Felicity is a Herreshoff Fish Class sloop, built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in Bristol, Rhode Island, probably in 1925 (there is no plaque). There was a boat called Felis delivered that year, seems as likely a possibility as any... Most of the marconi-rigged Fish boats were built in 1925 and 1926. Beyond that I don't know.
The Fish is just
under 21 feet long overall, 16 feet on the waterline, displacement
about 3300 lbs
and draft 3' 1". I bought her in Woods Hole (on Cape Cod, in
Massachusetts)
in 1980. I have done lots of work to her, much of it on my own, but my
friend
Bill Rogers did the big one -- a beautiful job of replacing her
sheerstrakes
and deck (hence the two different looking cabins -- the new one is
bright
and without portlights). The Fish originally had a shorter, lower cabin
and
a larger cockpit, making her pretty strictly a daysailer. Several Fish
have
had the cabins enlarged for overnighting, and Herreshoff built a few
later
boats (called Marlins) with larger cabins, and even (shudder) inboard
auxiliary
power.
Comments or questions
welcome
-- send email to me at jim @ whmsi.com. Back to Jim's home
page
.
The Herreshoff Marine Museum is a great resource for anyone interested in these boats.
The MIT Museum and Mystic Seaport have lots of information, too.
revised 22oct2004