HMCo #851s Monsoon

"... in some ways the most interesting product of 1919 was the one-design class of 'S' boats, which came out early that spring.
While there were few of them built the first year, perhaps twenty, the company continued building them off and on for the next eight or nine years so that eventually there were perhaps a hundred and fifty or more of them, and besides being good little cruisers they have furnished active racing up to the present time in widely separated districts. If I remember right these little yachts cost less than two thousand dollars the first few years, so they have been a good investment for some owners for they were built well enough to last for years if handled carefully. Perhaps the 'S' boats would even have been more popular if they had been a little better looking but that defect should not be wholly blamed on Captain Nat for it was the request of the original sponsors of the class that they have short overhangs and full bows and sterns. This feature has made them rather queer-looking Universal Rule boats, and consequently they are not particularly fast for their rating. But there have been few all-around better boats for afternoon sailing, cruising, and racing, and perhaps also the last one-design class that was somewhat comfortable." (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. 306.)

"... There are now only three of three S class Marconi rigged racing sloops at Herreshoff's, the rest having been taken to Marblehead for racing this Summer. ..." (Source: Anon. "Notes from the Week's Log." Boston Globe, June 20, 1920, p. 51.)

"... This year the [Herreshoff] plant is very busy. Not only has the Resolute been overhauled, fitted with new spars and commissioned there, which in itself is a big task, but many other power and sailing craft have been built. It is a long time since Herreshoflf's was so busy and much of this success must be credited to A. Loring Swasey, who is the vice-president of the company. Mr. Swasey is not only a designer of repute but he is a practical constructor of considerable experience and a very capable business manager. This Spring Captain Nat. Herreshoff has been far from well. He contracted a heavy cold on his return from Bermuda and at one time pneumonia was feared. James Swan is the Superintendent of the plant. He is one of the most capable steel constructors in the country and the work now in progress in the shops shows his skill. ...
A fleet of small sloops to measure in Class S have been built. Eleven of these are for members of the Eastern Y. C. and others are for members of the Seawanhaka-Corinthian and New Haven Yacht Clubs. These boats are different in model from Herreshoff's recent yachts, and when afloat they very much resemble the famous Cock Robin except that the new boats have Marconi masts of considerable but not excessive lengths. Some of these boats have been tried and showed up well. A picture herewith shows one under sail. There is going to be much friendly rivalry between the owners of these S yachts and the owners of the Victory Class. The Victory yachts rate about a foot more than the Herreshoff boats, measuring 17.93 feet while the S boats rate under 17 feet. One Victory yacht is being built at Graves Yard at Marblehead and is fitted with a curved Marconi spar. Her owner is very keen about meeting the S boats during the season. ..." (Source: Anon. "Yacht Building Yards Very Busy. Many New Vessels at Herreshoffs." Rudder, June 1920, p. 14)

"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections titled 'Design for R Class. Scale 3/4in. 34 1/2ft o.a. 24.0 w.l. 7ft beam. 3ft draft. Centerboard. Sept 1, 1919'. With note '4th trial'. With calculations arriving at a total displacement of 119cuft = 7620lbs and a wetted surface of 141sqft. With further note (which may have been added after September 1, 1919) 'For S Class. Length reduced to 11/12th. Displ. - 11/12 [*] 119 = 109 - 4.78^3. L = 22.32. Rating = 18. ... Sailarea = 408. Wetted surface 11/12 [*] 159 = 146[sqft]. If length reduced to 9/10 = 21.6 wll. Displ. 107.2[cuft] = 4.75^3. L = 21.9. Rating = ... . Sail area 418[sqft]. Wetted surface = 143[sqft]. ... Make model to be 31.5[ft] o.a. 22[ft] w.l. 21[ft] q.b.l. ... 7500lbs displ. 2500 hull & rig. 5000 ballast'. On verso two more sets of penciled pantograph sections titled '1st trial R-class' and '2nd trial R class', again with rating and sisplacement calculations. (It thus appears as if NGH began the design for the S-Class [#828s, #830s, #831s, #832s, #833s, #834s, #835s, #836s, #837s, #838s, #844s, #845s, #846s, #849s, #850s, #851s] by extrapolating from an unbuilt centerboard R-boat before he carved the S-boat model.)" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_06960. Folder [no #]. 1919-09-01.)
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"[Item Description:] Blueprint sailplan with profile, midship section and plan view titled 'One Design S Class [#828s, #830s, #831s, #832s, #833s, #834s, #835s, #836s, #837s, #838s, #844s, #845s, #846s, #849s, #850s, #851s] Yacht. For Racing and Cruising. By N.G. Herreshoff - Herreshoff Mfg Co., Inc. Scale 1/2in. Oct. 1919. O.a. 27 1/2ft. Wl 20 1/2ft. beam 7ft. Draft 4ft 4in'." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Blueprint. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Acc. 2004.0001.0004. WRDT08, Folder 1, formerly MRDE08. 1919-10.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections on 'Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Bristol, R.I., John B. Herreshoff Prest. & Treas., N.G. Herreshoff, Supt., C.W. Young, Sec'y' stationery. Titled 'S One Design Class [#828s, #830s, #831s, #832s, #833s, #834s, #835s, #836s, #837s, #838s, #844s, #845s, #846s, #849s, #850s, #851s]. 20.5[ft] w.l. Scale 1/12. Oct[ober] 30, 1919. 3rd trial'. With list of scantlings derived by using NGH's Rules for Wooden Yachts. With calculations arriving at a displacement of 94.7cuft = 6060lbs, a wetted surface of 153[sqft], a rating of 17[ft], and 'sail area [limit?]' of 441[sqft]. On verso two more sets of penciled pantograph hull sections titled 'S Class. 20.5ft w.l. Oct[ober] 30, 1919'. One set of sections is marked '1st trial' with few other calculations, the other is marked '2nd trial' and is accompanied by calculations arriving at a total displacement of 101cuft [= 6464lbs]." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_04940. Folder [no #]. 1919-10-30.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections on verso of 'Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Bristol, R.I., John B. Herreshoff Prest. & Treas., N.G. Herreshoff, Supt., C.W. Young, Sec'y' stationery. Titled '#828 Class. S rating [#828s, #830s, #831s, #832s, #833s, #834s, #835s, #836s, #837s, #838s, #844s, #845s, #846s, #849s, #850s, #851s]. Scale 1in. 20ft 6in l.w.l. 19ft 7in q.b.l.' and marked in top margin (possibly at some later time) '1920'. With calculations arriving at a displacement of 94.4cuft = 6030lbs and a wetted surface of 153.5[sqft]. (Though dated '1920' in upper margin (possibly at some later time), these sections were probably drawn on or right after October 30, 1919, the day that NGH had drawn the third trial of these sections.)" (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_05070. Folder [no #]. 1919-10-30 or 1919-10-31 ?.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph lead sections titled 'Lead for 828 Class [#828s, #830s, #831s, #832s, #833s, #834s, #835s, #836s, #837s, #838s, #844s, #845s, #846s, #849s, #850s, #851s] 20 1/2 wl. Leg-o-mutton Knockabouts for S class. 1/4 size. Nov[ember] 13 1919'. With calculations and 'Note --- boats trimmed by the stern and 2nd year lot [#852s, #853s, #855s, #856s, #857s, #858s, #859s, #864s] lead to be moved forward 3in. N.G.H. Sept[ember] 12, 1920'. " (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Lead Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_08090. Folder [no #]. 1919-11-13.)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections with tracing marks titled 'For plotting cross sections on drawing of #828 Class [#828s, #830s, #831s, #832s, #833s, #834s, #835s, #836s, #837s, #838s, #844s, #845s, #846s, #849s, #850s, #851s]. Nov[ember] 15, 1919'. Drawn in too parts as separate forward and aft sections." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_05130. Folder [no #]. 1919-11-15.)
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"[Item Description:] we have now orders for eleven 20 footers [S Class] and six 12 1/2 footers, with prospect of two more 12 1/2 and probably two or three more 20's, Charlie Adams has about decided to order a 20 footer [#851s MONSOON] for use when the Cup season is over, have located a receiving ship in the Navy Yard, Boston, which if we can get same from the Navy Dept for a tender for #725s RESOLUTE, am taking it up with Franklin Roosevelt now, canvas for RESOLUTE, expect to start on RESOLUTE's new mast next week, have two-thirds of the 20 footers masts done, launching the Tucker schooner [#827s OHONKARA] tomorrow although the weather is rotten and ice had to be cut out of the slip to make space for her, have a problem for you to work out, device that would enable us to haul out head of sail on gaff while under way, have never seen a problem yet put up to you which you could not solve" (Source: Emmons, Robert W. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_26490. Subject Files, Folder 6, formerly 90-95. 1920-01-28.)
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"[Item Description:] Charlie [Adams] and I spent Saturday in Bristol, beautiful day, but bitterly cold, the going on account of snow and ice very bad, we were, however, able to step the mast and hoist the sail on one of the little S boats [S-Class] on the dock, but as the Bay is frozen solid, no chance to put the boat in the water as yet, but think they all need a small head board in mainsail, say 6in deep and corresponding width, his further criticism of the sails was that the cotton luff rope was too light considering the winch put in to hoist the sail with and on which heavy purchase can be obtained, also, the Wamsutta 8 oz. out of which these sails are made is really too light [sic; too light? Not too heavy?], but as all the boats are going to be rigged alike, it does not make so much difference, it hardly pans out 6 oz. in weight, when it really should be 7 oz. according to Charlie, so much for the little S boats, Ralph Ellis has ordered one [#850s ELLEN] and Charlie says he is going to [#851s MONSOON], this will make 15 or 16 [S boats], topsail yard for #725s RESOLUTE is finished, camber in topsail, Sidney will prepare plan, no tender yet for RESOLUTE, mast will be made of 12 not 10 staves, RESOLUTE ballast for summer racing, George Nichols has decided to lengthen VANITIE's mast, still have hopes coming to Bermuda, new canvas for RESOLUTE sails has arrived, HMCo financial figures will arrive within a week and show a small loss incurred last year, PS: have decided with Charlie Adams to lengthen RESOLUTE's new mast 3ft" (Source: Emmons, Robert W. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_26790. Subject Files, Folder 7, formerly 90-95. 1920-03-01.)
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"[Item Description:] Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Inc. Tentative Financial Statements for the Year Ended December 31, 1920. Tentative Comparative Balance sheet as at December 31, 1920 and 1919. Tentative Condensed Statement of Profit and Loss for Year Ended December 31, 1920. Including detailed profitabilty statements for several contracts including #367p Launch for St. Y. CORSAIR III for J.P. Morgan [loss of $20.71], #372p VASANTA for G. M. Pynchon [loss of $2,362.72], #373p ADOLAR for August Heckscher [loss of $1,277.95], #374p ALERT for Charles A. Stone [loss of $17,652.54], #375p PETUNIA for Henry L. Tiffany [loss of $2,122.67], #376p ESLOMA for William H. Vandervoort [loss of $5,244.00], #827s OHONKARA for Carll Tucker [profit of $3,257.44], 16 S-Boats [#850s ELLEN, #828s GOB, #851s MONSOON, #830s SPINSTER, #831s PAPOOSE, #832s WOODCHUCK, #833s CHEERIO, #834s WIDGEON, #835s KAJEE, #836s DAPHNIA, #837s DOODAH, #838s TEATICKET, #844s VANT, #845s SWALLOW, #846s FANO, #849s CIMA: loss of $7,548.16 (i.e. $471.76 per boat on a sales price of $2,450)], 8 Buzzards Bay Boats 12 1/2s [#829s FALCON, #839s SHELDRAKE, #840s OPITSAH, #841s MISTRAL II, #842s JABBERWOCK, #843s BULLRUSH, #847s PENGUIN, #848s DOODLE BUG: loss of $819.48], 4 small boats for yacht Edgar Palmer [GUINEVERE #192005es, #192003ep, #192004ep, #192004es: loss of $3,839.25]. [These documents found / filed with 'Tentative Financial Statements for the Period from January 1, 1923 to June 27, 1923.']" (Source: Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_50660. Financial Statement. Subject Files, Folder [no #], formerly 124?. No date (after 1920-12-31).)
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"[Item Description:] am enclosing [HMCo] profit and loss statement for 1920, will analyse Palmer contract [#192003ep, #192004ep, #192004es], 'The showing certainly is discouraging, and the heavy loss on the Stone boat [#374p ALERT] shows what dawdling and not completing a contract on time will do. Also, I am surprised to see what a heavy loss we made on the S boats [#828s, #830s, #831s, #832s, #833s, #834s, #835s, #836s, #837s, #838s, #844s, #845s, #846s, #849s, #850s, #851s]'. [Incl envelope.]" (Source: Emmons, Robert W. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_59030. Unidentif. / Non-Cataloged, Folder [no #], formerly 254?. 1921-01-14.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #851s Monsoon even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Benfield, James W. "Reviving the 'S' Class." Yachting, May 1945, p. 56-57, 104. (3,516 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. How the Western Long Island Sound S-class fleet was built with a deliberate strategy.
• Upham, Kenneth B. History and Register of the S-Boat. Privately printed, no place, 1994. (13,553 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. The definitive source of info on the S-class, but unfortunately current only up to its date of publication in 1994. History of the class and its various fleets, technical comments, detailed vessel-by-vessel provenance, owner and name indices.
• Bray, Maynard and Claas van der Linde. "The Origins of the S-Boat. A Remarkable Herreshoff One-Design." Wooden Boat #267, March/April 2019, p. 74-79. (1,201 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. A short history of how the S-Class came about, including new insights from recent research of original Herreshoff documents. With photos and reproductions of the original construction and sail plans.
• Silken, Alan (text). Silken, Cory (photos). "Setting Sail in America. The Remarkable Story of Herreshoff S Class Sailboats." Seapoint Books, Brooklin, ME.
  Appreciation of the S-Class, history of the design and local fleets, portraits of surviving S-boats and a catalogue of all S-boats
• Silken, Alan (text). Silken, Cory (photos). "A Century of S-Boats. The Enduring Appeal of a Classic Herreshoff One-Design." Wooden Boat #267, March/April 2019, p. 80-85. (1,510 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Appreciation of the S-Class and a history of the fleets in Narragansett Bay, Quisset and Long Island and a summary of the leading S-boat restorers.
• van der Linde, Claas. [No title. Note about S-Class Weight Discrepancies.] March 11, 2022. (11 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Claas van der Linde. Note about discrepancies in published and unpublished sources of displacement of S-class boats and why 6030lbs is currently assumed to be the correct weight.

• Sandust ex-Monsoon
• 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.

Month: Mar
Day: 20
Year: 1920
E/P/S: S
No.: 0851
LW: 20' 6"
B: 7' 2"
D: 4' 9"
Rig: Marconi
K: y
Ballast: Lead
Amount: 2450.00
Notes Constr. Record: S. Class
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.

"Sail numbers 2 and 9." (Source: Upham, Kenneth B. History and Register of the S-Boat. No place, 1994, p. 68.)

"Monsoon'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 425 square feet, measured." (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.)

"See note about about weight discrepancies in published and unpublished sources under 'Further Reading' heading." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 11, 2022.)

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