HMCo #1130s Aeolus [?]

Particulars

Name: Aeolus [?]
Later Name(s): Splurge? (1949-1956), Encore? (1954-1959 or later), Aeolus? (1982 or earlier -)
Type: S-Class
Designed by: NGH
Contract: 1931-9-28
Delivered: 1932-6-1 ?
Construction: Wood
LOA: 27' 6" (8.38m)
LWL: 20' 6" (6.25m)
Beam: 7' 2" (2.18m)
Draft: 4' 9" (1.45m)
Rig: Sloop
Sail Area: 425sq ft (39.5sq m)
Displ.: 6,030 lbs (2,735 kg)
Keel: yes
Ballast: Lead (3350 lbs)
Built for: Herreshoff Mfg. Co. [George H[enry] A[lexander] Clowes]
Amount: $3,525.00
Note(s) in HMCo Construction Record: S Boat. Teak fin[ish].
Current owner: Private Owner, Cataumet, MA (last reported 2021 at age 89)
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

Explore the table of boats to see which boats were built from this model.

Model #718Model number: 718

Vessels from this model:
93 built, modeled by NGH
#850s Ellen (1920)
#828s Gob (1920, Extant)
#830s Spinster (1920)
#831s Papoose (1920, Extant)
#832s Woodchuck (1920)
#833s Cheerio (1920)
#834s Widgeon (1920, Extant)
#835s Kajee (1920, Extant)
#836s Daphnia [Daphina] (1920)
#837s Doodah (1920)
#838s Teaticket (1920, Extant)
#844s Vant (1920, Extant)
#845s Swallow (1920, Extant)
#846s Fano (1920, Extant)
#849s Cima [Cimi] (1920, Extant)
#851s Monsoon (1920)
#854s Aminta (1920)
#852s [S-Class for W. R. Potter] (1920, Extant)
#864s Shona (1921, Extant)
#853s [S-Class for T. A. Howell] (1921)
#855s [S-Class] (1921)
#856s S-Class for A. L. Lindley (1921, Extant)
#857s [S-Class for T. A. Howell] (1921)
#858s Meg (1921, Extant)
#859s [S-Class for M. J. O'Brian] (1921, Extant)
#870s Surinam (1922)
#871s Perneb [Pernab] (1922, Extant)
#872s [Unbuilt. Cancelled] (1922)
#873s Pandora (1922, Extant)
#876s [S-Class] (1922)
#909s Mab (1925)
#910s Albatross (1925, Extant)
#911s Elinor (1925)
#912s Emily II (1925, Extant)
#913s Spray (1925, Extant)
#914s Skip (1925)
#915s Lulworth (1926)
#956s Firefly (1926, Extant)
#957s Seafarer (1926, Extant)
#958s Beze B [Bizi Bo] (1926)
#959s Periwinkle (1926, Extant)
#960s Artemis (1926, Extant)
#963s Koshare (1926, Extant)
#964s Bridget (1926, Extant)
#965s Avocet (1926, Extant)
#967s Stella II (1926, Extant)
#970s Naut (1926)
#971s Rocket (1926, Extant)
#980s Vixen II (1926)
#996s Ellen O. [Ellen A.] (1926)
#1013s Sonnet [Seafarer Crossed out] (1926)
#1014s Pronto (1926, Extant)
#1018s Kotic [Kotick] (1926, Extant)
#1020s Vanessa (1926)
#1015s Rowena (1926, Extant)
#1019s Fandec II (1926, Extant)
#1021s Iroquois II (1926, Extant)
#1022s Dilemma (1926, Extant)
#1023s Jacks (1926)
#1051s Danae (1927, Extant)
#1080s Priscilla (1927, Extant)
#1034s Barracuda (1927, Extant)
#1035s [S-Class for A. W. T. Bottomley] (1927)
#1036s [S-Class for A. W. T. Bottomley] (1927)
#1037s [S-Class for A. W. T. Bottomley] (1927)
#1052s Spindrift (1927)
#1075s Elva (1928)
#1076s [S-Class for A. W. T. Bottomley] (1928)
#1077s [S-Class for A. W. T. Bottomley] (1928)
#1124s Whoopee (1929)
#1119s Sea Dog (1929, Extant)
#1120s Anita (1929, Extant)
#1123s Nightmare (1929, Extant)
#1121s Pirate (1929, Extant)
#1125s Barracuda V (1929, Extant)
#1126s Alpha (1929)
#1056s Vindex (1929, Extant)
#1127s Iris (1929)
#1151s Pluckermin II (1930, Extant)
#1181s [S-Class] (1930)
#1182s [S-Class] (1930)
#1183s [S-Class] (1930)
#1184s [S-Class] (1930)
#1128s Olive (1930, Extant)
#1129s Surprise (1930, Extant)
#1179s Osprey (1930, Extant)
#1152s The Fair American (1931)
#1130s Aeolus [?] (1932, Extant)
#1180s Penguin (1932)
#1122s Antares [with Bobbie, Barbara crossed out] (1936, Extant)
#1385s Tinker Too (1936, Extant)
#1417s [Unbuilt S-Class] (1937)
#1418s [Unbuilt S-Class] (1937)
#1419s [Unbuilt S-Class] (1937)
#1415s Stormalong (1937)
#1414s Wawis (1937, Extant)
#1416s Estelle Dunbar III (1941, Extant)

Original text on model:
"828 class 20' 1/2" w.l. to rate in S class Nov. 1919 Scale [1"]" (Source: Original handwritten annotation on model. Undated.)

Model Description:
"20'6" lwl S-class sloops of 1919 and beyond. One of the boats, named Coquina, is in the Herreshoff Marine Museum's collection, and The S-class Association is still very much alive." (Source: Bray, Maynard. 2004.)

Related model(s):
Model XA2-1_04 by NGH (1919?); sail
S-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.6.146-4

Offset booklet contents:
S-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

Main drawing Dwg 076-130 (HH.5.05572) Explore all drawings relating to this boat. Explore castings relating to this boat (if available).

List of drawings:
   Drawings believed to have been first drawn for, or being first referenced to
   HMCo #1130s Aeolus [?] are listed in bold.
   Click on Dwg number for preview, on HH number to see at M.I.T. Museum.
  1. Dwg 112-072 (HH.5.09368): Winch for Boom Hanging (79-40) (1907-09-21)
  2. Dwg 096-121 (HH.5.08083); Sails > One Design S Class Yacht for Racing and Cruising (1919-10 ?)
  3. Dwg 076-130 (HH.5.05572); Construction Dwg > 828 Class Knockabouts (1919-11 ?)
  4. Dwg 076-130 (HH.5.05572.1); Construction Dwg > 828 Class Knockabouts (1919-11 ?)
  5. Dwg 096-121 (HH.5.08081): Sails > Sail Plan for One Design S Class (1919-11)
  6. Dwg 128-060 (HH.5.10179): Sails > Sails for 828 Class (1919-11-28)
  7. Dwg 065-066 (HH.5.04662): Rudder Hanging for 828 Class (1919-12-24)
  8. Dwg 084-097 (HH.5.06548): Companion-Way Details for Water Tight And (1920-01-14)
  9. Dwg 096-121 A (HH.5.08082); Sails > S Class Boat, 17' Rating (1924-11-01)
  10. Dwg 148-000 (HH.5.12234); Sails > S Class Boat (1924-11-07)
  11. Dwg 148-000 (HH.5.12235); Sails > S Class Boat (1924-11-07)
  12. Dwg 148-000 (HH.5.12236); Construction Dwg > Class S Boat (ca. 1931)
  13. Dwg 081-000 (HH.5.06270): Curve of After Side of Mast of "S" Class Sloop "Aeolus" (1934-02-01)
  14. Dwg 084-128 (HH.5.06582); General Arrangement > S Class Knockabout with Watertight Cockpit Arrangements (1934-03-02)
  15. Dwg 130-000 (HH.5.10543): Sails > S Class Boat (1935-03-26)
  16. Dwg 096-121 B (HH.5.08083.1): Data Relating to Herreshoff Class Boats [S-Class and H-23] Given to North American Yacht Racing Union (1938-01-13)
  17. Dwg 096-000 (HH.5.08123): Sails > Proposed Rig, Herreshoff "S" Class (1939-12-11)
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 (see individual drawing's info for more information about these).
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

Explore diaries and logs of the Herreshoff family which may include this boat.

L. Francis Herreshoff

"... in some ways the most interesting product of 1919 was the one-design class of 'S' boats, which came out early that spring.
While there were few of them built the first year, perhaps twenty, the company continued building them off and on for the next eight or nine years so that eventually there were perhaps a hundred and fifty or more of them, and besides being good little cruisers they have furnished active racing up to the present time in widely separated districts. If I remember right these little yachts cost less than two thousand dollars the first few years, so they have been a good investment for some owners for they were built well enough to last for years if handled carefully. Perhaps the 'S' boats would even have been more popular if they had been a little better looking but that defect should not be wholly blamed on Captain Nat for it was the request of the original sponsors of the class that they have short overhangs and full bows and sterns. This feature has made them rather queer-looking Universal Rule boats, and consequently they are not particularly fast for their rating. But there have been few all-around better boats for afternoon sailing, cruising, and racing, and perhaps also the last one-design class that was somewhat comfortable." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. The Wizard of Bristol. The Life and Achievements of Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, together with An Account of Some of the Yachts he Designed. New York, 1953, p. 306.)

Other Contemporary Text Source(s)

"... In the small boat shed along with several Frostbite Dinghies [#1221s Tender for #1226s Yawlcat and #1220s Kid-Pleurisy], half a dozen Buzzard's Bay 12 1/2 Footers [of the #1197 class], two S boats [#1130s Aeolus and #1180s Penguin] and the last three of the dozen new Herreshoff 23 foot Class boats [probably #1223s Buza, #1224s Altair and the centerboard FI-23 #1225s Crusader] is a new all-teak Starboard launch-tender [#394p] for Mr. Alfred Loomis' 95 power yacht 'Katoura' [#391p] which is being commissioned for Summer service. ..." (Source: Anon. "Herreshoff Shops Hum with Boating Season Activities." Bristol Phoenix, May 17, 1932, p. 1.)

Archival Documents

"[Item Description:] Spreadsheet listing original contracts (from 1923 to 1940) by HMCo in the collection of HMM (from the gift of Everett Pearson). Listed boats are: #380p, #381p, #388p, #389p, #391p, #392p, #393p, #395p, #886s, #933s, #934s, #954s, #955s, #962s, #983s, #999s, #1002s, #1017s, #1054s, #1055s, #1057s, #1074s, #1078s, #1122s, #1125s, #1130s, #1131s, #1147s, #1152s, #1153s, #1154s, #1156s, #1157s, #1164s, #1170s, #1173s, #1174s, #1175s, #1175s, #1176s, #1177s, #1179s, #1180s, #1191s, #1192s, #1193s, #1195s, #1196s, #1198s, #1199s, #1200s, #1201s, #1202s, #1203s, #1206s, #1207s, #1208s, #1209s, #1210s, #1211s, #1212s, #1213s, #1214s, #1215s, #1216s, #1217s, #1218s, #1219s, #1220s, #1222s, #1224s, #1236s, #1226s, #1227s, #1228s, #1230s, #1232s, #1234s, #1237s, #1238s, #1240s, #1241s, #1243s, #1244s, #1245s, #1246s, #1247s, #1248s, #1249s, #1250s, #1251s, #1252s, #1253s, #1254s, #1255s, #1256s, #1257s, #1258s, #1259s, #1260s, #1261s, #1262s, #1263s, #1264s, #1265s, #1274s, #1275s, #1277s, #1279s, #1280s, #1281s, #1282s, #1283s, #1284s, #1285s, #1286s, #1287s, #1302s, #1303s, #1315s, #1508s." (Source: Rickson, Norene (creator). Table. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_4220. HMM Library Rare Books Room (HMCo Contracts), Folder [no #]. No date (2010s ?).)
1 2 3 4

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #1130s Aeolus [?] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

Further Reading

Registers

Explore yacht registers which may include this boat.

1950 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#6351)
Name: Splurge
Owner: Clinton L. Allen, Jr.; Port: Essex, Conn.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 27-6; LWL 20-6; Extr. Beam 7-2; Draught 4-10
Sailmaker Ratsey; Sails made in [19]41 & [19]48; Sail Area 425
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer N. G. Herreshoff; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1931
It is not clear if this is #1130s. See research note.

1955 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (#6914)
Name: Splurge
Owner: Clinton L. Allen, Jr.; Port: Essex, Conn.
Building Material Wood; Type & Rig K[eel], TC [Trunk Cabin], Slp
LOA 27-6; LWL 20-6; Extr. Beam 7-2; Draught 4-10
Sailmaker Ratsey; Sails made in [19]41 & [19]48; Sail Area 425
Builder Herreshoff Mfg. Co.; Designer N. G. Herreshoff; Built where Bristol, R.I.; Built when 1931
It is not clear if this is #1130s. See research note.

Source: Various Yacht Lists and Registers. For complete biographical information see the Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné under Data Sources. Note that this section shows only snapshots in time and should not be considered a provenance, although it can help creating one.

Supplement

From the 1920 and earlier HMCo Index Cards at the MIT Museum
  • Note: The vessel index cards comprise two sets of a total of some 3200 cards about vessels built by HMCo, with dimensions and information regarding drawings, later or former vessel names, and owners. They were compiled from HMCo's early days until 1920 and added to in later decades, apparently by Hart Nautical curator William A. Baker and his successors. While HMCo seems to have used only one set of index cards, all sorted by name and, where no name was available, by number, later users at MIT apparently divided them into two sets of cards, one sorted by vessel name, the other by vessel number and greatly expanded the number of cards. Original HMCo cards are usually lined and almost always punched with a hole at bottom center while later cards usually have no hole, are unlined, and often carry substantially less information. All cards are held by the Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections of the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass. and permission to display is gratefully acknowledged.
Link to the Herreshoff Registry

The Herreshoff Registry, founded by Steve Nagy and later administered by Teeter Bibber, can be particularly useful for researching the provenance of Herreshoff-built sailing vessels. Permission to link to the Registry is gratefully acknowledged! Note: The Herreshoff Registry was offline in Spring of 2022. As a temporary measure here is a link to a backup file from January 2021. It is unclear how much the Registry has been updated since then.

Research Note(s)

"Sail number 67." (Source: Upham, Kenneth B. History and Register of the S-Boat. No place, 1994, p. 97.)

"[Note that Aeolus may or may not be #1130s:] ... The last record of #1130 is in 1958. She was raced extensively by Albert S. Wilson out of Orienta Yacht Club in Mamaroneck, NY. She is well documented then. There are no further records, except my conversation with Al Wilson in 1993, corroborated by Doug Cooper, that #1130 was wrecked in a hurricane. Al did not own the boat then.
Considering the boat currently named Aeolus, owned by Jeff Whittle, Doug Cooper bought the boat in 1984 from Steve Ballantine after it was abandoned in his yard in Bourne, MA. Doug rebuilt it, with his father, in their shop in Quissett and sold it to Angus Muir. I see no direct connection between the two boats, or at the very least nothing that can be proved. Muir inquired at the Herreshoff Museum which narrowed his search down to about four hull numbers, #1130 being one of them. They suggested he just pick a name he liked and he picked Aeolus. Certainly not conclusive. ..." (Source: Upham, Kenneth B. Private Email to Claas van der Linde. June 20, 2018.)

"As per the original contract in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum this boat was originally a 'demonstrating boat' for HMCo. On the '28th day of September 1931' 'George H. A. Clowes of Woods Hole, Massachusetts' contracted for this boat to be delivered 'on or about June 1st, 1932. New Ratsey & Lapthorne sails and a new paint job with agreed for as part of this contract. The sequence of building numbers in the Construction Record suggests that this could have been assigned its building number as early as late 1928 but this is only speculation. As such, the exact building year of this boat is unknown, but estimated to be 1929 or 1930." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 10, 2014.)

"Built in 247 days (contract to delivered; equivalent to $14/day, 24 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 9, 2025.)

"Sail area approximately 425 square feet, measured." (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.)

"See note about about weight discrepancies in published and unpublished sources under 'Further Reading' heading." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 11, 2022.)

Note: Research notes contain information about a vessel that is often random and unedited but has been deemed useful for future research.


Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné.
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Citation: HMCo #1130s Aeolus [?]. Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné. https://herreshoff.info/Docs/S01130_Aeolus.htm.