HMCo #737s Comet

"[1914-07-21] Tue 21: ... 29' cruiser [#737s Comet] for C. Vanderbilt launched & rigged." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1914. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"... The Newport 29 Class boats are scaled up by the proportion 4/3 from the ALERION [#718s] size. Since that long ago time, there has been speculation as to whether Npt. 29s are ALERIONS or SADIES [#732s]. Both aficionados and builders of copies and sailors have adamantly stated one way or the other; none of them are entirely correct. Notes in pencil on the back of my original ALERION design model and reference to Captain Nat’s design notes solve the riddle (with thanks to John Palmieri). The actual fact is that Capt. Nat did apply the scale of 16in. to the foot for the #727 Class instead of 12in. to the foot, making the Newport 29 boats 4/3 larger than the original ALERION III underbody. He again altered the ALERION lines by bow extension, more forward flair, plus greater on-deck beam amidships and aft. His design notes reveal that these changes were along the lines of the thinking for the earlier SADIE changes but not necessarily scaled exactly the same as for SADIE. Of course, the geometry of the original keel-centerboard boats was modified to a deeper full keel without centerboard and with completely outside low ballast. Also Capt. Nat shortened the stern overhangs of the four Newport 29 boats. It is unclear why he did that, but the result seems not to have harmed the dynamic racing successes of those boats. ..." (Source: Herreshoff, Halsey C. "The 2014 CYS Commemorates the Great Herreshoff year of 1914." In: Herreshoff Marine Museum (publ.). Proceedings. The 6th Classic Yacht Symposium. May 2- 3, 2014. Bristol, RI, 2014, p. 5.)

"April 13, 1914
My dear Nat:-
Would you please to let me know the cost of the thirty footers [Newport 29s #727s DOLPHIN and #728s MISCHIEF] you are building for Jennings, also when a new boat [#737s COMET] could be delivered, if ordered. I practically have the order so write for details. This boat will be for Commodore Vanderbilt's son, Nealy.
Sincerely, [G A Cormack]
[PS:] Have the boats fair cabin accomodations. G.A.C. [Incl NGH reply note:] Ans[wered] 14th [of April]. Also letter for office ($4200. Del[ivery] July 15.)" (Source: Cormack, George A. [Letter to N. G. Herreshoff.] Herreshoff Marine Museum Correspondence, Folder 5 (new), 96-100 (old). Access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff. April 13, 1914.)

"... The Conanicut Yacht Club is holding its regular weekly races Friday afternoons, and the coming Friday [August 7, 1914] it is expeceted the Thelema, Mr. Charles Wharton's 21-footer, will be in racing against the Quakeress and Amarita. ... It is possible, also, that the two Newport Herreshoff specials [#728s Mischief and #727s Dolphin], owned by Messrs. Auchincloss and Jennings, will take part at this race. A third one of this class [#737s Comet] has been completed at Herreshoff's for young Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Captain George Barr, one of the famous family, has charge. The third craft is one frame, 12 inches, longer aft than the others and this gives her a finer look." (Source: Anon. "Jamestown. Annual Water Sports to Take Place on the Morning of August 20." Newport Daily News, August 5, 1914, p. 8.)

"... Plans for the new 40-foot class have been completed by Herreshoff, and the Bristol builder is ready to go ahead to build 15. The new racers, which probably will be known as the O class, are along the lines of Cornelius Vanderbilt's Comet. They are to be composite build and will have knockabout rig. The committee arranging matters of the class is composed of Commodore George F. Baker Jr., W. Walter Duncan, George A. Cormack, George Nichols and Tarrant Putnam." (Source: Anon. "Notes from the Week's Log." Boston Globe, September 19, 1915, p. 49.)

"... Comet [#737s], the 29-foot waterline Herreshoff knockabout, sister boat to the Dolphin [#727s], recently purchased by Arthur Adams, which was under charter to Mr Adams all of last season, won the race of the second division of the handicap class in the regatta of the Port Washington Yacht Club, Saturday, July 8 [1922], sailed by her owner, Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr. ..." (Source: Anon. "Notes From The Week's Log." Boston Globe, July 16, 1922, p. 60.)

"Many yachts are being laid up at the Herreshoff Company's yards at Walker's Cove. Among them is the sloop yacht Comet [#737s], owned by I. B. Merriman, Jr., which is housed in the building that has been occupied by the cup defender Resolute [#725s]. In the same building is the yacht Prestige [#1058s]; also, one of the sloops of the Fisher's Island 31-footers, a couple of power boats. ..." (Source: Anon. "Many Yachts Being Laid Up For Winter. Herreshoff Company and S. C. Wardwell Busy Storing Boats At the Yards in This Town." Bristol Phoenix, October 5, 1928, p. 1.)

"1923. ... I. B. Merriman bought the Herreshoff 36-foot overall sloop Comet [#737s] from Cornelius Vanderbilt, sold her shortly after and bought the N. Y. 50 Barbara [#717s]. ..." (Source: Davis, Jeff. Yachting in Narragansett Bay. Providence, 1946, p. 17.)

"The Newport 29-footers have occasionally been hailed as the best all-around design ever created by NGH or any other designer; certainly it is one of the most beautiful. Their reputation for speed comes largely from the hundreds of races won by Dolphin [#727s], the first boat of the class, and a boat that seems even today to be unbeatable in any kind of competition; she has proven herself a winner over the many decades she's been campaigned by the Lockwood family. Although Mischief [#728s] has not sailed as many races, she too has proven to be a formidable competitor. As of this writing, both Dolphin and Mischief still sail and have long carried Marconi rigs.
Comet [#737s] was the third boat of this class that was built for the 1914 sailing season, and she was stretched out aft about 7 inches for a less abrupt ending at the transom. (Comet was lost in the hurricane of 1938.) The Herreshoff Mfg. Co. built a fourth Newport 29-footer in 1926, Paddy [#999s], also with the added length of Comet; as of this writing, she is still going strong in Cape Cod waters as Tiana.
The Newport 29s stand out as cruisers and daysailers as well as racers. They are just big enough for four berths, a galley, and an enclosed toilet room. Under the self-bailing cockpit there is space for an auxiliary engine. The rig is small enough to be easily handled, and the hulls are seakindly and of moderate draft --- a far cry indeed from the Herreshoff Mfg. Co. one-designs of 1897 with nearly the same name. Those boats, the Newport 30s ..., were low-sided, high-strung fin-keelers that were strictly for 'round-the-buoy racing.
One might think that NGH worked especially hard to create such an outstanding design as the Newport 29-footers, but that was apparently not the case at all. He simply used the half model he'd made for the building of his own Alerion and changed its scale so the new design would be about a third larger than the old, then added a deeper ballast keel for sufficient lateral plane without a centerboard. (He also worked minor alterations in bow profile and beam that were incorporated into Alerion's near-sister Sadie [#732s].) One can't help speculating how many more of these magnificent designs NGH would have come up with had he lived into the family racer/ cruiser era of the last half-century, and been able to concentrate on that type." (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 82.)

"N/A"

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled note with calculations, comparing ratings and time allowances for PUCK [#465s] and 29 foot Newport Class [#727s, #728s, #737s]." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Calculations. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_03570. Folder [no #]. No date (1914 or later).)
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"[Item Transcription:] Would you please to let me know the cost of the thirty footers [Newport 29s #727s DOLPHIN and #728s MISCHIEF] you are building for Jennings, also when a new boat [#737s COMET] could be delivered, if ordered. I practically have the order so write for details. This boat will be for Commodore Vanderbilt's son, Nealy.
Sincerely, ...
[PS:] Have the boats fair cabin accomodations. G.A.C. [Incl NGH reply note:] Ans[wered] 14th [of April]. Also letter for office ($4200. Del[ivery] July 15.)" (Source: Cormack, George A. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_26030. Subject Files, Folder 5, formerly 96-100. 1914-04-13.)
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"[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:] Photo, apparently taken and sent by Henry C. White, of a mooring field with, among other boats, #737s COMET (at left) and #1002s AIDA ex-GEE WHIZ (to her right), titled on verso 'Our harbor at Waterford. Aida and Comet at moorings'." (Source: White, Henry C. (creator). Photographs. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_36942. Subject Files, Folder [no #]. ca1937s.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #737s Comet even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Comet (HMCo-made index card)
• Comet (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: Comet
Type: J & M
Length: 29'
Owner: Vanderbilt, C.

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

• Comet
• 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: Comet
Type: 29' sloop
Owner: Cornelius Vanderbilt
Year: 1914
Row No.: 127

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: Apr.
Day: 20
Year: 1913 [sic, i.e. 1914]
E/P/S: S
No.: 0737
Name: Comet
LW: 29'
B: 10' 6"
D: 5' 4"
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead O.
Amount: $4,200.00n
Last Name: Vanderbilt
First Name: C

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.

"[See also:] Miscellaneous Items. 1901-1946. Business correspondence concerning COMET (Sloop); 1913-1944 (66 pieces)." (Source: Henry C. White Collection (Coll. 342, Series 2, Box 2, Folder 3), Manuscripts Collection, G. W. Blunt White Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc.)

"#737s Comet and #999s Paddy were built for Cornelius Vanderbilt III and his nephew William H. Vanderbilt." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. April 15, 2014.)

"LOA measured from HH.5.05590 (076-152) Construction Plan Newport 29' Cruising Class (1926-04-26). #737s Comet and #999s Paddy were 14" longer than #727s Dolphin and #728s Mischief as measured on construction plan." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. April 15, 2014.)

"Built in 92 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $46/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"Sail area main 569sqft plus jib 159sqft = 728sqft total as per notes on sail plan 130-138." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. April 15, 2014.)

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