HMCo #701s Foraminifer [II]
![HMCo #701s Foraminifer [II]](../Images_Drawings/250px/HH.5.05550.jpg)
Particulars
Later Name(s): [Wittamore?]
Type: Beverly YC Raceabout Class
Designed by: NGH
Contract: 1910-5-14
Launch: 1910-9-27
Construction: Wood
LOA: 37' 7" (11.46m)
LWL: 21' 0" (6.40m)
Beam: 9' 4" (2.84m)
Draft: 6' 0" (1.83m)
Rig: Gaff Sloop
Displ.: 6,700 lbs (3,039 kg)
Keel: yes
Ballast: Lead outside
Built for: Whittemore, D. L.
Amount: $2,925.00
Note(s) in HMCo Construction Record: Replacing #696 [which was] Sold to L. W. Knowles. [Note on HMCo vessel index card: 'Takes place for #696. Displacement made larger otherwise the same.']
Last reported: 1925 (aged 15)
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 number: 318
Vessels from this model:
3 built, modeled by NGH
Original text on model:
"SELWONK spring 1910 Raceabout class Beverly YC scale 1" Knowles
FORMINIFER fall 1910 No. 701 " " " " " but changed 8/10" in waterline length WITTAMORE
late fall 1910 No. 705 " " " " " " R. M. Winsor" (Source: Original handwritten annotation on model. Undated.)
Model Description:
"21' lwl Selwonk, Foraminifer, and Saracen, raceabout sloops of 1910." (Source: Bray, Maynard. 2004.)
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.4.170
Offset booklet contents:
#696, #701, #705 [21' w.l. sloops Foraminifer 1 & 2 & Saracen].
Offset Booklet(s) in Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass. (Restricted access --- see curator.)
Drawings
List of drawings:
Drawings believed to have been first drawn for, or being first referenced to
HMCo #701s Foraminifer [II] are listed in bold.
Click on Dwg number for preview, on HH number to see at M.I.T. Museum.
- Dwg 081-071 (HH.5.06161): Spars (1909-04-30)
- Dwg 130-112 (HH.5.10420): Sails > # 696, 701, 705 Buzzards Bay 21' - Selwonk, Foraminifer, Saracen (1910-03 ?)
- Dwg 076-096 (HH.5.05550); Construction Dwg > No. 696, Length 37 1/2' O.A., 21' W.L., Beam 9'-4", Draught 6'-0" (1910-05-28 ?)
- Dwg 143-024 (HH.5.11888): Foraminifer 37 1/2' O.A., 9'-4" Beam, 6' Draught [Docking Plan] (1910-06-15)
- Dwg 130-115 (HH.5.10423): Sails > # 707 Buzzards Bay 21' Polliwog (1911-02 ?)
- Dwg 034-108 (HH.5.02518): Cradle for Buzzards Bay 30 Footers Used Also for # 701 and A Buzzards Bay 15 Footer (1911-06-07)
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
Nathanael G. Herreshoff
"[1911-05-26] Fri 26: 21' raceabout [#701s Foraminifer] for Whittmore left in AM. ..." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1911. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)
"July 8 1910.
No. 701 [#701s] (also 705 [#700s Saracen] for R. Winsor).
21ft Raceabout for Buzzard Bay Class. For F.L. Whittemore.
To take place of #696 which went below her designed lines. To be built on same moulds as #696 but moulds for length of waterline (21') to be set lower by fusing[?] up on setting up on[?] setting up base line in harmonic curve 8/10 inch (13/16" nearly) on middle frame.
Length on deck 37' 6". Length w.L. 21' 0". Overhang for[ward] 10.6', aft 6.0'.
Breadth beam 9' 3 1/2". Extreme beam[?] [blank?] l.w.l. 8' 5 3/4".
Draft 6' 0" & no more. Free board same as 696.
Displacement 99.2 + 5.6 = 104.8cuft = 6700lbs. C[enter of]G[ravity of displacement] = .524 of l.w.l.
Area lwl plane 143sqft. Area wetted surface 214sqft.
-----
Estimate of Weights & c.:
Hull above keel, complete 2450[lbs]
Rudder & deadwood & bolts 375[lbs]
Standing rig 350[lbs]
Equipment 200[lbs]
Watersoaking 300[lbs]
[Sub-Total] 2675[lbs]
Lead keel & bolts 3025lbs (If old keel of #696 is used move aft about 3")
Total 6700[lbs]
-----
Used lead & keel of 696.
Nov[ember] [1910] Gross w[ei]g[h]t lead casting 3015lbs.Took off in dressing 11lbs." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Handwritten (in ink and pencil) notes in Design Book No. 5, p. 32. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. July 8, 1910 to November 1910.)
"No. 696 [#696s].
Frame spaces 9".
Timbers moulded 1 1/8 at head. Between # 24 - 33 inclusive, to increase moulded way 1/8" per ft. All others moulded 1 1/8 full length.
Planking 3/4.
Decking 3/4.
Sheer height given is to upper side of deck.
Keel 1 3/8 above rabbate and 3/8 (more or less) below in middle part.
Stem head 3/4".
Deck beam crown about 4 1/4" in 9ft." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Handwritten (in pencil and ink) note in Offset Booklet HH.4.170.] March 1910. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)
"No. 701. Same as #696 except displacement is increased by making # 28 frame 8/10in deeper in water and graduated and to ends of waterline. To have watertight bulkhead in # 12 & 42." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G.? Penciled note on construction plan 076-096 (HH.5.05550). Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)
Other Contemporary Text Source(s)
"BRISTOL, R I, Oct 1 [1910] --- ... Foraminifer [#701s], the second boat of the name, type and dimensions built by Herreshoff this year for Harry Payne Whitney, was launched Tuesday [September 27, 1910]. The boat is an improvement over the first boat [#696s] and appeared fast at her trial here Wednesday with Nat Herreshoff at the tiller. The Foraminifer is a 21-footer for the Buzzards bay class, planked with mahogany and has a small trunk cabin. ... [Note that the Construction Record lists Foraminifer to have been built for D. L. Whittemore, not Harry Payne Whitney.]" (Source: Anon. "Bristol Notes." Boston Globe, October 2, 1910, p. 64.)
Archival Documents
"[Item Transcription:] Handwritten (in ink and pencil) design book titled 'Nathl. G. Herreshoff. Bristol, R.I., 1908. Naval Architectural & Engineering Notes, Continued'. Part 1. Relevant contents:
§112: #701s FORAMINIFER [II] Model 0318 Note 'to take place of #696 which went below her designed lines', dimensions, est. weights table, C.G. %s, moments, (also for #705s SARACEN) (1910-07-08)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Design Book No 5 Pt 1. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item DsBk5. Model Room, Folder [no #]. 1908-02 to 1914.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200
201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217
Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #701s Foraminifer [II] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.
Registers
Name: Foraminifer
Owner: D. K. Whittemore; Port: Quisset, Mass.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 37-6; LWL 20-3; Extr. Beam 9-4; Draught 5-5
Sailmaker HMCo.
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer N. G. Herreshoff; Built where Bristol, R.I.
1920 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#1052)
Name: Foraminifer
Owner: Charles Whittemore; Port: Quisset, Mass.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 37-7; LWL 20-3; Extr. Beam 9-4; Draught 5-6
Sailmaker HMCo.
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer N. G. Herreshoff; Built where Bristol, R.I.
1923 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#1034)
Name: Foraminifer
Owner: Charles Whittemore; Port: Quisset, Mass.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 37-6; LWL 20-3; Extr. Beam 9-4; Draught 5-5
Sailmaker HMCo.
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer N. G. Herreshoff; Built where Bristol, R.I.
1925 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#1115)
Name: Foraminifer
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 37-7; LWL 20-3; Extr. Beam 9-4; Draught 5-6
Sailmaker HMCo
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer N. G. Herreshoff; Built where Bristol, R.I.
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. and permission to display is gratefully acknowledged.
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 2000 (ca.) Transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Vermilya/Bray
Month: May
Day: 14
Year: 1910
E/P/S: S
No.: 0701
Name: Foraminifer
LW: 21'
B: 9' 4"
D: 6'
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead O.
Amount: 2925.00
Notes Constr. Record: Replacing #696. Sold to Knowles.
Last Name: Whittemore
First Name: C.
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.
Link to the Herreshoff Registry
The Herreshoff Registry, founded by Steve Nagy and later administered by Teeter Bibber, can be particularly useful for researching the provenance of Herreshoff-built sailing vessels. Permission to link to the Registry is gratefully acknowledged! Note: The Herreshoff Registry was offline in Spring of 2022. As a temporary measure here is a link to a backup file from January 2021. It is unclear how much the Registry has been updated since then.
Research Note(s)
"Raceabout. Beverly Yacht Club 21' Restricted Class (assigned the letter C as sail number prefix). Foraminifer's sail number was C-12. See Beverly Yacht Club yearbooks for more information on class." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. April 23, 2009.)
"Figure for LOA from 1917 Lloyd's list." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. December 8, 2010.)
"Built in 136 days (contract to launch; equivalent to $22/day, 49 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 11, 2026.)
Note: Research notes contain information about a vessel that is often random and unedited but has been deemed useful for future research.
Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné.
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