HMCo #140p Clara

"[1887-04-08] Fri 8: Clara (#140) launched at 9 a.m.
[1887-10-19] Wed 19: Hauled up Clara [probably catyawl #402s Clara and not steamer #140p Clara]." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1887. Manuscript (excerpts). Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection.)

"Str. 140 - ordered 12/17/86 - completed 5/5/87. ... Eng[ine] 7 1/2in & 12in & 19in x 10 1/2in. 98ft 6in Long. 75in Sq[uare] Boiler. Eng[ine] forward of the Boiler." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. Handwritten Note in Casting Record Books Vessel Castings Book 4, s.v. Steamer 140. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120. No date (1878 to 1887).)

"THE Herreshoff Mfg. Co. have now on the ways in their fine building house at Bristol another steam yacht for Mr. Charles Kellogg, of Athens, Pa., for whom they have already built two smaller boats, both named Lucille [#110p and #122p]. The first of these, a cabin launch, was followed in 1885 by a full decked steam yacht that has cruised for two seasons about the St. Lawrence, and the new boat, named Clara, will be still larger and faster. Her dimensions are:
Length over all 98ft.
Length L.W.L. 92ft.
Beam extreme 13ft.
Draft 5ft.
The construction will be the same as in the Ladoga [#123p], Lucille, Stiletto [#118p] and others of the class; oak keel, steamed oak frame with malleable iron knees, steel diagonal straps across the frames, and double skin and decks. The garboards are of 2 1/2 in. oak, but the upper planking has an inner skin of 3/4 in. white pine and an outer one of 3/4 in. yellow pine. The two are fastened to the frames with brass screws, while galvanized screws are used from inside through the inner to the outer skin. The planksheer is supplemented by an additional thick strake of oak about 2ft. below it. The deck is of white pine in two layers each 1/2 in., the boards being 3 in. wide and laid in white lead with brass screws. The rail will be of brass. The pilot house and deck fittings are all of mahogany.
The hull is divided by four bulkheads of galvanized iron, all uncut and watertight. The main saloon is 14ft. long and abaft it is the companion and a laboratory. Adjoining the latter is the owner's stateroom, all being finished in mahogany. The forecastle, galley and officers' quarters are forward.
The engine space is 17ft., in which is a triple expansion engine and a Herreshoff boiler. The cylinders are 7 1/2, 12 and 19 in. by 10 1/2. The entire frame of the engine is of steel and it weighs complete only 3,100 lbs. The working pressure is 225 lbs. The propeller, skag and balance rudder are all of composition or bronze, and the shaft is of 3in. steel with a copper casing. The new boat is intended for speed. She will be rigged as a schooner with lug-footed sails. ..." (Source: Anon. "A New Herreshoff Steamer." Forest and Stream, February 17, 1887, p. 75.)

"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. The work has been prosecuted with secrecy. The new aquatic greyhound is an order of Mr. Charles Kellogg, a wealthy gentleman connected with the Athena (Pa. ) Bridge Company. The yacht in general appearance resembles the well-known Lucile [#122p]. The dimensions are: Length on water line 92 feet; length over all, 98 feet; depth from garboard to sheer streak, 7 feet 4 inches; draught aft, 5 feet, and draught forward, 3 feet 4 inches. The keel is on an average 12 inches deep. There are four water-tight bulkheads of galvanized iron.
The engine space is only 17 feet, the machinery standing in front of the boiler. The latter is of the typical Herreshoff pattern, square and packed in asbestos wool. The engine is of the new triple expansion pattern. It is asserted by the builders that it is the lightest machine in the world for its horse power. The entire cabin fittings will be of mahogany. The speed guaranteed by the builders will cause this yacht to be a notable one. She is intended for both ocean and river cruising and will be named the Clara.' ..." (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]. ... Side by side with the old shop is a new and larger one, in which the large steam yachts are constructed.
In this shop a steam yacht [#140p Clara] is being built for Mr. Charles Kellogg, President of the Union Bridge Company, which has its principal works in Pittsburg. The yacht is 98 feet long over all, 90 feet water line, with 11 feet 4 inches beam amd 4 feet 9 inches draught of water. She is nearly completed, and shows the fine model of all the Herreshoff craft. Her mid section is placed at about 55 per cent of the water line length from the stem. She is about 11 feet wide on the water line. The yacht will have a flush deck and will be schooner rigged with pole masts. She will have a triple expansion engine, and it is expressly stipulated that she shall make 17.8 miles an hour. This will require engines of nearly 250-horse power. All her deck fittings will be of mahogany, and she will be as trim as any yacht of her size, while, unquestionably, she will be the fastest cruising yacht of her size afloat. Mr. Kellogg's home is at Athens, Penn., and it is not yet settled whether the yacht will be used on the great lakes or on the salt water of the Hudson River and the coast. ... Kellogg's yacht is at present hauled up at a place on Narragansett Bay opposite Bristol, which goes by the euphonious name of 'Hopsquash.'" (Source: Anon. "Gorgeous Steam Yachts. Fleet As Swallows And Fine As Silk." New York Times, March 20, 1887, p. 9.)

"Clara, steam yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, RI, by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., 1887.
22.84 tons; 90.6 ft. x 11.4 ft. x 7.3 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
One deck, two masts, plain head, round stern.
Surveyed and measured, March 21, 1887. [Also measured July 17, 1893 with 45.67 gross tons and 24.84 net tons.]" (Source: U.S. Customs Department, Bristol, R.I. Custom House Record Book, 1870s to 1904 (Collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum), s.v. Clara.)

"Herreshoff Bros, launched on April 9 [1887] the steam yacht for Mr. Chas. Kellogg, of Athens, Pa., owner of the Lucille. The name of the new yacht is Clara." (Source: Anon. "Building Notes." Forest and Stream, April 14, 1887, p. 263.)

"A steam yacht built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., for Mr. Charles Kellogg, of Athens, Pa, was launched from the builders' yard Saturday [April 9, 1887] morning. The yacht is ninety-eight feet in length and was named 'Clara.' Another large fast steam yacht [apparently #139p Lotus Seeker I] is to be built immediately, the keel of which is laid where the Clara was launched from." (Source: Anon. "Local Affairs." Bristol Phoenix, April 16, 1887, p. 2.)

"[License on enrollment issued out of the port of Bristol. Pos. 9:]
Clara, steam yacht, of New York.
Built at Bristol, 1887.
22.84 tons; 90.6 ft. x 11.4 ft. x 7.3 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
No specifications shown.
Lic[ensed] (temporary)(yacht) May 4, 1887. Acting owner: Charles Kellogg of New York. Master: Charles Kellogg.
License surrendered June 20, 1888 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. Clara.)

"[Clara (Steamyacht) owned by Whitman W. Kenyon, Port: New York; LOA 98ft; LWL 92ft; Beam 11.6ft; Draft 4.6ft; designed by N. G. Herreshoff and built by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. in 1887.]" (Source: Stebbins 1896 Yachtsmen's Album, p. 19.)

"The steam yacht Clara, A.Y.C., Mr. Whitman W. Kenyon, is being extensively altered. She is being lengthened both fore and aft, in all about fifteen feet, and being given a new pilot house and new dining room on the afterdeck." (Source: Anon. "Yachting Notes." New York Herald, April 5, 1900, p. 13.)

"The following yacht sales have recently been made through the agency of Mr. Frank Bowne Jones, of this city: ... The steam yacht Clara, sold for Mr. W. W. Kenyon to Mr. Harrison V. Vail, Lynbrook, N. Y.]" (Source: Anon. "Yachts Changing Hands." New York Herald, April 6, 1912, p. 11.)

"[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:] Work order notebook [Titled Nathl G. Herreshoff, Esq., Bristol R.I.; 1882-1887, mostly signed by N.G.H., later ones by C.H.K.; material and item orders relating to #400s CONSUELO, #401s ROMP and steamers #89p, #99p, #100p, #101p, #102p, #104p, #105p, #106p, #110p, #111p, #113p, #118p, #119p, #120p, #122p, #123p, #140p, #146p; many orders from the marine store of A. B. Babbitt at Tiverton]." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Work Order Notebook. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120-04. Box HAFH.6.4B, Folder Casting Record Books Sketch and Order Book 1882-1887 NGH CHK. 1882 to 1887.)
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"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Penciled technical drawing of a steam engine titled '7 1/2 - 12 & 19 x 10 1/2, as built 1885 - 86'. (This engine is known to have been built for #140p CLARA, #142p NOW THEN and #162p JUDY between between 1887 and 1890)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Technical Drawing. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE11_02230. Folder [no #]. No date (ca 1887 ??).)
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"[Item Transcription:] Penciled experiments booklet, untitled. Relevant contents:
§18: #140p CLARA Acceptance Trial (1887-05-02)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator) and/or Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Experiments Booklet. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE07_00060. Folder [no #]. 1885-11 to 1887-05.)
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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:
§28: #140p CLARA Trial Run (1887-04-30 & 1887-05-02)
§29: #140p CLARA Trial Runs '13.45kn = 15.49miles' (1887-05-02 & 1887-05-04)." (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 #140p Clara even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Clara (HMCo-made index card)
• Clara (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: Clara
Type: Steam
Length: 98'6"
Owner: Kellogg, Charles

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

• Clara
• 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: Clara
Type: 97' steamer
Owner: Charles Kellogg
Year: 1887
Row No.: 116

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.

Year: 1887
E/P/S: P
No.: 140
Name: Clara
OA: 98' 6"

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. #140 - 98Ft. long. 7 1/2-12+19x10 1/2 Eng[ine]. 75in. 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.)

"Charles H. Kellogg, a mechanical engineer of Athens, Pennsylvania was the co-founder of the Union Bridge Company which became one of the largest builders of bridges in the U.S." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 2, 2008.)

"Built in 113 days (contract to launch; equivalent to 808 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"In the absence of better available data displacement was estimated by using the figure for Gross Register Tons (45.67) from the 1889 Who Won (Net Register Tons were reported as 22.84 by the 1890-91 Manning's American Yacht List) 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.