Ticonderoga
Tales of an Enchanted Yacht
By Jack Somer
Every yacht designer facing a blank sheet of paper seeks the same elusive ideal: to create a vessel that combines radiant grace with uncompromised speed. This is the story of such a yacht–perhaps the most radiant and graceful of them all. Ticonderoga was designed in 1935 by L. Francis Herreshoff as a simple family daysailer. Yet, Herreshoff shaped her underbody for speed in a futuristic way that has stood the test of time.
This history begins as the story of wood and bronze and a touch of genius. But for more than seventy years, through a select group of patrician owners, several rebuilds, and more than half a century, Ticonderoga has left a unique and indelible mark in the annals of yachting.