The Herreshoff Pilot boat, now located at YSF, is once again being offered for sale. The owner has very generously decided to give up “Picnic” before he heads north for the summer and donate her to YSF.
Here is our best take for a full disclosure on the boat:
There is water in the oil. Many of you boaters may recognize milkish color. Not good. The engine, however, (Westerbeke 4 cylinder 40 horse diesel) runs perfectly. No signs of water in the cylinders. No smoke. Hence, we believe (but can’t be certain) that water may be getting in through: A. Engine oil cooler B. Raw water pump. Regardless of accuracy of this diagnosis, both parts should be replaced. The water pump leaks, the oil cooler looks to be original. Cost estimate: $hundreds not $thousands. There are some soft spots in the deck, but easy access for strengthening. Also, the console should be refastened to the deck. The brightwork (A lot!!) is spectacular. The paint, while in great shape, does show some brush marks. Console cover and bimini are very nice. There is a new custom full boat cover. Also, there is a new Continental trailer set up by Meltra for this boat. Launch/retrieve/tow with ease. About $5k was spent last fall on these two items.
ABOUT THE DESIGN AND DESIGNER:
Halsey Herreshoff is the third generation of America’s greatest family of yacht designers. His grandfather was Nathaniel G. Herreshoff, often referred to as the “Wizard of Bristol” for the extraordinary yachts he designed and built at his company, the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol, RI. “Captain Nat” is known for his design and construction of several winning America’s Cup yachts between 1891 and 1920. He also designed and built hundreds of other boats of various dimensions including the much-loved Herreshoff 12 1/2.
Halsey Herreshoff has also designed hundreds of well-known yachts including the Herreshoff Freedom 40’s and Herreshoff 31’s. In 1971 he designed the very successful Herreshoff America fiberglass catboat for the builders Nowak & Williams of Bristol, RI. Like their 19th century forebears, the Herreshoff America catboats are built with centerboards and outboard rudders and are also shoal draft and gaff rigged. The success of the America catboat brought a demand to Halsey to design a displacement hull powerboat of roughly the same size. He recalled that when he was young, lobstermen on Narragansett Bay converted catboat hulls to power boats by replacing their centerboards with inboard engines and replacing the mast with a shorter rig that could be used both as a steadying sail and for hauling traps.
With these memories in mind, Halsey adapted the Herreshoff America hull design to create the Herreshoff Harbor Pilot. The Pilot has a full keel design with an outboard rudder and a short mast with a Marconi-rigged steadying sail. This sail effectively will stabilize the boat in certain conditions and can also be used as an alternative propulsion in the unlikely event of a mechanical breakdown.
In short, the Herreshoff Harbor Pilot is a unique, classic, head-turning, versatile boat bringing with it a source of pride of ownership at a very reasonable cost of purchase and maintenance.
YSF would like to sell this as a package: Best offer over $13,500. If not successful, we may consider offers of $10k for boat only.
If interested please contact Greg Gerber by May 15th.
772-559-1968
