] Is[land] and put cover on Oleander [#710s]. ...
[1912-04-05] Fri 5: Strong N to NE in forenoon, moderating in afternoon. 50deg. this morning. Went to Agers Is[land] with Mr. McC[allan] and towed Oleander [#710s] to St[eam]ship in forenoon. She was taken on deck at 6PM. ...
[1912-07-04] Thu 4: Took a sail in Oleander [#710s] in forenoon ...
[1912-08-04] Sun 4: A short sail in Oleander [#710s] in AM ...
[1912-10-20] Sun 20: Very fine & clear. Sailed in Oleander [#710s] in forenoon. ...
[1912-11-05] Tue 5: Fine [with] SW [wind]. Took sail in Oleander [#710s] in PM.
[1912-11-08] Fri 8: Began to unrig Oleander [#710s].
[1912-11-11] Mon 11: Hauled out Oleander [#710s] ...
[1913-05-17] Sat 17: ... Very cool weather all the week. Oleander [#710s] taken from lawn but leaks badly.
[1913-05-30] Fri 30: Fresh NW [in] AM. Fine & warm [in] PM. Took sail in Oleander [#710s] in forenoon and PM. ...
[1913-06-08] Sun 8: Very fine. Cool. ... Took short sail in Oleander [#710s] in harbor.
[1913-06-28] Sat 28: ... Sailing in Oleander [#710s] in PM.
[1913-07-04] Fri 4: Fine warm day. SSW wind. ... Sailing in Oleander [#710s] ...
[1913-07-05] Sat 5: Fine & warm. Took sail with Francis in Oleander [#710s].
[1913-08-31] Sun 31: Very fine & warm. Off in Oleander [#710s] [in] AM ...
[1913-10-03] Fri 3: Very fine. Take a short sail with Josephine G. in Oleander [#710s] in forenoon ...
[1913-11-02] Sun 2: Fine [with] l[igh]t NW [wind]. Unrigged Oleander [#710s]. ...
[1914-05-22] Fri 22: Fair. ... Launched Bubble [#285p] & Oleander [#710s] in PM.
[1914-05-26] Tue 26: Fine SSW [wind]. Very warm inland. Tried Sadie [#732s] & Oleander [#710s] early and again in PM. Sadie [is] a little faster.
[1914-06-06] Sat 6: Very fine. L[igh]t NW [wind]. Leave home about 11:30 with Oleander [#710s] in tow and arrive at Wianno about 5:44. Fine run. Lay in E. pond [sic, i.e. East Bay?]. ...
[1914-06-07] Sun 7: Very fine [with] fresh SW [wind]. Sailing in Oleander [#710s] in AM ...
[1914-07-04] Sat 4: Clear & fine [with] l[igh]t W [wind]. Started early for Wianno and pass the forenoon with the Sawyers and sailing in Oleander [#710s]. ...
[1914-08-14] Fri 14: Lay in E[ast] Bay all day. Sailing in Oleander [#710s] in forenoon. ... Fresh SW [wind] all day.
[1914-08-15] Sat 15: Fog & showers in forenoon. ... Sail Oleander [#710s] in race in PM with Mr. & Mrs. Sawyer & win. ...
[1914-08-26] Wed 26: Very fine. Start on cruise & run to Wianno and race in Oleander [#710s] in PM.
[1915-05-27] Thu 27: Strong NW to W [wind]. Very cold [in] AM. Min[imum] 40deg. Launched Oleander [#710s] ... in PM.
[1915-05-31] Mon 31: Very fine. Calm in AM. Mod[erate S [in] PM. Rigging Oleander [#710s] ...
[1915-06-05] Sat 5: Still NE but fair & cool. Took sail in Oleander [#710s] in PM.
[1915-06-12] Sat 12: Started [at] 11:40 in Helianthus with Oleander [#710s] in tow for Wianno. Arrived about 7:00. Fine run. Have Mr. Sawyer, Agnes & Nat as engineer. Anchored in East Bay.
[1915-06-13] Sun 13: Fine, fresh ESE [wind]. Ran out of East Bay [at] 10:45 and anchored off y[acht] c[lub] pier. With the Sawyers [owners of #710s Oleander] for auto ride and to dinner. ...
[1915-07-17] Sat 17: Some rain in night. Fog. Leave at 8 & arrive [at] Wianno [at] 9:45. Fine & hot. All ashore with the Sawyers for lunch at Y. Club. Sail Oleander [#710s] with Mr. S[awyer] & Agnes & won. H[eav]y rain squall during race. ...
[1916-06-14] Wed 14: Mod[erate] S to SE [wind]. Launch Oleander [#710s] from Love Rocks boathouse. ...
[1916-09-18] Mon 18: Mr. Sawyer arrived with Oleander [#710s] from Wianno and left boat in my charge. ...
[1916-09-24] Sun 24: Fair & fresh NW. Took sail with Ann in Oleander [#710s] to Prudence [Island]. ...
[1916-10-21] Sat 21: ... I take a sail in Oleander [#710s] in PM.
[1916-10-22] Sun 22: Off sailing in Oleander [#710s] [in] morning & afternoon. [Took] Ann & Miss Kimball in afternoon.
[1916-10-26] Thu 26: ... Oleander [#710s] unrigged ...
[1933-05-14] Sun 14: 68-54, set 61. Fog last night. Part[ly] clear with l[igh]t to fresh W to WNW [wind]. Calm evening. ... Oleander [#710s] left by new owner." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1911 to 1933. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"Proposed Names. ... Oleander ... [The note indicates that the name Oleander had already been on N. G. Herreshoff's mind many years before Oleander was built.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. [Page in 1892 Diary with Proposed Boat Names.] Diary, 1892. Manuscript (excerpts). Access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"No. 710 [#710s]. May 1911.
Sheer raised and rabbate changed as per ink figures.
Frame spaces 10, using even nos. and are (12 x 10/11) of model, use scale of 10 9/10" long per foot.
Planking 5/8.
Timbers 7/8 at head increasing 3/64" per foot.
Keel 1 3/4, 1 1/8 above & 5/8 below rabbate." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Penciled notes in Offset Booklet HH.4.104.] May 1911. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"My Own Boats. Except a few that will be mentioned as half-owner. ...
22
1911 OLEANDER #710 - After a visit to Bermuda and hoping I might go again and do some sailing there, I had built OLEANDER 23 1/2' o.a. 20 1/2' wl. 6' 10" wide centerboard, all outside lead ballast and about 230 square feet jib and mainsail. I took her to Bermuda the following December and used her there during the winter. She proved not seaworthy enough for Bermuda winter sailing and I shipped her home, in the spring, when I returned. I used her at home the following summer after reducing the rig and in 1914 sold her to Mr. Philip Sawyer." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "My Own Boats. Except a few that Will be Mentioned as Half-Owner." Bristol, (originally compiled 1892 with additions in) 1929. In: Pinheiro, Carlton J. (ed.). Recollections and Other Writings by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Bristol, 1998, p. 118.)

"This fall (1911), I built for myself OLEANDER, the first sailing boat for many years. The following winter, I took her to Bermuda, as the cold weather was getting to be a trial to me and shop work was slack. OLEANDER proved to be too much of a butterfly for Bermuda winter sailing, and I brought her home in the spring, after having a lot of sailing in those interesting waters." (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. 71-72.)

"In 1911 he designed a sailboat to take to Bermuda for sailing there in the winter. She was named 'Oleander' and was twenty-three feet six inches O.A., twenty feet six inches W.L., was quite shallow, but had a centerboard passing through her outside lead keel. He found her too small and not seaworthy enough for the choppy waters and strong breezes of Bermuda winter weather, so sold her." (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. 122.)

"In his later years, between 1910 and 1915, Captain Nat went south nearly every winter to Bermuda where he had the two sailboats 'Oleander' and 'Alerion' which he had designed especially for sailing at Bermuda..." (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. 314.)

"... Mr. N.G. Herreshoff, the world famed American yacht designer, and Mr. N.G. Herreshoff, Junr., arrived by the S.S. Bermudian yesterday. Mr. Herreshoff brought with him a 25ft sloop [#710s Oleander]." (Source: Anon. "Personal." Royal Gazette (Bermuda), December 16, 1911, p. 2.)

"The second of the series of races for the Herreshoff Cup was sailed by the yachts of the St. George's Yacht Club on Thursday afternoon. Only three boats put in an appearance viz Mr. T. R. Outerbridge's Mobile, Mr. E. S. Outerbridge's Hawk and Dr. R. R. Higinbothom's Isis. Wind N.E. and fresh. ... Mr. Herreshoff's yacht Oleander was greatly in evidence, although she is not competing for the cup, she is a wonderful boat for her size in which she outclasses anything in Bermuda.
The Herreshoff Cup which is now on exhibition at the Club House is of solid silver, two handles, mounted on ebony pedestal, on one side is engraved
St. George's. Yacht Club.
Winter Season 1912
Presented to ...
Winning ... Races
of ... sailed
on the other side
Given by
N. G. Herreshoff." (Source: Anon. "Herreshoff Cup Competition at St. George's. The Second Race." Royal Gazette (Bermuda), March 16, 1912, p. 2.)

"BRISTOL, R I, Nov 30 [1912] --- ... If designer Nat. Herreshoff goes to Bermuda this Winter for his health he will take two small sailing racers with him, the Oleander [#710s], which he had at Bermuda last Winter, and a new craft [#718s Alerion III] of the same size and type which is now nearly completed. ..." (Source: Anon. "Bristol Notes." Boston Globe, December 1, 1912, p. 51.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., Feb. 8 [1914]. --- Designer Nat Herreshoff left here to-day for an eight weeks' vacation in Bermuda. ... The designer said good-bye to his assistants and foremen and left this afternoon for New York to take a steamer to Bermuda. He is also taking with him the small knockabout Oleander, which he will sail in Bermuda. [Note: The article apparently confuses Oleander and Alerion III which by 1914 had already replaced Oleander.]" (Source: Anon. "Designer Herreshoff on Vacation." New York Times, February 4, 1914, p. 7.)

"Following are the results of Wianno Yacht Club race on August 15, ... Class C, Knockabouts. Start 4.42: P Sawyer's Oleander 1h 12m 24s; Chester Bearse's Stranger 1h 23m 22s; R. Blodgett's Dotty 1h 26m 30s; F. Cross' No. 58 1h 27m, 15s. Oleander was sailed by Nathaniel Herreshoff, designer of the Resolute, who designed Oleander and formerly owned it." (Source: Anon. "Osterville. Yacht Club Race." Barnstable Patriot, August 24, 1914, p. 3.)

"(Mr. Sawyer, a well-known New York architect, wrote these memoirs of Nat Herreshoff and his boats shortly before Mr. Sawyer's death in 1949, and they have been made available for publication by his daughter, Miss Mildred Sawyer. During his middle years, Mr. Sawyer's vacations and many weekends were spent at Wianno on Cape Cod, where sailing and racing Oleander was his favorite recreation. He also sailed for many years on Lake George, N.Y. Mr. Sawyer was a man born to the sea, for his grandfather fought in the frigate Constitution and his father also made the Navy his career.)
WHEN HE was to visit there in 1911, Nat Herreshoff decided to take a boat to Bermuda for winter sailing. He told me he looked through their old designs and found one that seemed ideal for his purpose. She was 20 feet 6 inches on the water line and only 23 feet 6 inches overall; compact for transportation on a steamer and in Nat's New England vernacular, an extraordinarily able 'bot.' He named her Oleander after those flowering shrubs which used to border the south roads along Somerset.
Next year Nat decided to take a 28-footer to Bermuda and he let me have Oleander. It was an ideal arrangement, for he put her in the water early in the season, used her for his afternoon sail in Narragansett Bay until I could get away in July, when I took her up to our place on Cape Cod. I returned her early in September and Nat had again a month's sailing before laying her up. Thus I began and finished my season with a run of some 75 miles, which I often took alone and much enjoyed.
Nat's house, 'Love Rocks,' was a square mansarded, three-story structure, unrelieved by trees or shrubbery, standing alone on its point below the town of Bristol, as stark and unattractive as one can imagine, Nat's appreciation of beauty was strictly confined to boats and even the furniture which he built into his larger craft was apt to be as commonplace in design as that of a Cape Cod carpenter. He seemed also indifferent to personal comfort. In Oleander the high cockpit coaming was vertical and the narrow seat running fore and aft was so close under it, that I had to sit bolt upright. I understood this better, however, when Nat came up to race the boat off Osterville. The ship channel is eight miles out, the water so shallow over our whole tenmile triangle that even at high tide anything drawing five feet must know her way about.
These conditions make for short, broken seas and a wet boat. When I raced Oleander I lay outside the cockpit with one leg in the narrow runway and the other down outside the hull, my fingers just able to reach the tiller to counteract her slight weather helm when close-hauled. My crew, usually two smart girls, also lay up to windward just abaft the mast and we swam through the seas pointing higher than anything else on Nantucket Sound but shipping lots of water.
I still remember my astonishment when Herreshoff raced Oleander for the first time under the same conditions. He sat erect on the narrow seat, hardly leaning against the straight coaming. He wore, as usual, a gray, nondescript suit, a shirt with a narrow standing collar, a black tie and one of his formless felt hats. My wife sat just behind him and Herreshoff, taking a piece of canvas about a foot square out of his pocket, laid it on his windward shoulder to protect him from spray. I ask him where I'd better lay out and he said carelessly, 'Sit anywhere.' Upon which he began to maneuver for the start, running down to the line, shooting up in short loops to windward, I counting the seconds aloud --- '43, 42, 41' --- until suddenly he whirled down across the line first, just on the bark of the pistol from the club wharf.
I didn't know Herreshoff well then. I was so sure we had beaten the gun that I said so. Silently he whirled up to windward among the tightly crowded yachts, came down again and crossed only fourth.
Although there was no reproof in his manner I was anxious about my implied criticism of his start and asked at the earliest opportunity if Nat had been too soon.
'No. He was all right. Your bow was well over but it's the mast that counts and he had six inches to spare.'
What a sailor!
The local club had not yet learned what Oleander could do and the Crosby One-Design class, 28 feet overall, was started ten minutes ahead of us to cover the triangle of 10 or 12 miles. When sailing myself, I had picked up enough of this 10 minutes to finish fourth or fifth boat in the race ahead of me and when Herreshoff, sailing a dry boat with no apparent effort, had finished second in the class ahead of us, they woke up to the fact that we mavericks must be started first and the big boats come along behind.
The only help that Nat ever asked of me was to get the sheet in so tight that the sail was flat as a board going to windward. As the traveller was less than three feet long, in other small boats I've ever sailed it would have been hopeless. With Nat at the tiller, she pointed so much higher than anything else that on one occasion when the other boats were making five or six legs to get home from the lee buoy, Nat made the finish line in a single board, without having to tack. We thus had a long loaf before the second boat arrived, to be cheered from the pier by a chorus of 'Why did you beat in under the land; why didn't you come straight home like Mr. Herreshoff?'
That day when we were anchored in East Bay, putting the boat to bed, old Capt. Simpson rowed across in his dinghy to speak to us. Nat leaned over to fend him off carefully, since he was always apprehensive of having his boat touched.
'Mr. Herreshoff,' said the Captain, 'that's a mighty smart 'bot'.' To which Nat replied, 'She's not a racing 'bot.' She's had her rig cut down. She's just for afternoon sailin'.'
'Well, Mr. Herreshoff,' said the Captain, 'don't bring anything around here that's built for racin'; she'd certainly get her bottom all het up.' And then as Nat leaned over, still anxiously fending him off, he asked, 'How much would you make me a 'bot' like that for, Mr. Herreshoff?'
As the one-design class, four foot six longer than Oleander, built at the famous local Crosby yard, then cost $650, I sympathized with the shock of the Captain when Herreshoff said gently, 'I could duplicate Oleander for you now, Captain, for $2500.' There was a moment of silence and then the Captain said earnestly, 'Mr. Herreshoff, if I'd been standing up when you told me, I'd'a fell overboard.'
In reverent silence he backed away to row home with his wet sails, which he was reputed to dry immediately in his wife's kitchen.
Once, having done some shopping in Bristol, I found it was 11:00 o'clock before I was ready to sail and in saying good-bye, at the wharf I called to Nat, 'I suppose with this light wind I'll sleep in the pool at Cuttyhunk tonight.' Nat looked at me with mild surprise, 'Why you ought to get home at 5:20,' he said. 'How do you make that out?' I asked. 'This off-shore wind and ebb tide will carry you around the corner through the bridges and down to Sakonet by half past one, you'll just catch the turn of the tide, and wind from the southwest will come up by two so that you'll have a good run across Buzzards Bay. You'll take the first hole through into Vineyard Sound where the tide is 45 minutes later, the wind will have freshened by then and you'll make a fast run to Nobska. From there it's just a step to your yacht club with everything in your favor. You'll make it by 5:20.'
It went like clockwork. I drifted off Sakonet for perhaps 20 minutes before the black line to the south'ard, nearing me rapidly, indicated a strong southwesterly breeze. Even before it reached me, the turn of the tide was sweeping me toward Buzzards Bay. After passing through Quicks Hole, with a fair wind and the later flood of Vineyard Sound, Nobska light surprised me on my port beam and the next thing I knew, I was passing my house. I completely forgot the time. But when I was putting the boat to bed 20 minutes later in East Bay I remember it. It was 5:45 and I told the story at supper that night with pride. My family listened with their usual keen interest in any news of Herreshoff but my elder daughter said gently, 'I don't think you'll get the best of it, Daddy. Mr. Herreshoff not only figured the right time for the run but he then allowed for your sailing. If he had made it himself, you would have been here at half past three.'
...
In those days I worked hard and my sailing time at the Cape was uncertain, so it often happened that I would discover at supper that the best time to take the boat home would be the next day and I would start without regard to weather.
I carried but one chart, of small scale, and my navigation depended mostly on my feel of the tide and conditions with which I was familiar. Once I remember I looked out from my sleeping porch about 7:00 into a fog so thick that I couldn't see the water 50 feet away. Nevertheless I started an hour later and having just had a monumental breakfast, couldn't bring myself to carry more than a half-dozen sandwiches, a thermos of coffee and a bottle of water since I wasn't hungry. At East Bay, when I got under sail, I had to feel for the entrance a couple of hundred yards to windward. Once outside I took a compass course for Nobska light at the eastward entrance of Woods Hole and saw nothing till I got there.
As I passed Tarpaulin Cove, on Naushon, the fog had lightened enough for me to see one of the most beautiful little harbors in the world. When I reached Quicks Hole, the tide against me was strengthening and the wind behind me dropping so that half-way through it became obvious that I was not going to make it under sail. There were a group of boats fishing at the western entrance of the Hole and presently one of them came down under power and passed me within a hundred feet.
It was obvious to me that he was not going to cross Vineyard Sound to Menemsha Bight so late in the afternoon and that he was merely coming down to offer me a tow against the tide, but he being a New Englander would compromise his trading position if he spoke first so he went by, his eyes fixed on his masthead, quite unconscious of my presence.
In my heavy boat with no power, I needed a tow, but I am also a Yankee and so I remained equally unconscious of his passage. His bluff was called, there was nothing for him to do but turn again and ask me as he passed, 'Want a tow?' I did, of course, badly, but the same New England character resented his maneuver and I merely shook my head.
Then, of course, I was up against it. I had to put down the centerboard far enough to adjust the small square seat over its after end and get out a pair of ash sweeps. Oleander was not easy to row --- she had 1600 lbs. of lead on her keel. I think it took me an hour to get out of the Hole against the tide and then when I turned to the westward along the shore of Nashawena, I had to make a passage between the island and a long ridge of rock, some 50 feet offshore. It seemed to me that the flood tide up Buzzards Bay was a foot higher at the western end of this rock, and when I had passed it I felt that I had been rowing up a waterfall for an hour to the limit of my endurance.
And then the fog shut down again. I had noticed on my chart a tiny notch in the north side of the island which looked like shelter and about dusk I came to it, went in and anchored behind a sand bank with a marker built of stone on it.
Half my lukewarm coffee, three sandwiches, and I got the bag of sails out of the forepeak and made myself a bed in the open cockpit with the folded spinnaker for a cover. The bag I used as a pillow and I remember that I found it impossible to put my head anywhere that I didn't get a grommet or some small bit of hardware in my ear. Although it was early in September, it was cold on the water and in looking across my little harbor I saw that the sandbank had tipped up on edge offering the perfect outline of a submarine of that period with the cairn of rocks on top of it for a conning tower. It was early in the first section of the war of this century and Cape Codders were looking for subs.
Too cold to sleep, I was up at daylight and down past me under power came my friend who had offered me the tow --- probably he had a farm up at the little harbor. As he passed close by be looked at me with astonishment. He knew I had no power and here I was miles from where he had left me at the mercy of the tide, snugly harbored in what was probably his front yard. As the light southwesterly wind came up, I ghosted across Buzzards Bay on a compass course for Hen and Chickens Lightship and I was agreeably surprised when it suddenly rose, enormously exaggerated in the fog.
I hurled a package of newspapers and magazines aboard, carried on the chance that I would make it, and took a fresh bearing for Sakonet. It was a slow traverse and I hit Sakonet more by the sound of the long rollers breaking on the rock islands to my starboard than by navigation. It was difficult as always to persuade the attendant on the highway bridge to revolve his heavy span to let through so small a boat and I had to spend half an hour running down to him, whirling up against the wind and tide and coming down again before I could convince him that I intended to insist on my right to use the navigable water. I got through the second bridge with less delay, ran up toward Mt. Hope, down around the peninsula and up to Herreshoff's wharf, where by chance I found him just landing from Helianthus.
It would be supper time in half an hour and Nat, knowing that I was no sailor, looked at me with considerable curiosity, since in any weather I turned up at meal times, but all he said was, 'Thick outside?' And all I said was, 'Only saw the lightship.' " (Source: Sawyer, Philip. "Recollections of Nat Herreshoff." Yachting, February 1955, p. 56-58.)

"... Alerion [#718s] was built especially for Bermuda, a place that gave NGH a much-needed winter respite. Having a boat was, for him, mandatory, no matter where he was. His 1911 boat Oleander [#710s] proved to be too small and wet for Bermuda waters, ...
As to Oleander, NGH shipped her back to Bristol after using her only one winter (1911-1912) in Bermuda, and soon sold her to Philip Sawyer. Sawyer, in a sensitive and informative recounting of his subsequent encounters with NGH (Yachting, February 1955), tells of racing Oleander with NGH at the helm. ...
[The] Herreshoff Mfg. Co. drawings of Oleander ... indicate her low and narrow bow --- two features that NGH set about to correct in her successor, Alerion." (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 131.)

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections annotated 'June 5, 1909[sic]. #710 OLEANDER. Launched Aug 12 1911. Model of #484 (OPPOSSUM) raised up and deeper in the water to make a c.b. Knockabout with light draft & rig. At scale of 1in is 25ft 9in o.a., 22ft 0in w.l. At scale of lengths of 10/11 x 1/12 (As is Oppossum) o.a. = 23ft 4in, w.l. = 20ft 0in. Length at Q.b. model 19ft 8 1/2 (10/11 = 17ft 11in). Mean l.w.l. & Q.b.l. = 18ft 11 1/2in.Sail limit by formula ... 322[sqft]. ... Actual sail area 333. 1919 - 289'. With detailed scantlings 'by rule' (Herreshoff Rule for Wooden Yachts). With calculations for weight (2595lbs) and rating (18.8). On verso another set of penciled pantograph hull sections that is crossed out and titled 'June 4, 1909. Model of #484 (OPPOSSUM) raised up and deeper to make a c.b. knockabout. At scale of 1in w.l. is 20ft 11in and Q.b.l. 19ft 6 1/4in with breadth of 5ft 11in. ... see other side'. With weight calculations arriving at a total of 2200lbs." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_01080. Folder [no #]. 1909-06-05.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled sailplan titled 'OLEANDER. No 710 [#710s]. Scale 1/2in. May 1911'. With calculations arriving at a sail area of 333.5sqft and a rating of 19.4. With notes 'Shrouds 1/4in PS [plough steel] 7 [strands]. Spin pole 10ft 9 1/2in. Hollow 8 stave mast. Deck ... Spreaders ...' and 'Rigging May 30 [1911]. Blocks May 30. Spars June 4. Sails June 4' and 'Sept[ember 26, 1912. Rig reduced as follows. Cut off 18in from mast at heel. Cut off 12in from boom at outer end. Cut off 9in + 3in from jib club (both ends). Remove bowsprit. Cut off mainsail at foot, 21in at tack, 23in at leach. Cut off luff of jib. 18in at foot & 6in at head'. Sail area. M.S. 230sqft. Jib 55sqft. [Total] 285[sqft]'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sailplan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0322. WRDT04, Folder 29, formerly MRDE09. 1911-05.)
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"[Item Description:] HMCo Plan HH.5.05558 (076-105). Blueprint construction plan with plan view, sections and inboard profile titled 'No 710 [#710s OLEANDER]. O.a. 23ft-7in. W.L. 20ft. Beam 6ft-10in. Draft 21in. Scale 1/12. May 24, 1911' and 'Approved June 2 N.G. Herreshoff'. Marked in pencil 'OLEANDER'. With list of scantlings." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Blueprint. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0093. WRDT08, Folder 9, formerly MRDE02. 1911-05-24.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph lead sections titled 'Lead & deadwood of No. 710 [#710s OLEANDER]. Scale sections 1/4 size. Length 1/12. May 26, 1911'. With calculations and note 'Required 1225lbs lead with c.g. [at] .549 of w.l. ...' and concluding with calculations and note 'Result. ... 1220lbs with c.g. at .554 of wl'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Lead Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_08370. Folder [no #]. 1911-05-26.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections 'titled 'Model [Model 1106] 25ft o.a. 20ft w.l. Aug 1911. scale 1/12. c.b. [centerboard] J&M [jib & main] sail boat [#191110es] to receive some outside lead as #710 OLEANDER'. With displacement curves comparing 'Model made 1912' and 'OLEANDER'. With calculations arriving at a total displacement of 43.2cuft or 2760lbs." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_01070. Folder [no #]. 1911-08.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Letter from St. Geroge, Bermuda. Written in ink and marked 'Copy':] Since talking with you on Wednesday I have attempted to scale a sail limit for the upper end of each class and though handicapped by being away from home and my notes think I have succeeded fairly well. I have also scaled a limit for overall lengths which I think is quite as essential as a limit for sail area. The scaling is as follows:
[Table with Class (S, R, Q, P, N, M, L, K, I, H, G), [in pencil] w.l., Limit to over-all length, Limit Sail area [with some higher values penciled in], sq-rt(S.A.) (approx), followed by somewhat higher penciled values and labeled 'Gardner. cube-rt(1.12R+2.5)']
I have also added a column giving the square-root of sail area for convenience of comparison.
We had a very smooth trip out and have had my little boat [#710s OLEANDER] under-way to day, in fine w.s.w. breeze and temperature 78deg.
I am not at St. George Hotel but I m[a]y move. Will write you proper address both for letters and cable by next mail.
You better come out here for a little rest. It is fine." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Letter (copy) to Cormack, George A. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_72810. Measuring and Measurement Rules (Box 2), Folder B2F05, formerly MRDE15. 1911-12-17.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled undimensioned half-breadth plan and profile titled 'Sketch of proposed'. Probably the original sketch of #718s ALERION III, superimposed for comparison over what appears to be a sketch of #710s OLEANDER. On the same side, rotated by 180deg, another penciled sketch, dimensioned, with half-breadth plan and profile titled 'OLEANDER [#710s] measurements'. With dimensions for 'Cuddy doors', 'boom', 'gaff', 'end of tiller 12in above seats', etc. On inside of unfolded envelope from 'Herreshoff M'F'G' Co., Bristol, R.I.' to 'Mr. N.G. Herreshoff, Bermuda Sanatorium, St. George's, W, Bermuda', postmarked Feb[ruary] 13, 1912. With calculations for scantlings, displacement (75.0cuft = 4800lbs) and wetted surface. " (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_02300. Folder [no #]. No date (ca second half of 1912-02).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled table titled 'St. George [Bermuda]. Yachts sailing for N.G.H. cup' and listing 'B, H, G, Dia, P, I, Mg, [delta], sq-rt(S), Time allowance' for 'HAWK, MOBILE, ISIS, ORIOLE'. Also a mid-section sketch with calculations for what appears to be a sketch of #718s ALERION III. On verso an unidentified sketch. Undated, NGH had donated his cup to the St. Georges Yacht Club in late February 1912 (see Palmieri, John. The Alerion Revolution. What Nat Herreshoff Started in 1912. Presentation held at the 5th Classic Yacht Symposium. April 28, 2012, p. 5), NGH raced #710s OLEANDER against MOBILE, ORIOLE and ISIS in January and March 1912, the second race for his cup was raced on March 14, 1912 and ALERION III was designed in BERMUDA at about that time." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_02000. Folder [no #]. No date (late 1912-02 ??).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled half-hull sections comparing #710s OLEANDER with what appears to be a preliminary of #718s ALERION III. On verso another half-hull section with calculations arriving at a displacement of 73.5cuft or 4720lbs. Undated, ALERION III was designed in Bermuda in March 1912 and possibly earlier." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sketch. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_01980. Folder [no #]. No date (ca 1912-03- ??).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled table, untitled, with data for OA, Extreme Beam, Breadth at wl, Draft, Freeboard, Displacement, Lead, and sail area for 15 footer [#503s class], OLEANDER [#710s], SADIE [#732s] and 'Proposed' [design] --- the latter being 24ft LOA, 19.3.LWL, 6ft 11in beam, 3500lbs displacement of which 2000lbs are lead and a sail area of 320sqft. Undated (might this be in response to George Nichols letter dated August 11, 1914 asking for a reduced SADIE-like design for the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club for what would become the Fish Class? 19 boats (#788s, #789s, #790s, #791s, #792s, #793s, #794s, #795s, #796s, #797s, #798s, #799s, #800s, #801s, #802s, #803s, #805s, #807s, #808s) would be eventually ordered on January 10, 1916 for Seawanhaka YC members)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_01150. Folder [no #]. No date (1914-08-11 or later ??).)
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"[Item Transcription:] After leaving you last Saturday, I had a talk with Charlie Adams the first of the week regarding the two proposed new sail plans for 'RESOLUTE' [#725s], for another year, and we both agreed that we preferred, and thought it wiser to adopt, the smaller, increased plan of the two, that is, the one whereby the present sails can be utilised by adding extra area a wide tabling all around. This increase, together with a new mast a couple of feet longer and 1,000 lbs. lighter, would, we think, be a distinct benefit to the boat, and if you will have it understood between yourself and Adams and myself that we have agreed on this, and done so previous to any notification to the effect that no further changes are to be made in the boats, we can then have the new mast and the increased sale[sic, i.e. sail] for another year.
I looked for a telephone message from you at the Cape yesterday, but not hearing, I suppose you are staying over at Osterville to race tomorrow. I hope you won the race [at Wianno in #710s OLEANDER] last Wednesday." (Source: Emmons, Robert W. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_39220. Correspondence, Folder 79, formerly 71. 1914-08-28.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Order book with carbon copy duplicates of instructions given by NGH. Relevant contents:
§48: Work Order [For] #710s. [When wanted] Soon. Rigging (1911-05-30)
§49: Work Order [For] #710s. [When wanted] Soon. Blocks (1911-05-30)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Order Book. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE08_04730. Folder [no #]. 1909-10 to 1914-11.)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓ ㉔ ㉕ ㉖ ㉗ ㉘ ㉙ ㉚ ㉛ ㉜ ㉝ ㉞ ㉟ ㊱ ㊲ ㊳ ㊴ ㊵ ㊶ ㊷ ㊸ ㊹ ㊺ ㊻ ㊼ ㊽ ㊾ ㊿
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓ ㉔ ㉕ ㉖ ㉗ ㉘ ㉙ ㉚ ㉛ ㉜ ㉝ ㉞ ㉟ ㊱ ㊲ ㊳ ㊴ ㊵ ㊶

"[Item Description:] thanks for #465s PUCK dimensions which I assume are for her cruising rig, have enjoyed sailing her this summer, saw young Vanderbilt's boat in Newport on the way and liked it very much and was reminded of the little boat [#710s Oleander] that you brought one time and raced against one of my 15-footers and then took to Bermuda" (Source: Morgan, E.D. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_38720. Correspondence, Folder 77, formerly 62. 1915-08-24.)
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"[Item Description:] congratulations on #725s RESOLUTE win; deplores that #299p HELIANTHUS was sold; love #710s OLEANDER but no one to race against" (Source: Sawyer, Mildred. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_06900. Correspondence, Folder 24, formerly 210. 1920-07-28.)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤

"[Item Transcription:] Had a very satisfactory contact with my Bon[?] carpenter the other day and got all the assurances possible that the little cottage can be built within the time specified (middle of Nov). We also decided that any portable affair as at first planned, would be more expensive and unsatisfactory and also harder to construct in as substantial a manner as is called for in its position on the shore in order to stand gales with likely uprooting of coconut trees during the Hurricane months. In view of this betterment[?] I have, with the rather scant data of costs obtainable, approximated a rental of two hundred dollars for the season of say five months including such furnishings as is customary. If this meets with your views on the matter, we will start the foundation at once. if not, will entertain any other suggestion you may make. [Incl NGH reply:] I have your letter of 6th and this afternoon telegraphed you as follows:
'Terms agreeable. Hope last plan sent you is approved. Am writing.'
This refers to letter sent you Sept. 3 with in closures of blueprint of the little house redrawn to larger scale but practically the same as first sketch sent you. This letter probably came to your hands soon after writing yours of 6th. The plan suits us very well and I hope you will approve of it. But if it not what your good judgment indicates is what you should put up on your own soil and on your water front please say so. And give me a little direction of what you think is best.
Your rental figure of $200 for the winter 5 months occupation is quite satisfactory and in fact I think rather low if the cottage is fitted out as completely as we would like with bath room facilities and electric light fixtures.
I don't want you to put[?] you are entering into any uncertain venture in pitting this shack up for us. As I am inclosing check for $250 as prepayment of the rent for next winter, and to express to you our satisfaction that it will be carried through by you in your usual complete manner.
We have been considering what to do for a boat for if I continue as well as now, I will want to get afloat on Biscayne Bay next winter. I am in hopes of buying back 'OLEANDER' [#710s], the first boat i took to Bermuda and ship her down. If this fails it is possible we may take down ALERION [#718s], having her sailed to N.Y. and ship with her to Key West and sail her up from there to Coconut Grove. Do you think this feasible. [NGH wil subsequently contract for #907s PLEASURE.]" (Source: Munroe, R.M. (incl NGH reply). Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_40160. Correspondence, Folder 83, formerly 102. 1924-09-06.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Your telegram duly re[ceive]d and your letter of the 9th just at hand.
The enclosed check for $250 I've placed to your credit and your thoughtfulness appreciated tho everything was satisfactory as it stood before, as is also, the blueprint previously received from which no direction is contemplated except possibly to give one more opening in the front of bedrooms in the form of a high large transom[?] sash over where you had penciled Bureau & trunk, either there or in the partition between bed & living room. Light-east & N.E. winds are sometimes uncomfortably warm and from our experience, bed rooms want plenty of available openings. Let me know about position. Also as to choice of stoves about which I wrote before. The bath room will have W.C., tub *what size), lavatory & spray[?] over tub. Water will be piped down from our tank also electric current. After much discussion I think we are decided on 16in spaced studding enclosed with the insulating Palmetto, diagonal 2 ply, asphalticum bedded Climax board. A little over 1/2in thick, special cemented joints & stucco[?] painted on outside and panel[?], calcimine[?] finish on inside, double floors, ceiling of Climax paneled[?], % roof of sheathing (wood) & slate surfaced shingled. Tile chimney.
Delighted to hear about boat plans [which will soon result in the contracting for #907s PLEASURE]. OLEANDER [#710s], shipped directly to Miami is your best lay. ALERION [#718s] to Key West I have doubts about unless you can arrange comfortable, possibly temporary accommodations aboard for living. I have made the trip in open boats, once in 24 hours, but at that time of year no such run is to be depended on, also, unless one is very familiar with the channels into various harbors there is much chance for trouble if caught in milky water owing some times to just fresh breezes & to keep to the Hawk channel is often pretty rugged going. The only right way would be for me to arrange for a man to meet you & have Mrs H[erreshoff] come up by train. If we were not so busy just about that time, it would give me pleasure to be that man. Anyway, write me about this and i will arrange something. There is an inside route from K[ey] W[est]. to Bay Howda[?] & also back of the Keys but both require local knowledge, besides, ALERION's draft would give possible trouble. How about furniture, most[?] forgot it. Believe I mentioned it once before. Perhaps Mrs H[erreshoff] had better select it in Miami. Expected to have underpinning up but a 3 days rains & blow has prevented." (Source: Munroe, R.M. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_40180. Correspondence, Folder 83, formerly 102. 1924-09-13.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Answering yours of the 20th enclosing latest B.P. No further complications, necessitating any changes except that the window shah will have single lights instead of 4. The latter would have to be made to order & we can't trust any order work.
Foundation, sills, joints, are in place and the cypress sub floor is now going in. By tomorrow night the studding & plates should be up. A few days of fine N.E. winds with only an occasional slight shower accounts for this progress & no mosquitoes. Boats. Most afraid to begin on this subject. I've watched the trend of sailing craft pretty closely for very many years. Sail looks like coming back quite strong, but the situation is quite different from that of the North, very much so. I need not hold forth as to what contributes the element from which the Northern coast draws its yachtsmen from for you know it even better than I and there is little of it to be found here at present. Winters are the busy time for both young & older yachtsmen and very few having any pep in their make up accompany their families South except ardent fishermen & then their time is too valuable for sailing craft. However, a few score might be hunted up & tempted to buy moderate priced semi racing small craft. I judge so by reason of offers made for SUNSET from time to time but the persons so bidding have not impressed me with the idea that they would ever progress in the game.
We have tried year after year to get up a one design class & with no success whatever, mainly because of prohibitive cost down here to build and I doubt if Bristol form its situation could better this problem. Knowing as much as people credit me with about the subject of suitable design for these waters, I cannot write definitely about any type. Even the one just finished on my board while apparently being just the thing as it now looks from my stand point, brings up doubts as to too much cost for the average Biscayne Bay yachtsman, notwithstanding I have simplified her more than SUNSET. Miami, if it fulfills the dreams of its projectors, which so far it is doing, is fast developing a brand new lot of young men who will make the best of yacht sailors very soon & we can cater to their purses for a while, the time is almost here when they can afford the best. The boat offered you [#907s PLEASURE], tho knowing nothing further than it is to be an improved & slightly larger ALERION [#718s], can, with little doubt be sold, but at what profit is probably a question. Of course, the name Herreshoff would go a long ways further than any one elses. I have found it hard to get up any lasting enthusiasm on the subject, but nevertheless believe in a coming boom on the subject. Just now I am imbued with the idea of an improved dead rise sharpy [Sharpie], square stern, well on one side of keelson aft, for out board motor for which I've been corresponding with two of the principal makers & think it perfectly feasible. later on, will round up the bilges, but stick to the main features, same as I worked up from PRESTO of 1884, and produce, not a windward wonder but an extremely safe, easily handled, & economical all round craft. In fact very close to my last design.
I suggest that you rely for this winter at least, on OLEANDER [#710s] or ALERION [#718s]. Am afraid of too late delivery of any new boat [#907s PLEASURE], and besides which, I think we are at sea yet as to type. I understand that there is a good chance of races in the Bay this winter by the Havana Club course[?] some of the ex 6 meter boats. Suppose you drop a line to Clifford Mallory or [Sherman] Hoyt & see whats in the air." (Source: Munroe, R.M. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_40230. Correspondence, Folder 83, formerly 102. 1924-09-24.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Penciled document, 12 pages]. PLEASURE [#907s].
Specifications for No. 907. To be a Pleasure Sailing Boat with Auxiliary Power.
Length, overall 30ft, W.L.,24ft 6in, Beam 8ft 2in, Draft 29in.
To be built in thouroughly good manner of seasoned material of best quality. Fastenings of copper base metals, throughout. This boat is to be type of ALERION (no 710) [#710s]. Is a little larger in size and it is the intention to have her built in the same general manner and equally as well built. ALERION will be stored in N.G. Herreshoff's boat house and will be easily got at for inspection and comparisons by applying to Sidney H[erreshoff] for the key of boathouse. [Detailed specifications follow. See typewritten version of this document in M.I.T. archives which is identical except for additional handwritten specifications re painting (white bottom (zinc & calomel), topsides slight shade green as on #378p HELIANTHUS, sheer strake & coaming Smith's best spar varnish, deck usual deck paint, name (to be given later) gilden on stern, stern painted as ALERION's, cockpit ceiling and back part of benches light shade of green, underdeck aft white, below decks ivory white, mahogany work to be varnished, spars painted with spar paint.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Specifications. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_29150. Subject Files, Folder 21. 1924-10-14.)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #710s Oleander even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Oleander (HMCo-made index card)
• Oleander (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: Oleander
Type: J & M
Length: 20'
Owner: Herreshoff, N. G.

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

• Oleander
• 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: Oleander
Type: 20' J & M
Owner: N. G. Herreshoff
Year: 1911
Row No.: 490

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: May
Day: 25
Year: 1911
E/P/S: S
No.: 0710
Name: Oleander
LW: 20'
B: 6' 10"
D: 21"
Rig: J & M
K: y
CB: y
Ballast: Lead O.
Notes Constr. Record: Sold to
Last Name: H.
First Name: N. G.

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 79 days (contract to launch)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"... about 230 square feet jib and mainsail ..." Bristol, (originally compiled 1892 with additions in) 1929. In: Pinheiro, Carlton J. (ed.). Recollections and Other Writings by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Bristol, 1998, p. 118.)

2625

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