HMCo #29p Coquina

"... In 1876 Mr. [William] Young first came to Bristol, for a launch built for W[illiam] Graham, Esq. of Baltimore. The launch was named 'Coquina' [#29p] (from which I took the name for my 16' periauge [#404s] in 1888). She was 27 1/2 [ft] long, with 3 1/2in x 7in single engine and 'coil boiler' and was taken to 'Indian River', Fla., for the winter following.
In 1877, Mr. Graham had built by John, under Mr. Young's supervision, the launch 'Kelpie' [#43p] --- 45' x 6' 10'' with double 3 1/2 x 7 engine & coil boiler.
Kelpie was returned in 1878 to H.M.Co. in part-payment for the steam-yacht 'Liela' [sic, #40p], also built for Mr. Wm. Graham and under Mr. Young's supervision. Liela was of composit [sic] construction, double planked topsides, fitted with a compound engine 12 x 21 x 24 and 'coil boiler', and was quite fast. She was 100 1/2' o.a. & 15ft beam --- about 12' in w.l. [beam].
'Liela' was returned to H.M.Co. in spring of 1880, in part payment for a larger steam yacht 'Gleam' [#65p], built that preceding winter. 'Gleam' was about 115' o.a., 105' w.l. & 16' beam, 'composit', compound engine & square boiler --- for Mr. Wm. Graham, and supervised by Mr. Young & [he] was here all winter as 'resident inspector'.
About the beginning of the year of 1888 Mr. Young was again here with commission from Mr. ? [George S. Brown, the father-in-law of William Graham] of Baltimore, to oversee the construction of 'Ballymena' [#151p]. This yacht was steel construction, about 130ft x 18', powered with a 5 cyl[inder] quadruple engine & square type boiler. This yacht was launched in fall of 1888.
Mr. Young was of fine[?] extraction, a refined gentleman in character and apparently thought very highly of by the higher classes in Baltimore, and was a connoisseur in articles, fine character, and was fond of working as a silversmith, and apparently quite an expert, a wonderful fine 'shot' with rifle & trap shooting. A fine yachtsman, and I suppose, other accomplishments. Absolutely upright & honest in all his dealings.
We became very friendly and attached to each other, and he to the Herreshoff family.
Although friendly and I imagine 'engaged', he didn't marry Miss Mary Gilmor until in the early [18]'90s, and when both were well along in years. Mrs. Young was a woman of lovable character.
In 1899, when on a visit at 'Love Rocks' of Mr. & Mrs. Young and Mrs. Young's niece, Miss Alice Gilmor, on occasion of the launching of the 90ft Cup defender 'Columbia' [#499s], Mr. Young was stricken with (?)-hemorrhage and passed away at my house. A lement [sic] to all who knew him.
He was probably over 70 years at that time [sic, i.e. 74]. N.G.H." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. "Notes on Two Fine Portraits - Found by Ann and Brought to me for Identification." August 17, 1937. Copy. In: Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, Series VI, Folder HH.6.126, Box HAFH.6.4B.)

"A new steam yacht has recently been built at Herreshoff’s boat building establishment for parties in Florida. It was shipped on board the steamer A.C. Barstow, of the Neptune Line, for New York one day last week, from whence it was reshipped for Jacksonville, Florida. The name of the yacht is 'Coquena' [sic, i.e. Coquina], her length thirty feet, and width nine feet six inches [sic]. This yacht, which is of first class workmanship, is to be propelled by Herreshoff’s patented safety coil boiler and engine, and is intended for a pleasure boat." (Source: Anon. "Locals. Bristol Phoenix, February 17, 1877, p. 2.)

"N/A"

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #29p Coquina even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Coquina (HMCo-made index card)
• Coquina (MIT Museum-made index card)
• 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.

Year: 1877
E/P/S: P
No.: 029
Name: Coquina
OA: 30'

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.

"The owner, William Hamilton Graham (1823-1885), was director of Baltimore's oldest banking house of Alexander Brown and Sons and brother-in-law of George S. Brown (1834-1890) whose grandfather had been the bank's founder and who in 1887 would order the steam yacht #151p Ballymena. HMCo built four yachts for Graham, all supervised by William Young (who became a friend of NGH and also supervised Ballymena's construction): #29p Coquina (1877), #43p Kelpie (1878), #40p Leila (1878), and #65p Gleam (1880)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. October 17, 2016.)

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