HMCo #32p [Open yacht]
Particulars
Later Name(s): [Speedwell?]
Type: Open Steam Yacht
Designed by: NGH
Contract: 1876
Finished: 1877-7-30
Construction: Wood
LOA: 45' (13.72m)
Beam: 6' 10" (2.08m)
Draft: 2' 11" (0.89m)
Propulsion: Steam, Herreshoff, Simple exp., 2 cyl. (2x3 1/2" bore x 7" stroke); High press.
Boiler: Coil; 34 1/2" dia.
Propeller: Diameter 32", Pitch 60"
Note(s) in HMCo Construction Record: Open yacht.
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.
Documents
Other Contemporary Text Source(s)
" 'G', a writer in the Providence Evening Press, says he spent a very pleasant afternoon lately among the boats and boatmen of this town. In speaking of the work at the Messrs. Herreshoff's yard he writes: 'On Friday last [apparently May 25, 1877], they launched the 'Francesca', a 47-feet steam launch [probably #31p] owned by Frank Birch, Esq., of Swansea. Her trial trip confirmed Mr. Herreshoff's prediction that for speed and the generally desirable qualities of such boats she would prove the best they had ever put into the water. In the finishing shop, and having never been in the the water, stands another boat [apparently #32p] of the same class, which has an odd history. A wealthy invalid gentleman contracted with Mr. Herreshoff to build her that he might conveniently adopt his physician's advice to spend a portion of his time on salt water. Before the boat was finished, he passed beyond the need of boats or doctors, and his executors have a handsome craft on their hands which they would be glad to get rid of. ...'
'G' concludes his interesting article as follows: 'Altogether, there is more yachting and building carried on in this old town than the casual observer would be inclined to suppose, and it seems to be on the increase. A more convenient or more pleasant location for the sport could hardly be found, than Bristol harbor, with the broad bay beyond it, and it is small wonder that summer visitors should be coming to the conclusion that yachting is not the least of the pleasures of a season in this quiet watering place.' " (Source: Anon. "Locals." Bristol Phoenix, June 2, 1877, p. 2.)
"No. 32, steam yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, RI, by John B. Herreshoff, 1877.
5 18/100 tons; 41.5 ft. x 6.8 ft. x 3.5 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
No decks, no masts, plain head, round stern.
Surveyed and measured, July 30, 1877." (Source: U.S. Customs Department, Bristol, R.I. Custom House Record Book, 1870s to 1904 (Collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum), s.v. No. 32.)
Archival Documents
"N/A"
Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #32p [Open yacht] 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 2000 (ca.) Transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Vermilya/Bray
Year: 1877
E/P/S: P
No.: 032
OA: 45'
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)
"#32p [Open Yacht] may well be #187604ep Speedwell which had nearly the same hull dimensions and identical engine and boiler dimensions. Speedwell is listed only in the 1884 and 1886 American Yacht Lists, not before. Note, however, that Speedwell is consistently said to have been built in 1876, rather than 1877." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 19, 2009.)
"The Bristol Phoenix of June 2, 1877, p. 2 suggests that #32p was built in 1876 for a customer who died prior to the delivery. This would explain why Speedwell was listed as having been built in 1876." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 11, 2016.)
"Date this vessel was finished was estimated as July 30, 1877, the date this boat was measured by the U.S. Custom House inspector as per the U.S. Custom House Record Book in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 9, 2020.)
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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