The Herreshoff America, also called the Herreshoff America 18, is an American
trailerable sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture.
Types
Although sailboat terminolo ...
that was designed by
Halsey Chase Herreshoff as a
cruiser and first built in 1971.
[Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 35. International Marine/]McGraw-Hill
McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes refere ...
, 2010.
Production
The design was built by
Nowak & Williams in
Bristol, Rhode Island
Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, US as well as the historic county seat. The town is built on the traditional territories of the Pokanoket Wampanoag. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England.
The population of ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, starting in 1971. It was also later built by
Squadron Yachts of Bristol, Rhode Island and
Nauset Marine of
Orleans, Massachusetts
Orleans ( ) is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts situated along Cape Cod. The population was 6,307 at the 2020 census.
For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Orleans, please see the article Orleans (CD ...
, but it is now out of production. The molds and tooling were acquired by Com-Pac Yachts in about 2002 and the design was developed into the
Com-Pac Horizon Cat.
It was also developed into the
Herreshoff Eagle in 1976.
Design
The Herreshoff America is a recreational sailboat, built predominantly of
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
, with wood trim. It is a
gaff-rigged
Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the ''gaff''. Because of the size and shap ...
catboat
A catboat (alternate spelling: cat boat) is a sailboat with a single sail on a single mast set well forward in the bow of a very beamy and (usually) shallow draft hull. Typically they are gaff rigged, though Bermuda rig is also used. Most are fi ...
with a
plumb stem
The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively.
Description
The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up t ...
and a plumb
transom; a shallow, transom-hung
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...
controlled by a
tiller
A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...
and retractable, steel
centerboard that stows in a trunk. It displaces and carries of lead ballast.
The boat has a draft of with the centerboard extended and with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water,
beaching or ground transportation on a
trailer.
The boat is normally fitted with a small well-mounted
outboard motor
An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...
for docking and maneuvering.
The design has sleeping accommodation for two people, with a double
"V"-berth
A berth is a bed or sleeping accommodation on vehicles. Space accommodations have contributed to certain common design elements of berths.
Beds in boats or ships
While beds on large ships are little different from those on shore, the lack ...
in the bow. The
galley is located on the starboard side just forward of the
companionway
In the architecture of a ship, a companion or companionway is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins. A companionway may be secured by doors or, commonly in ...
ladder. The galley is U-shaped and is equipped with a single-burner stove and a sink. The
head is located opposite the galley on the port side. The cabin headroom is .
The design has a
PHRF
Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other. The aim is to cancel out the inherent advantages and disadvantages ...
racing average handicap of 324 and a
hull speed
Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to-t ...
of .
Operational history
In a 2010 review, Steve Henkel wrote, "best features: The outboard, mounted in the cockpit, is more convenient to operate than one hung on a transom bracket would have been. The centerboard has a relatively high aspect ratio, which adds
efficiency upwind. Some sailors may prefer sacrificing privacy for an aft head position, which gives unlimited headroom with the hatch open. Price on the used market compared with the generally better finished comp
titor tends to be at the low end of the scale. Worst features: The prop of the outboard, mounted in a cockpit well, can't be tilted out of the water, making for extra drag and possible fouling if the motor is left in place between voyages. The centerboard is steel, requiring extra maintenance to prevent rust."
See also
*
List of sailing boat types
Related development
*
Com-Pac Horizon Cat
References
External links
Photo of a Herreshoff America
{{Trailer sailers and Trailer yachts worldwide
1970s sailboat type designs
Sailing yachts
Trailer sailers
Sailboat type designs by Halsey Herreshoff
Sailboat types built by Nowak & Williams
Sailboat types built by Squadron Yachts
Sailboat types built by Nauset Marine