HMCo #711s Ventura

"[1912-10-14] Mon 14: Began setting up #711 [Ventura].
[1912-10-19] Sat 19: ... Began planking 711 [#711s Ventura].
[1912-11-02] Sat 2: Attempted to cast lead for #711 [Ventura] but pot cracked. ...
[1912-11-04] Mon 4: ... Cast lead for #711 [Ventura].
[1912-11-06] Wed 6: ... #711 [Ventura] planking closed in and partly smoothed up.
[1912-11-09] Sat 9: Turned over #711 [Ventura] (2 days ahead of schedule).
[1912-12-08] Sun 8: Launched #711 [Ventura].
[1912-12-14] Sat 14: Began planking #713 [NY50 Iroquois II] and deck frame all in on 711 [#711s Ventura].
[1913-04-27] Sun 27: Fog early. [George F. Baker's steam yacht] Viking tows away 3 of the new 50 footers. [They were #711s Ventura owned by George F Baker, Jr., #713s Iroquois owned by Ralph N Ellis, and #716s Samuri owned by William Earl Dodge, according to the Bristol Phoenix of April 29, 1913, p. 2.]
[1913-07-24] Thu 24: Unsettled. Ran over to Larchmont. Had squall just before racing time so could not get on [NY50] Ventura [#711s] as intended, but looked on from 'Helianthus' [#288p]. ...
[1921-05-26] ... Istalena [#711s] & Vansanta [sic, i.e. #372p Vasanta] left.
[1923-05-13] Sun 13: Mr. Somerville[?] here looking for a 50 footer. Mr Aemilius Jarvis called in [the] evening. [He] has sold Haswell [#743s] and [is] looking for a 50 footer. [Jarvis would subsequently buy #711s Ventura and convert her to a schooner.]
[1923-05-14] Mon 14: ... Mr. Jarvis [is] discussing possible changes of rig of a [NY] 50. [Jarvis would subsequently buy #711s Ventura and convert her to a schooner.] Sidney took him to E. Greenwich in p.m.
[1923-05-17] Thu 17: ... Mr. Jarvis has bought Istalena [#711s ex-Ventura].
[1923-05-29] Tue 29: ... Mr. Jarvis here in p.m. to arrange about [altering the] 50 footer Istalena, which he has bought [#711s ex-Ventura]. ...
[1923-05-30] Wed 30: ... With Mr. Jarvis in a.m. [discussing the conversion to schooner of #711s ex-Ventura]. ...
[1923-07-05] Thu 5: ... Aid in laying out recut sails for Mr. Jarvis'[s] Venture [#711s ex-Ventura].
[1923-07-06] Fri 6: ... Mr. Jarvis arrived in p.m. to look after [the] work on his 50 footer Venture [#711s ex-Ventura].
[1923-07-07] Sat 7: Mr. Jarvis [owner of schooner Venture ex-Ventura #711s] here.
[1923-07-08] Sun 8: NE [wind]. Overcast[?] forenoon. L[igh]t var[iable winds]. Clear [in] p.m. Made run to Toby Is[land] & return in Helianthus [#378p] to see Bob Emmons. Have guest Ae[milius] Jarvis [the owner of schooner Venture ex-Ventura #711s], Francis, Tom Brightman, Sidney, Agnes & Ann. A very nice run.
[1923-07-14] Sat 14: Launched Venture [#711s ex-Ventura] & step[ped] main mast in a.m. Mr. & Miss. Jarvis arrived. ...
[1923-07-15] Sun 15: Off in Helianthus [#378p] [in] a.m. for a while. In p.m. [went] up Prov[idence] River & to Spring Green for a call. Have supper on board at Hog Is[land]. Com[modore] & Miss Jarvis [the owner of schooner Venture ex-Ventura #711s], Julia & Ann.
[1923-07-19] Thu 19: Tried Venture [#711s ex-Ventura] under power and also under sail. Made nearly 6m[iles per hour] = 5 knots under power. Sails [are] in fair condition.
[1923-07-20] Fri 20: ... Venture [#711s ex-Ventura] completed & hauled out to mooring in evening. Mr. & Mrs Snider here as guests on Venture & pass the day with us.
[1926-09-08] Wed 8: ... In p.m. Venture [#711s ex-Ventura] also came to lay up." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1912 to 1926. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"Sept[ember] 24 1912.
Nos. 711 - 712 - 713 714 - 715 - 716 - 717 [#711s Ventura, #712s Spartan, #713s Iroquois II, #714s Pleione, #715s Grayling, #716s Samuri, #717s Barbara (and #720s Acushla, #721s Carolina II)].
50ft w.l. Class N.Y.Y.C.
Frame spaces 18".
Sheer height given is to under side of deck. Deck 1 3/4".
In making moulds deduct
for planking 1 3/4"
for timbers at head 2 1/2" increasing 5/64" per foot for full length
[Total] 4 1/4"
Keel to lay on top of lead, and 5 3/8" with rabbate 1 1/2" above bottom." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Handwritten (in ink) notes in Offset Booklet HH.4.179.] September 24, 1912. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"In the fall of 1912, we had orders for the noted New York Yacht Club Fifty Foot Class ..." (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. 72.)

"... the most important work of the Herreshoff Company for 1913 was the one-design class of New York Yacht Club Fifties for there were nine of this one-design class built that winter, which seems strange these days when a yacht of the same overall length recently built cost over two hundred thousand dollars. Although the Fifties were of about the best material and workmanship that ever went into yachts of their size, they were so efficiently built that it is said they only cost approximately seventeen thousand dollars apiece in 1913. The general dimensions of these Fifties were: L.O.A., seventy-two feet; L.W.L., fifty feet; beam, fourteen feet six inches; draft, nine feet nine inches. ...
The Fifties were raced very hotly the first two years but had few protests and no serious collisions. The author raced on 'Barbara' many races the first two years and can say that under their original rig they were fine, comfortable racing yachts when they had a crew of four or more professionals, but after World War I they were too expensive to run even if good crews had been available so several were changed to yawls or schooners, or leg-o'-mutton sloops. However, the Astor Cup for sloops has been won by one or another of them about nine times, ..." (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. 283-284.)

"The New York Yacht Club Fifties came out in 1913, and perhaps this was the largest class of sizeable one-design yachts the world has ever seen. There were nine of them with the dimensions of 72' LOA; 50' LWL; 14.5' beam; 9.75' draft. ... The Fifties raced very hotly the first few years and made some very close starts, and as I remember it there were few protests and no serious collisions. I raced on the one named Barbara [#717s] many times; she was handled by Bob Emmons who had owned Avenger and was to be the manager of the next cup defender Resolute. One or another of the Fifties won the Astor Cup nine times under a sloop rig, and, as Pleione [#714s] had won four Astor Cups under a schooner rig, this makes by far the greatest number of times these cups were won by vessels of the same model. In my opinion the Fifties were about the last high-grade, reasonably-priced yachts built. They were 72' OA, and of late years there have been several yachts built with this same length on deck that cost fifteen times as much while the cost of clothes, food and real estate has only increased some three times. Some of the reasons for this great difference in cost of yachts now and in the year the Fifties were built (and that year happened to be the year the income tax started) are as follows:
1. The Fifties were designed and built completely --- sails, spars, rigging, hull, and so forth, by one concern. The only things I can think of now that the builders did not make were the stoves, water-closets, and the larger rigging blocks.
2. Good plant management is the principal way of decreasing the cost of building yachts and, while this can only be learned by experience and the use of common sense, it is a fact that in those days there were two or three yacht yards that were well managed. One of the simple things of good management was to have all of the materials on hand before they were needed, and in those days the yacht yards carried an inventory of materials at least ten times as large as at present. This often allowed them to buy at considerable reduction in price.
3. The spirit, or enthusiasm and pride, of the workmen were important factors in building yachts quickly and well, and I do not know how this was arranged but, I do know that the workers were almost all paid different wages according to their accomplishments.
At present, almost all yachts are designed by one concern and assembled by another. This makes for never-ending complication and, as the designing concern is paid its commission based on the cost of the yacht, they seem to do little nowadays to simplify the construction. I have used the word 'assemble' to describe what was once called 'building a yacht' for today we even hear of yachts' keels being cast hundreds of miles away instead of the mold being set up on the stocks where the yacht is to be built, while the other parts of the yacht may be made by ten or more distant concerns. In the meantime, the art of yacht building, which has taken thousands of years to develop, is lost, and materials such as laminated wood and plastics are substituted in an effort to get around this lack of know-how, but the weight and cost of these materials is so much more than natural wood that the result is not very satisfactory.
As for the workers, they are paid alike and seem to try to make the job last as long as possible. Some of them who wouldn't know an adz if they stumbled over it, try pretty hard to master the new techniques and only time will tell if they will be successful. The modern worker hates all hand tools simply because he does not know how to sharpen or lubricate them, but I have known men who could swing a broad ax all day and every time the ax struck it would lop off a shaving you could cook a breakfast with. These men hewed so close to the line that to finish the job, be it straight, curved or rounded, it only took a few strokes with a well-sharpened plane whose sole was rubbed with paraffin. And that is how yachts were built in those times which is quite different from the present when workmen only want to work with materials they can finish with a power sander.
I have used all these words to try to explain why the New York Yacht Club Fifties cost only $17,000.00 while three or four modern yachts of the same length cost $250,000.00.
For crew the Fifties had a captain, two sailors and a steward but, even by their second year (and second year of the income tax) several of the owners complained about the cost of running them, and that was one of the reasons the New York Yacht Club Forties came into existence a few years later." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. An Introduction to Yachting. New York, 1963, p. 175.)

"A 50-foot sloop, the first of a sextet for New York yachtsmen, was launched Sunday [December 8, 1912] morning at 7.30 o'clock from the boat shops of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company.
It was intended to launch the boat Saturday but repairs to the launching ways which were being done by a diver could not be completed in time.
The craft after being launched was moored along side the Herreshoff pier, and will later be stored for the winter at the Walker Cove yards. [Sunday launches were almost unheard of at HMCo.]" (Source: Anon. "Racing Sloop Launched." Bristol Phoenix, December 10, 1912, p. 3.)

"Three [sic, i.e. two (only #711s Ventura and #712s Spartan had been launched by the time this article was published)] of the eight one design 50 foot racing boats that are to be built at the Herreshoff shops this winter for New York yachtsmen, have been launched and are at the Walker's cove yards waiting to be finished next spring. The boats are of peculiar design, having no bowsprit. They will have a single mast and topmast, but head sails will be limited because of absence of bowsprit. The boats are solidly planked with oak and are handsomely furnished in the interior in mahogany, and the work is well long before they are launched." (Source: Anon. "Bristol and Vicinity." Bristol Phoenix, January 3, 1913, p. 4.)

"[Abstract of register or enrollment. Pos. 948:]
Ventura, sloop yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, 1913.
25 tons; 57 ft. x 14.5 ft. x 9.2 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
One deck, one mast, overhanging head [bow].
Enr[olled] and Lic[ensed] (consolidated) ([as] yacht) Apr. 19. 1913. Owner: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol. Master: John B. Herreshoff, Bristol.
Surrendered [license] June 6, 1913 at New York. ([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. Ventura.)

"Capt Nat Herreshoff gave the new 50 foot racing sloop Iroquois II [#713s], recently built at the Herreshoff boat shops, a trial spin in the harbor, Friday [April 25, 1913] afternoon. Ralph N Ellis of the New York Yacht Club is the owner. The Iroquois II and two other 50 footers, the Samuri [#716s], owned by William Earl Dodge, and the Ventura [#711s], owned by George F Baker, Jr, of the New York Yacht Club, and built by the Herreshoffs, sailed for Glen Cove Saturday." (Source: Anon. "Bristol and Vicinity." Bristol Phoenix, April 29, 1913, p. 2.)

"BRISTOL, R I, Aug 10 [1916] --- The sloop yacht Ventura of the 50-foot class of racers, owned by Commodore George F. Baker Jr of the New York Yacht Club, which struck on a ledge off Penekese Island, Buzzards Bay last Monday in a fog while racing from Mattapoisett to Newport, is badly damaged on the lead keel and her rudder is smashed by grinding upon the ledge.
The Ventura was hauled out of the water at the Walkers Cove Marine Railway this morning for repairs by the Herreshoffs. An examination showed that the lead keel from forefoot to the after end is gouged. As the craft went on the rocks at high tide, the rest of the hull of the boat escaped damage and she did not leak.
It will be necessary to cut out portions of the gouged and twisted lead and mold new lead. A new rudder will have to be made as the present one is so badly twisted that it cannot be serviceable. ..." (Source: Anon. "Ventura Badly Damaged. Lead Keel and Rudder Smashed When Yacht Ran on Penikese Island Ledge." Boston Globe, August 11, 1916, p. 4.)

"G. M. Pynchon has purchased the 50-footer Ventura [#711s] from former Commodore George F. Baker Jr. He contemplates racing that yacht, which has been renamed Istalena, when racing in the 50-footer class is revived. Mr. Pynchon is also having built at Herreshoff's a power cruising yacht [#372p Vasanta] which will act as a tender for the racing sloop at times." (Source: Anon. "Yachtsmen Plan for Next Season." Rudder, November 1919, p. 528.)

"Commodore Aemelius Jarvis of Toronto, who recently disposed of his Herreshoff schooner Haswell [#743s], has purchased from George M. Pynchon the New York one-designed 50-footer Istalena. She is one of the class of nine 50-foot waterline knockabouts built in 1913 by Herreshoff for members of the New York Yacht Club.
After Commodore Jarvis had decided to dispose of the Haswell he began to look around for another yacht, and the suggestion was made that one of the 50-footers could be changed easily to schooner rig, adding a small engine for auxiliary power.
This idea seemed so good that Commodore Jarvis went to Bristol to talk over the matter with Capt Nat. G. Herreshoff, the veteran designer, and the two spent much time discussing plans and models. This visit resulted in the purchase of the Istalena, and the commissioning of Herreshoff to go ahead with the transformation.
The new schooner will be rigged with pole masts, and it is very probable that others of the class will be changed also. The work is to be completed by July 1. ..." (Source: Anon. "Istalena Replaces Haswell." Boston Globe, May 27, 1923, p. 50.)

"It is possible that the schooner Venture, owned by Commodore Aemilius Jarvis of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, may race with the [New York] fifties on the time allowance basis. The Venture was the former fifty-footer Istalena, owned and raced for several years by George M. Pynchon, who is not racing this year because of the death of Mrs. Pynchon.
Venture was finished up at Herreshoff's the other day, coming out as a schooner, and Commodore Jarvis is anxious to try her at racing in the Sound before taking her to the Great Lakes." (Source: Anon. "Alera And Cygnet Change Ownership." New York Times, July 20, 1923, p. 11.)

"Commodore Aemilius Jarvis has named his 50-foot water line schooner Venture. This yacht, formerly the one-designed 50-footer Istalena, has been changed to schooner rig and is a very attractive looking yacht. Instead of taking the schooner to the lakes Commodore Jarvis may enter her in the racing at Larchmont." (Source: Anon. "Notes from the Week's Log." New York Times, July 22, 1923, p. 60.)

"... With the exception of Carolina [#721s], owned by Vice Commodore George Nichols of the New York Yacht Club, all the N. Y. Y. C. one-design 50-footers have changed owners within the last year. F. D. M. Strachan has sold his Harpoon [#720s ex-Acushla] to L. V. Lockwood of the N. Y. Y. C, Harry B Plant the Spartan [#712s] to Carroll B. Alker. Commodore Ralph Ellis of the Seawanhaka-Corinthian Yacht Club the Iroquois II [#713s] to Vice Commodore Paul Hammond of the same club, Frank B. Paine of Boston the Barbara [#717s] to Isaac B. Merriman of the N. Y. Y. C., the Pleione [#714s] to Kenneth F. Wood of Saylerville, R. I. and L F Crofoot of Omaha, a member of the Eastern Yacht Club, the Virginia [#716s] to Walter K. Shaw of the same club. These transfers were all made since the close of the 1923 season, while Clifford D. Mallory purchased the Grayling [#715s] from former Commodore J. P. Morgan early this year and in June former commodore Aemillus Jarvis of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club of Toronto purchased the Istalena [#711s] and had her converted to schooner rig. ..." (Source: Anon. "Notes From The Week's Log." Boston Globe, December 2, 1923, p. 41.)

"[Account of the voyage of the Venture from Larchmont to Toronto written by a friend and crew member.]" (Source: Snider, C. H. J. Adventures of the Venture. Toronto, 1923.)

"... It is reported that the jlb-headed main saill rigged schooner Venture, formerly the New York Y. C. 50-footer Istalena, has been sold by former Commodore Aemilius Jarvis of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club to C. E. Greenough, a New York yachtsman. If this is so, there should be interesting racing between her and the other two-stickers of the same rig, Wildfire [#891s], Flying Cloud, Irolita [#663s] and Queen Mab [#698s]. ..." (Source: Anon. "Notes From The Week's Log." Boston Globe, May 18, 1924, p. 66.)

"The Istalena, one of the New York 50-foot class, is at the boat shops of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company where a new Marconi rig is being fitted. The Carolina [#721s], Capt. Gus Olsen, another of the New York 50-foot racing sloops, and the Squaw [#804s], Capt Irving Johnson [of subsequent schooner Yankee fame], a 40-foot racing sloop, are at the Herreshoff's where they are being overhauled for the racing season. [The reference to the NY-50 Istalena is in question. Only one NY-50, #711s ex-Ventura, had ever been named Istalena and for only one year, 1920. In 1927 this former NY-50 Istalena was rigged as a schooner and named Venture.]" (Source: Anon. "Bristol and Vicinity." Bristol Phoenix, March 4, 1927, p. 2.)

"... The auxiliary schooner Venture, originally the New York Y. C. 50-footer Ventura, built for Commodore George P. Baker, has been chartered by H. G. Montgomery to Richard Whitney, president of the New York Stock Exchange. ..." (Source: Fowle, Leonard. "Notes From the Week's Log." Boston Globe, July 29, 1930, p. A56.)

"At 72 feet overall, the New York 50s were among the largest Herreshoff sailing hulls to be built upside down and entirely of wood construction. They were built in a kind of production line. While one hull was being planked, the previous one, turned upright, was having its interior and deck installed. This same two-boat cycle was repeated all during the winter and spring of 1912-1913, until the last of the nine New York 50s slid overboard from the North Construction Shop's launching ways.
Like all but the smallest Herreshoff-built wood-hulled racing yachts, the New York 50s were double-planked and diagonally strapped with metal, which gave them unusual strength for their weight. ..." (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 103.)

"[Item Description:] Penciled diagram titled 'Stability Curves. Oct 1898'. Labeled 'Foot Tons' on the y-axis and 'Degrees, angle of heel' on the x-axis. With stability curves for VIGILANT [#437s], DEFENDER [#452s], and [Model] No 1 and [Model] No 2 [for #499s COLUMBIA] plus a penciled curve, added later for the #711 class [NY50]." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Stability Curves. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0600. WRDT08, Folder 45. 1898-10.)
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"[Item Description:] HH.5.02148 (029-054). Blueprint preliminary general arrangement plan with plan view and inboard profile titled 'Sloop. WL about 50ft. Scale 3/8in = 1ft. Sept[ember] 16 - 1912'. Marked in pencil 'Standard Arrangement for 50ft Class [New York 50 class: #711s, #712s, #713s, #714s, #715s, #716s, #717s, #720s and #721s]'." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Blueprint. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0143. WRDT08, Folder 12, formerly MRDE02. 1912-09-16.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections with weight calculations titled '50 w.l. Sloops. Measured at 51.5[t] LWL (LWL is 2 1/2 inches above the designed w.l. of 50!). Sept 22, 1912. From finished model. Nos. 711-12-13-14-15-16-17-20&21 [#711s VENTURA, #712s SPARTAN, #713s IROQUOIS II, #714s PLEIONE, #715s GRAYLING, #716s SAMURI, #717s BARBARA, #720s ACUSHLA, #721s CAROLINA II]'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_00890. Folder [no #]. 1912-09-22.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections with weight calculations titled '#711 & class. 50 w.l. Sloops. Referred to designed w.l. of 50ft. Scale 1/2in. From finished model. Nos. 711-12-13-14-15-16-17 [#711s VENTURA, #712s SPARTAN, #713s IROQUOIS II, #714s PLEIONE, #715s GRAYLING, #716s SAMURI, #717s BARBARA, #720s ACUSHLA, #721s CAROLINA II]. Sept 22, 1912'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_00910. Folder [no #]. 1912-09-22.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph lead sections on partially very creased paper titled 'No 711 & class [#711s, #712s, #713s, #714s, #715s, #716s, #717s, #720s, #721s]. Scale 1in & 1/12in. Sept[ember] 24, 1912'. Wth calculations showing required lead of 37410lbs at .576 of 50ft w.l." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Lead Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_03790. Folder [no #]. 1912-09-24.)
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"[Item Description:] Blueprint table titled 'Program - Construction No. 711 Class. 1912-1913' with a detailed building time schedule for #711s VENTURA, #712s SPARTAN, #713s IROQUOIS II, #714s PLEIONE, #715s GRAYLING, #716s SAMURI, #717s BARBARA with planned dates and durations for 'Begin Work on Keel and Foundation', 'Setup Frames and Lead Mould', 'Begin Planking and Cast Lead', 'Turn Over and Set on Lead', 'Launch', 'Begin to Rig' and 'Delivery'. Including some penciled-in dates. (Note that actual building times turned out to be substantially shorter than initially envisioned.) Undated, between September 13, 1912 when these boats were contracted for and October 14, 1912, the first date on this plan." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Blueprint Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_03440. Folder [no #]. No date (between 1912-09-13 and 1912-10-14).)
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"[Item Description:] Ledger of HMCo actual costs vs contract price for #617s COCK ROBIN, #621s MARGARET, #665s NEITH, #685s ADVENTURESS, #711s Class NY50 footers, 25% shop overhead, 15% profit" (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (?) (creator). Cost Accounting. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_58550. Subject Files, Folder 83, formerly 134. No date (ca1913 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled tabulated data showing 'Base/w.l.', 'Base/P1', '% J&B Base', '% Mast stop to w.l.', '% Sq-rt(S) to w.l.', 'Stability moment[?] / Water L[?] outboard' and 'Rating' for 'RELIANCE [#605s]', 'CONSTITUTION [#551s], 'COLUMBIA [#499s], 'AVENGER [#666s], 'AURORA CLASS [#667s New York 57 Class], '711 Class [#711s New York 50 Class], '725 D (9150 S) [#725s RESOLUTE with 9150sqft sail area]' and '725 D (8225 S) [RESOLUTE with 8225sqft]'. On verso of printed card from Browning, King & Co. acknowledging 'receipt of your favor'." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0599. WRDT08, Folder 45. No date (1913 ??).)
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"[Item Description:] HMCo Plan 76-111. Photostat construction plan with inboard profile, plan view, sections and scantlings titled '72ft overall, 50ft w.l., 14ft 6in beam, 9ft 9in br' for the NY50 class (#711s, #712s, #713s, #714s, #715s, #716s, #717s, #720s, #721s)." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Photostat Construction Plan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0164. WRDT08, Folder 15, formerly MRDE02. 1913-04-21.)
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"[Item Description:] shock to learn about [William] Hallock's illness, Webb may take over, typewritten copy of 'Instructions to Measurers', went for sail on [George] Baker's boat [#711s VENTURA], rudder worked hard" (Source: Cormack, George A. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_24440. Correspondence, Folder 71. 1913-05-06.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled table titled '75ft w.l.' comparing 'New Model June 13 [19]13' [for #725s RESOLUTE], 'Enlarged 53ft w.l. of Oct 3 [19]11, 'Enlarged 50ft #711 class' [NY50], and 'Reduced 69.2[?]' and showing dimensional data for LOA, LWL, beam, breadth w.l., draft, displacement, wetted surface, proposed S[ail area], 2bl, S/ws, L for rating and Rating." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0601. WRDT08, Folder 45. 1913-06-13.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Wed 23.
Dear Capt Nat.
I have seen Bob Emmons and have arranged for you to sail on BABARA [sic, i.e. #717s BARBARA] today and will see [George] Baker and arrange for you to sail on VENTURA [#711s] to-morrow. Emmons will wisk[?] you up so keep an eye out for him. I regret I cannot be at Larchmont before Friday or Sat on account of my eyes that are none too good, this is a disappointment as I should liked to have sailed with you during the week. I will arrange with Harry Maxwell about AVENGER [#666s]. I want to see you before you go back so please to call me up home some night after the race. I hope you have good sport and that we may sail together on Sat.
Sincerely, G A Cormack
am sending this from N.Y. and it will be delivered by Butler [Duncan]'s launch. [No year and month, but NGH]s diary shows this to have been in July 1913 when he sailed at Larchmont on BARBARA on July 23, 1913.]" (Source: Cormack, George A. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_24560. Subject Files, Folder 2, formerly 96-100. (1913-07)-23.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections with pinpricks and radials titled '711 Class [#711s, #712s, #713s, #714s, #715s, #716s, #717s, #720s, #721s]. 50 footers. Oct[ober] 2 1913'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0392. WRDT04, Folder 34, formerly MRDE08. 1913-10-02.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph lead sections titled '#729 [SCAPA]. R class racer reduced from #711 class. Scale 1 1/2in & 3in = 1ft. April 18, 1914'. With calculations and note 'Required 4300lbs = 6.06cuft. Result volume 6.01cuft = 4270lbs, centre of gravity at 27.91 frame space'. [Handwriting may not be NGH's." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Pantograph Lead Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_08190. Folder [no #]. 1914-04-18.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Order book with carbon copy duplicates of instructions given by NGH. Relevant contents:
§51: Work Order [For] #711s, #712s, #713s, #714s, #715s, #716s, #717s, #720s, #721s. [When wanted] Soon. Plow steel wire (1912-10-05)." (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:] Handwritten (in ink) rating rule-related table on two pages with dimensions LOA, LWL, overhang fore & aft, mean length, freeboard fore & center & aft, breadth deck & w.l., draft, cube-root (displacement), 1st mast mean length, 1st to 2nd mast, J, P1, H1, B1, G1, V1, T1, P2, P2a, H2, B2, Q2, Y2,T2, sail area, sqrt(SA), sqrt(SA - NYYC Rule) for #605s RELIANCE, #499s COLUMBIA, #725s RESOLUTE, #529s MINEOLA, #663s ISTALENA, #666s AVENGER, New York 50s (#711s, #712s, #713s, #714s, #715s, #716s, #717s, #720s, #721s), #411s GLORIANA, #685s ADVENTURESS, #617s COCK ROBIN II, #586s NELLIE, #709s JOYANT, #708s CORINTHIAN, #670s SENECA, Bar Harbor 31s (#592s, #593s, #594s, #595s, #596s, #597s, #598s, #599s, #600s, #601s, #602s, #603s, #604s), New York 30s (#626s, #627s, #628s, #629s, #630s, #631s, #632s, #633s, #635s, #636s, #637s, #638s, #639s, #640s, #642s, #643s, #647s, #648s), Newport 29s (#727s, #728s, #737s), #691s MORE JOY, #446s ALERION II, Buzzards Bay 550s (#733s, #734s, #736s, #738s, #741s), #617s COCK ROBIN II, #493s JILT, #732s SADIE, #460s KILDEE, Buzzards Bay 15s (#503s Class), Buzzards Bay 12 1/2s (#744s Class), #703s FLYING CLOUD, #669s ELEANOR, #722s KATOURA, #692s WESTWARD, #657s QUEEN, #719s VAGRANT II, #698s VAGRANT, #663s ISTALENA, and #743s HASWELL. With penciled note 'Measurements in ft & inches. Results in ft & decimals'. Undated (the youngest boat on this list is from 1914/1915 and this was probably prepared in preparation for NGH's sail area rating rule of 1914/1915)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Handwritten Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE15_00100. Folder [no #]. No date (1914 / 1915 ?).)
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"[Item Description:] [on Flagship Viking stationery:] Marblehead, in your judgment would it do any harm to tow one [New York] fifty footer astern of another from here to Newport, by way of the [Cape Cod] Canal, taking into account the fact that there would be something of a sea on in Massachusetts Bay, if you think it would be practical I should be glad if you would indicate how the tow line should be made fast to the leading boat [in the end Baker's VIKING towed three NY50s through the canal: #711s VENTURA, #713s IROQUOIS II and #715s GRAYLING]" (Source: Baker, George F. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_20130. Correspondence, Folder 56. 1915-08-08.)
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"[Item Description:] [on Flagship Viking stationery:] I appreciate your congratulations [for winning the King's Cup with #711s VENTURA off Marblehead] very much, with all the work and worries that I had on the cruise which prevented my sailing my own boat it was very nice on the last day to relieve myself of the worries and take VENTURA's helm and sail her to a victory, I am glad you think that the Canal business was well handled, main reason it was so well handled is that all the Captains of the yachts helped me wonderfully and did exactly as they were told" (Source: Baker, George F. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_20140. Correspondence, Folder 56. 1915-08-16.)
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"[Item Description:] Seven mimeographed pages with race results of the Cruise of the New York Yacht Club of 1922. Races: Astor Cups off Newport, R.I. on August 2d, 1922. 1st Run Newport to Mattapoisett on August 3, 1922. 2dt Run Mattapoisett to Vineyard Haven on August 4, 1922. 3rd Run Vineyard Haven to Provincetown on August 5, 1922. 4th Run Provincetown to Gloucester on August 7, 1922. 5th Run Gloucester to Marblehead on August 8, 1922. Among the finishers were schooners #719s VAGRANT II, #698s QUEEN MAB ex-VAGRANT I, #663s IROLITA ex-ISTALENA, #827s OHONKARA and #772s MARIETTE, New York 50s #721s CAROLINA, #711s ISTALENA ex-VENTURE, #720s ACUSHLA ex-HARPOON and #717s BARBARA, New York 40s #776s ROWDY, #777s ZILPH, #804s SQUAW, #774s MISTRAL, #779s SALLY ANN ex-JESSICA, #781s PAMPERO and #773s MONSOON ex-MAISIE, New York 30s #629s COUNTESS ex-MAID OF MEUDON, #648s MINX, #632s ALICE ex-TABASCO, #640s BANZAI, #637s ORIOLE and #630s LENA ex-PINTAIL, as well as cutter #586s BUTTERFLY ex-NELLIE." (Source: NYYC (creator). Race Results. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_72340. Measuring and Measurement Rules (Box 2), Folder B2F01, formerly MRDE15. 1922.)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦

"[Item Description:] HMCo Plan 74-75. Blueprint detail plan titled 'Quick Working Shackles for Blocks Hal & Double Sheets. Job 1-336. Mentioned vessels include: #711s, #712s, #713s, #714s, #715s, #716s, #717s, #720s, #721s, #773s, #774s, #775s, #776s, #777s, #778s, #779s, #780s, #781s, #782s, #783s, #804s, #891s, #955s, and #983s." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (Newman, H.F.) (creator). Blueprint. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0184. WRDT08, Folder 17, formerly MRDE06. 1923-03-12.)
① ②

"[Item Description:] HMCo Plan HH.5.10195 (128-070). Penciled sailplan titled 'Proposed Schooner Rig for N.Y. Fifty Footer [#711s VENTURE ex-VENTURA]. … May 1923'. (Plan at MIT is more complete and contains detailed rigging instructions.)" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Sailplan. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item WRDT06_00160. Folder [no #]. 1923-05.)
① ②

"[Item Description:] HMCo Plan HH.5.08097 (096-145) [?]. Blueprint sailplan with profile titled 'VENTURE formerly VENTURA [#711s] of the 50 foot N.Y.Y.C. Class. 1/4in = 1ft-0in. June 1923'." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Blueprint. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0042. WRDT08, Folder 5, formerly MRDE09. 1923-06.)
① ②

"[Item Transcription:] Yours, reporting progress in the packing Dept. duly re[ceive]d & noted. With the exception of excessive high tides, apparently augmented by the local fresh N. Easter & possibly more so by the last hurricane which passed up over the eastern Bahamas in a N.E. direction & also helping to back up the Gulf stream, we are going along very satisfactory with our various affairs tho personally hampered with a sore shin[?] which I should keep elevated & quiet. I want to get the ground around the cottage cleaned up, guarded a but & some plants set out so as to look more presentable. Another season will get some filling from the Bay bottom & this annual overflow stopt[?].
The carpenter is now on the screening job & by next weeks end, he will be through & out o the way so we can stain the floors & have them ready for you to move in. Will be interested in the new little boats [#908s Biscayne Bay Class prototype] but [I am] afraid that a 2ft [deep] iron keel would be unpopular down here. This subject is a little hard to work out. First, they should be unsinkable, which air tanks can remedy; and then they should be so far as is possible, unstickable on shoals so that, after my long experience, I come back to the New Haven sharpie & give the subject up.
A good sharpie is the cheapest & best all around craft for both novices & good sailors ever devised, but they must be proportioned [correctly] & [have their] sail[plan] balanced almost exactly right, or they are worthless, and I freely admit that I can't as yet publish a formula for designing them. One can deviate quite a little from correct form in displacement sailing craft and still produce a good boat, but with a sharpie, never. To the best of my knowledge, there is not an A.1.[?] on this Bay. This is a trifle hard on my reputation for there are several of my designs within sight almost, and [they] are well liked, but are not up to what I positively know a sharpie can be as to speed. Not particularly caring for the type myself, but still knowing their extreme capabilities & usefulness. I have neither had call for, or designed enough of them to know what I should [know], and feel rather sore about it. Lets talk about them later. By the way, in my last letter to you I meant to have mentioned a rumor that has eluded me, and which, very possibly, you know all about. That [Aemilius] E. Jarvis, for whom you made alterations in some yacht [#711s VENTURA converted in 1923 for Jarvis into a schooner] which he sailed around to & up the St. Lawrence R[iver] to his home port & published the log [Snider, C. H. J. Adventures of the VENTURE. Toronto, 1923], has gotten into serious financial difficulties, apparently with the Canadian Govt, which I sort of think, may be in no ways criminal, but rather a difference of opinion between them. Uslf[?] I sat down to just write [about] progress & here I am gossiping. 'ALICE,' [Henry] Howard's new ketch, reports to me from Savannah on her way here. Howard writes [that she is] 'perfectly satisfactory in every way & am much pleased'. So am I." (Source: Munroe, R.M. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_40420. Correspondence, Folder 83, formerly 102. 1924-11-14.)
① ②

"[Item Description:] Penciled table titled 'Comparative Elements to study 70 footer Design. Fall of 1926' showing data for LOA, LWL, WBL, Beam, Breadth, Draft, Freeeboard, Displacement, Wetted Surface and Sail Area for '1st VAGRANT [#698s]. Enlarged as 12 to 15 = 120%', 'Study model [Model 1322 ?] of Fall 1922. 68ft w.l. Enlarged', 'WILDFIRE [#891s] Enlarged [with added figures in red pencil marked 'immersed 3in deep']', 'Model of 1911 for a 55ft rating enlarged as 12 to 16 = 125%', 'NYYC 50s [#711s Class] Enlarged 140%', 'RESOLUTE [#725s] Reduced to 93.3%', 'WINSOME Class (Original) [#664s NY57 Class]', and 'NYYC 30s [#626s NY30 Class] Inc[reased] l to 233%. Increased b & d to 220%'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_00070. Folder [no #]. Fall of 1926.)
①

"[Item Description:] Handwritten (in ink and pencil) comparison table giving o.a.L, l.w.l, beam, beam at waterline, beam 1/10b above waterline, draft, depth at various positions, outside lead, freeboard at stem head and other positions, displacement to LWL, frame space (2.2*(D)^1/3)^.9 and other factors (I, II, III, IV), keel thick, stem sided, transverse thick, timbers, plankfloors, lead bolts, planking, diag. straps, clamps, deckbeams, deck, belt frames, rudder stock for the following boats #744 Class (Buzzards Bay Boys Boats 1914), #788 Class (Fish Class 1916), #679 DELIGHT (1908), #699 BIBELOT (1910), #828 Class S (1920), #874 CYGNET (6 meter 1922), #718 ALERION (1912 Centreboard), #932 GAME COCK (R class 1925), #727 Class (Newport 29s COMET 1914), #892 GRAYLING (Q Class 1923), #708 CORINTHIAN (P Class 1911), #773 Class (NYYC 40s 1916), #867 VENTURA (1921 Centreboard), #711 Class (NYYC 50s 1913), #625 DORIS (1905). Undated, 1925 or later given the mention of #932 GAMECOCK. Probably 1927 in preparation for NGH's Rules for Wooden Yachts." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Handwritten Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE02_06960. Folder [no #]. No date (1927 ??).)
①

"[Item Description:] Correspondence with bills (from Ichabod T. Williams and Sons, Hammacher Schlemmer, Nevins Inc, Ratsey & Lapthorn, HMCo) and letters relating to the building and commissioning of William Greenough's dinghy #193303es SKYLARK, also about making a model of the schooner #711s VENTURE ex-VENTURA) for Willliam Greenough." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.053. Correspondence. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder Dinghy - 12 & 14 Foot for William Greenough. 1933 to 1934.)
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

"[Item Transcription:] [Typed unsigned (copy) letter:] I have been making a model of the Schooner VENTURE [#711s] which I formerly owned for some years, and have now reached the point where I am about to rig the model. I find that I have lost the blueprint which contained the elevation showing her sail plan and also the rigging plan. Will you be kind enough to get me another one of these blueprints and send it to me as soon as possible?
Yours very truly, ..." (Source: Greenough, William. Letter to Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.053. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder Dinghy - 12 & 14 Foot for William Greenough. 1933-11-14.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Typed signed letter on 'Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Bristol, Rhode Island' stationery:] In reply to your letter of November 14th [1933], we are indeed pleased to forward to you under separate cover the desired blueprint showing side elevation and sail plan of the schooner VENTURE [#711s]. Inasmuch as this is in violation of the policy of the Company to release any designs or drawings of boats or parts thereof, we would appreciate your returning the blueprint at your convenience, upon the completion of the model.
Trusting that the information contained is sufficient, we are
Yours very truly," (Source: Haffenreffer, C.W. (Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.). Letter to Greenough, William. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.053. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder Dinghy - 12 & 14 Foot for William Greenough. 1933-11-17.)
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"[Item Transcription:] [Typed unsigned (copy) letter:] Thank you for your letter of November 17th enclosing a blueprint of the side elevation and sailing plan of the VENTURE [#711s]. I had one of these blueprints for many years and somehow seem to have lost it. I will return it when the model is finished.
Yours sincerely, ..." (Source: Greenough, William. Letter to Haffenreffer, C.W. (Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.). MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.053. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder Dinghy - 12 & 14 Foot for William Greenough. 1933-11-20.)
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"[Item Description:] Handwritten notebook titled on outer cover 'Droughting Room. Blue Prints Record' providing a list of drawings with information in columns titled 'Issued To', 'For Job', 'Date', 'Date Returned', '[Date] Destroyed', and 'Remarks'. Vessels mentioned are #1266s BELISARIUS, #1267 FROSTFISH, #395p Owner Launch for St.Y. VIKING, #1265s NITRAMON, #1204s SILVERHEELS, #1233s RAINBOW, #1276s PRIM, #1275s MITENA, #907s PLEASURE, #931s NASSAU, #711s VENTURA, #900s IRIS, #982s WATER LILY, #891s WILDFIRE, #1147s WEETAMOE, #954s MARY ROSE, #880s JOSEPHINE, #788s MANATEE, #1146s ENTERPRISE, #1212s TRONDA, #1282s 12 1/2 for H. V. Reed, #1302s Amphicraft for N. F. Ayer, #1304s Amphicraft for Charles A. Welch, #1286s 12 1/2 for Mr. Maitland Alexander, #1311s Amphicraft for Dr. Seth M. Milliken, #1313s Dinghy for #663s RAMALLAH ex-ISTALENA, #1314s HMCo Yard Skiff, #408s PELICAN, #1315s BRENDA, #396p Power Tender for FONTINALIS, #397p Power Tender for FONTINALIS, #329p CAROLA, #1318s Sailing Dinghy for Henry S. Morgan; #1316s NOVA, #1319s Tech Dinghy, #1317s MANDOO II, #405p Surfboat, #1379s Fish Class for H. M. Lautmann (MERRY HELL), #1385s TINKER TOO, and #1384s AVANTI. 23 pages were used. Undated, the dates range from October 1934 to September 1936." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Notebook. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.106. Box HAFH.6.3B, Folder Blue Print Record Book. No date (1934-10 to 1936-09).)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱

"[Item Description:] Penciled table showing LOA, LWL, Beam, Draft, QBL, Stem, [symbol], sft[?] and Displ[acement] for KATOURA [#722s], WESTWARD [#692s], VAGRANT, QUEEN MAB [#698s], CONSTITUTION [#551s], RESOLUTE [#725s], WINSOME [#664s], 2nd IROLITA [#658s], DORIS [#625s], AVENGER [#666s], 50 Footers [#711s], ADVENTURESS [#685s], IROLITA [#591s], FLYING CLOUD [#703s], BELISARIUS [#1266s], NEITH [#665s], AZOR [#578s], NAULAKHA [#687s], SENECA [#670s], NY30s [#626s], SENTA [#688s], DOROTHY Q [#668s], FLIGHT [#607s], PLEASURE [#907s], QUAKERESS [#676s], KILDEE [#460s], and the 12 1/2ft Class [#744s]. With formulas for mean length L, Draft limit by rule and freeboard at three positions. Undated, on verso of NYYC invitation dated December 11, 1933 but listing of BELISARIUS which was built in 1934/1935 indicates that this was written at that time or later. Filed close to and possibly related to what appears to be an early version of NGH's 'Observations on the Proportions of Sailing Yachts' from July 1936." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Tabulated Dimensions. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE02_03040. Folder [no #]. No date (1936-07 ?).)
① ②

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #711s Ventura even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Kleinhans, Lewis. "New York 40s and 50s." In: Schoettle, Edwin J. Sailing Craft. New York, 1928, p. 229-243. (3,032 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: No known copyright restrictions. Class description and history. New York 50 sailing regulations.
• van der Linde, Claas. [Layered Comparison of Model and Plan to Demonstrate Shortening of New York 50 by Two Feet after the model had been made.] February 25, 2022. (747 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Claas van der Linde. Clinton Crane, in his 1952 'Yachting Memories' (p. 102) wrote 'In the New York Fifties [NGH] shortened the stern to bring them inside the amount which the new owners were willing to pay, so that they were never as good looking as they might have been.' This shortening by 24 inches can be seen by overlaying the construction plan with the model which then clearly shows the model's slender stern extending beyond the boat's plan profile. At HMCo vessel profiles for a plan were usually created by simply placing the model onto the plan and then tracing a pencil around the model's outline. It appears that the extended stern on this drawing was then simply erased --- hence the spot of lighter color at the transom. This is a layered document which allows clicking on and off overlaid transparent layers to reveal different parts of the image.
• Snider, C. H. J. Adventures of the Venture. Toronto, 1923.
  Small, privately printed book describing the voyage from Bristol to Canada of the former NY50 Venture (ex Ventura) after her conversion to schooner.

• Ventura (HMCo-made index card)
• Ventura (MIT Museum-made index card)
• Carolina and other NY50 class (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: Ventura
Type: Cutter
Length: 50'
Owner: Baker, George F., Jr.

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

• Ventura
• Istalena ex-Ventura
• Venture ex-Ventura
• 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: Ventura
Type: 50'
Owner: George F. Baker, Jr.
Year: 1913
Row No.: 719

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: 1912
E/P/S: S
No.: 0711
Name: Ventura
LW: 50'
B: 14' 7"
D: 9' 9"
Rig: Cutter
K: y
Ballast: Lead O.
Amount: 14250.00 [sic, i.e. 14520]
Notes Constr. Record: Single head rig. Istalena 1921 Ventura 1923
Last Name: Baker, Jr.
First Name: G. F.

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.

"Sail number NY 7." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. April 29, 2009.)

"Altered to schooner in 1922." (Source: Taglang, Jacques. Email to Claas van der Linde, August 21, 2008.)

"Sail number 57 in 1916 with the numeral in black and the initials N.Y.Y.C. in a semi-circle half way around the numerals and above as per the New York Herald of May 17, 1916, p. 13." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 11, 2012.)

"Built in 86 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $169/day, 870 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"Sail area 3416 sqft from untitled two-page rating-rule-related table handwritten (in ink) by N. G. Herreshoff with multiple dimensions for the most important Herreshoff-designed yachts. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. MRDE15, Folder [no #]. Undated (the most recent boat dates 1914/1915 and the table was probably prepared in preparation for NGH's sail area rating rule of 1914/1915)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. September 16, 2020.)

"Displacement 1169 cubic foot [= 74,816 lbs] from untitled two-page rating-rule-related table handwritten (in ink) by N. G. Herreshoff with multiple dimensions for the most important Herreshoff-designed yachts. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. MRDE15, Folder [no #]. Undated (the most recent boat dates 1914/1915 and the table was probably prepared in preparation for NGH's sail area rating rule of 1914/1915)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. September 16, 2020.)

"Displacement is about 74,000 lb. of which about 35,500 lb. is the lead ballast." (Source: McClave, Ed. "The Restoration of the HMCo 'New York Fifty' Spartan." In: Herreshoff Marine Museum (Publisher). Proceedings. The Classic Yacht Symposium 2010. Bristol, R.I. 2010, p. 149-158.)

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