1930 Herreshoff Fisher Island 31, Castin, ME, New Price $224,990!

2026 Season

WIZARD will be racing again! After new topside paint and new varnish, plans are for participating in the Camden Classic and Eggemoggin Reach. Launched the week of June 15th, she’ll be sailed to Castine, Maine, ready to race.

DESCRIPTION

One of the original Herreshoff Fisher Island 31's built in 1930 by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, WIZARD (HMCo # 1156)  underwent a no-holds-barred 42-month restoration by Brion Rieff in Brooklin, Maine from January 2014 to August 2017.  With a stunning level of craftsmanship, Rieff returned her to her original graceful state.  Rieff took off the keel and built new steam-bent frames, new floor timbers and transom, an entirely new white oak backbone, and new Sitka spruce spars.  The running backstays were retained and a permanent backstay added.  Jacob Vargish developed a sail plan whose proportions fit her beautiful hull, and both sails have more leading edge than the original to improve performance to windward.  After relaunch, she went on to win the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta in 2019. 

With 31' on the waterline, she is 44 feet on deck.  The versatile full keel sloop design is an outgrowth of Nathanael Herreshoff's ALERION daysailer.  Her original paperwork says, "a model which is exceptionally sturdy, seaworthy and dry in rough going without sacrificing the much-desired element of speed," and that holds true today. Below decks she has a restful main cabin with typical Herreshoff varnished mahogany trim and original 1930s ambiance.  The forward galley now has a propane stove and oven and double sink, and the head is opposite to port.  WIZARD is in outstanding structural and aesthetic condition with modern systems and amenities throughout, ready for the next chapter.  If you are a Wooden Boat subscriber, you can read more about her history here. 

DIMENSIONS

LOA: 43 ft 3 in
LWL: 31 ft 6 in
Beam: 10 ft 8 in
Min. Draft: 6 ft
Displacement: 18,000 lb

ACCOMODATIONS

Heads: 1

HISTORY

Between 1927 and 1930, The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company designed and built 14 FISHER ISLAND 31s in Bristol, R.I.  The design originated from the lines and half hull of the famous Alerion that Nathanael Green Herreshoff designed and built for his personal sailing pleasure. Her original name was SURPRISE and she was purchased by E.H. Cooper.  Over the course of her history, she was renamed FOLMAR, then BAGATELLE, then PATAPSCO II, then WIZARD. She was one of five Fisher Island 31s delivered with the special teak-trimmed package. 

RESTORATION

-Brion Rieff & David Graham full restoration, Sails and Rigging by Jacob Vargish
-New steam bent frames – New floor timers – New transom -  New White Oak backbone (including stem)
-Renewed garboards and planks (longleaf pine) – Topsides refastened.
-New Rig and sail plan (Developed by Rieff and Jacob Vargish)   Spars are made of Sitka Spruce
-Both sails have more leading edge than previous, enhancing windward performance.
-Running backstays remained and a backstay was added
-Cabin sides and ends, including coamings and skylights, are all teak and original. They were removed, stripped and expertly put back together.

Her deck is a four-layer sandwich glued together in place with epoxy.  It began with ¼” marine plywood, butted on the beams, v-grooved and painted on their undersides to simulate the original deck, followed by a second layer of ½” plywood, with its joints staggered. This layer was sheathed with fiberglass, followed by a final layer consisting of 3/8” teak strips sprung to follow the sheer.  Viewed from either above or below, the deck looks original but the plywood and fiberglass structure is intended to give the hull more rigidity and assure there will be fewer leaks.

WIZARD has an all-new interior, with bulkheads that now connect directly to her hull frames, making them structural to some degree. The restoration is well documented with a 10-part video series. 

SPECIAL FEATURES

THE MAIN CABIN is gorgeous and exquisitely proportioned, with raised panel bulkheads and partitions painted off-white and bordered by varnished mahogany trim. She retains her original 1930s ambiance and the same basic galley-forward arrangement.  The cabin was slightly altered by eliminating the fold-down backrests in favor of more comfortable seating, and storage lockers were added against the hull. Additionally:

-Exposed deck beams and hull frames (part of the boat’s structure) add a wonderful seafaring appearance to the entire interior.
-A portside quarter berth has been added.

THE GALLEY is perfectly functional like the original and has the added convenience of a propane stove and oven.
THE HEAD is the same size and general layout as the original, but more elegant.  A holding tank has been added.  
THE MAINSHEET system is beautifully designed with bronze track and fittings mounted on a varnished teak deck. The mainsheet track is mounted above the deck, allowing the aft hatch to remain in its original location. Additionally:
-4 beautiful Bronze self-tailing winches in the cockpit complement the teak deck and coamings
-Companionway dropboards are stored in the grooves in which they slide, so they are always at hand
-Companionway is off-center, providing for an engine room below and a hatch above
-2 self-tailing winches on the mast control the jib halyard and main halyard

SAILING CHARACTERISTICS

Fisher Island 31s were originally built as a one-design racing class and were the result of years of careful study to develop a model which was exceptionally sturdy, seaworthly and dry in rough going without sacrificing speed. The forward section is sharp enough to prevent pounding under any conditions and is sufficiently flared to prevent the boat from throwing water even when being driven hard to windward in rough weather. After their winning history of racing, these beautiful boats have now transitioned into cruising yachts. 

WIZARD Ex PATAPSCO II did not have her rig intact when the rebuild began in 2014.  New spars and rigging were designed and built, allowing Brion Reiff and Jacob Vargish to follow a trend seen by many older vessels being restored, by developing a longer mast, taller headsail, with shorter booms, increasing the leading edge and providing more performance upwind.  This change seems to have resulted in a perfect combination to provide easier handling and increased speed. The mainsheet is controlled by the winch on the portside on the house, and the full-length bronze traveler is just aft of the tiller. The self-tacking jib overlaps just a bit and its foot is cut high for great visibility.  They are easily controlled by two new bronze self-tailing winches in the cockpit. The two smaller bronze self-tailing winches control the runners and asymmetrical spinnaker. The halyards for the main and jib are raised with the help of self-tailing winches on the mast.

Disclaimer

The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.