L. Francis Herreshoff Yacht Designer

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. His unconventional designs, and his innovative engineering of hull and rig, made him a peer among his more prolific contemporaries. 

Maritime author, publisher, and professional mariner Roger C. Taylor has admired and appreciated sailing the designs of L. Francis Herreshoff since meeting him in the late 1940s. In this detailed biography, he brings Herreshoff’s personality to life, with its artistic and scientific genius, prejudices, omniscience, shyness, quiet friendliness, inward pain, and generosity. And having studied Herreshoff’s plans and correspondence—which are preserved at Mystic Seaport—and interviewed many who knew him, Taylor offers expert descriptions and commentary on the details of his designs.