Herreshoff 15

BoatsHerreshoff 15

See her sail

The Herreshoff 15, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

TrailerableBeam 2.03 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 1,270 kg of hull, so roughly 1,850 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Shoal draftDraws 0.71 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.

LivelySea-kindly

Her heavy displacement on a narrow beam gives 19 — a quick, lively motion that feels every wave.

Comfort ratio 19

CoastalBluewater

1.90 — just under the 2.0 offshore line; her beam is modest for her weight.

Capsize screening 1.90

LightHeavy

370 — very heavy for her waterline, a serious load-carrying cruiser.

Displacement / length 370

EasygoingPowered-up

26.6 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 26.6

TenderStiff

36% of her weight is ballast — moderately stiff, a middle-of-the-road stability.

Ballast 36%

Powered-up and quick to accelerate — this one likes to sail.

Narrower than ~96% of boats her size on file

Compared with 606 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Herreshoff 15, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Herreshoff 15 is a 7.5-meter gaffhead sloop designed by Nathanael G. Herreshoff and built by Herreshoff Mfg. Co. since 1902. It features a keel/centerboard hull, a 2.0-meter beam, a 1.5-meter draft, and displaces 1270 kg. The design includes a "modernized rig" devised by Sidney Herreshoff and adopted in the early 1930s. The Herreshoff 15 is similar to the Buzzards Bay 15 and Watch Hill 15. Aboard *Tips from a Shipwright*, a Herreshoff 14 required structural repairs to its forefoot and garboard planks due to trailer-induced damage, necessitating the replacement of deteriorated bolts and the use of number 12 screws for refitting.0:48 The repair process involved caulking seams with cotton driven by a caulking iron and mallet, and addressing frame checking by designing a modular floorboard system.19:34

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen once across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions

Weights

Ballast / displacement

35.7%

Rig & sail area

Rig

Gaffhead Sloop

Ratios

SA / displacement

26.6

Displacement / length

370.4

Comfort ratio

19.3

Capsize screening

1.90

Hull speed

5.2 kn

Pounds / inch immersion

357

Hull

Hull type

Keel/Cbrd.

Construction

Wood

Ballast type

Lead

Production

Years built

First built 1902

Designer

Nathanael G. Herreshoff

Builder

Herreshoff Mfg. Co

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Phobos 196.30 mSame hull family1.2 m shorterA lightweight, high-performance fractional sloop with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for spirited daysailing

Until What Age Can You Live on a Sailboat? | #SAL #33123:54 from Hashtag Sal

Deltania Yachts 267.92 mSame hull family0.5 m longer

Explore the inside of a SAILBOAT | Refitted Delta 26! | Sailing MotionMe Ep. 843:10 from MotionMe

Paceship Yachts Westwind 247.29 mSame hull family0.2 m shorterA Ted Hood-designed masthead sloop with a keel-centerboard configuration, built for versatility in shoal waters

Potential Sailboat Restoration: Bringing a Classic Back to Life?6:18 from BoatworksToday

RS 216.40 mSame hull family1.1 m shorter

Training Sea Cadet Instructors | RS21 Keelboat Sailing – Welsh Harp1:37 from City Sailing

Chrysler Marine 226.71 mSame hull family0.8 m shorterA 6.7-metre masthead sloop produced as the C-22 and T-22 Sandpiper, featuring a swing keel for shallow-water access

The Big Problem With Beneteau (It’s Not What You Think)from Lady K Sailing

Tofinou 77.01 mSame hull family0.5 m shorterA classic fractional sloop modeled after a 1939 prototype, designed for elegant daysailing with a retractable keel

A taste of testing in Kiel for EYOTY 251:33 from SEILmagasinet

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

Buzzards Bay 15A 1899 gaff-rigged keel-centerboarder with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio and a long, active production history Watch Hill 15A fiberglass daysailer built to a 1922 Herreshoff design that remains an active one-design racer Herreshoff 12 1/2A legendary gaff-rigged daysailer designed by Nathanael Herreshoff, still actively raced in both wood and fiberglass Herreshoff Manufacturing Seawanhaka One-DesignA 1916 Nathanael Herreshoff design, this fractional sloop features a long keel and classic lines for one-design racing Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. S-ClassA durable one-design racer with over 70 hulls still active, built for the Seawanhaka Corinthian YC from 1919 to 1941

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