Herreshoff H-28 Sailboats for Sale & Market Overview

Drawing Diagram

Builder drawing

Hull type

Monohull · full

Rig

Ketch

LOA

26.94' · 8.21 m

Displ.

10,500 lbs · 4,763 kg

First year

1942

The Herreshoff H28 stands as one of the most significant contributions to midcentury yachting, a design that transitioned the aesthetic of the "golden age" into the hands of the everyday sailor. Conceived by L. Francis Herreshoff in 1942, the H28 was commissioned by The Rudder magazine specifically to be a vessel that a skilled amateur could build at home. Unlike the massive America’s Cup defenders produced by his father, Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, L. Francis designed the H28 with a focus on simplicity, a shallow draft for coastal exploration, and a ketch rig that prioritized ease of handling over raw power. Over the decades, the design has been executed in various materials, from the original cedaronoak planking to professional fiberglass production runs by builders like Far East Yachts and Walker Boat Works. Its enduring popularity is rooted in its "just right" proportions: a 28foot length that is large enough for modest coastal cruising but small enough to be maintained by a single owner.