HMCo #139p Lotus Seeker I

"[1887-06-17] Fri 17: Launched steamer #139 [Lotus Seeker] and sold to [blank (E. R. Holden)].
[1892-06-06] Mon 6: Old [#139p] Lotus Seeker arrived [which HMCo apparently took in part payment for the new #171p Lotus Seeker].
[1892-07-28] Thu 28: ... Sold old Lotus Seeker [#139p] ..." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1887 to 1892. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection.)

"The Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. have this week commenced the building of a launch [apparently #139p Lotus Seeker] after the model of the Henrietta [#133p], which is now owned by parties in New York." (Source: Anon. "Local Affairs." Bristol Phoenix, October 16, 1886, p. 2.)

"Lotus Seeker, steam yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, RI, by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., 1886.
3.37 tons; 46.6 ft. x 7.6 ft. x 3.8 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
Plain head, round stern.
Surveyed and measured, December 17, 1886 [measured again June 20th, 1887." (Source: U.S. Customs Department, Bristol, R.I. Custom House Record Book, 1870s to 1904 (Collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum), s.v. Lotus Seeker.)

"The Boston correspondent of the New York Herald visited the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.'s Works in this town on Saturday last [February 12, 1887] and writes as follows to the Herald: 'In the big ship house stands a large steam yacht [#140p Clara] that can be launched in a week. ...' 'In the small ship house is a completed steam launch [#139p Lotus Seeker I] almost identical in size and proportion to the renowned flyer Henrietta [#133p], viz.: 48 feet in length and 7 feet 4 inches beam. She was ordered by a New York gentleman, who does not wish his name made public until he embarks on the yacht in the East river. The builders say that the Henrietta's record will be beaten by this new boat. The mahogany is said to be the most beautiful as regards color and richness and grain ever put on a yacht.'
As to the work being 'prosecuted with secrecy,' it may be said that the building of both the vessels alluded to were announced in the PHOENIX, and also in several of the Providence papers, some weeks ago. The Clara is far from being completed even now, but the work is progressing finely. The smaller one is so far advanced that she could be launched at any time the builders desired. The yachts are both of superior workmanship and of the best materials used in the construction of vessels." (Source: Anon. "The Yachts The Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. is Building." New York Herald, February, 1887. Reprinted in: Bristol Phoenix, February 19, 1887, p. 2.)

"Bristol, Mass., March 19 [1887]. --- Among the most successful of the Herreshoffs' ventures in steam navigation is the well known Henrietta [#133p]. Last Fall the Herreshoffs received an order to build a mate [apparently #139p Lotus Seeker] to the Henrietta, and the new craft is lying in their old shop practically finished. Her outside planking is of mahogany and the decks and interior finishings are all of mahogany. All her fastenings are of copper or composition, and there is not a bit of iron used in her construction. Like all the Herreshoff steam yachts her planking is double, the inner layer being white pine and the skin seven-sixteenths of an inch of mahogany. The engine will [be] a triple expansion engine, and she will be fitted with the Herreshoff safety boiler. There is about a week's work still to do on her, but she will not be finished until May. ..." (Source: Anon. "Gorgeous Steam Yachts. Fleet As Swallows And Fine As Silk." New York Times, March 20, 1887, p. 9.)

"... The Henrietta [#133p] has lately been to the shop for a spring overhauling before going into commission under her new owner, Mr. Howard Jaffray, and the firm have also a duplicate of her [apparently #139p Lotus Seeker] now finished in stock. These boats are 48ft. over all, 47ft, l.w.l., 7ft. 6in. beam, and 2ft. 2in. draft of hull and 2ft. 8in. draft of shoe. They are built after the usual method of the firm, a double skin, the strakes running fore and aft, and steamed frames, all being fastened with brass screws. The workmanship is of the very highest grade, the joints of each skin being almost invisible and no caulking being needed. The decks, like the bottoms, are of double thickness, being laid in whitelead with brass screws and also require no caulking. For the skin and decks mahogany has been proved to be better than any other wood, and it is used for all the smaller craft." (Source: Anon. "Steam Yacht Building At Bristol." Forest and Stream, June 2, 1887, p. 424.)

"[License issued to vessel under 20 tons. Pos. 154:]
Lotus Seeker, steam yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, 1887.
3.37 tons; no dimensions nor specifications shown.
Previous documentation not shown.
Lic[ensed] ([as] yacht) June 20, 1887. Owner: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol. Master: John B. Herreshoff.
Surrendered [license] Sept. 20, 1887 at New York. ([Record at:] C[ustom] H[ouse, Providence])." (Source: Survey of Federal Archives, Work Projects Administration. Ships Documents of Rhode Island. Bristol. Ship Registers and Enrollments of the Port of Bristol - Warren Rhode Island, 1941, s.v. Lotus Seeker.)

"Friday 7 Alexandria Bay. This afternoon Mrs. Marsh came with the 'Lotus Seeker', the fastest boat on the river & took us all out for a sail. It sped along it goes 22 miles an hour. [Note: 'Lotus Seeker', owned by E.R. Holden, of Thousand Island Park, the first 'Lotus Seeker' which was built by Herreshoff, Hull #139 [#139p], a 48 foot launch, delivered in June 1887. The second 'Lotus Seeker' was a 73 foot yacht, Hull #171 [#171p], delivered in November 1891.]" (Source: Dewey, May. [May Dewey's Diary, Part III September 1888.] Transcribed and annotated by Kristen Pinkney, http://www.thousandislandslife.com/BackIssues/Archive/tabid/393/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/166/May-Deweys-Diary-Part-III-September-1888.aspx, retrieved March 17, 2009.)

"Thousand Island Park, July 22 [1889]. --- The boiler of the LOTUS SEEKER was blown up yesterday afternoon while lying at the private dock of her owner, E. R. Holden of New York, and vice-president of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad, who has a cottage here. The two occupants, the engineer and fireman, were unharmed. (Source: Anon. "Boiler Explosion. Narrow Escape of the Engineer and Fireman of the Steamer Lotus Seeker." Buffalo Evening News, Monday, July 22, 1889.)

"Bristol, R. I., May 28 [1892]. --- The Herreshoffs are nearing the end of their season's work, ... The Lotus Seeker [#171p], the fast 73-foot steamer for the St. Lawrence, will soon sail for her destination in the Thousand Islands. She is a trim-looking craft, and a speedy one.
Now on the way to Bristol is the original Lotus Seeker [#139p] which the new one will replace. She is a fast 48-foot launch, and would be a good buy, for any yachtsman wanting that kind of a craft. ..." (Source: Anon. "With The Herreshoffs. Season's Work of Bristol Firm Drawing to a Close." Boston Globe, May 29, 1892, p. 1.)

"... The steam launch Imp, owned by Mr. Howard S. Jaffray, was put in commission a few day a ago. ... [This is apparently a reference to #139p Imp ex-Lotus Seeker I.]" (Source: Anon. "Yachting News and Notions." New York Times, May 4, 1893, p. x.)

"... The high speed steam launch Imp, owned by Mr. J. L. Hutchinson, is laid up at Nyack [Seabury], and her machinery is being overhauled and repaired where necessary. ..." (Source: Anon. "Yachting Notes." New York Herald, March 11, 1894, p. 13.)

"List of Yachts Enrolled in the New York Yacht Club.
Imp, J. L. Hutchinson, New York [Port], 6.73 [Tonnage Gross], 3.37 [Tonnage Net], 48 0 [Length over all ft. in.], 47 0 [L.W.L. ft. in.], 7 6 [Extreme Beam ft. in.], 3 8 [Depth of hold ft. in.], 2 6 [Draft ft. in.], Tr[iple] Ex[pansion] 3 Cy. 4-6 1/2 & 10 x 8]" (Source: Mott, Henry Augustus. Yachts and Yachtsmen of America. New York, 1894, p. 171.)

"The high speed steam launch 'Imp,' owned by Mr. J. L. Hutchinson of this city, is now at Seabury & Co's., Nyack. Her engine has been rebuilt by them, boiler thoroughly overhauled, and looked over in general, and she will be in first-class first-class order when the season for yachting opens. ..." (Source: Anon. "Pleasure Travel and Resorts." Outing, 1894, vol. 24, (Apr. - Sept.), p. 177.)

"J. L. Hutchinson's 48-foot steam yacht Imp stopped in at Tebo's [shipyard] Wednesday morning to coal up. She was formerly the Lotus Seeker, by which name she is best known." (Source: Anon. "Yachts and Yachtsmen." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 17, 1895, p. 10.)

"FOR SALE --- The high speed Herreshoff Steam Launch Imp; fastest 48-foot boat in this country; has never declined a race and never been beaten; overhauled recently at an expense of over $1,200; sold only because owner has purchased larger boat; inspection and speed trial granted any day.
J. L. HUTCHINSON. Shelter Island Heights. N. Y." (Source: Anon. "For Sale." New York Herald, June 29, 1895, p. 12.)

"J. L. Hutchinson is reported to have sold his steam launch Imp [#139p ex-Lotus Seeker I], and to have purchased the newer and larger launch Vanish [#177p Vanish???]." (Source: New York Times, August 11, 1895, p. 12.)

"Frontenac, N.Y. August 24 [1901] --- Of the numerous steam vessels, both public and private which are daily seen plying the waters of the St. Lawrence River, the best models and the ones which elicit the most praise are the property of prominent New Yorkers summering in the Thousand Island region. ...
Several years ago E. R. Holden, the retired millionaire coal merchant of New York, brought a yacht named Lotus Seeker [#139p] to this region which was the astonishment of the steamboat men then sailing these waters. Her like for speed had never been seen before on the St. Lawrence.
She was a Herreshoff model and finished in mahogany. She set very close to the water and presented a pretty appearance as she rapidly glided along. For two or three years this speedy craft was the finest on the river.
In the spring of 1882 Mr. Holden brought forth another new yacht of the same name [#171p], but speedier. For several years this 72-foot Herreshoff boat, was ceded the title of the fastest yacht on the river. ... " (Source: Anon. "Steam Yachting on St. Lawrence River. Many Speedy Brooklyn Boats. St Lawrence River Squadron is Probably the finest Inland Fleet in the World." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 25, 1901, p. 11.)

"George M. Forster of this city is already making preparations to replace the steam launch Imp [ex-Lotus Seeker I #139p], which was burned on Lake Coeur d'Alene a few months ago. The Tacoma News says: 'The well known steamer Imp, built by the Puget Sound Iron & Steel Works in Tacoma [sic, i.e. built by Herreshoff in Bristol], and owned and operated on the lake by George M. Forster, was destroyed by fire August 7 [1903]. The Imp was said to be the fastest launch on the Pacific, ...]" (Source: Anon. "Forster Orders A Swift New Steamer to Be Built Exactly the Same as the Burned Imp." Spokane Daily Chronicle, August 20, 1903, p. 1.)

"F. A. Robbins of Sausalito, formerly owner of the launch Rob Roy and Port Captain of the San Francisco Yacht Club, has bought the power boat Imp from F. A. Hickmott of Bouldin Island. She is 52 feet long and is equipped with a steam engine, which will be taken out and a Buffalo gas engine installed in its place. She is of the same model as the launch Aquila and can make eighteen knots an hour. She beat the ferry boat San Rafael 2-1/2 minutes on the trip from San Francisco to Sausalito. [This is a puzzling news item. Might this be a reference to the 48ft steam launch #139p Imp ex-Lotus Seeker I which was reported to have been burned in Idaho in 1903? Note, however, that her sister-ship was #157p Aquila and was owned by William Randolph Hearst in San Francisco.] (Source: Anon. "Fast Steam Launch Imp to Be Fitted With Gas Engine." San Francisco Call, June 20, 1906, p. 6.)

"J. L. Roberts of the Puget Sound Iron & Steel Works, Tacoma, purchased and brought to Puget Sound the famous steam launch Imp, built by Herreschoff in Bristol, Rhode Island in 1890. Capable of a sustained speed of 22 knots, she was one of the fastest vessels of her day. In 1897 she was purchased for intended use as a mail boat between St. Michael and Dawson, the cost of her acquisition and transfer across the continent by rail being $31,000, plus the added expense of running her to St. Michael. Some complication arising in the mail contract, she was never used in the far north, and was brought back to the Sound in 1899, passing to Roberts early in 1900. She humiliated the famous Flyer by beating her by eight minutes between Tacoma and Seattle, and Puget Sound steamboat men were not displeased when she was shortly shipped to Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The sleek Imp, 50 feet long, with a beam of 8 1/2 feet was powered by a 125-horsepower fore-and-aft compound engine and a locomotive boiler furnishing steam ... Citation: Tacoma Public Library." (Source: http://www.cimorelli.com/cgi-bin/magellanscripts/ship_dates_volume.asp?ShipName=Imp+%28steam+Launch%29, retrieved March 21, 2014.)

"[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).)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓ ㉔ ㉕ ㉖ ㉗ ㉘ ㉙ ㉚ ㉛ ㉜ ㉝ ㉞ ㉟ ㊱ ㊲ ㊳ ㊴ ㊵ ㊶ ㊷ ㊸ ㊹ ㊺ ㊻ ㊼ ㊽ ㊾ ㊿
①

"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 Description:] Casting Book # 3, steamers #136p, #63p (Repair), #89p, #118p (Repair), #137p, #94p (Extra), #138p, steamer LOOKOUT ex-HALCYON, #128p (spare parts), #139p [castings by hull number]. Undated, dates mentioned are from 1886. Note considerable informational overlap with Casting Book # 4, which also contains data for most of the boats mentioned in this book." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120-08. Castings Book 3. Box HAFH.6.4B, Folder Casting Record Books Vessel Castings Book 3. No date (ca1886).)
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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:
§29: #139p LOTUS SEEKER I Trial Run (1887-06-20)." (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.)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓ ㉔ ㉕ ㉖ ㉗ ㉘ ㉙ ㉚ ㉛ ㉜ ㉝ ㉞ ㉟ ㊱ ㊲ ㊳ ㊴ ㊵ ㊶ ㊷ ㊸

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #139p Lotus Seeker I even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Lotus Seeker (HMCo-made index card)
• Lotus Seeker (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.

Name: Lotus Seeker
Type: Steam
Length: 48'
Owner: Monroe, Norman L.

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

• Lotus Seeker
• Imp ex-Lotus Seeker
• 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.

Name: Lotus Seeker
Type: 48' steam
Owner: Norman L. Monroe
Year: 1887
Row No.: 379

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.

"... Str. #139 - 48Ft. long. 4-6 1/2+10x8 Eng[ine]. G 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.)

"In the absence of better available data displacement was estimated by using the figure for Gross Register Tons (6.73) from the 1890-91 Manning's American Yacht List (Net Register Tons were reported as 3.37) and converting to lbs by dividing through 2000 (short tons). Note that this figure can only be a rough estimate because register tons as reported in Yacht Registers correlate only loosely with actual displacement figures." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 17, 2015.)

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