Herreshoff/Gardner 17

A lightweight, fixed-seat rowboat for one or two people

Written by Tony Lush

From Issue March 2025

The Herreshoff/Gardner 17 is a low-slung, sporty rowboat, a combination of two remarkable talents blended over more than 30 years. It started with an L. Francis Herreshoff article in the October 1947 issue of The Rudder. Herreshoff wrote at length on the benefits of recreational rowing and included a sketch of a 17′ rowing boat with a 42″ beam, weighing less than 100 lbs. It would be easily driven but more stable than a rowing shell and far lighter and more easily built than the St. Lawrence skiffs typical of the day.

The drawing was just a concept, with no plans or offsets, but it was something an experienced boatbuilder could work from. Indeed, from that sketch, Allan H. Vaitses of Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, built a Herreshoff 17 for his mile-long commute across the harbor. He summarized 32 months of rowing in “1,200 Miles Under Oars,” published in The Rudder, January 1955. Vaitses described the boat as speedy—twice as fast as typical rowboats—but acknowledged that he had to be careful in a head sea because of the boat’s fine ends.

Another renowned builder, John Gardner of Mystic Seaport Museum, also saw Herreshoff’s article. Entranced by the design, he promptly built a half model that he hung over the entrance to the Seaport’s small boat shop, and when he started getting requests for lines and offsets, he modified Herreshoff’s concept by making the boat a true symmetrical double-ender so that the same molds and stems could be used fore and aft of the middle mold, making it easier for amateur construction. He published his plans, along with an article, in National Fisherman in February 1980. Later, after receiving feedback from several readers and then coming across Vaitses’s 1955 article, he modified the lines again to address concerns about the lack of buoyancy in the ends. He kept Herreshoff’s slippery shape below the waterline, especially the fine ends, but increased the beam at the sheer, and added volume above the waterline for increased buoyancy.

Strip-planked Herreshoff/Gardner 17 on pebble beach.

Key to Herreshoff’s original concept is the light weight. Gardner thought the boat could come in close to 100 lbs if built of 1⁄4″ marine plywood on laminated 3⁄4″ frames at 8″ centers. His finished design was for a lapstrake hull with a 16″-wide (inside) bottom plank, 2 3⁄4″ of rocker, and five rivet-fastened planks per side.

Today at Mystic Seaport you can row John Gardner’s GREEN MACHINE, which he built to his plans in 1981. While building her, Gardner developed complete plans that were published as the opening chapter in Building Classic Small Craft, Vol. 2 (later published as More Building Classic Small Craft and now in Building Classic Small Craft, which contains both volumes 1 and 2) along with a full description of how to build the boat and what materials to use.

Gardner recommended epoxy-gluing the planks along their length, with copper rivets at the frames and copper tacks clenched along the laps between frames. The stems should be built out of three pieces—stem knee, and inner and outer stem—glued and screwed. While oak could be used, Gardner thought lighter woods made sense. The bottom should be of 3⁄4″ northern white pine or similar wood and, as it is 16″ wide, he suggested epoxying narrower boards together to get the width needed. Floor cleats were spaced between the frames. The seat risers and doublers stiffen the whole assembly and run virtually the length of the boat. Spruce was suggested for the thwarts—for stiffness and light weight—while the outwales could be spruce, mahogany, or fir.

Gardner originally drew fore and after decks to keep the boat dry and to stiffen the ends but eliminated them when he built GREEN MACHINE because of time constraints. Instead, he laminated thin breasthooks, finding them stiff enough. He also found the undecked boat dry under “reasonable conditions of use.”

Since the boat is symmetrical forward and aft, it can be rowed in either direction. That allows some flexibility in thwart and oarlock locations to adjust for solo rowing, solo rowing with a passenger, or two-person rowing. Gardner’s plans show an interesting hinged-thwart arrangement to vary the width of the two thwarts to accommodate taller and shorter rowers. The frames and bottom cleats provide a range of foot-brace points.

Building the Herreshoff/Gardner 17

I came across the Herreshoff 17 design when looking for a rowboat for my dotage. I wanted a boat for staying fit and simply messing about on the water. I considered several and was inclined toward Swampscott dories and similar seaworthy boats. Most, though, would be too heavy to lug around, launch, and haul at my age, so I settled on the Herreshoff.

I considered building one and even bought the plans for Jim Michalak’s LFH17—a stitch-and-glue variation that I thought I could pull off. But, not having a workspace, I started searching online ads for the Herreshoff 17, hoping to find one to purchase. That’s when I saw an ad for “Molds and strongback for Herreshoff rowboat. Text this number.”

I did. Lo and behold, Paul Jutra had built a cedar strip-planked Herreshoff 17, had the tooling cluttering his garage, and lived a couple of miles down the road. We tossed everything into my car, and I stored the bits in my shed. Then I stopped to consider what I had gotten myself into. In the ’70s I had thrown together a 28′ single-chine plywood boat out of AC plywood and 2×4s. I sailed her from Michigan to England, and then to Newport, Rhode Island. But I’m no craftsman (she was courteously described in the British press as being “rough but sturdy”). Nor did I have a place in which to build a boat. However, a friend had recently purchased a home that included a separate wood shop and greenhouse, and thus the Greenhouse Boatyard was born.

A Herreshoff/Gardner 17 under construction.

There are examples of the Herreshoff/Gardner 17 scattered around the world. It seems that even with the emphasis on light construction, they hold up well. Christopher Jones of Kansas City, Missouri, finished his in 2003: KATHLEEN SCOTT was built true to the plans, and weighs about 140 lbs. A 1979 build named SUGAR BABY weighs in around 150 lbs and is still in use near Sydney, Australia, now owned by transpacific rower Tom Robinson. Alex Comb of Stewart River Boatworks builds 17s to order. He uses steam-bent frames and says his boats weigh about 125 lbs. Each is customized to the buyer’s requirements—some are very close to the Gardner GREEN MACHINE, while others have been built with flotation tanks and other customizations.

While planning my build, I studied up on what other builders had done. I wanted the boat to be on the lighter side, initially targeting the 100-lb weight that both Herreshoff and Gardner mentioned. I read Iain Oughtred’s Clinker Plywood Boatbuilding Manual and learned a lot from How to Build Glued-Lapstrake Wooden Boats by John Brooks and Ruth Ann Hill. I began to think that Gardner’s glued-lapstrake construction with numerous ribs might be a bit of a belt-and-braces technique and decided to build-out the hull before deciding on interior reinforcements.

I followed Gardner’s instructions for the stems, bottom, and plywood planking. I put two coats of epoxy on the plank interior faces before installation to reduce sanding later. Gardner suggested taping the garboard-to-bottom joints with fiberglass tape, but I fiberglassed both the garboards and bottom inside and out. That added some weight, but provided abrasion resistance outside and would prevent water from getting between the solid-wood bottom and the plywood garboard.

Launching the Herreshoff/Gardner 17

When flipped upright the hull was still a bit flexible, but once the outwales were in place she became very stiff. Since I wanted to take the boat out into Narragansett Bay, near my home in Rhode Island, I opted for proper flotation tanks in the ends, setting 4mm-plywood bulkheads 3′ in from the stems to provide plenty of buoyancy.

Even though the outwales alone provided sufficient stiffness at the sheer, I also installed scuppered inwales because I like how they look. I finished off the interior with three laminated frames and a seat riser. I set up two rowing stations, one for solo rowing, and one for double rowing or solo rowing with a passenger. For oars I found a pair of 1988 Collars 7′ 6″ spoons, which is the length Gardner recommends, and for oarlocks I chose Gacos. When our mooring field filled up in the summer, I added a wide-angle front-view mirror mounted above the after buoyancy tank.

A lengthened Optimist dinghy dolly works well for launching and hauling. A light boat like this—mine ended up at about 115 lbs—is easily trailerable, but cartopping might be difficult.

With the 16″-wide bottom, and a 45″ beam to the outside of the planking, the design is rounded amidships. With a heavier rower, say 200 lbs, she might displace around 335 lbs, which gives a 4″ draft, a waterline length of 16′ 6″, and a waterline beam of about 30″. When I step into the boat, it feels pretty tippy, but the flare of the hull keeps the water out and mine has never shipped water even with some pretty clumsy entrances and exits. At 4″ draft, the boat has about 120 lbs per inch immersion. If you’re lighter, the boat will have a narrower waterline beam, and will be more tender.

With her flat bottom and her stems just kissing the water, the Herreshoff/Gardner can be a bit squirrely; some owners have added a small skeg aft, but I set my rowing station slightly aft, so the after stem acts like a skeg. Christopher Jones’s solution is to place a 10- to 15-lb weight in the stern. Herreshoff’s original sketch clearly shows a shallow keel running the length of the boat. I don’t know why Gardner did not include that in his design.

I have not had my boat out in big seas, but the design is responsive and has plenty of buoyancy. It may rock a bit with the narrow waterline beam, but the ’midship flare and the fullness above the water at the stems keeps the water out. Rowers have reported being comfortable on longer trips. Gardner quotes Vaitses saying he could do 4 to 5 knots all day, and was timed at over 6 knots a number of times. The boat is certainly easily driven and, for a fixed-seat machine, offers a decent rate of speed. I can maintain 3 1⁄2 to 4 knots without breaking a sweat, and more experienced rowers say they can hold 6 knots for decent periods. The low freeboard means wind is not much of a factor.

John Murray, who makes the Graco oarlocks, has also built about 60 Swift dories, a fiberglass clone of the Herreshoff/Gardner. He thinks the boat really comes alive in a chop. For me, the biggest challenge is powerboat wakes. I handle them by either rowing into them or stopping to let them pass.

Building a kit boat would have taken far less time, but I am happy with how this project came out. The tooling I was given by Paul Jutra was fair, and right on the money with Gardner’s offsets. The lapstrake construction is pretty and strong. I learned a huge amount about both boatbuilding and woodworking. In contrast to my “rough but sturdy” first boat, my Herreshoff/Gardner 17 draws approving looks wherever she goes.

The molds and strongback have been passed along to the next builder, a recent IYRS graduate.

Tony Lush fell prey to Joshua Slocum while in college and got in 40,000 solo miles before settling down in Rhode Island. He and his wife, Nancy, still sail and maintain a small fleet of boats to enjoy on Narragansett Bay—the Herreshoff/Gardner 17 among them.