RI artist making prints of classic American yachts

NEWPORT, R.I. -- Nathanael Greene Herreshoff was one of the world's pre-eminent boat builders at the turn of the 20th century, crafting innovative yachts that dominated the America's Cup sailing competition for decades.

Herreshoff, who died in 1938, generally designed boats by beginning with model hulls shaped from blocks of wood instead of first creating lines plans, two-dimensional architectural drawings that reveal the shape of the hull and can suggest a vessel's speed, performance and seaworthiness.

Now an artist and licensed captain, Will Sofrin, is filling in the gap.

Sofrin is using original design data of the boats owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to create construction plans for two dozen of Herreshoff's most heralded yacht designs - even though the project rankles Herreshoff's grandson.

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