Sail Number: H/4
Type: 1/2 Rater
LOA: 23’10″ / 7.26m – LWL: 16’3″ / 4.95m – Beam: 4’6″ / 1.37m – Draft: 3’0” / 0.91m – Rig: – Design Number: 425 – Designer: N.G. Herreshoff – Original Owner: Wee Winn – Eloise Cochrane, Bideford, England / Winifred – Brian Corbett – Current Owner: Wee Win – Herreshoff Museum / Winifred – Brian Corbett – Year Built: Wee Winn 1892 / Winifred 1999 – Built By: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. – Hull Material: Wood – Gross Displacement: 3 CWT – Sail Area:
Historical:
In 1891 Nat Herreshoff invented the fin keel. He sent two yachts of this type, the Wee Winn and the Wenona to England. The Wenona won 17 out of 20 races, the Wee Winn won 20 out of 21 races. These fin keelers were so successful that they were effectively barred from competition.
Comments
Chris Thompson – May 27, 2016
It’s a lovely boat, but the claim that Wee Win and Wenona were effectively banned from racing doesn’t tally with anything I can find in the race records and reports of the time. It also seems illogical; after all, around the time the Herreshoffs came out there were some much more radical Raters hitting the water, and they didn’t get banned.