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Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, Yacht Designer |
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Herreshoff was born 1848 in Bristol, Rhode Island. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1870 with a 3 year degree in mechanical engineering. After this he took employment in a steam engine company. However due to the cause of a fatal accident in 1888 while testing the speed of a newly designed steam boat, Herreshoff lost his steam license.
In 1890 Herreshoff designed sailing yachts and started a company named Herreshoff Manufacturing Company together with his brother John Brown Herreshoff... It was a boat building company established in Bristol.
The company designed torpedo boats for the navy as well as other power boats, but they soon became known for there sailing yachts.
The building technique was unique for the time as they built there hulls upside down using moulds. They always used the lightest material around and they company soon delivered the most expensive and finest yachts to the leading industrialists and famous people in America.
Herreshoff also designed J-Class yachts like the Defender, a yacht built with steel framing, bronze plating and aluminum topsides! Defender only lasted a few months before galvanic corrosion finished her! Another J-Class designed by Herreshoff was the Reliance, a 123 foot (44meter) with 17.000 square feet (1600m2) sail area (!!). Other famous designs are the NYYC 30, a one type racing yacht designed for the New York Yacht Club. Yachts Designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff: Defender
Reliance
NYYC 30
Herreshoff S-Class |
Yacht Designers 