HMCo #934s Harlequin

"[1925-06-06] Sat 6: [Thermometer] 89 [degrees]. Still hotter. Temp[erature] going up to 89 in p.m. 94 to 96 [degrees] in Providence. ... Launched Sch[ooner] 'Glendiva', 39' w.l. in evening. [Sic. This must be either #933s Rofa or #934s Harlequin, two 34ft w.l. schooners which were due to be delivered 'on or about June 1st, 1925'.]" (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1927 to 1928. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"June 1925
Trial of 'Harlequin' #934
Auxiliary schooner for Mr. Geo. Knoles[sic, i.e. Knowles]
Length O.A. 50ft-0in, W.L. 39ft-0in, Beam 13ft-6in, draft 6ft-0in
6 cyl. Hermath motor 4 3/8in x 5 1/2in
3-blade Hyde feathering propeller 24in x 20in
Upper 1/2 mi[le] course.
[Followed by tabulated trial run data with best average speed being 9.00 mph]." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. Handwritten note in Experiments Booklet '1911 Trial Trips and Experiments' under date of June 1925. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum.)

"Scale of Model 1/2" = 1'.
Frame spaces 15".
S = sheer at top side of deck.
Deck 1 3/8" thick.
Planking 1 3/8" thick.
Timbers 2 1/8" x 2 1/8" at head, tapering 5/64" per ft each way for 6 1/2ft, then parallel." (Source: Herreshoff, A. Sidney DeW. [Penciled note in Offset Booklet HH.4.191.] Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"1925. ... Herreshoff's had all the firm could handle. By the end of March the seven [sic, i.e. five?] S boats for Bar Harbor [#909s Mab, #910s Albatross, #911s Elinor, #912s Emily II, #913s Spray] were nearly finished, they were building two of the Herreshoff 15-footers to be used at Newport [probably #997s Nabob II and #998s Nancy]; the Alden designed S boat [#931s Nassau] for a Chicago yachtsman was planked and ready to be turned over and set on her keel; twelve 14-foot sailing skiffs [#924s-#929s, #935s-#938s, #946s, #947s, #950s, #951s], the same as N. G. Herreshoff had taken to Florida the year before but with centerboards instead of fin keels, had been shipped to the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, and they had orders for two 50-foot auxiliary schooners, Harlequin [#934s] and Rofa [#933s], for New Bedford men. ..." (Source: Davis, Jeff. Yachting in Narragansett Bay. Providence, 1946, p. 25.)

"1933. ... Yachts began to change hands early in the season. Some were sold to go away, others bought and brought into the Bay, while still others were sold to other Narragansett Bay skippers and remained here.
The first importation was the schooner Harlequin, bought by William C. Johnson from George Knowles of New Bedford. She was one of the pair built at Herreshoff's in 1925, a mate to the Rofa [#933s] that was lost in the race to Spain in 1928. ..." (Source: Davis, Jeff. Yachting in Narragansett Bay. Providence, 1946, p. 59.)

"On 10 February 1925, two orders for wood auxiliar keel schooners were passed to the HMCo from members of the New Bedford Yacht Club. Henry L Tiffany from New Bedford, the former owner of the schooner Haswell (1915), placed one of the orders for Rofa. The other, for Harlequin, came from George B. Knowles, a banker from Newport.
Nathanael Greene Herreshoff used the same design for both of his customers. Knowles' yacht Harlequin, yard number 934, was delivered first. Rofa, for Tiffany, yard number 933, was launched the following year, 1926. For seven years, Harlequin remained at New Bedford but then moved some miles to the northwest, becoming the cruising yacht of William C. Johnson of Providence in Narragansett Bay between 1933 and 1937.
Henry Steeger from New York took over from Johnson from 1938 to 1941. After the Second World War, the schooner stayed in New York but was owned by William Roos who renamed her Lismore. The ex-Harlequin remained his property until 1956, after which she escaped to the south, to Miami, where Lismore crossed into the ownership of John G. Chesney from Coral Gables, Florida. He had her turned into a ketch, a rig she would keep during subsequent years. From 1964 to 1965, Lismore was owned by the company Lismore Incorporated of Miami. Then, in 1966, Walter Hertz, Jr., from Delray Beach, Florida, acquired her. Lismore was again registered in Lloyd's Register of American Yachts from 1970 to 1972 but disappears from the listing in 1973.
Maynard Bray remembered the old schooner reappearing in the 1990s, in pitiable condition dry-docked at the Noank Shipyard, Noank, Connecticut, where she was for sale. She then bore the name Felicity, was painted black, but still had a ketch rig. A Greek acquired the yacht and renamed her Jack London, a name that inspires adventure. Alas, the yacht hardly left her mooring and was largely neglected by her owner. The ex-Harlequin 'was tied to a dock just above the highway bridge upriver in Mystic. She broke loose at one time, blew across the river and went ashore. Later, she was moored again at Noank near the mouth of West Cove where she sank at her mooring.' The hull remained on the bottom for weeks, which ended up wrecking her. Bruce Avery, a friend of Maynard Bray, salvaged all that he could from the wreckage. And that, sadly, was how Harlequin ended her days --- unloved and abandoned, when with a little tender loving care from her last owner, she might still be with us today." (Source: Taglang, Jacques. Mariette and the Herreshoff Schooners. Vol. 1. Eynesse, 2010, p. 324-326.)

"[Item Description:] Typed 'Specifications, Attached to and Foring a Part of Contract Number 933 [#933s ROFA], Between the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol, Rhode Island, and Mr. Henry L. Tiffany of New Bedfored, Massachusetts. Specifications for the Construction of a Class of Two Thirty-Nine Foot Waterline Keel Cruising Schooner Yachts [#933s ROFA and #934s HARLEQUIN]'. 5 pages." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Specifications. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.019. Box HAFH.6.1B, Folder Hull No. 933s. No date (1925-02-10).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections and displacement and center of buoyancy calculations for #933s ROFA [and #934s HARLEQUIN]." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.019. Pantograph Hull Sections. Box HAFH.6.1B, Folder Hull No. 933s. 1925-02-13.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Since telegraphing you last night that there was time enough to make another model [for #932s GAMECOCK], I have again talked with Tom [Brightman].
He has, as you know, a considerable amount of small work on hand in addition to the two 38 foot schooners [#933s ROFA and #934s HARLEQUIN]. As he has laid out his schedule, he plans to get this small work completed and out of the way in six weeks, and then to concentrate on the 'R' boat. With all his preparations made in advance he thinks he can actually build her in five weeks. He said he assumed you would want her double planked with Philippine mahogany and yellow pine dead wood, and a cedar or pine deck covered with canvas. If this is not correct, will you let me know so that I may advise him accordingly. I personally like a wooden deck better than canvas covered, but for a boat of this size and type, assume the latter is more practical." (Source: Nichols, George. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_30180. Subject Files, Folder 27, formerly 10-15. 1925-02-24.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Handwritten (in ink) trials booklet titled '1911. Trial Trips and Experiments'. Relevant contents:
§55: #934s HARLEQUIN Trial Run best average speed 9.0mph (1925-06)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator) and Herreshoff, A. Sidney deW. (creator). Trials Booklet. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE07_04280. Folder [no #]. 1911-06 to 1926-05.)
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"[Item Description:] Hulls, anchors and pipe berth cut-out models and diagrams. Among others deckline cut-outs for BETTY ANN, #300p SHADOW III, NOMAD, Fishers Island 31-footer, Fishers Island 23-footer, Sub Chaser 110ft x 18ft, 11ft-6in Boat [built from Plan] 76-17 [now named Plan 28-21] (76-33 [now named Plan 28-23]) for Mr Tiffany's #934 [HARLEQUIN] [this may be a reference to #191901es], 18ft-9in Launch [#191002ep] used on #692 [WESTWARD], 14ft Rowboat [#190912es] [built from Plan] 76-14 698 [#698s WESTWARD], 19ft-4 1/2in x 5ft-4in Launch [#191304ep] for #719 [VAGRANT II], 14ft-8in Gasoline Launch [#190307ep] for 590 [#590s INGOMAR], 10ft-3in Boat [# ?] for 376 [#376p ESLOMA], 18ft Dories [#191729es] for #323 [SP-2840], #293 [Power Launch for #215p ROAMER], Vosper [Torpedo Boats built from 1943 - 1944), AMC Minesweeper [#411p, #412p, #413p, #414p], 16ft-10in x 5ft-1in [#191307es Colonia Sailing Cutter] for #719 [VAGRANT II], 711 Class [New York 50s], [dinghies #191308es and #191309es] for #722 [KATOURA], 12ft [dinghy #191106es ?] for 698 [#698s WESTWARD], 25ft-10in x 6ft-1in [built from Plan] 2-83 [#191301ep Owner Launch for #722s Katoura], 11ft-0in Rowboat [# ?] between davits on #251 [LANG SYNE] Feb [19]06, 23ft-4in x 6ft-4in [#287p Stock launch later Crew Launch for #722s KATOURA]. Generally undated, the last vessels referred to appear to date from 1944." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.130. Cut-out Models and Diagrams. Box HAFH.6.4B, Folder Models and Diagrams. No date (1944 and earlier).)
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"[Item Description:] Penciled pantograph hull sections titled '#933 ROFA. #934 HARLEQUIN. June 26, 1968. Request for displacement by William G. Peters. Lucayan Harbour Inn & Marine, Freeportt, G.B.J. Bahamas'. With calculations arriving at a displacement of 676cuft or 43200[lbs]." (Source: Herreshoff, A. Sidney deW. (creator). Pantograph Hull Sections. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE04_01890. Folder [no #]. 1968-06-26.)
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"[Item Description:] Spreadsheet listing original contracts (from 1923 to 1940) by HMCo in the collection of HMM (apparently from the gift of Everett Pearson). Listed boats are: #380p, #381p, #388p, #389p, #391p, #392p, #393p, #395p, #886s, #933s, #934s, #954s, #955s, #962s, #983s, #999s, #1002s, #1017s, #1054s, #1055s, #1057s, #1074s, #1078s, #1122s, #1125s, #1130s, #1131s, #1147s, #1152s, #1153s, #1154s, #1156s, #1157s, #1164s, #1170s, #1173s, #1174s, #1175s, #1175s, #1176s, #1177s, #1179s, #1180s, #1191s, #1192s, #1193s, #1195s, #1196s, #1198s, #1199s, #1200s, #1201s, #1202s, #1203s, #1206s, #1207s, #1208s, #1209s, #1210s, #1211s, #1212s, #1213s, #1214s, #1215s, #1216s, #1217s, #1218s, #1219s, #1220s, #1222s, #1224s, #1236s, #1226s, #1227s, #1228s, #1230s, #1232s, #1234s, #1237s, #1238s, #1240s, #1241s, #1243s, #1244s, #1245s, #1246s, #1247s, #1248s, #1249s, #1250s, #1251s, #1252s, #1253s, #1254s, #1255s, #1256s, #1257s, #1258s, #1259s, #1260s, #1261s, #1262s, #1263s, #1264s, #1265s, #1274s, #1275s, #1277s, #1279s, #1280s, #1281s, #1282s, #1283s, #1284s, #1285s, #1286s, #1287s, #1302s, #1303s, #1315s, #1508s." (Source: Rickson, Norene (creator). Table. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_4220. HMM Library Rare Books Room (HMCo Contracts), Folder [no #]. No date (2010s ?).)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #934s Harlequin even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Taglang, Jacques. Mariette and the Herreshoff Schooners. Two vols. Eynesse, 2010.
  Vessel biographies, large-scale sail and lines plans reproduced from original HMCo plans. The definitive book on Herreshoff schooners.
• Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [Contract for #934s Harlequin, schooner (including specifications).] Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection. Bristol, RI, February 10, 1925. (2,554 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Copyright holder: Herreshoff Marine Museum. Original building/sales contract. Vessel description, scantlings, payment terms, delivery date. Includes detailed vessel specifications.

• Rofa and #934s Harlequin (MIT Museum-made index card)
• Harlequin (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: Harlequin
Type: Schooner
Length: 39'
Owner: Knowles, George B.

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

• Harlequin
• 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: Harlequin
Type: 39' aux. schooner
Owner: Geo. B. Knowles
Year: 1925
Row No.: 268

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: Feb.
Day: 10
Year: 1925
E/P/S: S
No.: 0934
Name: Harlequin
OA: 49'
LW: 39'
Rig: Schr.
K: y
Amount: 17,500.00
Notes Constr. Record: $500 extra for double plank.
Last Name: Knowles
First Name: Geo. B.

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.

"Granted, Sidney carved the half model, but was he the designer of record? I can't dispute, only question, after seeing how Lloyds handled, say, the FIS 23 and 31, listing Herreshoff Mfg. Co. as designer. Even Ara, the 165' diesel yacht of 1922, has HMCo as designer of record. I've always been under the impression that all yachts showing HMCo as designer were actually designed by Sidney, while those that show NGH were really designed by NGH." (Source: Bray, Maynard. Email communication to Claas van der Linde. September 10, 2009.)

"As per construction plan 076-146 #933s Rofa had wheel steering while #934s Harlequin was fitted with tiller steering, but a photo in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum that was taken by Tom Brightman and stored in an envelope labeled by him '934 Harlequin' clearly also shows wheel steering." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. November 26, 2020.)

"Built in 174 days (contract to trial; equivalent to $101/day, 172 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"Sail area 'about 1150 square feet' from original contract in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 15, 2015.)

"In the absence of better available data displacement was estimated by using the figure for Net Register Tons (15) from the 1928 List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. (Gross Register Tons were reported as 18) and converting to lbs by dividing through 2000 (short tons). Note that this figure can only be a rough estimate because register tons as reported in Yacht Registers correlate only loosely with actual displacement figures." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 17, 2015.)

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