HMCo #742s Katoura Jr.

"[1915-07-06] Tue 6: Fine day with fresh W wind, moderating in PM. ... Took a sail with Mr. & Mrs Tod in their 12-1/2' boat [probably #742s Katoura Jr.] in p.m." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1915. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"Bristol, R.I.
Oct. 10, 1914
Dear Bob,
I have your interesting letter of yesterday. I was to write you yesterday but somehow missed it.
I have made a model [Model 716] for the little boats [12 1/2-footer] in which I got quite interested. But you are not 'in it' as to beam! After I got at it I decided there would be an advantage in having considerable flair to the topsides and have kept the extreme breadth at 6 feet.
The model looks very nice and I am well pleased with it, and I think you will be. I have taken more draft, however, 30in, and I don’t think it any too much. Of course it can be reduced if really necessary, but it would take away from the weatherliness of the boat.
I have made another design [Model 210] for Mr. Tod [#742s Katoura Jr], [of] much lighter displacement to be better carried on his davits.
I will get this thing sketched out in a few days. George Nichols was here Thursday talking about a class for his club. ..." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Letter to Emmons, Robert W. Herreshoff Marine Museum Correspondence, Folder 36 (new), 191 (old). Access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff. October 10, 1914.)

"No. 742.
Oct[ober] 1914.
Sailing Dinghy for Katoura [#742s]
Frame spaces 8".
Timbers 3/4 sq.
Planking 7/16" if smooth, 3/8" if lapped. (Deduct in making moulds 1 3/16".)
Deck 3/8" + canvas, set abouve sheer height.
Keel 1 3/8", 7/8" rabbate 1/2" below.
Transome 1/2" f teak, 5/8" if butternut.
Stem sided 1 1/2".
Sheer strake moulded 13/16." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Pencilled note in Offset Booklet HH.6.146.] Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"... surely the lapstrake daysailer Katoura jr. [#742s], a davit boat of almost identical dimensions and similar layout built for Robert E. Tod's new schooner, Katoura [#722s], had something to do with this inspired design [of the Buzzards Bay 12 1/2-footer], perhaps even serving as the prototype. ..." (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 78.)

"N/A"

"[Item Transcription:] Bristol, R.I.
Oct. 10, 1914
Dear Bob,
I have your interesting letter of yesterday. I was to write you yesterday but somehow missed it.
I have made a model [Model 716] for the little boats [12 1/2ft Class #744s] in which I got quite interested. But you are not 'in it' as to beam! After I got at it I decided there would be an advantage in having considerable flair to the topsides and have kept the extreme breadth at 6 feet.
The model looks very nice and I am well pleased with it, and I think you will be. I have taken more draft, however, 30in, and I don’t think it any too much. Of course it can be reduced if really necessary, but it would take away from the weatherliness of the boat.
I have made another design [Model 210] for Mr. Tod [#742s Katoura Jr], [of] much lighter displacement to be better carried on his davits.
I will get this thing sketched out in a few days. George Nichols was here Thursday talking about a class for his club. [These were precursory talks about what would become the Seawanhaka Coringthian Yacht Club's Fish Class (#788s) that was eventually built in 1916.]
John had quite a serious attack on Thursday but is much better now." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Letter to Emmons, Robert W. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_12320. Correspondence, Folder 36, formerly 191. 1914-10-10.)
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"[Item Description:] Two sets of penciled pantograph hull sections and calculations titled 'Sailing Dinghy for Katoura [#742s]. scale 1/12. 12ft 9in w.l. Oct 12, 1914'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_00620. Folder [no #]. 1914-10-12.)
①

"[Item Description:] Offset booklets for FI-23 #1212s class, #742s KATOURA Jr., Fish Class #788s, Bulls Eye #744s Class, #1225s CRUSADER. (RESTRICTED ACCESS - see curator)." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.147. Documents. Box HAFH.6.5B, Folder Cape Cod Shipbuilding. No date.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #742s Katoura Jr. even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Katoura Jr (HMCo-made index card)
• Katoura Jr (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: Katoura Jr.
Type: J & M
Length: 12'8"
Owner: Tod, R. E.

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

• Katoura Jr
• 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: Katoura, Jr.
Type: 12' 8" tender for "Katoura"
Owner: Robert E. Tod
Row No.: 336

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: Oct.
Day: 05
Year: 1914
E/P/S: S
No.: 0742
Name: Katoura Jr.
OA: 15' 6
LW: 12' 8"
B: 6'
D: 2' 6"
Rig: J & M
CB: y
Last Name: Tod
First Name: R. E.

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.

"Katoura Jr. had a detachable fin keel with 263lbs of lead as per plan and notes in NGH design record and on model, but note that construction record states she had a centerboard and no ballast." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 2, 2008.)

"Keel - white oak 1 3/8" thick. Stem - white oak 1 1/2" thick. Stern - if teak 1/2", if butternut 5/8". Timbers white oak 3/4" sq. Floor timbers - white oak 3/4" thick. Planking cedar lapped 3/8". Clamp - Origon[sic] Pine 1 1/8" x 1 1/8". Deck beams - white oak or ash 1/2" x 1 1/8". Crown - about 3" in 6'. Deck - 3/8" ceder[sic] + single, covered with canvass. 263 lbs lead +/- on removable fin keel. To be held to hull by 3 5/8" bolts with cap nuts. One ordinary rudder hanging near bottom. One pair of 7 1/2' or 8' oars to stow away under thwats[sic] [as per notes on drawing 76-117]." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. November 3, 2017.)

"Lapstrake dinghy." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. November 30, 2017."

Sail area from note on sail plan 130-123 (94.0+21.6).

"Total displacement to w. l. 16.04 cuft = 1028 lbs." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Sailing Dinghy for Katoura." [Design Notes.] October 10, 1914.)

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