HMCo #1152s The Fair American
Particulars
![Construction_Record_Title.jpg](../Images_Record/Construction_Record_Title.jpg)
Later Name(s): Dovekie (1940-1942), Janie (1945-1951), Twister (1948-1962), Redhead (1963-1967), Sauerkraut (1969-1970), Redhead (1974-)
Type: S-Class
Designed by: NGH
Contract: 1931-2-16
Delivered: 1931-6-1 ?
Construction: Wood
LOA: 27' 6" (8.38m)
LWL: 20' 6" (6.25m)
Beam: 7' 2" (2.18m)
Draft: 4' 9" (1.45m)
Construction Class and Number: #1119-
Rig: Marconi Sloop
Sail Area: 425sq ft (39.5sq m)
Displ.: 6,030 lbs (2,735 kg)
Keel: yes
Ballast: Lead (3350 lbs)
Built for: Roosevelt Jr., Mrs. Edith K. [Theodore Roosevelt 3rd]
Amount: $4,100.00
Note(s) in HMCo Construction Record: S boat. #1119 class. mah[ogany] fin[ish]. [For delivery] June 1/31. Tom's [sp?] order.
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 #718](../Images_Models/w250px/M0718_S-Class_a.jpg)
Model location: H.M.M. Model Room North Wall Right
Vessels from this model:
93 built, modeled by NGH
Original text on model:
"828 class 20' 1/2" w.l. to rate in S class Nov. 1919 Scale [1"]" (Source: Original handwritten annotation on model. Undated.)
Model Description:
"20'6" lwl S-class sloops of 1919 and beyond. One of the boats, named Coquina, is in the Herreshoff Marine Museum's collection, and The S-class Association is still very much alive." (Source: Bray, Maynard. 2004.)
Related model(s):
Model XA2-1_04 by NGH (1919?); sail
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.6.146-4
Offset booklet contents:
S-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 076-130 (HH.5.05572)](../Images_Drawings/250px/HH.5.05572.jpg)
List of drawings:
Drawings believed to have been first drawn for, or being first referenced to
HMCo #1152s The Fair American are listed in bold.
Click on Dwg number for preview, on HH number to see at M.I.T. Museum.
-
Dwg 112-072 (HH.5.09368): Winch for Boom Hanging (79-40) (1907-09-21)
-
Dwg 096-121 (HH.5.08083); Sails > One Design S Class Yacht for Racing and Cruising (1919-10 ?)
-
Dwg 076-130 (HH.5.05572); Construction Dwg > 828 Class Knockabouts (1919-11 ?)
-
Dwg 076-130 (HH.5.05572.1): Construction Dwg > 828 Class Knockabouts (1919-11 ?)
-
Dwg 096-121 (HH.5.08081): Sails > Sail Plan for One Design S Class (1919-11)
-
Dwg 128-060 (HH.5.10179): Sails > Sails for 828 Class (1919-11-28)
-
Dwg 065-066 (HH.5.04662): Rudder Hanging for 828 Class (1919-12-24)
-
Dwg 084-097 (HH.5.06548): Companion-Way Details for Water Tight And (1920-01-14)
-
Dwg 096-121 A (HH.5.08082); Sails > S Class Boat, 17' Rating (1924-11-01)
-
Dwg 148-000 (HH.5.12234); Sails > S Class Boat (1924-11-07)
-
Dwg 148-000 (HH.5.12235); Sails > S Class Boat (1924-11-07)
-
Dwg 148-000 (HH.5.12236); Construction Dwg > Class S Boat (ca. 1931)
-
Dwg 130-000 (HH.5.10543): Sails > S Class Boat (1935-03-26)
-
Dwg 096-121 B (HH.5.08083.1); Data Relating to Herreshoff Class Boats [S-Class and H-23] Given to North American Yacht Racing Union (1938-01-13)
-
Dwg 096-000 (HH.5.08123): Sails > Proposed Rig, Herreshoff "S" Class (1939-12-11)
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
L. Francis Herreshoff
"... 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.)
Other Contemporary Text Source(s)
"February 19, 1931
Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. Bristol, R. I.
Attention: Mr. T. P. Brightman.
Dear Mr. Brightman:
We beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of February 17th enclosing signed contract for the Herreshoff 'S' boat for Mrs. Roosevelt, which we are forwarding to her.
We also beg to thank you for your check for $143.50, as our commission on this payment.
Mrs. Roosevelt's address is Oyster Bay, L. I. The boat is to be given to her grandson, Theodore Roosevelt 3rd, who will race the boat at the Seawanhaka Yacht Club.
Again thanking you anu hoping we may be able to get some more orders for you, we remain
Very truly yours,
TAMS, INCORPORATED." (Soucre: Appleton, William H. [Letter to HMCo, now in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum (filed with original contract).] February 19, 1931.)
Archival Documents
"[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 ?).)
① ② ③ ④
Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #1152s The Fair American even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.
Further Reading
-
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. -
Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [Contract for #1152s The Fair American, S-Class (including specifications).] Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection. Bristol, RI, February 16, 1931. (1,194 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.
Registers
1947 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#2748)
Name; Former Name(s): Janie; Dovekie, Fair American
Owner: William R. Farrell; Port: Larchmont, N.Y.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 27-6; LWL 20-6; Extr. Beam 7-0; Draught 4-9
Sailmaker Ratsey; Sails made in [19]36; Sail Area 430
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer N. G. Herreshoff; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1932
1950 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#3110)
Name; Former Name(s): Janie; Dovekie, Fair American
Owner: William R. Farrell; Port: Larchmont, N.Y.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 27-6; LWL 20-6; Extr. Beam 7-2; Draught 4-9
Sailmaker Larsen; Sails made in [19]47; Sail Area 425
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer N. G. Herreshoff; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1932
Source: Various Yacht Lists and Registers. For complete biographical information see the Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné under Data Sources. Note that this section shows only snapshots in time and should not be considered a provenance, although it can help creating one.
Supplement
From the 1920 and earlier HMCo Index Cards at the MIT Museum
- 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.
From the 1931 HMCo-published Owner's List
Name: The Fair American
Type: J & M S
Length: 20'6"
Owner: Roosevelt, Theodore, Jr.
Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. "A Partial List of Herreshoff Clients." In: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Herreshoff Yachts. Bristol, Rhode Island, ca. 1931.
From the 1930s L. Francis Herreshoff Index Cards at the Herreshoff Marine Museum
- 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.
From the 1953 HMCo Owner's List by L. Francis Herreshoff
Name: Fair American
Type: "S" boat
Owner: T. Roosevelt, Jr.
Row No.: 215
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: Feb.
Day: 16
Year: 1931
E/P/S: S
No.: 1152
Name: The Fair American
OA: 27.5
LW: 20.5
B: 7' 2"
D: 4' 9"
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead
Amount: 4100.00
Notes Constr. Record: S Boat. Mahogony fin. June 1/31. Tom's (?) order.
Notes Bray: 1119 class. S#82 (so annotated in O.A. field).
Last Name: Roosevelt
First Name: Edith K.
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.
Research Note(s)
"Sail number 61." (Source: Upham, Kenneth B. History and Register of the S-Boat. No place, 1994, p. 98.)
"Date of delivery 'on or about June 1, 1931' from original contract in collection of Herreshoff Marine Museum." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 15, 2015.)
"Built in 105 days (contract to delivered; equivalent to $39/day, 57 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 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.
Note
We are always interested in learning more about this vessel. If you want to discuss it or can share any additional information or images or to discuss a copyright concern, please do not hesitate to send an Email to the link below!
Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné.
All rights reserved. No reproduction, adaptation, or distribution of any part of this document or any information contained herein by any means whatsoever is permitted without prior written permission. For the full terms of copyright for this document please click here. Last revision 2024-01-16.
© 2024,