Herreshoff Yacht Evening Star Blueprint

Original construction plan drawing from John G. Alden naval architect of the schooner yacht Evening Star, hull 638. Evening Star was the last yacht built under the eyes of Nathanael Herreshoff, the end of an era. This is a big, beautiful deck plan showing all cabin arrangements. Amazing detail with cabins, double stateroom, berths, head, lockers, chain locker, sail bins, chart case, cabinetry, etc. So much detail. Amazing relic.

Time has not managed to strip Evening Star of her elegance. Graceful and dignified, she spent the last few years docked in Berkeley Marina, where the casual observer has no chance to get acquainted with her history–a history which stretches back 82 years, and reads like an adventure novel, with dozens of thrilling races, a man overboard search operation, a brush with a hurricane, and even a stint in World War II.

Evening Star’s history began in 1937. She was an Alden design, and one of the last boats to be built by Herreshoff. A year after she was built, her owner, Frederick S. Ford Sr. entered her in the Port Huron Mackinac Island Race of 1938. It’s rumored she was built specifically for this race, although this rumor was later disputed by Ford.

Whatever the case, the Port Huron Mackinac Race proved to be an auspicious one: Evening Star finished first, with a time of 49 hours, 9 minutes and 29 seconds. She spent the rest of the 1930s in various races and on cruises around the Great Lakes region.

Her racing career was temporarily cut short in the early 1940s, during which Evening Star joined the “Coastal Picket Force”–the predecessor to the Coast Guard Auxiliary–in 1943. Ostensibly acting as a coast guard vessel, Evening Star was “armed to the teeth”–per the words of her owner, Frederick S. Ford Jr.–with a pair of machine guns that “would not fire more than five rounds without jamming.” Her crew contributed to the war effort by radioing information about the locations of German U-Boats along the eastern seaboard.

Weight: 15 LBS
Overall Dimensions: 30” H x 50” L
Made: America
Material: Paper
Date: 1937