HMCo #1193s Will O' The Wisp

"... WILL O’ THE WISP (HMCo 1193) was purchased by Carol Reinisch Suitor who brought the boat back to Quissett after years of absence. Carol came to Woods Hole in the 1960s as a student. Though having little sailing experience she developed an interest in the old wooden boats of the area. After owning several boats she settled on the 12 1/2 footer. Father and son William and Douglas Cooper, who had worked on her various boats, convinced her that through racing she would become a more accomplished and competent sailor. She has owned, at various times, six Herreshoff 12 1/2s. Carol believes that WILL O’ the WISP is the best 12 1/2 she has purchased and swears, at age 68, it will be her last. Her multiple ownerships are explained by her quest for a boat with an original builder’s plate and an accurate record of ownership. One of Carol’s previous boats, EVENFALL (unknown), is now LORELEI owned by Terry Cronburg and was second in the 2013 H Class Championships. ..." (Source: Cooper, Douglas E. and Carol R. Suitor. "One Hundred Years of the Herreshoff 12 1/2 at Quissett." In: Herreshoff Marine Museum (publ.). Proceedings. The 6th Classic Yacht Symposium. May 2- 3, 2014. Bristol, RI, 2014, p. 11-12.)

"[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 #1193s Will O The Wisp even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• 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.
• Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [Contract for #1193s Will O The Wisp, 12 1/2-footer.] Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection. Bristol, RI, June 8, 1931. (654 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Copyright holder: Herreshoff Marine Museum. Original building/sales contract. Vessel description, scantlings, payment terms, delivery date.

• Will O The Wisp (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.

Month: Jun
Day: 8
Year: 1931
E/P/S: S
No.: 1193
Name: Will O The Wisp
OA: 15'
LW: 12' 6"
D: 2 1/2'
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead
Amount: 1100.00
Notes Constr. Record: Gaff Rig. Direct Order June 13,/31
Notes Bray: In far left column: "Order issued 2/17/31"
Last Name: Lloyd
First Name: Wm Bross

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.: 1193
Contract Date: 1931-06-08
Org. Name: Will O' The Wisp
Org. Owner: William Brown Lloyd
Org. Rig: Gaff
Current Rig: Gaff
Mast Partner: Hinged
Home Port: Quisset
Prior Owners: Redwood Wright - - - ; Winslow Carlton - - - ; Wickersham - 1930s - 1960s - - ; James Connell - - Newport, RI - ; Marvin Gluckman - 1995 - 1997 - East Sandwich, MA -
Current Name: Will O' The Wisp
Current Owner: Carol Reinisch Suitor
Owner Since: 1997
Sheer-strake: Oak
Restored By: George W. Zachorne, Jr.

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.)

"Date of delivery 'on or about June 13, 1931' from original contract in collection of Herreshoff Marine Museum. The short period of only 5 days between contract and delivery suggests that Will O' The Wisp had been built on speculation by HMCo and was basically ready for delivery on the day the contract was signed." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 15, 2015.)

"Built in 5 days (contract to delivered; equivalent to $220/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.)

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