HMCo #1455s [12 1/2 for F. B. Barden]

Particulars

Construction_Record_Title.jpgName: [12 1/2 for F. B. Barden]
Later Name(s): Robin
Type: 12 1/2 Footer
Designed by: NGH
Contract: 1938 ?
Construction: Wood
LOA: 15' (4.57m)
LWL: 12' 6" (3.81m)
Draft: 2' 6" (0.76m)
Rig: Sloop
Sail Area: 140sq ft (13.0sq m)
Keel: yes
Ballast: Lead outside
Built for: Barden, Frederick B.
Amount: $890.00
Note(s) in HMCo Construction Record: (Barden)
Current owner: Private Owner, Glen Lake, MI (last reported 2007 at age 69)

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 #716Model number: 716
Model location: H.M.M. Model Room North Wall Right

Vessels from this model:
409 built, modeled by NGH

Original text on model:
"12 1/2' Buzzards Bay boy class 24 boats 1915 scale 1/10 size three [sic, i.e. four? #806, #813, #815, #817?] boats 1916
16' w.l. Oyster Bay "Fish Class" 23 boats 1916 scale 1/12 size sections 1/13 lengths 3 1/2 added at bow on deck" (Source: Original handwritten annotation on model. Undated.)

Model Description:
"12'-1/2' lwl Buzzards Bay 12 1/2-class of 1915, HMCo's most popular creation with some 360 boats produced. Also, with change in scale and proportionally longer bow, the Fish class sloops of 1916 and beyond." (Source: Bray, Maynard. 2004.)

Related model(s):
Model XA2-1_01 by NGH (1914?); sail
Buzzards Bay 12 1/2
Model XA2-1_02 by NGH (1914?); sail
Fish Class


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.6.146-6

Offset booklet contents:
12 1/2-footer class, Fish class (Cape Cod Shipbuilding Embargoed)

Offset Booklet(s) in Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass. (Restricted access --- see curator.)

Drawings

Explore all drawings relating to this boat.

List of drawings:
   Drawings believed to have been first drawn for, or being first referenced to
   HMCo #1455s [12 1/2 for F. B. Barden] are listed in bold.
   Click on Dwg number for preview, on HH number to see at M.I.T. Museum.
  1. Dwg 079-091 (HH.5.05900): Chain Plates & Mast-Band for Port Boat on "Roamer" (1902-05-03)
  2. Dwg 079-091 (HH.5.05901): Fittings for Port Boat on # 215 (1902-05-03)
  3. Dwg 130-124 (HH.5.10432); Sails > # 744 Design for Buzzard's Bay Boy's Boat (1914-10-11)
  4. Dwg 128-142 (HH.5.10269): Sails > Sails for No. 744 Class (1914-11-20)
  5. Dwg 081-111 (HH.5.06203): Spars for # 744 and Class (11 Boats), 12 1/2 Footer (1914-11-21)
  6. Dwg 081-111 (HH.5.06203.1): Spars for # 744 and Class (11 Boats), 12 1/2 Footer (1914-11-21)
  7. Dwg 065-064 (HH.5.04659); Rudder Hanging for # 743, Rudder and Hanging for # 744 Class (1915-02-15)
  8. Dwg 074-060 (HH.5.05348); Anchor for # 744 Class Made of Manganese Bronze (1915-03-30)
  9. Dwg 148-000 (HH.5.12238); Construction Dwg > Herreshoff 12 1/2 Footer (ca. 1931)
  10. Dwg 128-142 [057-001] (HH.5.10270): Sails > Sails Plan 12 1/2 Footer Class (1934-06-04)
  11. Dwg 142-090 (HH.5.11837): Compartment Details for 12 1/2 Footers (1934-07-18)
  12. Dwg 065-064 A (HH.5.04660); Rudder and Hangers for 12 1/2 Footers, # 744 Class (1935-03-22)
  13. Dwg 076-118 B (HH.5.06085): 12 1/2 Footer Class Details of Hull Fittings (1938-02-19)
  14. Dwg 076-118 B (HH.5.06085.1): 12 1/2 Footer Class Details of Hull Fittings (1938-02-19)
  15. Dwg 130-124 (HH.5.10433); Sails > 12 1/2 Footer Class Gaff Rig Sail Plan (1938-02-19)
  16. Dwg 076-118 C (HH.5.06086): 12 1/2 Footer Class Gaff Rig Spar Details (1938-02-23)
  17. Dwg 076-118 C (HH.5.06086.1): 12 1/2 Footer Class Gaff Rig Spar Details (1938-02-23)
  18. Dwg 076-000 (HH.5.06088): 12 1/2 Footer Class Marconi Spar Details (1938-02-25)
  19. Dwg 076-118 D (HH.5.06087): 12 1/2 Footer Class Marconi Spar Details (1938-02-25)
  20. Dwg 076-118 D (HH.5.06087.1): 12 1/2 Footer Class Marconi Spar Details (1938-02-25)
  21. Dwg 025-159 (HH.5.01917): 12 1/2 Footer Class Material and Construction List (1938-02-28)
  22. Dwg 025-159 (HH.5.01917.1): 12 1/2 Footer Class Material and Construction List (1938-02-28)
  23. Dwg 130-124 B (HH.5.10434); Sails > 12 1/2 Footer Class Marconi Sail Plan [2 Plans] (1938-03-01)
  24. Dwg 130-124 B (HH.5.10434.1): Sails > 12 1/2 Footer Class Marconi Sail Plan (1938-03-01)
  25. Dwg 076-118 (HH.5.06083); Construction Dwg > 12 1/2 Footer Class 744 Construction Plan (1938-03-03)
  26. Dwg 076-118 (HH.5.06083.1): Construction Dwg > 12 1/2 Footer Class 744 Construction Plan (1938-03-03)
  27. Dwg 076-118 A (HH.5.06084): 12 1/2 Footer Class Hull Sections (1938-03-03)
  28. Dwg 076-118 A (HH.5.06084.1): 12 1/2 Footer Class Hull Sections (1938-03-03)
Source: Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Together with: Hasselbalch, Kurt with Frances Overcash and Angela Reddin. Guide to The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass., 1997. Together with: Numerous additions and corrections by Claas van der Linde.
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

Further Reading
  • 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.

Supplement

From the 2000 (ca.) Transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Vermilya/Bray

Year: 1938c
E/P/S: S
No.: 1455
LW: 12 1/2'
Rig: Marconi [sic, i.e. no entry]
Amount: 890.00
Notes Constr. Record: (Barden)

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.

From the 2007 12 1/2 Registry by Steve Nagy

Hull No.: 1455
Contract Date: 1938-05-23
Org. Owner: F.B. Barden
Current Rig: Gaff
Home Port: Glen Lake, MI
Prior Owners: Don Bradbury - - Medway, MA -
Current Name: Robin
Current Owner: Frank Hagerty
Sheer-strake: Mahogany
Note: The owner, Frank Hagerty, is a wooden boat enthusiast and owner of Hagerty Insurance. He specializes in insuring classic boats. He keeps her in a boathouse in northern Michigan.

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.)

Research Note(s)

"From the late 1920s until the close of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company Frederick B. Barden was by far its most important customer for 12 1/2 footers. His first order came in 1926, a year before Barden's Boatyard on Sippican Harbor in the town of Marion, Mass., was officially established. From then until 1943 he would order or broker a total of more than seventy-five 12 1/2 footers (plus #1225s Crusader in 1938 and one Marlin Cruiser in 1939), usually delivering them by truck from Bristol. During the same time span the HMCo built 280 12 1/2 footers. Barden thus took up more than a quarter of the company's production of 12 1/2 footers during these years. Barden is believed to have operated a rental fleet of boats for some time, but most of the boats he ordered were for brokerage and many are believed to have been sold to members of the nearby Beverly Yacht Club and the Buzzards Yacht Club. Barden's Boat Yard was still in existence in 2015, but apparently had no information available about these early boats." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 10, 2015.)

"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.

Note

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Citation: HMCo #1455s [12 1/2 for F. B. Barden]. Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné. https://herreshoff.info/Docs/S01455_12_1_2_for_F_B_Barden.htm.