HMCo #1163s Betty

"... In the old Burnside shop the Woodward [sic, i.e. Woodard] 47-foot cruiser [#393p Ariel II] is getting the finishing touches, another of the Fishers Island 31 footers is planked [#1155s Wild Goose, #1154s Qutee or #1153s Savage] and ready to be turned over and set on her keel, and a flock of the little 12 1/2 footers in various stages of completion fill the gallery. ... [#1134s Dolphin, #1135s Windigo, #1136s Breeze, #1137s Bandit, #1138s Quickstep, #1139s Hatasu, #1140s Papillon, #1141s Dawtok, #1143s Gray Gull, #1144s Phantom and #1145s Wee Wunder may have been among the 'flock of 12 1/2 footers'.]" (Source: Anon. "Yachting Writers Visit Herreshoff's Shops." Bristol Phoenix, March 24, 1930, p. 1.)

"Ten of the Herreshoff 12 1/2-foot sailing sloops were delivered to their owners around Buzzards bay during the past week. Ten more of these smart little boats are ready for delivery at Fishers Island and East Hampton. ... [It is believed that #1163s Betty was also part of this group of 20 12 1/2-footers delivered in May and June 1930, although this cannot be confirmed.]" (Source: Anon. "Yacht Club Notes." Providence Journal Bulletin, June 19, 1930, p. ?.)

• 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.

Name: Betty
Type: J & M
Length: 12'6"
Owner: Bowman, F. A.

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

Name: Betty
Type: 12 1/2-footer
Owner: F. A. Bowman
Row No.: 976

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: 24
Year: 1930
E/P/S: S
No.: 1163
Name: Betty
OA: 15
LW: 12.5
D: 2 1/2
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead
Amount: 1100.00
Notes Constr. Record: BB 121/2. Built May 9. Bowman order.
Notes Bray: 1158 class (so annotated in name field)
Last Name: Bowman
First Name: F. A.

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.

Hull No.: 1163
Contract Date: 1930-04-24
Org. Name: Betty
Org. Owner: F.A. Bowman
Org. Rig: J&M
Current Rig: Gaff
Home Port: Marion, MA
Prior Owners: Butler - 1930 - ???? - Marion, MA - Betty; Converse - - Marion, MA - ; Robinson - - Marion, MA - ; DeWalt - ???? - 1971 - Marion, MA -
Current Name: Shadow
Current Owner: William W. Beardsley III
Owner Since: 1971
Restored By: MPG
Note: Owned by Bill Beardsley of Marion, MA., who also has a Herreshoff 15, totally restored by MP&G. Bill has owned Shadow since 1971, and always will. Her original name was "Betty" (after the daughter of the original owner, Butler, who Bill knew). She does not have the hull plate. She was delivered in May of 1930 to Barden's Boat Yard in Marion, which acted (and still occasionally does) as an agent for the boats. That summer, she appeared in the Beverly Yacht Club register as belonging to a summer resident of Marion named Butler, brother-in-law to the Converses of Marion. Because the HMC records show her going to Barden's, we are not 100% sure the Butlers were the first owners, but it stands to reason. The Converse family had her thru the war and she eventually went to another family in Marion named Robinson. Bill bought her from another Marion family, the DeWalts. They said they bought her from someone in R.I., so that piece is missing. She's in good condition, although not perfect. She's had all new frames & floor timbers, a few new planks or pieces of planks, a new aft deck and transom, the latter twice. She'sperfectly sound, although her hull isn't as fair as desired, considering the new frames andfastenings. She has been to many events at the Herreshoff Museum Katy-Did, hull #1159, was one of Bill's grandfather's (Herbert Newbury) two boats, named after his aunt Katherine.

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.)

"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.)

"Ownership info from the Herreshoff Registry." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. December 20, 2017.)

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