Biography of S.F. Nininger
The Collection of S. F. Nininger reflects the collector’s interest as an Amphibi-Con enthusiast, President of the Amphibi-Con Association, and owner of the Amphibi-Con ARBELLA.
The Amphibi-Con is a 25 1/2 foot centerboard sloop designed in 1954 by Cy Hamlin and Farnham Butler at the request of Chuck Angle who was looking for a trailerable sailing boat with accommodations for 4. Since then more than 122 boats of this design have been built by yards such as Burr Bros. Boats, Inc., of Massachusetts and Mount Desert Yacht Yard of Maine.
Q.E.D., the first Amphibi-Con was built in 1954. In 1956 the Amphibi-Con Association was organized with the purpose of holding annual races and rendezvous. In subsequent years the Association also published the Pictorial, an annual circular featuring photos of Amphibi-Cons, and the Newsletter, as well as at least one yearbook.
Mr. Nininger served as President of the Association in the late 1960’s and owned the Amphibi-con, ARBELLA.
He also sailed in Windjammer Sailing Club’s 1958 10th Annual Overnight Race.
Scope and Content
The collection is organized into 4 series:
Amphibi-Con class material is located in folder 1.
Amphibi-Con Association material is filed in folders 2-7.
Information on the Amphibi-Con ARBELLA is located in folders 8-9.
Folder 10 contains papers regarding a race in which ARBELLA sailed.
Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
Available for use in the Manuscripts Division
Restrictions on Use
Various copying restriction apply. Guidelines are available from the Manuscripts Division.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the G. W. Blunt White Library. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Corporate Bodies (Including Vessels):
Amphibi-Con Association
ARBELLA (Sloop)
Subjects:
One-designs (Boats)
Administrative Information
Coll. 269, Manuscripts Collection, G. W. Blunt White Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
| Papers; 1950-1974 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Amphibi-Con Class, Brochures and Circulars; ca. 1950-1970 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Amphibi-Con Assoc.; Pictorial; 1961-1968 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Amphibi-Con Association; Newsletter; 1967-1970 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Amphibi-Con Association; Yearbook; 1958 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Amphibi-Con Association; Annual Meeting Minutes and Notices; 1968, 1973 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Amphibi-Con Association; Owners Lists; 1969, 1972, 1974 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Amphibi-Con Association; Correspondence: S. F. Nininger, President; 1968-1973 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | ARBELLA (Sloop) Specification and Rigging List; 1956 | ||||||||||||
| 9 | ARBELLA (Sloop) Measurement Certificate; 1969 | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Windjammer Sailing Club Race Circulars; 1958 | ||||||||||||