Herreshoff #194501es Plastic Dinghy

"... One of the very first attempts at making plastic boats in this country, if not in the world, was made at Bristol in 1944. It happened at the close of World War II, at the Herreshoff Mfg Co plant, after war contracts on PTs, aircraft rescue boats and and minesweepers ran out.
Lowell Smith, who was employed at the Herreshoff plant at the time, remembers these early trials. The firm settled on making life rafts [#194502es] and dinghies [#194501es], but unfortunately the effort was ahead of the market, and it came to an end when the plant closed down in 1945. A few of the dinghies are still being used around the bay, and a lone life raft rests below high tide line at the former Herreshoff dock on the Bristol waterfront. ..." (Source: Anon. "Pioneer Efforts in Fiberglass Boats Took Place in Bristol County." Bristol Phoenix, 1st Annual Boating Guide and Waterfront Review, March 29, 1963, p. 12.)

"[Item Description:] Report titled 'Report on Drop Test of Pilot Models H-l and H-2. Contract W 33-092 tc 3603 -- Research Engineering, and Design of 25-Man Deck-Type Life Float' in blue 'Herreshoff, Bristol, Rhode Island, U.S.A.' binder, with numerous pasted-in photographs (one of which shows in the background young Halsey Herreshoff rowing #194501es Plastic Dinghy). 22 pages." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.065. Report. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder Lifeboat. 1945-06-28.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Carbon copy of a typed memo titled 'Memorandum to Production and Engineering: Subject 9ft Experimental Dinghy Lay-Ups.
It is important for us to proceed as rapidly as possible with experimental moldings of our 9ft dinghy to determine:
1. Whether this process lends itself to small boat production physically, and
2. Whether hulls molded by this process can compete profitably with similar boats manufactured by the usual methods from wood.
Once we have arrived at an answer to the foregoing questions, we will then be better equipped to know how, and if, to proceed further with canoe, duck boat, outboard motor boat, sailboat, etc., molds.
The following is a suggested schedule of lay-ups that should be tried to determine the workability of the material, the ease of laying-up, the cost laying up --- including material costs, etc.
a. A hull using one layer of glass, five layers of duck, one layer of glass employing Bakelite resin. (This is the hull [#194501es Plastic Dinghy] which we have already completed.)
b. One hull using seven layers of impregnated duck incorporating in the lay-up structural reinforcement of oak to minimize the amount of finishing necessary after molding.
c. Two or three hulls using impregnated Co-Ro-Lite only. I suggest that on each hull oak reinforcements, particularly in the way of the gunwale, keel, and skeg, be considered.
d. One hull using two layers of glass, a sponge rubber core, and two layers of glass.
e. One hull using three layers of veneer, a sponge rubber core, and three layers of veneer.
f. One hull using three layers of veneer, a sponge rubber core, and three layers of duck.
g. One hull using five layers of veneer, with oak reinforcements in the way of the gunwale, keel, and skeg.
h. One or more hulls using the glass fiber contributed by the Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corporation, and the Bakelite resin contributed by the Bakelite Corporation. These hulls are to be laid up under the supervision of the engineers of both of these companies.
In all of the experimental lay-ups it is essential that an accurate record be kept of the lay-up materials, time, and sequence, including the manufacturer's name and specification. Curing procedures must be accurately recorded for each lay-up, particularly as to temperatures, preserves, and vacuum. After curing and careful inspection, notations should be made regarding the outcome --- particularly noting defects. Each molding should be clearly and indelibly marked for future reference.
Each report should be on a separate page, and typed in triplicate --- one copy for the engineering office, one copy for the main office file, and one copy for my loose-leaf notebook.
These experiments should be accomplished as quickly as possibly in order to avoid delays in getting into production if, as a result of these experiments, it is decided to proceed.' [With typewritten note: 'Copy for Mr. Herreshoff'.]" (Source: Haffenreffer, C.W. (Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.) (creator). Memorandum. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.051. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder Dinghy - 9 Foot. 1945-09-19.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #194501es Plastic Dinghy even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.