Herreshoff Fish Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Lineage

The Fish was an enlarged version of the Herreshoff 12½, and in expanding that earlier design Herreshoff increased the rig and lengthened the bow overhang anchor. The extra length and heft gave the Fish the rewarding feel of a more powerful boat, while the greater speed compared to a 12½ made for more interesting day sails because more distance could be covered. A small cuddy was added to the layout, which provided welcome protection at the forward end of the cockpit. Writing in Maine Boats Homes & Harbors, the reviewer counted the Fish class as one of Nathanael Herreshoff's outstanding designs. The class sits within a wider Herreshoff story: Joel White later designed a centerboard version, near-exact fiberglass copies were built and called Petrels, and Cape Cod Shipbuilding produced two fiberglass variants over many years. The Pisces, nearly identical in appearance, was tweaked by Chuck Paine and built in cold-molded wood and fiberglass by Jean Beaulieu's Classic Boat Shop in Tremont, with more Pisces now afloat than original Fish. One owner even took the Fish's lines to Olin Stephens, who drew a 33-foot cruising sloop from them.

Rig and Handling

Herreshoff's enlargement of the 12½ carried a bigger rig, and the Warwick Country Club boats built in 1925 for Narragansett Bay came from the start with Marconi rigs, unlike the earlier gaff-rigged Seawanhaka boats anchor. Owners who have sailed the Fish describe a boat excellent in light air with her big main, and upwind there is just enough pressure on the tiller to make steering to windward a joy. Some sailors report a heavy helm, but others who have sailed Fish say that does not have to be so. As the wind picks up, a single reef quickly takes care of any tenderness and makes the helm even lighter. The speed of a restored example has surprised seasoned observers, including a noted Herreshoff expert who watched one sail past him on the Sound.

Accommodations and Cockpit

The cuddy offered real shelter at the forward end of the cockpit, and the deep cockpit itself gives exceptional comfort at the tiller. There is room to sit on the after deck with one's back against a boat cushion, legs under the tiller and braced against the opposite coaming. For a 20-foot-class sloop of her era, that combination of protected forward end and open after-deck lounging space marks the Fish as a thoughtful dayboat rather than a cramped racer.

Known Issues

A large percentage of Fish class boats have vanished or deteriorated badly over the decades anchor. The class is now old enough that survival itself is the exception rather than the rule, and attrition shapes every conversation about the design. Others of these cultural treasures have been restored and are actively sailed, but the loss rate remains the defining reality of the class.

Refits and Ownership

The history of individual boats shows the paths a Fish can take. Sculpin, originally in the gaff-rigged fleet at Seawanhaka, went to Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, where it was converted to Marconi rig, then returned to Long Island Sound under the ownership of John Foster Dulles; later owners included Mystic Seaport. Perch, almost certainly one of the 1925 Warwick boats, was superbly restored in 2005 at MP&G in Mystic, Connecticut, and remains a benchmark for what the design can become in careful hands.

The Verdict

The Herreshoff Fish distills Nathanael Herreshoff's genius for small boats into a day sailor with the presence of a larger yacht. She rewards an owner willing to take on stewardship with 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 have not survived.

Pros