Vol. 2 L. Francis Herreshoff: The Flowering of Genius, 1931-1972

L. FRANCIS HERRESHOFF (1890-1972) was the most remarkable yacht designer of his time. Beginning his career in the shadow of his famous father, Nathanael G. Herreshoff, he emerged to become a designer who approached the perfection of form in yacht design and was widely known for his unconventional designs and innovative engineering of hull and rig Volume 2, L. Francis Herreshoff: The Flowering of Genius, 1931-1972, covers the second half of his life and many of his most beautiful and influential designs.

With 230 plans and 146 illustrations, this volume features the notable 1931 ocean racer Landfall, the supremely beautiful Tioga, the magnificent Tioga II/Ticonderoga, and the distinctive 12-Metre Mitena; his popular How-To-Build series that introduced readers to the H-28; his thoughtful articles published as The Common Sense of Yacht Designand The Compleat Cruiser; his innovative shallow-draft coastal cruisers; his love of powerboats, good motors, and fine engineering; and his final years in the Castle, his unique home overlooking Marblehead Harbor. His was a genius that still resonates with those who admire the artistry and engineering of fine yachts.

ROGER C. TAYLOR has admired and appreciated sailing the designs of L. Francis Herreshoff since meeting him in the late 1940s. In a career that took him from Harvard University to the US Navy as a deck officer, to a leadership position at the US Naval Institute, to founder and director of International Marine Publishing Company, to licensed captain of sailing vessels, Roger Taylor has compiled a “life list” of several hundred boats sailed, including fourteen designed by L. Francis Herreshoff. This is his ninth book on boats and boating.