HMCo #852s [S-Class for W. R. Potter]

"[1920-11-10] Wed 10: Launched & rigged 1st S-class for Peconic Bay [apparently #852s S-Class for W. R. Potter].
[1921-06-12] Sun 12: [Thermometer] 78 - 62 - 71 [degrees]. Very fine & warm. S [wind] early ch[anging] to W & NW in forenoon. Fresh breeze. 5 S class boats towed away to Peconic Bay. [The 5 boats must have been among the following seven S-boats for Peconic Bay: #852s, #853s, #855s, #856s, #857s, #858s and #859s.] ..." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1920 to 1921. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"... 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.)

"Herreshoff has turned out one good sized power cruiser this year, the Helianthus [#378p], for the personal use of N. G. Herreshoff, besides a fleet of nine S class boats [#852s S-Class for W. R. Potter, #853s S-Class for T. A. Howell, #854s Aminta, #855s S-Class, #856s S-Class for A. L. Londley, #857s S-Class for T. A. Howell, #858s S-Class for J. F. Byers, #859s S-Class for M. J. O'Brian, #864s Shona] that were distributed from Cape Ann to New York, and the six-metre Shiela [#861s] for the races on the other side, and it is reported that the firm is about to resume work on the 105-foot power cruiser [#377p Ara] for Alexander Winton of Cleveland. Work on her was stopped in December last year, and nothing has been done on her since that time, when a lot of the Herreshoff hands were laid off." (Source: Davis, Jeff. "Narragansett Bay Yachtsmen Planning for Next Season." October 1921, p. 43.)

"1921. ... Herreshoff Busy.
Building had boomed during the Winter and Spring. The Herreshoff Company turned out nine S boats [#852s, #853s, #854s, #855s, #856s, #857s, #858s, #859s, #864s] that went to Marblehead, Oyster Bay and Peconic Bay and the 62-foot power cruiser Helianthus [#378p] for Nathaniel G Herreshoff's personal use, and a 6-metre sloop, the Sheila B. [#861s], to sail in the international 6-metre races at Cowes, England. ..." (Source: Davis, Jeff. Yachting in Narragansett Bay. Providence, 1946, p. 10.)

"N/A"

"[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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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #852s [S-Class for W. R. Potter] 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.

Month: Sep
Day: 07
Year: 1920
E/P/S: S
No.: 0852
LW: 20' 6"
B: 7' 2"
D: 4' 9"
Rig: Marconi
K: y
Ballast: Lead
Amount: 3500.00
Notes Constr. Record: S. Class
Last Name: Potter
First Name: W. 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.

"Windows left out [for] 852 class." (Source: Annotation on S-class construction plan 76-130, Hart Nautical Coll. acc. no. HH.5.5572, dated November 1919.)

"Sail number 50." (Source: Upham, Kenneth B. History and Register of the S-Boat. No place, 1994, p. 69.)

"Built in 64 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $55/day, 94 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"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.