treilley
Sustaining Partner
I spent Saturday at the Herreshoff Museum in Bristol, RI this weekend. It is a great place to visit and has some extraordinary boats and information about the Herreshoff brothers and how they have influenced boat building well beyond their deaths.
Some facts I found fascinating:
- They invented sail track in 1887 so they could hoist sails beyond the standing rigging.
- Their wooden masts were hollow to increase strength at half the weight.
- They were the first to use diagonal steel bracing on their wooded boats so they could be built lighter.
- They designed the first sea plane to cross the Atlantic.
- They built torpedo boats for the American, British and Spanish navys.
Their most famous design was the Reliance which had a bronze covering on her wooden hull, steel ribs and an aluminum deck. The boat was a giant battery and did not last long. The boom was 115ft, the spinaker pole was 84 ft. and the mainsail weighed over 2 tons. It only took 7kts of wind to put her rail in the water with over 16,000 sq. ft. of sail area.
The Herreshoffs defended 9 America's Cups with 8 boats.
If you are in the area, I highly recommend it. Here are some photos of a beautiful restoration in the museum.
Some facts I found fascinating:
- They invented sail track in 1887 so they could hoist sails beyond the standing rigging.
- Their wooden masts were hollow to increase strength at half the weight.
- They were the first to use diagonal steel bracing on their wooded boats so they could be built lighter.
- They designed the first sea plane to cross the Atlantic.
- They built torpedo boats for the American, British and Spanish navys.
Their most famous design was the Reliance which had a bronze covering on her wooden hull, steel ribs and an aluminum deck. The boat was a giant battery and did not last long. The boom was 115ft, the spinaker pole was 84 ft. and the mainsail weighed over 2 tons. It only took 7kts of wind to put her rail in the water with over 16,000 sq. ft. of sail area.
The Herreshoffs defended 9 America's Cups with 8 boats.
If you are in the area, I highly recommend it. Here are some photos of a beautiful restoration in the museum.
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