HMCo #1388s [Amphicraft for James Arnold]

"... AMPHI-CRAFT. Center-board Dinghy. Sail area, 72 sq. ft.; o.a.l. 13'; beam, 4' 8''. Oak frames; mahogany or cedar planking; teak trim; teak rudder and center-board; Everdur fastenings; polished bronze fittings; spruce spars; standard equipment.
$425
Sail-away Bristol ...) (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [Advertisement.] Yachting, March 1937, p. 96-98.)

"The Amphi-Craft was to be an all-purpose boat having wider appeal and a more affordable price than most Herreshoff Mfg. Co. boats. Although the design was aggressively advertised ..., only fifteen boats were built. They were elegant and, for what they were, rather expensive.
Two of the boats are known to have been preserved (#1276 at the Herreshoff Marine Museum and another at Mystic Seaport [#1388s]), and they show some features worth knowing about. For example, the mast is in two piece so that it will store inside the boat, the wishboom rig holds the sail in its most efficient shape, and the rudder is pivoted to kick up in shallow water.
Although the Amphi-Craft hulls were built upside down, as was the Herreshoff custom, the shop's method, used for the larger craft, of bending the frames directly over the molds gave way in these and certain other small craft to ... a jig-type setup in which the boat's frames are bent over ribbands sprung around and fastened to widely spaced molds. This system requires less lofting and allows the intact jig to be left undisturbed, boat after boat; it has long been a favored method among other builders.
Except at the bow, this boat's frames run continuously side to side across the keel and are held at each end by turnbuttons at the sheer. ...
Sidney Herreshoff designed not only the Amphi-Craft but also a special trailer to go with it. The Herreshoff Mfg. Co. built the trailer as well as the boat, using running gear purchased from the Indian Motorcycle Co. and a steam-bent, varnished oak frame complete with the Herreshoff Mfg. Co. logo hand-lettered in red paint. ..." (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 190.)

"HERRESHOFF AMPHI-CRAFT
HULL #1388 13' 1" x 4' 9" ca. 1936
The Great Depression was truly depressing the market for yachts when, in the later years of its existence, the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company concentrated most of its effort on the building and promotion of smaller boats. This Amphi-Craft is an example; she could be sailed, rowed, or fitted with an outboard motor, and the fact that she was sold with a custom trailer made her an appealing item for middle-class sailors. Such a concept was a far cry from earlier times when wealthy yachtsmen came to the Herreshoffs for 40' daysailers and 72' one-designs. The Amphi-Crafts were designed by N.G. Herreshoffs oldest son, Sidney, who developed a number of other interesting boats for the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company during this time.
STATUS: Original, complete with its Herreshoff trailer, good condition.
DONOR: Rudolf F. Haffenreffer IV
FURTHER READING: Bray, Maynard, and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine: WoodenBoat Publications, 1989.
Yachts by Herreshoff. Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Bristol, Rhode Island: Privately printed, probably 1935. Contains advertising material for the Amphi-Craft.
ACCESSION NO. 1975.461." (Source: Bray, Maynard with Benjamin A. G. Fuller and Peter T. Vermilya. Mystic Seaport Watercraft. Mystic, Connecticut, 2001, p. 27.)

Month: Jul
Day: 12
Year: 1943
E/P/S: S
No.: 1388
Rig: Amphi
Amount: 400.00
Last Name: Arnold
First Name: James

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.

"Regular Amphicrafts had a higher sheer than the prototype #1276s Prim as per a note on plan HH.5.02083 (028-081) Sailboat to Carry on Trailer [Amphicraft const./sail/spars] (1935-02-16)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. November 18, 2019.)

"Weight Hull 174lbs. Complete with Equipment 216lbs." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Note on plan HH.5.02083 (028-081) 13' Open Sailboat to Carry on Trailer [Amphicraft const./sail/spars] (1935-02-16). Haffenreffer-Herreshoffer Collection. MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

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