HMCo #762s Nettle

"Oct[ober] 28 1914
No 744 & class [#744s, #745s, #746s, #747s, #748s, #749s, #750s, #751s, #752s, #753s, #754s, #755s, #756s, #757s, #758s, #759s, #760s, #761s, #762s, #765s].
Small keel sailing knockabout boats.
-> Scale of Model 1/10 size. Use 10" scale. <- (This applies to all following measurements of stem[?] & cross sections.)
Frame spaces 7 1/2" by common scale.
Timbers 13/16" sq[uare] by common scale.
Planking 7/16 cedar by common scale. (Deduct in making moulds 1 1/4".)
Deck 7/16 by common scale.
Sheer height given is top of deck.
Keel 1 1/8", 3/4" below rabbate.
Transom 5/8" by common scale.
Stem sided 1 5/8" by common scale.
Sheer strake (moulded) 7/8" by common scale.
[New page] #744 & Class. Bulls Eye [may be a later addition].
Top of lead to follow under side of main keel from 7 1/2 frame space (7 spaces + 3 3/4") to 2 1/4" aft of # 14 space. Then in straight line to a point 3/4" up from heel of sternpost.
Bottom of keel 3/4" below rabbate." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Penciled notes in Offset Booklet HH.6.146-6.] October 28, 1914. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"[We built] also the first lot of about twenty-five [fall and winter of 1914-15] of the Buzzards Bay Twelve and One-Half Footers." (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. 72-73.)

"[Construction contract for NETTLE, a Buzzards Bay 12 1/2, designed and built by Nathanael G. Herreshoff for Charles Francis Adams. Document includes demensions of boat, description of building materials, date of delivery, total cost, and payment schedule.]" (Source: Herreshoff Manurfacturing Company. [Contract for Nettle. In: Mystic Seaport Museum, G. W. Blunt White Library, Manuscripts Division, Call Number VFM 1550.] Bristol, R. I., 1915.)

"... The work at Herreshoff's of finishing the little craft of the two one-designed classes is rapidly being brought to a close. These boats of 12 and 22 feet waterline are to be delivered to their owners by May 15 [1915]. ... [The identity of the class of 22ft LWL boats is unclear.]" (Source: Anon. "Notes from the Week's Log." Boston Globe, April 11, 1915, p. 63.)

"There were twenty boats in the first batch of 12 1/2-footers; all were built the winter of 1914-1915, and they sold for $420 each. (These early 12 1/2s were fitted with rowing thwarts, metal tiller sockets, and stretched-out coaming ogees.) The full keels drawing only 2 1/2 feet made the boats suitable for reasonably shallow water, yet easier than centerboard boats to build. The jib-and-mainsail rig, as compared, say, to a single-sail cat rig, made the boats faster for their sail area and provided young sailors with an understanding of the sloop rig that they'd need later on for their adult sailing years.
The big, open cockpits gave the 12 1/2-footers a large-boat feel and enabled several persons besides the skipper to go sailing. With the narrow side decks, swamping under a press of sail was distinctly possible, and therefore a watertight buoyancy compartment was created underneath the forward deck by means of a bulkhead just forward of the mast. (A few 12 1/2-footers were built in 1939 with wider side decks and metal buoyancy tanks under the seats; these were known as Long Island Sound Bullseyes.) The sunken afterdeck served as a seat, perching the helmsman just enough higher than the passengers (who sat on the bench seats) so that he could see ovet their heads. A small storage locker was formed under the after-deck as well.
Before 1924, all 12 1/2-footers were gaff rigged; then a Marconi option became available, and in 1935 that rig could be purchased with the new and much-promoted 'wishboom rig and sail plan,' ...
..., notice the two vertical transom stiffeners and margin pieces, necessary in these early boats to reinforce their 5/8-inch-thick transoms (7/8-inch thickness, used subsequently, would make these pieces obsolete). ..." (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 79-80.)

"Nettle
BUZZARDS BAY 12-1/2-FOOT CLASS HULL #762
15' 10" x 5' 10" 1914
In concept, these popular day sailers are not unlike the earlier Newport fishing boat (1949.145) in that they do not have centerboards or after decks; the tiller penetrates the wineglass transom; the mast is held by a bail at the partners, and the side decks are unusually narrow.
Whether or not her designer, N. G. Herreshoff, was influenced by these local fishing boats with which he was intimately familiar is problematical, but there can be no doubt that his own Alerion [#718s], modeled two years earlier, inspired the shape of this boat's forebody. The combination of a hollow waterline and full foredeck almost always creates a lovely shape. It was a common one for many nineteenth-century small craft, but one which was abandoned when racing rules started to penalize long waterline lengths.
The 12 1/2s, as the class was usually called, were built in greater number (about 360) and over a longer time span (1914-43) than any other Herreshoff boat. After the first batch of boats, which included Nettle, a number of changes were made. For example, some later 12 1/2s had Marconi rigs, mahogany trim, plywood decks, and alternate cockpit arrangements. The 12 1/2s are also called Buzzards Bay Boys Boats, Doughdishes, and Bullseyes.
After World War II, when the Herreshoff yard was closing down, it first licensed the Quincy Adams yard to build 12 1/2-footers. After 51 boats, that contract was canceled and Cape Cod Shipbuilding took over the building rights, patterns, molds, etc., and went on to build about 30 more wooden 12 1/2s before switching to fiberglass in the early 1950s. Since then nearly 900 fiberglass Bullseyes have been sold by Cape Cod. That builder also produces a more traditional version, also in fiberglass but with wood trim, called the H-12. Edey & Duff's Doughdish is similar.
Nettle herself was purchased by Charles Francis Adams as a Christmas gift for his daughter, Catherine. Nearly 50 years later, after three generations learned to sail in her, Nettle was given to Mystic Seaport by her original owner.
STATUS: Restored 1975-77, approximately 85% original, excellent condition.
DONOR: Mrs. Henry S. Morgan
FURTHER READING: Blanchard, Fessenden S. The Sailboat Classes of North America. New York: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1968.
Bray, Maynard. "Herreshoff Legacies." Nautical Quarterly 37, Spring, 1987.
Bray, Maynard. "Restoration of 12 1/2 -footers." WoodenBoat 56 & 57, Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, 1984. Rebuilding by Steve Ballentine.
Bray, Maynard, and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine: WoodenBoat Publications, Inc., 1989.
Esterly, Diana. Early One-Design Sailboats. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1979. Comments, photos, plans.
Fulmer, Scott. "Restoration in Paradise." Shavings, Nov, 1991. The Center For Wooden Boats, Seattle.
Mendlowitz, Benjamin, and Joel White. Wood, Water and Light. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1988.
Yachts by Herreshoff. Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., Bristol, Rhode Island: Privately printed, ca. 1935. Contains advertising material on the 12 1/2s.
ACCESSION NO. 1963.595 Study plans for 1963.595 are available from Mystic Seaport's Watercraft Plans Collection." (Source: Bray, Maynard with Benjamin A. G. Fuller and Peter T. Vermilya. Mystic Seaport Watercraft. Mystic, Connecticut, 2001, p. 70-71.)

"N/A"

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #762s Nettle even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Bray, Maynard. "Restoration of 12 1/2 Footers. Part I." Wooden Boat #56, January/February 1984, p. 93-101. (1,293 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Maynard Bray (text). Detailed Buzzards Bay 12 1/2 restoration step by step as performed by the Ballentine shop. Part I. Stem restoration, transom and frame replacement.
• Bray, Maynard. "Restoration of 12 1/2 Footers. Part II." Wooden Boat #57, March/April 1984, p. 93-100. (1,036 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Maynard Bray (text). Detailed Buzzards Bay 12 1/2 restoration step by step as performed by the Ballentine shop. Part II. Keel timber and coamings replacement.
• Bray, Maynard (with photos by Benjamin Mendlowitz). "12 1/2 Footers." Nautical Quarterly, no. 37, Spring 1987, p. 47. (608 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Maynard Bray (text), Benjamin Mendlowitz (photos). Short class portrait. Part of the larger article "Herreshoff Legacies."
• Nagy, Steve. "The Herreshoff 12 1/2 Footer. Evolution Of The Class." In: Herreshoff Marine Museum (publ.). Proceedings. The 6th Classic Yacht Symposium. May 2-3, 2014. Bristol, RI, 2014, p. 1-23. (4,425 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Copyright holder: Steve Nagy / Herreshoff Marine Museum. Short class history of the 12 1/2 as built by HMCo, Quincy Adams, Cape Cod Shipbuilding and others. Different models: Gaff, marconi, wishboom, Fishers Island. Detailed description of changes in configuration and equipment as boats were built over time. Identification guide for 12 1/2s missing their builder's plate. Photos. Original promotional material.

• Nettle (HMCo-made index card)
• Nettle (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: Nettie [sic, i.e. Nettle?]
Type: J & M
Length: 12'6"
Owner: Adams, C. F.

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

• Nettle
• 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: Nettie
Type: 12 1/2'-footer
Owner: Charles Francis Adams
Row No.: 474

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: Nov.
Day: 14
Year: 1914
E/P/S: S
No.: 0762
Name: Nettle
OA: 15' 6"
LW: 12' 6"
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead O.
Amount: $420.00
Notes Constr. Record: Buzards [sic] Bay Class
Notes Bray: M.S.
Last Name: Adams
First Name: C. 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.

Hull No.: 762
Contract Date: 1914-11-14
Org. Name: Nettle
Org. Owner: C.F. Adams
Org. Rig: J&M
Current Rig: Gaff
Home Port: Mystic
Current Name: Nettle
Current Owner: Mystic Seaport
Sheer-strake: Oak
Restored By: Mystic Seaport
Note: Original owner Charles Francis Adams of Boston, Marblehead, Cohasset, and Concord was the skipper of Resolute in 1914 and 1920, and the skipper of Yankee in 1930 and 1934. This boat is now on display at Mystic Seaport.

Source: Nagy, Steve. "The Herreshoff 12 1/2 Footer Registry." Version 2.0. August 2007. (http://h12.orrsford.com/H12_Registry_Ver_2-0.pdf, last visit May 23, 2008.)

"Nettle's owner Charles Francis Adams III (the 'Deacon', who until the death in 1915 of his namesake uncle Charles Francis Adams Jr. signed his name as Charles Francis Adams 2d) was the son of John Quincy Adams 2d who in 1875 had ordered #189501es Dandelion." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. April 23, 2018.)

"Sail area approximately 140 square feet by rule." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Yachts by Herreshoff. The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company: Designers and Builders of Sailing and Power Craft since 1861. Bristol, Rhode Island, 1937.)

"Displacement to waterline 24.6 cuft. = 1575 lbs." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. [Design notes.] October 27, 1914.)

"Displacement 24.6 cu.ft. [= 1575 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.)

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