HMCo #1057s Tinavire [Ti Navire]

"... Other recent sales through this office [of Art Shuman] include the 33-foot cutter Phalorope, by George Poor to Wesley Purdy; ... and the 41-foot over all auxiliary cutter Sunshine (ex-Tinavire), by Thomas Cox, of New York, to George Poor, of the Eastern Yacht Club. Sunshine was designed by W. Starling Burgess for Elihu Root, Jr. She is double planked with mahogany over galvanized steel frames. ..." (Source: Anon. [Title?] Yachting, 1937, Vol. 61, p. [126?].)

"1927. ... The Spring was a busy season with the builders and there was considerable buying and selling. Herreshoff's was building a mast for the big cutter Katoura [#1050s], said to be the tallest ever made at the plant. It was being made in two sections, one 137 feet long, and the upper section 13 feet, which could be taken off like the outer end of a fish-pole. It was said that if Commodore Tod wanted to sail Katoura under Brooklyn Bridge, he could unjoint the mast and not hit the bridge with the truck. Another spar job was a new mast for the class P sloop Stranger, a Narragansett Bay boat which had been sold to the Lakes.
In different stages of construction were a Newport 29 for William H. Vanderbilt [#999s Paddy], another R boat for Junius Morgan [#1053s Puffin], an S for I. B. Merriman [#1020s Vanessa], a 41-foot cutter for Elihu Root [#1057s Ti Navire], a 54-foot sloop for a New York yachtsman [#1058s Prestige], two of the Fisher's Island 31's [apparently #1054s Cyrilla IV and #1055s Judy] and the usual flock of 12 1/2-foot Bullseyes. ..." (Source: Davis, Jeff. Yachting in Narragansett Bay. Providence, 1946, p. 35.)

"... An earlier yacht that carried to extremes the tendency to move the mast aft was Tinavire, a 41-foot cutter, designed 1927 by Burgess, Rigg & Morgan. She actually had her mast abaft of amidships. Her mainsail was small and her double head rig exceeded it in area. While undoubtedly quite a handy rig for cruising it has not proven fast in competition and it has never gained a following [p. 59]. ...
[Image caption.] Tinavire, a sloop that carries to extremes the proclivity to step the mast further aft. Hers is actually abaft of amidships so that the area of her headsails exceeds that of her mainsail. She was designed by Burgess, Rigg & Morgan in 1927 [p 61]. ..." (Source: Ratsey, Ernest A. and Wade Hampton De Fontaine. Yacht Sails, Their Care & Handling. New York, 1957, p. 59, 61.)

"... Tinavire, the single-masted schooner sailed by Luke B. Lock- wood, was scratch boat and finished the course first in fourteen hours, but took third place on corrected time ... [Tinavire's strange rig was always good for some jokes.]" (Source: Anon. [Title?] Yachting, vol. 54, 1933, [p. 78?].)

"... the office of 'Art' Shuman. Other recent sales through this office include the ... 41-foot over all auxiliary cutter Sunshine (ex-Tinavire), by Thomas Cox, of New York, to George Poor, of the Eastern Yacht Club. Sunshine was designed by W. Starling Burgess for Elihu Root, Jr. She is double planked with mahogany over galvanized steel frames." (Source: Anon. [Title?] Yachting, vol. 61, 1937, [p. 126?].)

"... [During the foggy Marblehead-to-Halifax race of 1939] George Poor's 41-foot cutter Tinavire of the Eastern [Yacht Club] was very nearly cut down by the cruiser Tuscaloosa, rushing President Roosevelt --- who had hoped to be on hand for the for the finish August 22 --- back to Washington from Halifax as Hitler prepared o rush into Poland. ..." (Source: Garland, Joseph E. The Eastern Yacht Club: A History from 1870 to 1985. Marblehead, Mass., 1989, p. 225.)

"TINAVIRE, A NARROW AND DEEP CUTTER OF 1927
41'6'' x 9'0'
Elihu Root, a New York lawyer, was Burgess's friend and patron all during the decade that Burgess had an office in that city. Together, they came up with some interesting and unusual designs, of which Tinavire (French for 'Little Ship') is an example. This slack-bilged, steel-framed flush-decker was built at Herreshoff's in Bristol, Rhode Island. In Tinavire, one of Root's objectives was to get a good sea boat that would smash her way to windward at good speed in rough weather-thus the lean, deep hull and long waterline length. She was destined for a relatively short life, however, because her diagonal straps, deckbeams, knees, and half her frames and floors were of steel rather than wood or bronze. Nevertheless, these structural members, before deteriorating from rust, did give the boat superior strength. Tinavire, in fact, with her lush and pretty-much-uninterrupted expanse of deck and double-planked hull, was exceedingly strong all over. The plans show an alternate rig with the mast aft of amidships, giving her a curious sailplan, most of whose drive would come from the headsails. The drawings also indicate a tiller for steering under sail that was clutch-connected to a bulkhead-mounted wheel for steering under power. Tinavire's galley is aft, which is recognized now as the proper location on a small cruiser/racer, but was somewhat unusual in 1927 when the paid hand would prepare and serve meals from 'before the mast.' Catalog No. 11.13" (Source: Bray, Anne and Maynard. Boat Plans at Mystic Seaport. Mystic, CT, 2000, p. 19.)

"[Item Description:] Blueprint lines plan with body, sheer lines and water lines titled 'Burgess, Rigg & Morgan, Ltd. Eleven Broadway, New York City. Design No. Two [#1057s TI NAVIRE] for Elihu Root Jr., Esq. … Nov. 26 [1926]'." (Source: Burgess, Rigg & Morgan (creator). Blueprint. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item WRDT06_01210. Folder [no #]. (1926)-11-26.)
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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 #1057s Tinavire [Ti Navire] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [Contract for #1057s Tinavire, cutter.] Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection. Bristol, RI, December 27, 1926. (1,067 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Copyright holder: Herreshoff Marine Museum. Original building/sales contract. Vessel description, scantlings, payment terms, delivery date.

• Ti Navire (MIT Museum-made index card)
• Tinavire (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: Ti Navire
Type: Cutter
Length: 32'
Owner: Root, Elihu, Jr.

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

• Ti Navire
• 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: Tinavire
Type: 32' Sloop
Owner: Elihu Root, Jr.
Year: 1927
Row No.: 683

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: Dec
Day: 27
Year: 1926
E/P/S: S
No.: 1057
Name: Tinavire
OA: 40' 0"
LW: 32' 0"
B: 9' 0"
D: 6' 0"
Rig: J & M Cutter
K: y
Ballast: Outside Lead
Amount: T & M
Notes Constr. Record: Burgess design
Last Name: Root, Jr.
First Name: Elihu

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.

"See also: Burgess-Donaldson Collection, Coll. 11, Daniel S. Gregory Ships Plans Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc. 11.13. TI NAVIRE: Auxiliary sloop, Design #2; SHIPS PLANS; Plans set; Burgess, Rigg & Morgan, Ltd.; Burgess, W. Starling; Builder Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. 1927; 11 sheets of plans for 41 ft. auxiliary sloop, TI NAVIRE, design #2 by Burgess, Rigg & Morgan, Ltd. Dates on plans range from 12-25-1926 to 04-14-1927. SP.1952.1016.11.13." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. August 13, 2010.)

"See also: Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc. Half model TINAVIRE. Half model 0 x 41.00 x 4.50. Mounted half model TINAVIRE (sloop? yacht?), green underwater body, brown varnish hull from deck to water line, mounted on black board. Model is natural finish topsides, green bottom, on black backboard. 1952.1010." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 24, 2014.)

"Date of delivery 'on May 1st, 1927' from original contract in collection of Herreshoff Marine Museum." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 15, 2015.)

"Built in 125 days (contract to delivered)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"Sail area 'about 830 square feet' from original contract in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum." (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.