Herreshoff AMPHI-CRAFT

Here is a boat that I found in the Providence Airport, it was still on display as of Feb 2015. PRIM is a 1915 design Herreshoff AMPHI-CRAFT, and I am fascinated by it. She came with her own factory built custom trailer, set up to tow the boat stern first, pioneering the concept of portability of trailer boats. Built with a centerboard, pivoting rudder and free-standing two-piece pivoting mast, everything could be stored inside the boat. So you could sail or row or motor in some skinny water. The wishbone rig was ingenious as well. "Sidney Herreshoff designed not only the Amphi-Craft but also a special trailer to go with it. The Herreshoff Mfg. Co. built the trailer as well as the boat, using running gear purchased from the Indian Motorcycle Co. and a steam-bent, varnished oak frame complete with the Herreshoff Mfg. Co. logo hand-lettered in red paint. ..." (Bray and Pinheiro). 17 AMPHI-CRAFT were built and they were sold for 460-510 USD (Catalogue Raisonne). PRIM's price is listed as N/A, so could she have been a gift?

Prim was built in 1935 for Mrs. Rosalie Crocker, Job number 1276 and was designed by A. Sidney DeWolf Herreshoff. She measures 13'1" x 4'9", 216 pounds complete with equipment, 174 pound hull. Sail area 72 square feet. Oak frames; mahogany or cedar planking; teak trim; teak rudder and center-board; Everdur fastenings; polished bronze fittings; spruce spars; standard equipment.

"She could be sailed, rowed or fitted with an outboard motor and the fact that she was sold with a custom trailer made her an appealing item for "Mr. Everyman."....The AMPHI-CRAFTS were designed by N. G. Herreshoff's oldest son, Sidney, who developed a number of other interesting boats for the Herreshoff Co. at this time." (Mystic Seaport Museum Watercraft, Bray, 1979)

Enjoy the photos!

Prim ready for planking March 1935. (image credit:Brightman, Thomas P. "[Amphicraft for Mrs. Rosalie Crocker] [Herreshoff #1276s]." Photograph, March 4, 1935. Published in: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 190 (top). Collection: Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection. Copyright: Herreshoff Marine Museum, Bristol, Rhode Island, www.herreshoff.org).

"Although the Amphi-Craft hulls were built upside down, as was the Herreshoff custom, the shop's method, used for the larger craft, of bending the frames directly over the molds gave way in these and certain other small craft to ... a jig-type setup in which the boat's frames are bent over ribbands sprung around and fastened to widely spaced molds. This system requires less lofting and allows the intact jig to be left undisturbed, boat after boat; it has long been a favored method among other builders.
Except at the bow, this boat's frames run continuously side to side across the keel and are held at each end by turnbuttons at the sheer. ..." (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 190.)

PRIM ready for delivery to Mrs Crocker, April 1935 (image credit: Brightman, Thomas P. "[Amphicraft for Mrs. Rosalie Crocker] [Herreshoff #1276s]." Photograph, April 5, 1935. Published in: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 190 (bottom). Collection: Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection. Copyright: Herreshoff Marine Museum, Bristol, Rhode Island, www.herreshoff.org).

FMI: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 190.
Brightman, Thomas P. "[Amphicraft for Mrs. Rosalie Crocker] [Herreshoff #1276s]." Photograph, April 5, 1935. Published in: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 190 (bottom). Collection: Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection. Copyright: Herreshoff Marine Museum, Bristol, Rhode Island, www.herreshoff.org.
Herreshoff.Info
Herreshoff Marine Museum
Catalogue Raisonne

Bonus picture, PRIM's buddy at the airport, a Herreshoff 15.