HMCo #263p Cassandra Jr. [Launch for St. Y. Cassandra]

Particulars

Construction_Record_Title.jpgName: Cassandra Jr. [Launch for St. Y. Cassandra]
Type: Steam Launch
Designed by: NGH
Contract: 1907-10-18
Trial: 1908-3-31
LOA: 34' 0" (10.36m)
Beam: 6' 3" (1.91m)
Draft: 1' 10" (0.56m)
Propulsion: Steam, Herreshoff, 48 h.p. Triple exp., 3 cyl. (3 1/2" & 5" & 8" bore x 4 1/2" stroke)
Boiler: Bent Tube; [Plan]43-37
Propeller: Diameter 22", #2
Built for: Rainey, Roy A.
Note(s) in HMCo Construction Record: for R. A. Rainey

Note: Particulars are primarily but not exclusively from the HMCo Construction Record. Supplementary information not from the Construction Record appears elsewhere in this record with a complete citation.


Model

Model #424Model number: 424
Model location: H.M.M. Model Room West Wall Left

Vessels from this model:
30 built, modeled by NGH
#197p [Steam Tender for U.S.C.S. Yankton] (1898)
#198p [Steam Tender for U.S.C.S. Yankton] (1898)
#199p [Steam Tender for U.S.C.S. Eagle] (1898)
#200p [Steam Tender for U.S.C.S. Yosemite] (1899)
#201p [Steam Tender for U.S. Coast Survey] (1899)
#202p [Steam Tender for U.S.C.S. Vixen] (1899)
#204p [Launch for St. Y. Valiant] (1899)
#214p Isis [Launch for St. Y. Isis] (1902)
#220p Atala (1902)
#227p [Launch for St. Y. Yacona] (1902, Extant)
#233p Delaware Junior [Launch for St. Y. Delaware] (1903)
#237p North Star II [Launch for St. Y. North Star II] (1903)
#238p [Launch for U.S.S. Eagle] (1903)
#239p [Launch for U.S.S. Vixen] (1903)
#240p 240 (1904, Extant)
#241p [Launch for St. Y. Haida] (1903)
#242p Breeze (1904)
#246p [Steam Launch for U.S.S. Yankton] (1904)
#255p Electra Jr. [Launch for St. Y. Electra] (1906)
#257p [Gannet (? Launch for St. Y. Electra)] (1907)
#262p [Launch for St. Y. Iolanda] (1908)
#263p Cassandra Jr. [Launch for St. Y. Cassandra] (1908)
#265p Premier (1908)
#266p Polyana (1908)
#270p Wanderer Jr. [Launch for St. Y. Wanderer] (1909)
#271p Diana (1909)
#272p [Launch for St. Y. Iolanda] (1909)
#273p [Launch for St. Y. Iolanda] (1910)
#274p Haulrey Jr. [Launch for St. S. Hatuey / Houtrey] (1910)
#275p [Launch for U.S.S. Scorpion] (1910)

Original text on model:
"[#197] Model made 1897 and changed in fall 1897 26' long frame spaces 9 3/4
[#198] 198 ditto everything
[#199] 199 28' long frame spaces 10 1/2
[#200] 200 ditto all the way
[#201] 201 ditto all the way
[#202] 202 30' long frames spaces 10 1/2
[#204] 204 ditto all the way
[#227] 227 30 YACOMA [sic, i.e. Yacona]
[#233] no number [should be 233] 28 DELEWARE
[#238] 239 [should be 238] 28 US EAGLE
[#239] dash [should be 239] 26" [should be 28] VIXEN
[#240] 240 30' by 5' "240" gasoline
[#246] 246 28' USN
[#262] 262 28' M plant [unreadable name]
[#263] 263 34' Cassandra
[#265] 34? J.B.H. Premier gasoline [i.e. #265]
[#???] ? 34 by 5 gasoline [this is apparently another reference to #265p Premier]
[#270] ? 28 WANDERER [should be 270]
[#???] ? 34' ILONDA ? [sic, i.e. Morton Plant's steamyacht IOLANDA] 1909
[#255] also 2 [unreadable] for ELECTRA [sic, i.e. #255 and #257] and 1 for ILONDA [sic, i.e. Morton Plant's steamyacht IOLANDA]
[#257]
[#272?]
[#273] 273 35' ILONDA [sic, i.e. Morton Plant's steamyacht IOLANDA]
[#274] 274 Sept. 1910 Cuban [sic, i.e. Haulrey Jr.]
[#275] 275 Oct 1910 28' USN SCORPION" (Source: Original handwritten annotation on model. Undated.)

Model Description:
"26' steam launch of 1898 for the coast survey vessel Yankton. Others built of various sizes over the next dozen years, with scale changes, including the 30' gasoline launch 240 that is now in the Herreshoff Marine Museum's Hall of Boats." (Source: Bray, Maynard. 2004.)

Note: Vessels that appear in the records as not built, a cancelled contract, a study model, or as a model sailboat are listed but not counted in the list of vessels built from a model.


Offsets

Offset booklet number(s): HH.4.030

Offset booklet contents:
#198 - #202, #233, #237 - #242, #246, #263, #266, #271 [steam & gasoline launches].


Offset Booklet(s) in Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass. (Restricted access --- see curator.)

Drawings

Main drawing Dwg 002-049 (HH.5.00049) Explore all drawings relating to this boat.

List of drawings:
   Drawings believed to have been first drawn for, or being first referenced to
   HMCo #263p Cassandra Jr. [Launch for St. Y. Cassandra] are listed in bold.
   Click on Dwg number for preview, on HH number to see at M.I.T. Museum.
  1. Dwg 065-016 (HH.5.04612): Details for Strs. # 117 and 130 (1885-10-02)
  2. Dwg 055-006 (HH.5.03994): Condenser for Launch # 197 (1898-06-14)
  3. Dwg 043-037 (HH.5.03387); Boiler for No. 197 (1898-06-21)
  4. Dwg 043-057 (HH.5.03407): Boiler for 244 (1904-03-11)
  5. Dwg 005-082 (N/A): Preliminary Drawing 34' Launch (Steam) (1907-10-16 ?)
  6. Dwg 058-000 (HH.5.04161): Sketch of Prop Shaft Strut (1907-11-20)
  7. Dwg 058-042 (HH.5.04113): Propeller Strut for # 263 (1907-11-21)
  8. Dwg 011-052 (HH.5.00978): Shaft Stuffing Box for 34' Launch 12 3/4" Frame Spaces (1907-11-23 ?)
  9. Dwg 068-076 (HH.5.04882): Steering Gear Details (1907-11-26)
  10. Dwg 059-052 (HH.5.04216): Knees for Coambing [sic] and Detail of Sheer Strake (1907-12-07)
  11. Dwg 025-049 (HH.5.01799): Construction List (1907-12-13)
  12. Dwg 002-049 (HH.5.00049): Construction Dwg > Launch - Stm, 34' O.A., 6'-4" [B] (1908-01-01)
  13. Dwg 008-046 (HH.5.00744): Shafting for 263--294--296 (1908-01-01)
  14. Dwg 091-125 (HH.5.07400): Metal List # 263 (1908-01-04)
  15. Dwg 005-083 (HH.5.00312): General Arrangement > Arr'g't, Launch - IC, 34' O.A., 6'-4" Beam, Gasoline (1908-02-24)
  16. Dwg 155-000 (HH.5.12787): General Arrangement > Proposed Changes 34' Launch S.Y. Cassandra (ca. 1909-09)
Source: Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Together with: Hasselbalch, Kurt with Frances Overcash and Angela Reddin. Guide to The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass., 1997. Together with: Numerous additions and corrections by Claas van der Linde.
Note: The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection is copyrighted by the Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections of the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass. Permission to incorporate information from it in the Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné is gratefully acknowledged. The use of this information is permitted solely for research purposes. No part of it is to be published in any form whatsoever.

Documents

Nathanael G. Herreshoff

"March 31, 1908
34ft x 6ft 6in launch #263 built for Mr. Rainey's st[eam] y[acht] Cassandra.
Is on same moulds as preceding [#262p Launch for Iolanda] and also #199 &c, but with increased frame spaces, sheer raised 3in and side flared out all around, increasing beam about 6in.
Power same as usual.
Trial made on harbor cruise. Wind S, 18[mph], choppy sea. L[igh]t rain, about 1/4 bunker of coal and part of equipment. 2 on board.
[Followed by tabulated trial run data with best mean speed being 16.52mph (= 14.36kn)]
Vacuum 23 1/2 to 24 1/2[in]. Machinery working well, and steaming easily with soft coal after changing jet from 5 3/32 holes to 5 3/4 holes." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. Handwritten note in Trials Booklet '1898 - 1909' under date of March 31, 1908. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum.)

Other Contemporary Text Source(s)

"Bristol, R. I., Nov. 23. --- ... The Herreshoffs are building another naphtha launch, for Roy A. Rainey, which is in a good measure like the Plant craft. This boat is to be used as a tender to Mr. Rainey's new steam yacht which, is now being built at Greenock, Scot. Albert S. Chesebrough, who is the designer of the new Rainey steam yacht, spent a few days here recently with his family, and has gone to Greenock again to remain to see the yacht finished and launched before returning, which will be next May. ..." (Source: Anon. "Little Activity At Herreshoff's." Boston Herald, November 24, 1907, p. 6.)

"... There were recently launched from the shops three swift power boats, one for Morton G. Plant [#262p], which has been sent abroad; one for Paul J. Rainey [#263p Cassandra Jr.], and a 50-foot cruising launch [#264p Sarah Webb] for Col. George H. Webb of Providence." (Source: Anon. "Little Business At Boat Yards. Herreshoff's Yard Very Dull For This Times Of The Year." New London, April 21, 1908, p. 8.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., Aug. 24 [1908]. --- Roy A. Rainey's new steam yacht, Cassandra, arrived here to-day from Greenock, Scotland. She is one of the largest steam yachts afloat and her interior appointments rival in convenience and luxury those of any of the finest private yachts. Roy Rainey's new boat is enrolled in the New York Yacht Club fleet, and he is also Commodore of the Indian Harbor Yacht Club, at Greenwich, Conn., and she will probably be used as the flagship of that club for the balance of the season. Cassandra was designed by A. S. Chesebrough of Boston. The new boat was built at Scott's ship yards, Greenock, Scotland, and recently had her preliminary trials. She is 284 feet over all, 239 feet on the water line, 83 feet beam, 18 feet 6 inches deep, with a draught of 14 feet 6 inches. She is equipped with two triple-expansion engines. ... Cassandra is one of the dozen largest steam yachts ever built. Among the few larger ones in America are A. J. Drexel's Margarita, which is 323 feet over all; George Gould's Atalanta, 300 feet, and J. Pierpont Morgan's Corsair, 304 feet." [Note: Cassandra apparently came to Bristol to take delivery of her new Herreshoff steam launch Cassandra Jr. #263p.] (Source: Anon. "Yacht Cassandra Here. Roy Rainey's Craft one of the Largest Steam Yachts Afloat." New York Times, August 25, 1908, p. 7.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., August 29 [1908] --- ... The event of the week was the arrival of the steel steam yacht Cassandra from Greenock, Scot. The boat, which is 284 feet in length, anchored off Herreshoff's for the formalities of the U. S. customs. ... [Note: Cassandra apparently came to Bristol to take delivery of her new Herreshoff steam launch Cassandra Jr. #263p.]" (Source: Anon. "Bristol Notes." Boston Globe, August 30, 1908, p. 39.)

"The steam yacht Cassandria [sic, i.e. Cassandra], owned by Paul J. Rainey and designed by Albert S. Chesebrough of this town, and which was built in Scotland last winter, arrived in Bristol harbor Sunday [October 25, 1908] afternoon and anchored off the Herreshoff boat shops. The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company has recently built a small launch for Mr. Rainey. She cleared yesterday for Marseilles, France, Capt. Sanborn." (Source: Anon. "Bristol and Vicinity." Bristol Phoenix, October 27, 1908, p. 2.)

Archival Documents

"[Item Description:] Handwritten notebook. This booklet had two lives: In 1907-1908, 1908-1909 and 1909-1910 it was used for winter storage records, listing name of boat, owner, storage location, billed amount, and dates of storage. Listed were for the winter of 1907/1908: #235p MIST, ORIANA, #571s LARIKIN, EAGLET, #453s VAQUERO II, #580s TRIVIA, #663s ISTALENA, COSSACK, #666s AVENGER, #220p ATALA (for sale), #207p MIRAGE, #224p EUGENIA, #146p AUGUSTA, #247p SEA URCHIN, #105p COSETTE, ARLINE, #213p FLORENCE, #208p FLORETTE, #249p SISILINA, #591s IROLITA, #481s SPALPEEN, DUCHESS, #669s ELEANOR, #460s KILDEE, #647s CAPRICE, #408s PELICAN, #243p SWIFTSURE, #617s COCK ROBIN, #177p VANISH, #446s ALERION, and #591s IROLITA I, for the winter of 1908/1909: #666s AVENGER, #663s ISTALENA, #481s SPALPEEN, #580s TRIVIA, #617s COCK ROBIN, COSSACK, #177p VANISH, #242p #242, #243p SWIFTSURE, SKIP, #446s ALERION, CHEWINK II, DUCHESS, #571s LARIKIN, #460s KILDEE, #679s PEPITA, EAGLET, #408s PELICAN, #453s VAQUERO, #146p AUGUSTA, #224p EUGENIA, COYOTE, #264p SARAH WEBB, #207p MIRAGE, ARLINE, #213p FLORENCE, #208p FLORETTE, #249p SISILINA, #591s IROLITA I, CASSANDRA 27ft Launch, and #263p CASSANDRA 34ft Launch, and for the winter of 1909/1910: #252p WANECHE (no further boats were listed). At some later time, the same book was turned upside down and inscribed with a new title in ink '200Ft Submarine Destroyer [#191802ep Unbuilt 200ft Submarine Chaser]. Data + Calculation Book. Herreshoff Mfg Co.' on its now-new front cover (formerly its back cover), followed by weight data estimates and calculations for this submarine destroyer." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Notebook. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.087. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder Submarine Destroyer 200-Footer. 1907-1908, 1908-1909, 1909-1910, 1918-06.)


"[Item Transcription:] Handwritten (mostly in pencil but also in ink) trials booklet titled '1898 - 1909'. Relevant contents:
§49: #263p CASSANDRA JR. [LAUNCH FOR ST. Y. CASSANDRA] Trial Run mean speed 16.52mph [= 14.36kn] (1908-03-31)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Trials Booklet. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE09_00060. Folder [no #]. 1898-09 to 1911-04.)



Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #263p Cassandra Jr. [Launch for St. Y. Cassandra] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.


Supplement

From the 1920 and earlier HMCo Index Cards at the MIT Museum
  • Note: The vessel index cards comprise two sets of a total of some 3200 cards about vessels built by HMCo, with dimensions and information regarding drawings, later or former vessel names, and owners. They were compiled from HMCo's early days until 1920 and added to in later decades, apparently by Hart Nautical curator William A. Baker and his successors. While HMCo seems to have used only one set of index cards, all sorted by name and, where no name was available, by number, later users at MIT apparently divided them into two sets of cards, one sorted by vessel name, the other by vessel number and greatly expanded the number of cards. Original HMCo cards are usually lined and almost always punched with a hole at bottom center while later cards usually have no hole, are unlined, and often carry substantially less information. All cards are held by the Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections of the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass.
From the 1931 HMCo-published Owner's List

Type: Steam
Length: 34'
Owner: Rainey, Roy A.

Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. "A Partial List of Herreshoff Clients." In: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Herreshoff Yachts. Bristol, Rhode Island, ca. 1931.

From the 1930s L. Francis Herreshoff Index Cards at the Herreshoff Marine Museum
  • Note: The L. Francis Herreshoff index cards comprise a set of some 1200 cards about vessels built by HMCo, with dimensions and / or ownership information. Apparently compiled in the early 1930s, for later HMCo-built boats like the Fishers Island 23s or the Northeast Harbor 30s are not included. Added to in later decades, apparently by L. F. Herreshoff as well as his long-time secretary Muriel Vaughn and others. Also 46 cards of L. F. Herreshoff-designed vessels. The original set of index cards is held by the Herreshoff Marine Museum and permission to display is gratefully acknowledged.
From the 1953 HMCo Owner's List by L. Francis Herreshoff

Name: Cassandra
Type: 34' steam tender for steam yacht "Cassandra"
Owner: Roy A. Rainey
Row No.: 107

Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. "Partial List of Herreshoff-Built Boats." In: Herreshoff, L. Francis. Capt. Nat Herreshoff. The Wizard of Bristol. New York, 1953, p. 325-343.

From the 2000 (ca.) Transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Vermilya/Bray

Year: 1907
E/P/S: P
No.: 263
Name: Cassandra Jr.
OA: 34' 0"

Source: Vermilya, Peter and Maynard Bray. "Transcription of the HMCo. Construction Record." Unpublished database, ca. 2000.

Note: The transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Peter Vermilya and Maynard Bray was performed independently (and earlier) than that by Claas van der Linde. A comparison of the two transcriptions can be particularly useful in those many cases where the handwriting in the Construction Record is difficult to decipher.

Research Note(s)

"Cassandra was a 287ft LOA steam yacht, designed by A. S. Chesborough and built in 1908 by Scott SB & Eng. in England for Roy Rainey who owned her until 1912." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. [Cassandra information from Hofman, Erik. The Steam Yachts. Lymington, 1970, p. 178-179.] June 2, 2009.)

"Steam engine rating 48hp from undated (1903 or later) diagram by N. G. Herreshoff titled 'Marine Engine. Weights and Prices' in the Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 24, 2019.)

"Marine Engine of Inclosed Type. 3 1/2 & 5 & 8 x 4 1/2, 825[rpm], 48[hp]." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. Handwritten List of HMCo-Made Steam Engines. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum, MRDED1_00220. Undated, between 1903 and 1918.)

"Built in 165 days (contract to trial)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

Note: Research notes contain information about a vessel that is often random and unedited but has been deemed useful for future research.

Note

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Citation: HMCo #263p Cassandra Jr. [Launch for St. Y. Cassandra]. Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné. https://herreshoff.info/Docs/P00263_Cassandra_Jr.htm.