HMCo #1093s [Sailing Dinghy for George M. Pynchon]

"Aug 22 1928. N.G.H.
Recommended to Mr. Pynchon for a reduction of sail area, which he desired to have done near[?] his home.
Shorten mast 15in by cutting off at heel. Resplice shrouds & jib stay at lower end to shorten 15in and jib stay 14in, or so they will be right for the shortened mast.
Cut off mainsail at the luff 13in parallel. This will make hoist 20in shorter and allow boom hanging to be 5in higher from hull than present and give that much better headroom.
The boom can be 13in shorter. Cut aft end. Cut off jib at the foot 15in along the leach and 12in along the luff. Give the foot 1 1/2in roach, deepest 1/3rd from tack to clew.
The jibboom can be shortened 3in, cut aft end." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Penciled note on plan HH.5.02065 (028-066): Rowing Boats > 15'-6" Sailing Cutter. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum. August 22, 1928.)

• Sailing Dinghy for George M Pynchon (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.

Type: Sail Dinghy
Length: 15'6"
Owner: Pynchon, George M.

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

• Sailing Dinghy for George M Pynchon
• 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: N/A
Type: 15' 6" sailing dinghy
Owner: George M. Pynchon
Row No.: 809

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: Jan
Day: 12
Year: 1928
E/P/S: S
No.: 1093
OA: 15 1/2'
Rig: J ¦ M
CB: y
Ballast: None
Amount: 1200.00
Notes Constr. Record: Sailing Dinghy . Taken to Vansanta (?).
Last Name: Pynchon

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.

"[Note in Hart Nautical plans database: Formerly drawing (76-161). For Geo. Pynchon, from moulds of # 562 [sic, i.e. 568 (Sailing dinghy for St. Y. Colonia)] w/ frame spaces 6 3/4". Dec. 1927.]" (Source: van der Linde, Claas. October 26, 2009.)

"Restored by IYRS in 2019/2020. Due to very deteriorated condition of the boat most everything had to be rebuilt/replicated. Original builder's plate has survived. Boat won 'Professionally Restored Winner' Prize in 2021 Mystic Seaport WoodenBoat Show." (Soure: van der Linde, Claas. October 9, 2021.)

"The carcass of the original boat was donated in 2024 to the Herreshoff Marine Museum. Which boat is now the original? The rebuilt one with all the original fittings and the original builder's plate or the left over remainders of the old boat?" (Source: van der Linde, Claas. July 10, 2024.)

"Plan 28-66 (formerly 76-161) from which this boat was built was drawn 1927-12." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. October 26, 2009.)

"Built in 110 days (contract to delivered; equivalent to $11/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. July 10, 2024.)

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