HMCo #1126s Alpha

"... 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.)

"... Although John B. C. McBeath of the Eastern Y. C. has sold his' knockabout Kotick [unidentified, not #1018s] to Edwin B. Webster, of Chestnut Hill, he has no intention of giving up racing in that class next Summer. A new boat to be called Alpha [#1126s], is building for him at Herreshoff's. ..." (Source: Anon. "Notes From The Week's Log." Boston Globe, April 28, 1929, p. B21.)

"... Two of the new Herreshoff's 'S' knockabouts, Lawrence F. Percival Jr's Barracuda V [#1125s] and John R. C. McBeath's Alpha [#1126s], arrived at Marblehead last Wednesday [June 5, 1929] afternoon. Both of the knockabouts were brought around from Bristol under sail. A brother of Thomas P. Brightman, manager of Herreshoff's yard, with Mrs Brightman as crew, were in the Barracuda, both reporting a very pleasant sail while 'Jack" Mc-Beath and Everett C. Quiner were aboard the Alpha. Both racers, the latest in the class, are finished with teak trim and all metal work of chrome nickel, the same as automobiles of this year's models. ..." (Source: Fowle, Leonard M. "Resolute And Vanitie Enter Seventh Season of Racing." Boston Globe, June 9, 1929, p. B21.)

"... Although the damage of the recent storm at Marblehead was very heavy, a checkup reveals that most of the boats can be repaired, and to date only two craft, the Herreshoff knockabout Curlew and the 17-footer Byng, have been taken over by their underwriters as total losses and even this pair may eventually be reconstructed. ..." (Source: Fowle Jr., Leonard M. "Notes From The Week's Log." Boston Globe, October 11, 1936, p. A24.)

• 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.

Type: J & M S
Length: 20'6"
Owner: MacBeath, J. R.

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

Name: No name
Type: "S" boat
Owner: T. R. McBeath
Row No.: 835

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: Apr.
Day: 25
Year: 1929
E/P/S: S
No.: 1126
OA: 27.5
LW: 20.5
B: 7' 2"
D: 4' 9"
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead
Amount: 4035.00
Notes Constr. Record: S Boat. No Sails. Teak fin. Chromium plate. May 15/29. Del. 6/9/29.
Notes Bray: S#76 (so annotated in O.A. field)
Last Name: MacBeath
First Name: J. R.

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.

"Sail number 4." (Source: Upham, Kenneth B. History and Register of the S-Boat. No place, 1994, p. 95.)

"Built in 40 days (order to build to delivered; equivalent to $101/day, 151 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. June 23, 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.