HMCo #202p [Steam Tender for U.S.C.S. Vixen]
Particulars
Name: [Steam Tender for U.S.C.S. Vixen]Type: Steam Launch
Designed by: NGH
Contract: 1898-12
Launch: 1899-1-16
Construction: Wood
LOA: 30' (9.14m)
Beam: 6' 3" (1.91m)
Displ.: 3,300 lbs (1,497 kg)
Propulsion: Steam, Herreshoff, 48 h.p. Triple exp., 3 cyl. (3 1/2" & 5" & 8" bore x 4 1/2" stroke)
Boiler: Bent Tube
Propeller: Diameter 28"
Built for: U.S. Coast Survey
Note(s) in HMCo Construction Record: U.S. Coast survey for "Vixen"
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.
Model
Model number: 424Model location: H.M.M. Model Room West Wall Left
Vessels from this model:
30 built, modeled by NGH
Original text on model:
"[#197] Model made 1897 and changed in fall 1897 26' long frame spaces 9 3/4
[#198] 198 ditto everything
[#199] 199 28' long frame spaces 10 1/2
[#200] 200 ditto all the way
[#201] 201 ditto all the way
[#202] 202 30' long frames spaces 10 1/2
[#204] 204 ditto all the way
[#227] 227 30 YACOMA [sic, i.e. Yacona]
[#233] no number [should be 233] 28 DELEWARE
[#238] 239 [should be 238] 28 US EAGLE
[#239] dash [should be 239] 26" [should be 28] VIXEN
[#240] 240 30' by 5' "240" gasoline
[#246] 246 28' USN
[#262] 262 28' M plant [unreadable name]
[#263] 263 34' Cassandra
[#265] 34? J.B.H. Premier gasoline [i.e. #265]
[#???] ? 34 by 5 gasoline [this is apparently another reference to #265p Premier]
[#270] ? 28 WANDERER [should be 270]
[#???] ? 34' ILONDA ? [sic, i.e. Morton Plant's steamyacht IOLANDA] 1909
[#255] also 2 [unreadable] for ELECTRA [sic, i.e. #255 and #257] and 1 for ILONDA [sic, i.e. Morton Plant's steamyacht IOLANDA]
[#257]
[#272?]
[#273] 273 35' ILONDA [sic, i.e. Morton Plant's steamyacht IOLANDA]
[#274] 274 Sept. 1910 Cuban [sic, i.e. Haulrey Jr.]
[#275] 275 Oct 1910 28' USN SCORPION" (Source: Original handwritten annotation on model. Undated.)
Model Description:
"26' steam launch of 1898 for the coast survey vessel Yankton. Others built of various sizes over the next dozen years, with scale changes, including the 30' gasoline launch 240 that is now in the Herreshoff Marine Museum's Hall of Boats." (Source: Bray, Maynard. 2004.)
Note: Vessels that appear in the records as not built, a cancelled contract, a study model, or as a model sailboat are listed but not counted in the list of vessels built from a model.
Offsets
Offset booklet number(s): HH.4.030
Offset booklet contents:
#198 - #202, #233, #237 - #242, #246, #263, #266, #271 [steam & gasoline launches].
Offset Booklet(s) in Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection. Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections, MIT Museum, Cambridge, Mass. (Restricted access --- see curator.)
Drawings
Explore all drawings relating to this boat.List of drawings:
Drawings believed to have been first drawn for, or being first referenced to
HMCo #202p [Steam Tender for U.S.C.S. Vixen] are listed in bold.
Click on Dwg number for preview, on HH number to see at M.I.T. Museum.
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Dwg 043-037 (HH.5.03387); Boiler for No. 197 (1898-06-21)
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Dwg 011-014 (HH.5.00939): Stern Tube for Launch # 202 (1898-12-16)
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Dwg 058-024 (HH.5.04095): Strut for Launch # 202 (1898-12-17)
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Dwg 002-012 (HH.5.00012): Construction Dwg > 30 ft. Steam Launch # 202 (1898-12-21)
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Dwg 008-023 (HH.5.00721): Shaft for 30' Launch # 202 (1898-12-27)
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Dwg 065-039 (HH.5.04635): Stern Shoe for # 202 (1899-08-30)
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Dwg 002-015 (HH.5.00015): General Arrangement > Launch for Valiant, # 204, Copied from Dr. # (2-12) (1899-09-08)
Note: The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection is copyrighted by the Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections of the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass. Permission to incorporate information from it in the Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné is gratefully acknowledged. The use of this information is permitted solely for research purposes. No part of it is to be published in any form whatsoever.
Documents
Nathanael G. Herreshoff
"[1899-01-16] Mon 16: L[igh]t SE [wind and] overcast. Rain ... Launched st[eame]r #202 [Steam Tender for U.S.C.S.S. Vixen], 30 ft launch for US Coast Survey and tried her. Speed 15.5 miles [per hour].
[1899-01-18] Wed 18: Fine & cool. Fresh NW [wind &] clear. Sent launch #202 to Prov[idence] to be shipped to Norfolk." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1899. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)
"Jan[uary] 16 [1898]
No. 202. 30ft.
Launch for U.S. Coast Survey, same as #199, excepting it is 30ft long, has heavier clamps, and has bilge keels.
Weight complete with tools & boathooks, but without anchor, moorings, awning &c and no coal or water ... 3300lbs.
1st run from dock, 3 on board.
Stone size soft anthracite [coal]. SE light [wind].
[Followed by tabulated trial run data with mean speed being 15.5mph = 13.45kn]." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. Handwritten note in Trials Booklet '1898 - 1909' under date of January 16, 1898. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum.)
"202 [#202p]. 30ft. 15.35[mph = 13.34kn]. 235lbs [steam pressure]. 202 [#202p]. 30ft. 15.50[mph = 13.47kn]. 245lbs [steam pressure]." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. Penciled Note on Verso of Envelope titled 'Trials of 26[ft], 28[ft] & 30[ft] Launches. 1898 - 1912. N.G.H.'. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. No date, September 28, 1920 or later.)
Other Herreshoff Family
"Herreshoff Manufacturing Company
Bristol, R.I., January 19, 1899
Mr. C. Oliver Iselin, New Rochelle, N.Y.
Dear Sir:-
... We should like to have one of our new launches in your hands for next season but do not feel like chartering. The 30 foot one steamed to Providence yesterday, against a heavy north wester, to be shipped to Norfolk, Va. We think it would be hard to get a better rough water, and handier, boat of her size.
Respectfully,
Herreshoff Mfg Co. [With letter dated January 12, 1899 HMCo had offered a 30ft mahogany dteam launch to C. O. Iselin for $3,933 less 10% discount.]" (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [Letter to C. Oliver Iselin.] Mystic Seaport Museum, Charles Oliver Iselin Papers, 1893-1903 Coll. 85 – Box 1, Folder 7. January 19, 1899.)
Archival Documents
"[Item Transcription:] Handwritten (mostly in pencil but also in ink) trials booklet titled '1898 - 1909'. Relevant contents:
§5: #202p [STEAM TENDER FOR U.S.C.S. VIXEN] Trial Run mean speed 15.35mph = 13.3kn (1899-01-16)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Trials Booklet. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE09_00060. Folder [no #]. 1898-09 to 1911-04.)
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 ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪
"[Item Transcription:] [Penciled trial run summary on verso of envelope to NGH in Bristol, R. I. postmarked September 27, 1920:] Trials of 26[ft], 28[ft] & 30[ft] Launches. 1898 - 1912. N.G.H.
197 [#197p]. 26ft. 13.10[mph = 11.38kn]. 225lbs.
198 [#198p]. 26ft. 12.49[mph = 10.85kn].
199 [#199p]. 28ft. 13.02[mph = 11.31kn]. 210lbs.
199 [#199p]. 28ft. 16.02[mph = 13.92kn]. 240lbs.
202 [#202p]. 30ft. 15.35[mph = 13.34kn]. 235lbs.
202 [#202p]. 30ft. 15.50[mph = 13.47kn]. 245lbs.
200 [#200p]. 28ft. 14.35[mph = 12.47kn].
201 [#201p]. 28ft. 14.25[mph = 12.38kn].
214 [#214p]. 26ft. 14.60[mph = 12.69kn]. 240lbs.
214 [#214p]. 26ft. 13.47[mph = 11.71kn]. about 235lbs.
220 [#220p]. 28ft. 14.98[mph = 13.02kn].
227 [#227p]. [30ft]. 13.82[mph = 12.01kn].
?. 28ft. 14.50[mph = 12.60kn].
239 [#239p]. 28ft. 13.22[mph = 11.49kn]. Required 10k[nots].
?. 26ft. 12.50[mph = 10.86kn].
239 [#239p]. 28ft. 12.40[mph = 10.78kn]. Not full speed.
246 [#246p]. 28ft. 13.55[mph = 11.77kn].
?. 28ft. 14.46[mph = 12.57kn].
275 [#275p]. 28ft. 10.80[mph = 9.38kn]. Not full speed.
274 [#274p]. 27ft. 14.66[mph = 12.74kn]. [More calculations on other side.] [Note: Every launch listed above was built from Model 424 --- as if this was an attempt to assess the speed of launches built from this model and thus judge the capabilities of the model.]" (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. (creator). Penciled Note. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_03510. Folder [no #]. No date (1920-09-28 or later).)
① ②
Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #202p [Steam Tender for U.S.C.S. Vixen] 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 1931 HMCo-published Owner's List
Name: Vixen
Type: Steam
Length: 30'
Owner: U.S. Navy
Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. "A Partial List of Herreshoff Clients." In: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Herreshoff Yachts. Bristol, Rhode Island, ca. 1931.
From the 1930s L. Francis Herreshoff Index Cards at the Herreshoff Marine Museum
- 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.
From the 1953 HMCo Owner's List by L. Francis Herreshoff
Name: Vixen
Type: 30' steam
Owner: U.S. Navy
Row No.: 731
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.
From the 2000 (ca.) Transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Vermilya/Bray
Year: 1898
E/P/S: P
No.: 202
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.
Research Note(s)
"Steam engine rating 48hp from undated (1903 or later) diagram by N. G. Herreshoff titled 'Marine Engine. Weights and Prices' in the Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 24, 2019.)
"Marine Engine of Inclosed Type. 3 1/2 & 5 & 8 x 4 1/2, 825[rpm], 48[hp]." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. Handwritten List of HMCo-Made Steam Engines. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum, MRDED1_00220. Undated, between 1903 and 1918.)
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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