Herreshoff Fish Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

First completed in 1916 for racing at Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club on Long Island Sound, the class numbered about 40 hulls. Most were built in 1916, 1917, and 1925.

Design and Lineage

In enlarging the 12½, Herreshoff increased the rig as well as lengthening the waterline and bow overhang. The extra length and heft gave the Fish the rewarding feel of a more powerful boat. Its greater speed also made day sailing more interesting than in a 12½ because crews could cover more distance. A small cuddy added welcome protection at the forward end of the cockpit. A Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors reviewer counted the Fish among Nathanael Herreshoff’s outstanding designs.

The design also has a wider Herreshoff lineage. Joel White later drew a centerboard version, while near-exact fiberglass copies were built under the Petrel name. Cape Cod Shipbuilding produced two fiberglass variants over many years.

The nearly identical-looking Pisces was tweaked by Chuck Paine and built in cold-molded wood and fiberglass by Jean Beaulieu’s Classic Boat Shop in Tremont. More Pisces are now afloat than original Fish. One owner even took the Fish’s lines to Olin Stephens, who used them to draw a 33-foot cruising sloop.

Rig, Performance, and Handling

The Fish carried a larger rig than the 12½. The Warwick Country Club boats built in 1925 for Narragansett Bay had Marconi rigs from the start, unlike the earlier gaff-rigged Seawanhaka boats.¹

Owners who have sailed the Fish describe a boat that excels in light air with its big main. Upwind, it can carry just enough pressure on the tiller to make steering to windward a pleasure. Some sailors report a heavy helm, but others with experience aboard Fish say it doesn’t have to be that way. As the wind rises, a single reef quickly deals with any tenderness and makes the helm lighter still.

The speed of one restored example surprised seasoned observers, including a noted Herreshoff expert who watched it sail past him on the Sound.

Cockpit and Cuddy

The small cuddy provides real shelter at the forward end of the deep cockpit, which is exceptionally comfortable at the tiller. There’s also room to sit on the after deck with your back against a boat cushion, your legs beneath the tiller, and your feet braced against the opposite coaming.

For a 20-foot-class sloop of its era, this combination of a protected forward cockpit and open lounging space aft makes the Fish a thoughtful dayboat rather than a cramped racer.

Surviving Boats and Restorations

A large percentage of Fish-class boats have vanished or deteriorated badly over the decades. The class is now old enough that survival is the exception rather than the rule, and attrition shapes any discussion of the design. Some of these cultural treasures have been restored and remain active under sail, but the loss rate is still a defining reality of the class.

The histories of individual boats illustrate the different paths a Fish can take. Sculpin began in the gaff-rigged fleet at Seawanhaka, then moved to Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, where it was converted to a Marconi rig. It later returned to Long Island Sound under the ownership of John Foster Dulles, and subsequent owners included Mystic Seaport.

Perch, almost certainly one of the 1925 Warwick boats, was superbly restored in 2005 at MP&G in Mystic, Connecticut. It remains a benchmark for what the design can become in careful hands.

The Verdict

The Herreshoff Fish distills Nathanael Herreshoff’s gift for small-boat design into a daysailer with the presence of a larger yacht. It rewards an owner willing to accept the demands of stewardship with excellent light-air performance, a deep and comfortable cockpit, and a lineage that has inspired fiberglass interpretations and even a Stephens cruiser.

The cost of admission is the reality that most original boats haven’t survived.

Pros