Preview: A Three-Generation Dream Boat – The Herreshoff Fish Class Sloop – PERCH
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April 15, 2015
Email this Video to a FriendWe pass a significant milestone with this video — our 250th video for members of OffCenterHarbor.com.
We fantasize about owning lots of different boats we see in Center Harbor and along the coast of Maine, and each of us have our own dream boats. But a boat we all agree on, is the Herreshoff Fish class.
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Comments, Thoughts or Suggestions?You can leave a comment or question for OCH and members below. Here are the comments so far…
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40 Responses So Far to “A Three-Generation Dream Boat – The Herreshoff Fish Class Sloop – PERCH”
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Joseph Wl Haley III says:
As a kid in the 50’s I sail on a 21′ Gaff headed sloop at the Sarasota Yacht Club in Florida. It was decked over with a small cockpit, fixed keel, inboard tiller and under hull rudder. Planked hull of Cypress. IT WAS A FISH CLASS, but not the design as this of New England/Herreshoff built.
Joseph Wl Haley III says:
I like this Fish better than the one I sail on in SRQ bay.
graham watson says:
Thanks, Guys, for yet another wonderful video. I wish we had somewhere in Europe like Offcenter Harbour! We’re getting better at re-evaluating our wooden boat heritage but we’ve still a long way to go. You inspire us!
Robert (Bob) Godfrey says:
Very nice as always! Keep up the great work!
Ahoi Mench says:
If I could only say one thing about the many wonderful videos produced by OCH it would be “slow it down”. Let us see more. Spend a tiny bit more time on details. I know what a molded rail is but my wife doesn’t. I’m a sailor. I’m not in a hurry.
Stephen Syrotiak says:
My friend Jack Bumstead owned what we believed to be the original Marlin. I’ve never sailed a better vessel than that….. Last I knew Jack gave it to the Herreshoff Museum…probably in the ’60s.. wonder what ever happened to her?
Bill Ertel says:
Beautiful little boat- would have liked to seen the interior and other details as well
Steven Wallace says:
Such a beautiful boat, a true work of art. I could look at this all day.
Brian Corbett says:
I agree wholeheartedly with Dianna Emory. I sail a beautiful Nat Herreshoff Half-Rater called Winifred in the UK and every time I sail her I admire her beautiful lines. Winifred is a replica of Wee Winn and is admired everywhere I sail her from Falmouth in Cornwall to Oban in the Scottish Highlands and Islands.
Walter Allan says:
Nice story about Perch in Maine Boats and Harbors this month with a pointer to your great 250th video. Should bring you some traffic and hopefully new subscribers. Love this video.
Howard Sharp says:
Congratulations on #250!
bob mcCorkle says:
What a satisfying, peaceful, and joyful video. I have watched it a few times now and will continue to do so. What a beautiful boat! Thank you for allowing me to share it with you. How will you do better?
John Wujack says:
I’ve watched this at least twenty times and I’ll watch it again and again. I have a devil-in-the-details question about the mainsheet rigging. Despite the fact that there seems to be enough space on the inner face of the transom to allow the final turning block to be affixed directly above the tiller, it’s offset slightly. Is there any specific reason? Thanks, John
Timothy Guy says:
Beautiful boat and sail! Mine wasn’t presented in HD though…..hmmmm…..
michele del monaco says:
You guys, building file for Myers Dreamscape… Lovely boat and Great video.
Larry Cheek says:
Lovely boat, beautiful video production. OCH’s video of the NY30 ALERA remains my all-time favorite, but this one approaches it. Hmm … qualities in common: Herreshoff design, Wilkins music, sailing action.
Suggestion: a feature on Cape Cod Shipbuilding’s new Marlin Heritage 23, a modern adaptation of another timeless Herreshoff design. Yes, it’s plastic, but OCH does occasionally step aboard an inorganic vessel, and Cape Cod’s Marlin is intriguing for several reasons. It’s also quite beautiful, at least judging from the photos. It would be interesting to dig deeply into the question of whether and how the spirit of the original crosses the transformation into the new material.
Steve Stone says:
Good idea Larry.
William English says:
That, in one video, IS Off Center Harbor. It’l be hard to top that. Well Done!
Mason Dyer says:
You guys over at offcenterharbor are amazing, I will forever be a member of this site.
Peter North says:
Well, the Fish Class video finally made me a member….lol. I have a long history of enjoying the look of the Fish Class. I liked the look of the boat in passing when I noticed the Cape Cod shipbuilding replicas built back in the 60’s, then I sailed a Cape Cod Mercury. The first home I purchased overlooked Dion’s Yacht Yard in Salem, MA. There one of the workers built a Fish for his own use and the owner’s brother had one of those 4 Marlins mentioned in the video. I once mentioned to him how I thought that was the best boat in harbor. Now all of this has got me thinking of building Joel White Flatfish….
Steve Stone says:
Enjoy your new membership Peter. We’re thinking of building a Fish too.
Jim McGee says:
Great video, beautiful boat. Just wish it were longer :-)
David Anderson says:
Watching this super video is like re-living the hours I and my friends and family spend on our Fish Class repro in fiberglass built by Golden Era Yachts many years ago in Noank CT. It is indistinguishable from the video and gathers many admiring looks and comments as we sail out of Pt Judith. (Salt Pond). In 1973 I bought a Marlin from my neighbor. And who should I meet at the boat yard in Wakefield, RI as I was putting a cover on it but Maynard Bray. Of course he was unfamiliar to me then but who in this world of wooden boats doesn’t know him now? i still have it. The Fish is a dream to sail and will stand up in the roughest condiitions.
Daniel DeZwarte says:
Once again; a great video. Maybe, if we had smaller, more simple sailboats, we would sail more often with increased joy and enthusiasm.
John Wujack says:
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Wishing you continued success.
David Dickmeyer says:
The boat is absolutely stunning, the music was a perfect match! But the video was way too short! I want to see more of this one. Congratulations on your 250th video! Thanks for what you do for those of us who are dreamers.
Jonathan Margolis says:
A dream boat–in the true sense of the phrase. And I can tell that the owners know how lucky they are.
Cheryl Baird says:
What a beautifully simple, elegant boat. Thank you for the video.
Brian Mosher says:
I can only confirm all the comments above, from my perspective here in Nova Scotia, that Fish design is beautiful to behold! Thanks again for a great video and for all of your offerings on this site. I am building a Whitehall 13′ in my basement and I couldn’t do without your site, as well as the many fine boat builders my wife and I met last fall, touring New England wooden boat shops and schools,
Thank you,
Sincerely , Brian Mosher
John Hooge says:
What a magnificent boat for the 250th video. I will watch this one over and over. Well done everyone.
peter bachmann says:
Thank you OCH!
Maggie Hunt says:
Ben and Dianna- I’ve been looking forward to this all winter and it was worth the wait! What a treat.
Ben Emory says:
Can’t wait to see you again, Maggie. Yes, OCH has done an over-the-top job with this video!!
Steven Wallace says:
Congrats on the 250th video. Love OCH.
David Walker says:
Congratulations,
Your love for the very essence of sailing is captured in this, your 250th video.
What a delightful presentation. And, what a beautiful boat.
Hugh Bamford says:
Happy 250th
Doug Wood says:
The Fish is my favorite small sailboat design, and ‘PERCH’ is lovely!
David Tew says:
That’s the life, Ben! Your Presto in the south, a Fish in Maine. PERCH is spectacular.
David Owens says:
Lovely film of a lovely boat.
Mark Hawkins says:
Great Job OCH team!