HMCo #770s King Fisher

"[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.)

"Quest, Herreshoff 12 1/2 Sloop, 1915
Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., Bristol,
Rhode Island
Gift of Mrs. Willis D. Wood
In the early 20th century, a booming economy put disposable income and leisure time in the hands of the growing middle class, and sailing became a popular form of recreation. Magazines and advertising helped spread the sport's popularity.
The 12 1/2 class is still a sought-after sailboat-not only because of its famous designer, but because it is easy to sail and seaworthy in even the worst conditions.
Quest was sailed by the donor on Long Island Sound.
(1975.1, BU; ID 10; Culture; International Small Craft Center, 5/2003)
VESSEL INFORMATION
BOAT NAME: QUEST HERRESHOFF 12-1/2 SLOOP
BOAT BUILT: 1915
BOAT BUILDER: HERRESHOFF MANUFACTURING CO.
BUILDER LOCATION: BRISTOL, RHODE ISLAND
VESSEL DIMENSIONS: 15-8-0 (length OA), 5-10-0 (beam)
LABEL COPY: QUEST
An H-12-1/2 Sailboat from Bristol, R.I.
Built of wood, carvel-planked, with round bottom, deep keel, and outboard rudder, marconi-rigged. She was originally gaff-rigged, with wooden mast hoops, and the sails were laced onto the boom and a jib-boom
Designer and builder, N.G. Herreshoff of Bristol, R.I., c. 1915.
LOA 15'6" BEAM 5'10" DRAFT 2'5"
Gift of Mrs. Willis D. Wood, New York City, 1974
75.1
LABEL COPY:
QUEST, AN H-12-1/2 SAILBOAT FROM BRISTOL, RHODE ISLAND, c. 1915.
- Designer and builder N.G. Herreshoff of Bristol, Rhode Island.
- Built of Wood, carvel-planked, with round bottom, deep keel, and outboard rudder. Now marconi-rigged, she was originally gaff-rigged, with wooden mast hoops, and sails laced onto the boom and jib-boom.
LOA 15'6" BEAM 5'10" DRAFT 2'5"
- In 1914, Robert Emmons of Monument Beach on Cape Cod, along with a few friends, placed an order with Nat Herreshoff for a group of small, seaworthy sailboats. The result was the Herreshoff 12-1/2 (The waterline length), which many sailors consider the finest family boat ever developed. Here w a boat that could be handled by everyone from the young skipper to grandma, surprisingly fast, and designed especially for buzzards bay where "the seas are steep and short, piled up by perennial sou'wester which blows almost daily during the yachting season."
"QUEST" was purchased in August 1915 for $475.00, by William J. Matheson, former commodore of the New York Yacht Club, for his daughter Anna (Mrs. Willis D. Wood). The boat was active for 56 years, until Mrs. Wood was 89 years old. Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, friends, and even the family dogs enjoyed sail outings on "QUEST", with Mrs. Wood as skipper.
GIFT OF MRS. WILLIS D. WOOD, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 1974
75.1
INVENTORY:
1) Main jib sail;
2) jib sail
3) mast
4) boom
5) rudder
6) tiller
7) seat
8) seat
9) seat
10)seat
11) floor board
12) floor board
13) floor board
14) plank
15) hatch cover
16) transom parts
17) hatch flooring
There are seventeen (17) component parts. These items are associated with this boat. Please see component parts supplemental record for additional information.
Additional Dimensions
OBJECT SIZE: 15'8" (length) x 5'10" (beam) x 2'5" (draft)
Accession Number 1975.0001.000001. [Note: The HMCo Construction Record indicates that this boat was built as King Fisher for August Belmont, Jr. She was possibly later sold to William J. Matheson and renamed Quest.]" (Source: Mariners' Museum. https://catalogs.marinersmuseum.org/object/CL6974, retrieved October 15, 2021.)

• 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.

• King Fisher (HMCo-made index card)
• King Fisher (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.

Month: Aug.
Day: 16
Year: 1915
E/P/S: S
No.: 0770
Name: Kingfisher
LW: 12 1/2'
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead O.
Amount: 550.00
Last Name: Belmont, Jr.
First Name: A.

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.: 770
Contract Date: 1915-08-16
Org. Name: King Fisher
Org. Owner: August Belmont Jr.
Org. Rig: J&M
Home Port: Newport News, VA
Current Name: Quest
Current Owner: The Mariner's Museum
Owner Since: 1975
Note: This boat went to the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club in New York.

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.)

"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.