Description
The Herreshoff 11'6" Dinghy (sometimes called the Buzzards Bay Boys’ Boat or Herreshoff 11½) is a petite 11 ft 6 in rowing and sailing tender designed in 1910 by Nathanael G. Herreshoff as the ideal child’s boat for his own youngsters on Buzzards Bay. With its elegant wineglass transom, sweet sheer, and narrow 4 ft 2 in beam, the lapstrake wooden hull weighs only about 120–140 lbs yet carries a full keel with 75 lbs. of outside lead ballast, giving remarkable stability and the ability to sail upright in a real breeze. It sets a tiny 65 sq ft balanced lug rig on an unstayed spruce mast stepped far forward; the sail is loose-footed, sheeted to a short bumpkin, and the boat is steered with an attractive push-pull tiller that keeps the helmsman’s weight low and forward. The design is pure genius in miniature: safe enough for an eight-year-old to sail alone, yet fast and weatherly enough that adults still race them enthusiastically today in classic-yacht gatherings. Dozens were built in the 1910s–1930s, and faithful reproductions are still made by artisanal shops like Artisan Boatworks; it remains one of the most charming and capable small sailing dinghies ever drawn.
