HMCo #962s Falcon
Particulars
Name: FalconLater Name(s): Lively Lady (1950s-), Falcon
Type: Q-Boat
Designed by: Burgess, Swasey & Paine
Contract: 1925-9-30
Delivered: 1926-5-30
Construction: Wood
LOA: 46' 0" (14.02m)
LWL: 30' 5" (9.27m)
Beam: 9' 3" (2.82m)
Draft: 6' 5.5" (1.97m)
Rig: Marconi Sloop
Sail Area: 900sq ft (83.6sq m)
Keel: yes
Built for: Abbott, Edward M.
Amount: $10,750.00
Note(s) in HMCo Construction Record: "Q" Class Sloop [Burgess Design]
Current owner: Private Owner, Camden, ME (last reported 2021 at age 95)
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.
Drawings
List of drawings:
Drawings believed to have been first drawn for, or being first referenced to
HMCo #962s Falcon are listed in bold.
Click on Dwg number for preview, on HH number to see at M.I.T. Museum.
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Dwg 084-093 (HH.5.06544): Skylight (1919-03-25)
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Dwg 084-093 (HH.5.06544.1): Skylight (1919-03-25)
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Dwg 025-146 (HH.5.01902): Casting List (1923-07-21 ?)
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Dwg 064-101 (HH.5.04576): Rudder and Rudder Details for Abbott "Q" Boat (1926-02-18)
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Dwg 084-120 (HH.5.06573): Skylight on House for Q Boat (1926-03-17)
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Dwg 074-000 (HH.5.05387): Thimbles (1926-05-12)
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Dwg 025-161 (HH.5.01918); Q-Class Sloop (Burgess Sw + P), Rigging and Block Lists (1926-05-13)
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
Other Contemporary Text Source(s)
"... Two small boats are also being built at Bristol, a Class Q, or 25 rater [#962s Falcon], for Edward M. Abbott, of the Eastern Yacht Club, and a Class R. or 20 rater [#966s Grayling], for Junius S. Morgan, Jr. The Morgan boat is from designs by Mr. Herreshoff, while the Abbott yacht is from the drawing beards of Burgess, Swasey and Paine. This latter yacht is one of the few yachts to be built in the Herreshoff plant from outside designs, and marks another progressive step in the development of the plant. ..." (Source: Swan, William Upham. "Busy Days at Bristol." Yachting, Janary 1926, p. 56-57.)
"E.M. and J.M. Abbot's 25-rater, building at Herreshoff's from the designs of Burgess, Swasey & Paine for the 1926 Marblehead racing, is planked and was turned over and set on the lead keel at Bristol last week. ..." (Source: Anon. "Yachts and Yachtsmen. Great Season of Racing in 1926." Boston Globe, February 28, 1926, p. A53.)
Other Modern Text Source(s)
"Among Ray Hunts other activities during 1930 was campaigning the Q-class yacht Falcon, a boat he had chartered from its owner, Edward 'Ned' Abbott. The yacht, a Starling Burgess design, had been built in 1926. With the abandonment of the Rs, Q-class yachts became Raymond's focus. He told a reporter: 'For pure enjoyment of racing I think a Q boat is about as large as a man wants. The Americas Cup boats are beautiful, thrilling spectacles, but for the best sport, I think they are too big.'
Of course, the Q's were a popular and very competitive class. On July 12,1930, Raymond sailed Falcon in an Eastern Yacht Club race that took the boats from Brenton Reef up Buzzards Bay to Monument Beach. Raymond finished first in this dash, six minutes ahead of John Alden's Hope, which was trailed by Winsor Gale and Chandler Hovey. Given that an open-class yacht like the Q was subject to instant obsolescence, Raymond's success with the four-year-old Falcon was yet another example of his unusual ability. Looking back on this performance years later, a Globe yachting reporter would declare that Raymond 'got more speed out of the craft than any skipper before or since.' " (Source: Grayson, Stan. A Genius at His Trade. C. Raymond Hunt and His Remarkable Boats. New Bedford, Mass., 2015, p. 49.)
Archival Documents
"[Item Description:] Typed 'Specifications for Class Q Sloop, Designed by Burgess, Swasey & Paine of Boston, To Be Built By The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company [#962s FALCON]'. With penciled note in upper margin '#962. Drafting Room'. 2 pages." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.022. Specifications. Box HAFH.6.1B, Folder Hull No. 962s. No date (1925-09-30).)
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"[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 ?).)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #962s Falcon even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.
Further Reading
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Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [Contract for #962s Falcon, Q-Boat (including specifications).] Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection. Bristol, RI, September 30, 1925. (1,912 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 by Falcon's designer Burgess, Swasey & Paine. -
Bray, Maynard. "Save a Classic: Falcon. A Q-Class Sloop." Wooden Boat #152, January/February 2000, p. 144. (114 kB)
Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Maynard Bray (text).
Images
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Further Image Information
Created by: Jackson, Willard B.
Image Caption: Falcon.
Negative Number: 4141
Image Date: 1927---
Collection: Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass., acc. no. 04-082.
Image is copyrighted: No known U.S. copyright restrictions
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Further Image Information
Created by: Jones, Leslie (1886-1967).
Image Caption: "Q-7 Ray Hunts Falcon - Marblehead."
Negative Number: 08_06_012749
Image Date: 1930-8
Collection: Leslie Jones Collection, Boston Public Library.
Image is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission
Copyright holder: Leslie Jones.
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Further Image Information
Created by: Jones, Leslie (1886-1967).
Image Caption: "Q-7 Ray Hunts Falcon - Marblehead. [Leslie Jones Collection Caption.]" "Q-class yacht Falcon. Raymond enjoyed success at the helm of the speedy Falcon when he chartered her in 1930. Falcon was perhaps the last boot designed by Starling Burgess when he was associated with Burgess, Swasey and Paine. The boat was built in 1920 by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company for her first owner, Edward M. Abbott of Marblehead. Raymond held the Q's in high regard, believing them to be of more practical size than larger classes. Falcon measured 47 feet 7 inches by 32 feet 3 inches by 9 feet 1 inch by 6 feet 9 inches. [Stan Grayson Caption.]"
Negative Number: 08_06_012759
Image Date: 1930-8
Published in: Grayson, Stan. A Genius at His Trade. C. Raymond Hunt and His Remarkable Boats. New Bedford, Mass., 2015, p. 50.
Collection: Leslie Jones Collection, Boston Public Library.
Image is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission
Copyright holder: Leslie Jones.
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Further Image Information
Created by: Jones, Leslie (1886-1967).
Image Caption: [Q-7 Ray Hunts Falcon - Marblehead.]
Negative Number: 08_06_012681
Image Date: 1932-8
Collection: Leslie Jones Collection, Boston Public Library.
Image is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission
Copyright holder: Leslie Jones.
Registers
1930 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#1431)
Name: Falcon
Owner: Edward M. Abbott; Port: Marblehead, Mass.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 46-6; LWL 31-3; Extr. Beam 9-1; Draught 6-8
Sailmaker R&L [Ratsey&Lapthorn New York]; Sails made in [19]28
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Swasey & Paine; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1926
1935 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#2649)
Name; Former Name(s): Lively Lady; Falcon
Owner: Malcom W. Greenough; Port: Marblehead, Mass.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 46-7; LWL 31-3; Extr. Beam 9-1; Draught 6-9
Sailmaker R&L [Ratsey&Lapthorn New York]; Sails made in [19]34; Sail Area 900
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Swasey & Paine; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1926
1940 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#3414)
Name; Former Name(s): Lively Lady; Falcon
Owner: Otto Dreher; Port: Milwaukee, Wis.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 46-7; LWL 31-3; Extr. Beam 9-1; Draught 6-9
Sailmaker Ratsey; Sails made in [19]38; Sail Area 900
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Swasey & Paine; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1926
1947 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#3302)
Name; Former Name(s): Lively Lady; Falcon
Owner: Otto Dreher; Port: Milwaukee, Wis.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 46-7; LWL 31-3; Extr. Beam 9-1; Draught 6-9
Sailmaker Ratsey; Sails made in [19]38; Sail Area 884
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Swasey & Paine; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1926
1950 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#3704)
Name; Former Name(s): Lively Lady; Falcon
Owner: Otto Dreher; Port: Milwaukee, Wis.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 46-7; LWL 31-3; Extr. Beam 9-1; Draught 6-9
Sailmaker Ratsey; Sails made in [19]48; Sail Area 884
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Swasey & Paine; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1926
1955 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#4099)
Name; Former Name(s): Lively Lady; Falcon
Owner: Otto Dreher; Port: Milwaukee, Wis.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 46-7; LWL 31-3; Extr. Beam 9-1; Draught 6-9
Sailmaker Ratsey; Sails made in [19]48; Sail Area 884
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Swasey & Paine; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1926
1960 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#4479)
Name; Former Name(s): Lively Lady; Falcon
Owner: Otto Dreher; Port: Milwaukee, Wis.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Aux Slp
LOA 46-7; LWL 31-3; Extr. Beam 9-1; Draught 6-9
Sailmaker Ratsey-Hard; Sails made in [19]59; Sail Area 884
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Swasey & Paine; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1926
Engine Gas Eng. 4 Cyc. 4 Cyl. 1957. 25 HP; Maker Universal
1967 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#5208)
Name; Former Name(s): Lively Lady; Falcon
Owner: A. R. Emery, W. B. Emery; Port: Milwaukee, Wis.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 46-7; LWL 31-3; Extr. Beam 9-1; Draught 6-9
Sailmaker Ratsey-Hard; Sails made in [19]59, [19]61; Sail Area 884
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Swasey & Paine; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1926
Engine Gas Eng. 4 Cyc. 4 Cyl. 1957. 25 HP; Maker Universal
1970 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#5468)
Name; Former Name(s): Lively Lady; Falcon
Owner: A. R. Emery, W. B. Emery; Port: Milwaukee, Wis.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 46-7; LWL 31-3; Extr. Beam 9-1; Draught 6-9
Sailmaker Ratsey-Hard; Sails made in [19]59 & [19]61; Sail Area 884
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Swasey & Paine; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1926
Engine Gas Eng. 4 Cyc. 4 Cyl. 1957. 25 HP; Maker Universal
1999-2000 Register of Wooden Boats (#155.9)
Name: Falcon
Owner: George Emery; Port: Tenants Harbor, ME ; Port of Registry: Cushing, ME
Type & Rig Q class, Keel sloop
LOA 46-7; LWL 31-3; Extr. Beam 9-1; Draught 6-9
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Swasey & Paine; Built where Bristol RI; Built when 1926
2007 WoodenBoat Register
Name: Falcon
Owner: George Emery; Port: Tenants Harbor, ME ; Port of Registry: Cushing, ME
Type & Rig Q class, Keel sloop
LOA 46-7; LWL 31-3; Extr. Beam 9-1; Draught 6-9
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Swasey & Paine; Built where Bristol RI; Built when 1926
2013 WoodenBoat Register
Name: Falcon
Owner: Gerald Rainer
Type & Rig Q class, Keel sloop
LOA 46-7; LWL 31-3; Extr. Beam 9-1; Draught 6-9
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer Burgess, Swasey & Paine; Built where Bristol RI; Built when 1926
Note: Database entry posted on Wed, 08/21/2013 - 3:52pm, last modified on Wed, 08/21/2013 - 3:52pm
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: Falcon
Type: J & M
Length: 46'
Owner: Abbot, Edward M.
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: Falcon
Type: 31' 3" sloop
Owner: E. M. Abbott
Year: 1926
Row No.: 216
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: Sept.
Day: 30
Year: 1925
E/P/S: S
No.: 0962
Name: Falcon
OA: 46' 0"
LW: 30' 5"
B: 9' 3"
D: 6' 5"
K: y
Amount: 10,750.00
Notes Constr. Record: q Class Sloop, burgess design
Last Name: Abbott
First Name: Edw. M.
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)
"Universal Rule Class Q." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 7, 2009.)
"[See also:] Specifications for Q-class sloop designed by Burgess, Swasey & Paine. In: Technical and Business Records pertaining to the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Series VI, Folder HH.6.22 (Hull No. 962), Box HAFH.6.1B." (Source: Hasselbalch, Kurt and Frances Overcash and Angela Reddin: Guide to The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass., 1997, p. 63-79.)
"A restoration of Lively Lady, ex-Falcon, including new floors, steambent frames, new fastenings including new keel bolts, new stem, new deck frame, and a new transom and sheerstrakes, was begun and then abandoned by owner and boatbuilder George Emery of Tenants Harbor, ME. Following a 'Save-A-Classic' call from Maynard Bray in WoodenBoat magazine of January 2000, she was acquired and stored as a restoration project by Konrad Ulbrich of Warren, ME. After Ulbrich's death in 2007, the partially rebuilt hull was bought by her present owner Gerald Rainer, who had her restored on the Ulbrich premises by boatbuilder John Anderson." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. November 1, 2015.)
"Date of delivery May 30, 1926 from a note by Tom Brightman 'May 30th. Mr. Abbott took over this boat and made final payment. TPB" on original contract in collection of Herreshoff Marine Museum. The contract had specified delivery 'on or about May 15th, 1926'." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 15, 2015.)
"Built in 242 days (contract to delivered; equivalent to $44/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)
"Sail area from Lloyd's Register." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 17, 2015.)
Note: Research notes contain information about a vessel that is often random and unedited but has been deemed useful for future research.
Note
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