L. Francis Herreshoff
L. Francis Herreshoff (November 11, 1890 – December 1, 1972) was an American boat designer, naval architect, editor, and writer. He was born in Bristol, Rhode Island, the son of Nathanael Greene Herreshoff. He learned boat design at the family business, the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, famous for high-quality yachts and racing sailboats. He later worked with renowned naval architect Starling Burgess. In 1926 he opened his own design practice in Marblehead, Massachusetts, designing racing and pleasure yachts as well as small craft like canoes and kayaks.
Besides building boats, Herreshoff wrote many books and magazine articles about sailing and yacht design, sharing his practical ideas and eye for good design. His work is known for elegance, practicality, and attention to detail, and many of his designs are still admired today. Some of his books are The Common Sense of Yacht Design (1947), The Compleat Cruiser, Capt. Nat Herreshoff: The Wizard of Bristol, The Writings of L. Francis Herreshoff, Sensible Cruising Designs, and An L. Francis Herreshoff Reader. He also wrote the How To Build series for The Rudder magazine.
He was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2014. His career also shows how he coped with dyslexia, which once led his father to send him to agricultural school, but he went on to become a lasting figure in boat design. He died on December 1, 1972, at the age of 82.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:26 (CET).