HMCo #117p [Launch for St. Y. Electra]

"27ft Length. 6ft 4in Beam. 3ft 3in Depth. [Blank] Draft. 3 1/2in & 6in x 6in Left Hand eng[ine]. D 30sq[uare] Boiler. [blank] center to center of frames." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Handwritten Note in Casting Record Books Vessel Castings Book 4, s.v. Steamer 117. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120. No date (1878 to 1887).)

"Steamer no. 117.
Launch for E. T. Gerry.
27ft. long (36 frames)
6ft 4" wide, square stern.
3ft 3" deep.
Thickness of keel stem & stern post 2 1/8".
Thickness of planking, double 9/32" = 9/16" white pine & mahogany.
Timbers 7/8" sq[uare] (9" apart).
Shaft 3" above zero, at stern post.
Deduct 1 1/2" for planking and timbers, in making frames." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. [Penciled note in Offset Booklet HH.4.013.] Undated, ca. September 1884. Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA.)

"... The Herreshoff Company, Bristol, R. I., completed on Friday [September 19, 1884] a mahogany steam launch for the steam yacht Electra, N.Y.Y.C., Mr. Elbridge T. Gerry. This launch was commenced on the 1st inst. [September 1, 1884] under contract that it should be completed and delivered on Monday, 22d inst. [September 22, 1884] which gave the company only eighteen working days. The launch is 27 feet long by 6 feet 6 inches wide, and is finished inside and out with polished mahogany. It is fitted with a compound condensing engine, with cylinders 3 1/2 inches and 6 inches bore and 6 inches stroke of piston. ..." (Source: Anon. "Yachting Notes." New York Herald, September 21, 1884, p. ?)

"NEWPORT, R. I., Sept. 25 [1884]. --- Elbridge T. Gerry's steam yacht Electra arrived here from New-York last night and went to Bristol this morning to take a steam launch just completed for her by Mr. Herreshoff. She will go to Gardiner's Bay, fishing, the first favorable opportunity. ..." (Source: Anon. "Jottings from Newport." New York Times, September 26, 1884, p. 1.)

"The Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. built the new steam launch for Mr. E. T. Gerry's yacht Electra in eighteen days, completing the launch Monday [September 22, 1884]. She is constructed, outside of mahogany, inside of cherry." (Source: Anon. "Local Affairs." Bristol Phoenix, September 27, 1884, p. 2.)

"... No better leader for the fleet [of the New York Yacht Club] could be found than the Electra, fast enough to start all the laggards and then time the leaders, with accommodations for a large party, with two swift Herreshoff launches [#117p Launch for St. Y. Electra and #130p Launch for St. Y. Electra] at her boat booms, ..." (Source: Anon. "The Cruise Of The New York Y. C." Forest And Stream, August 25, 1887, p. 95.)

"[Item Description:] Casting Book # 4, steamers #40p, #54p, #57p, #63p, #67p, #70p, #79p, #89p, #92p, #99p, #100p, #101p, #102p, #103p, #104p, #105p, #106p, #107p, #108p, #109p, #110p, #111p, #112p, #113p, #114p, #115p, #116p, #117p, #118p, #119p, #120p, #121p, #122p, #123p, #124p, #125p, #126p, #127p, #128p, #129p, #130p, #131p, #132p, #133p, #134p, #135p, #136p, #137p, #138p, #139p, #140p, #141p, #142p, #143p, #144p, #145p, #146p, #147p [castings by hull number; front page shows summary size and engine and boiler data for steamers 99 thru 146 as well as repair data for steamers #40p, #54p, #57p, #63p, #67p, #70p, #79p, #89p, #92p, #118p, and #128p]. Undated, vessels mentioned were built between 1878 and 1887. Dates mentioned for repairs range from 1885 to 1887. Note considerable informational overlap with Casting Book # 1, which as in this book also contains data for #99p through #116p, although it appears (!) that Book # 4 lists more patterns per boat than Book # 1. Likewise, considerable overlap with Casting Books # 2 and # 3 which also contain data for boats that are also listed in book # 4. It may well be that information in Book # 4 was copied from books # 1, # 2 and 3." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120-07. Castings Book 4. Box HAFH.6.4B, Folder Casting Record Books Vessel Castings Book 4. No date (1878 to 1887).)
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"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Casting Book # 2, steamers #70p; #79p, #117p, #118p, #119p, #120p, #121p, #122p, #123p, #124p, #125p, #126p, #127p, #128p, #129p, #130p, #131p, #132p, #133p, #134p, #135p, #139p, [castings by hull number]. On last page handwritten note 'Commenced Work on Triple Cond[?] Eng. new one Nov 11/85. H com[?] on Nov 13/85 10 A.M. C.H.K.'. Undated, most vessels mentioned were built between 1885 and 1886. Note considerable informational overlap with Casting Book # 4, which also contains data for all of the boats mentioned in this book, although it may be (!) that Book # 4 lists more patterns per boat than Book # 2." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120-05. Castings Book 2. Box HAFH.6.4B, Folder Casting Record Books Vessel Castings Book 2. No date (1885 to 1886).)
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"[Item Transcription:] Handwritten (in ink and pencil) experiments and trials booklet titled 'Herreshoff Mfg. Co. Experiments 1884 to 1889. N.G. Herreshoff'. Relevant contents:
§5: #117p [LAUNCH FOR ST. Y. ELECTRA] Trial Run (1884-09-24)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Trials Booklet. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE07_03520. Folder [no #]. 1884-05 to 1890-05.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #117p [Launch for St. Y. Electra] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Launch for St Y Electra (HMCo-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: 1884
E/P/S: P
No.: 117
OA: 27'

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.

"... Str. #117 - 27Ft. long. 3 1/2+6x6 Eng[ine]. D Sq[uare] [Boiler]. ... " (Source: Anon. [Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. (N. G. Herreshoff?)] No Title. [Handwritten Notes on Outer Cover of Notebook.] No date [ca. late 1880s.] Notebook in the Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, The Francis Russel Hart Nautical Collections, M.I.T. Museum, Cambridge, Mass., obj. no. HH.6.120.)

"Launch for steam yacht Electra, 173ft LOA, 161.4ft LWL, built 1884 by Harlan & Hollingworth, owned by Elbridge T. Gerry until 1912, when she was broken up." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. [Electra information from Hofman, Erik. The Steam Yachts. Lymington, 1970, p. 48-49.] January 9, 2009.)

"Built in 18 days (setup to finished; equivalent to 205 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"3694 lbs with every thing on board." (Source. Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [Note on Plan 3-35.] Bristol, RI, September 22, 1884.)

"Weight with all on board, but coal & water 3720lbs." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Note in handwritten experiments and trials booklet titled 'Herreshoff Mfg. Co. Experiments 1884 to 1889' dated September 24, 1884. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum.)

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