spar torpedo, 1876. Peruvian Torpedo boats in the War of the Pacific, (1879-1883). Sailing vessels In the last quarter of the 19th century, Herreshoff constructed a double-hulled sailing boat of his own design (US Pat. No. 189,459). The craft, Amaryllis, raced at her maiden regatta on June 22, 1876, and performed exceedingly well. Her debut demonstrated the distinct performance advantages afforded by catamarans over the standard monohulls. It was as a result of this event, the Centennial Regatta of the New York Yacht Club, that catamarans were barred from regular sailing classes, and this remained the case until the 1970s. In 1892 he build Wee Win a ½ rater for Winifred Sutton, daughter of Sir Richard Sutton, 5th Baronet, whose yacht Genesta had been beaten in the 1885 America's cup by Puritan. Wee Win was very successful racing on the Solent, leading to several follow-up orders from British Yachtswomen and Yachtsmen. Amaryllis – sailing catamaran, 1876 Tarantella – catamaran, 1877 Westward – racing yacht, 1910 Helianthus III, 1924 Herreshoff Bull's Eye Herreshoff 12½ America's Cup yachts Herreshoff designed and built the following America's Cup contenders. All won the series against their challengers. Herreshoff was the helmsman of Vigilant. Vigilant, 1893 Defender, 1895 Columbia, 1899 & 1901 Reliance, 1903 Resolute, 1920 Technical achievements According to his son's biography, Herreshoff's achievements include: Built the first torpedo boat for the U.S. Navy. Developed bulb and fin keels for large boats. Updated the sail track and slide. Invented the crosscut sail, with panels running at right angles to the leech, in order to combat cotton canvas' tendency to distort under load. See also Herreshoff Marine Museum References Bibliography Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Recollections and Other Writings (Bristol, RI: Herreshoff Marine Museum) Herreshoff, Nathanael G. and William Picard Stephens, annotated by John W. Streeter, Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, William Picard Stephens: Their Last Letters 1930-1938 (Bristol, RI: Herreshoff Marine Museum) 1998. External links Herreshoff Marine Museum / America's Cup Hall of Fame 1848 births 1938 deaths American yacht designers Multihull designers America's Cup yacht designers American naval architects MIT School of Engineering alumni People from Bristol, Rhode Island Herreshoff family Engineers from Rhode Island