Jeff Morris wrote:
The anchors, cleats, winches and numerous other fittings known as
"Herreshoff" were designed by Captain Nat Herreshoff, largely in the
1890's. In his 1953 book "Cap Nat Herreshoff," L. Francis Herreshoff
wrote: "... there is hardly a thing on a yacht today that Captain Nat
did not originate, improve, or perfect, and, while it is true that many
of his fittings were not understood or appreciated for many years, still
at the present time about the only useful fittings on the market are
imitations of his original models. The fittings alone that he designed
would have been a credible lifetime work for a designer."

Its interesting that Cap Nat started his career as a draftsman of steam
engines.


IIRC he and his brother John were both graduates of MIT and enthusiastic
sailors. The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company started out as a caster of
small metal machine parts and then produced a very efficient multi-fuel
water-tube boiler. They built sailboats for themselves and that turned
out to be the direction their business grew...

Captain Nat was a brilliant engineer, I'm sure he would have been a
notable contributor to any field he had decided to enter. As for how he
spelled his name, I'm not inclined to make a big deal out of it but if
some people are, they should make an effort to get it right.

DSK