N A 11 T I C A I. Q U A R T I: > . Y
erhaps Lazarus would be a bet-ter name for Neith, because
thisboat was raised from near-dead
to become an astonishingly au-thentic representation of
Herres-
hoff work. Much of her is not original; butthe deck, topside
planking, and interiorwere put back using copies of the
originaldrawings as well as a good understanding ofhow the work
would have been done.
Around 1904, when the yachting esta-blishment adopted Nat
Herreshoff s pro-posal for a new measurement rule (the so-called
Universal Rule of Yacht Measure-
ment), there came an abrupt change in thenature of sailing
yachts. Gone were thelong-ended, scow-like hulls carrying
hugespreads of sail. In their place came more"wholesome
" boats like Neith. A boat's
displacement now figured into the formulaas the denominator,
meaning that the great-er a hull's volume below the waterline,
the
more sail area and waterline length shecould have for a given
rating. Herreshoffhad always been a proponent of good, prac-tical
boats, yet his success depended onwinning races no matter what the
measure-ment rule. Under earlier formulas, Herre-
shoff boats had been as extreme as any.That's the main reason so
few survive from
that era. His designs after 1904 are general-ly of more
practical boats; yet they wereboats that would still win races.
For yachts whose hulls were deep enough,Nat preferred flush
decks rather than trunkcabins, which he claimed weakened the
overall structure. And if, as appears true inNeith's design, it
meant adding to the free-board for under-deck headroom in the
livingspaces, he
'd unhesitatingly do it.Neith was sailed to Europe in 1921,
and
while there was altered in rig from gaff tomarconi. Shabby and
far from yachtlike,Neith returned to the states some 50 yearslater,
again on her own bottom, and re-mained somewhat ragtag until she
was res-cued from what nearly became her finalresting place: the
Connecticut River. Frombadly chafed and sunken condition Neithhas
been reborn. This lucky vessel has beenworked on by many devoted
people - boat-builder/engineer Ed McClave outstandingamong them -
and the financial burden ofrestoring her, at first shouldered by
Dougand Betty Hersant, now rests with VanBrown. It's taken time and
money - a lotof each - but there are few owners who
can boast of a Neith in their stable, and
there are few boats that have contributed as
much in recent years to an appreciation ofthe name Herreshoff. -
Maynard Bray
i
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53
M A IJ T I C A I. G IJ A 1? T IE l> I. Y
uch
of what you see inthese photos is notoriginal - but itmight as
well be. Atriumph of accurateand exquisite re-creation as well
asrestoration, Neith ismuch as she was the
day she waslaunched in 1907.
She is perhaps thefinest example of a
restored Herreshoff
yacht, and aninspiration for otherrestoration projects aswell as
for con-noisseurs of Herreshoff
ManufacturingCompanyworkmanship.
LOA: 52'10"
LWL: 38'6"
Beam: lO'O"
Draft: 7'6"
Sail Area: 1600 sq. ft.(original rig)Built: 1907
Owner: Van Brown
Home Port: Mystic, CT
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