HMCo #1082s Kelpie

S01082_Kelpie.jpg

Particulars

Construction_Record_Title.jpgName: Kelpie
Type: Buzzards Bay 12 1/2 Footer
Designed by: NGH
Order to build: 1928-1-2
Delivered: 1928-6-23
Construction: Wood
LOA: 15' (4.57m)
LWL: 12' 6" (3.81m)
Construction Class and Number: #1081-2
Rig: Marconi Sloop (?)
Sail Area: 140sq ft (13.0sq m)
Displ.: 1,574 lbs (714 kg)
Keel: yes
Ballast: Lead
Built for: Stedman, John W.
Amount: $1,100.00
Note(s) in HMCo Construction Record: B. B. 12 1/2 fter. Orders to build 12 for stock issued Jan 2 [19]28. Contract dates filled in as signed. Alden order.
Last year in existence: 1960 (aged 32)
Final disposition: Wrecked in hurricane of September 1960.

Note: Particulars are primarily but not exclusively from the HMCo Construction Record. Supplementary information not from the Construction Record appears elsewhere in this record with a complete citation.

Model

Model #716Model number: 716
Model location: H.M.M. Model Room North Wall Right

Vessels from this model:
409 built, modeled by NGH

Original text on model:
"12 1/2' Buzzards Bay boy class 24 boats 1915 scale 1/10 size three [sic, i.e. four? #806, #813, #815, #817?] boats 1916
16' w.l. Oyster Bay "Fish Class" 23 boats 1916 scale 1/12 size sections 1/13 lengths 3 1/2 added at bow on deck" (Source: Original handwritten annotation on model. Undated.)

Model Description:
"12'-1/2' lwl Buzzards Bay 12 1/2-class of 1915, HMCo's most popular creation with some 360 boats produced. Also, with change in scale and proportionally longer bow, the Fish class sloops of 1916 and beyond." (Source: Bray, Maynard. 2004.)

Related model(s):
Model XA2-1_01 by NGH (1914?); sail
Buzzards Bay 12 1/2
Model XA2-1_02 by NGH (1914?); sail
Fish Class


Note: Vessels that appear in the records as not built, a cancelled contract, a study model, or as a model sailboat are listed but not counted in the list of vessels built from a model.

Offsets

Offset booklet number(s): HH.6.146-6

Offset booklet contents:
12 1/2-footer class, Fish class (Cape Cod Shipbuilding Embargoed)

Offset Booklet(s) in Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass. (Restricted access --- see curator.)

Drawings

Main drawing Dwg 076-118 (HH.5.05569) Explore all drawings relating to this boat.

List of drawings:
   Drawings believed to have been first drawn for, or being first referenced to
   HMCo #1082s Kelpie are listed in bold.
   Click on Dwg number for preview, on HH number to see at M.I.T. Museum.
  1. Dwg 079-091 (HH.5.05900): Chain Plates & Mast-Band for Port Boat on "Roamer" (1902-05-03)
  2. Dwg 079-091 (HH.5.05901): Fittings for Port Boat on # 215 (1902-05-03)
  3. Dwg 130-124 (HH.5.10432); Sails > # 744 Design for Buzzard's Bay Boy's Boat (1914-10-11)
  4. Dwg 128-142 (HH.5.10269): Sails > Sails for No. 744 Class (1914-11-20)
  5. Dwg 081-111 (HH.5.06203): Spars for # 744 and Class (11 Boats), 12 1/2 Footer (1914-11-21)
  6. Dwg 081-111 (HH.5.06203.1): Spars for # 744 and Class (11 Boats), 12 1/2 Footer (1914-11-21)
  7. Dwg 065-064 (HH.5.04659); Rudder Hanging for # 743, Rudder and Hanging for # 744 Class (1915-02-15)
  8. Dwg 074-060 (HH.5.05348); Anchor for # 744 Class Made of Manganese Bronze (1915-03-30)
  9. Dwg 025-159 (HH.5.01916); List for # 744 Class, 12 1/2 Footers (1926-03-22)
  10. Dwg 148-000 (HH.5.12238); Construction Dwg > Herreshoff 12 1/2 Footer (ca. 1931)
  11. Dwg 076-118 (HH.5.05569); Construction Dwg > Herreshoff 12 1/2 Footer, 15'-8" O.A. x 12'-5" W.L. x 5'-10" Beam x 2'-5" Draft (1931-07-06)
  12. Dwg 076-118 (HH.5.05569.1); Construction Dwg > Herreshoff 12 1/2 Footer, 15'-8" O.A. x 12'-5" W.L. x 5'-10" Beam x 2'-5" Draft (1931-07-06)
  13. Dwg 128-142 [057-001] (HH.5.10270): Sails > Sails Plan 12 1/2 Footer Class (1934-06-04)
  14. Dwg 142-090 (HH.5.11837): Compartment Details for 12 1/2 Footers (1934-07-18)
  15. Dwg 076-000 (HH.5.06088): 12 1/2 Footer Class Marconi Spar Details (1938-02-25)
  16. Dwg 076-118 D (HH.5.06087): 12 1/2 Footer Class Marconi Spar Details (1938-02-25)
  17. Dwg 076-118 D (HH.5.06087.1): 12 1/2 Footer Class Marconi Spar Details (1938-02-25)
  18. Dwg 130-124 B (HH.5.10434); Sails > 12 1/2 Footer Class Marconi Sail Plan [2 Plans] (1938-03-01)
  19. Dwg 130-124 B (HH.5.10434.1): Sails > 12 1/2 Footer Class Marconi Sail Plan (1938-03-01)
Source: Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Together with: Hasselbalch, Kurt with Frances Overcash and Angela Reddin. Guide to The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass., 1997. Together with: Numerous additions and corrections by Claas van der Linde.
Note: The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection is copyrighted by the Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections of the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass. Permission to incorporate information from it in the Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné is gratefully acknowledged. The use of this information is permitted solely for research purposes. No part of it is to be published in any form whatsoever.

Documents

Other Modern Text Source(s)

... Kelpie was a 12 1/2 that was wrecked in the hurricane of September, 1960. ..." (Source: Herreshoff Marine Museum. [Plaque on display at the museum accompanying Kelpie's salvaged transom.] Bristol, RI, no date [ca. 2012].)

Further Reading
  • 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.

Images

Supplement

From the 1931 HMCo-published Owner's List

Name: Kelpie
Type: J & M
Length: 12'6"
Owner: Stedman, John W.

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

From the 1953 HMCo Owner's List by L. Francis Herreshoff

Name: Kelpie
Type: 12 1/2-footer
Owner: John W. Stedman
Row No.: 906

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.

From the 2000 (ca.) Transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Vermilya/Bray

Month: Jun
Day: 12
Year: 1928
E/P/S: S
No.: 1082
Name: Kelpie
OA: 15'
LW: 12 1/2'
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead
Amount: 1100.00
Notes Constr. Record: B.B. 12 1/2 footer. Alden order.
Last Name: Stedman

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.

From the 2007 12 1/2 Registry by Steve Nagy

Hull No.: 1082
Contract Date: 1928-06-12
Org. Name: Kelpie
Org. Owner: John W. Stedman
Org. Rig: J&M

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.)

Research Note(s)

"Kelpie's transom is in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. September 24, 2012.)

"In August 1939 Kelpie was raced by John Borden in a regatta of the Coles River Yacht Club as per a regatta report in the August 3, 1939 issue of the Providence Evening Journal." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. July 5, 2018."

"The (company-internal) order to build the entire #1081 class of twelve boats (of which this boat was the 2nd) was issued on January 2, 1928, but this boat's contract was signed only on June 12, 1928 and it was delivered on June 23, 1928." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. June 23, 2014.)

"Built in 173 days (order to build to delivered; equivalent to $6/day, 9 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"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.

Note

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Citation: HMCo #1082s Kelpie. Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné. https://herreshoff.info/Docs/S01082_Kelpie.htm.