During Nathaniel Herreshoff’s career of 72 years, he was known for revolutionizing the design of racing yachts. Among his many achievements, Gloriana had special significance as the design was based on many scientific observations and mathematical calculations. Before his work with load calculations, most yacht designers relied on traditional rules of thumb to determine the proper dimensions for planks, frames and rigs.

Gloriana was built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in 1891 to compete in the 46-footer cutter class races that year. During construction, her design drew ungracious comments but her success during the season was vindication for Herreshoff, who saw a large increase in demand for his revolutionary designs. She is pictured here on June 23rd, 1891 in the Atlantic Yacht Club’s four-hundred-dollar-cup race, which she won.

The original plans for this model are found in the works of Howard I. Chapelle.

Our kit is designed for R/C sailing and includes some modifications from the exact scale model. For example, we have widened the hull by about 10%. This compensates for the fact that the yacht itself was quite narrow for its huge sail area and also for the fact that R/C models need more mass under the sails than their full-size counterparts. We’ve also added 22% to the depth of the keel. These small changes do not detract from the unusual triangular shape of the boat itself.

Our model also includes a T-rail incorporated in the frames to ease construction.
Here is a picture of the frame set that is included in this item.

Please note planking, rigging, blocks, or R/C equipment is not included with these parts.

Thanks for looking!

This work is from the Detroit Publishing Co. collection at the Library of Congress. According to the library, there are no known copyright restrictions on the use of this work.