HMCo #205p Eugenia III

"[1899-11-10] Fri 10: Fresh W to NW [wind] & mild. ... John sold his st[eame]r [#205p Eugenia III] now building to Mr. Alden [or Alker?].
[1899-11-27] Mon 27: Fair [with] light NW [wind]. Launched st[eame]r #204 [sic, i.e. #205p], Eugenia III, in afternoon & took [her] to cove to be hauled out.
[1899-11-29] Wed 29: ... Hauled out #204 [sic, i.e. #205p Eugenia III] at marine railway.
[1900-02-16] Fri 16: Very fine & nearly calm. Cool. ... John [Herreshoff] & [#205p] Eugenia [III] left for Bermuda.
[1900-06-18] Mon 18: Very fine. NE [wind], fresh & clear. Launched #534 Yankee in forenoon & stepped mast. ... Hauled #505 [sic, i. e. #205p] Eugenia into s[outh] shop. ...
[1900-09-09] Sun 9: Very fine & warm [with] l[igh]t variable [wind]. John returned from Bar Harbor in [#205p] Eugenia [III]. ...
[1901-10-02] Wed 2: Fair & warm [with] strong S to SW [wind] in PM. threatening[?]. John returned home in Eugenia [#205p] quite sick.
[1901-12-09] Mon 9: Fine & mild with l[igh]t SW [wind]. ... Hauled out Eugenia [#205p] at head of cove.
[1902-04-10] Thu 10: Overcast with some rain in AM. ... Launched Eugenia [apparently #205p Eugenia III] at cove.
[1903-04-09] Thu 9: Very fine [with] l[igh]t NW [wind] in AM. Fresh SW [in] PM. Launched Empress [ex-Eugenia III #205p] from cove lot. ..." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1899 to 1903. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"May 31 1902.
Eugenia #205. Trial over south half of mile course in harbor to test speed with original screw at ordinary running speed. Everything in 1st class order and running very smoothly. Throttle open, not draft, regulating with damper. Mean boiler pressure 159lbs. ...
[Followed by tabulated trial run data with mean speed being 11.30mpg (=9.82kn)]
June 4th, 1902
Eugenia #205
Trial one south half of mile course in harbor. Conditions same as on May 31 except wheel changed to 3 blade 36in dia[meter] x 50in mean pitch, being screw pattern made for Jean [#194p], and used on all the Scout [#203p] class.
Wind 14 WNW, nearly high water. ...
[Followed by tabulated trial run data with mean speed being 11.28mph (= 9.80kn)]." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. Handwritten note in Trials Booklet '1898 - 1909' under date of May 31, 1902 and June 4, 1902. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum.)

"The lead keel for the first of the new special sixty-five footer sloop yachts [#529 Mineola] to be constructed was run Saturday [November 4, 1899] at the Herreshoffs shops. The new steam yacht [#205p Eugenia III] for John B Herreshoff, being built in the south shop is nearly all planked." (Source: Anon. "Bristol and Vicinity." Bristol Phoenix, November 7, 1899, p. 2.)

"A new steam yacht named the Eugenia, built for John B. Herreshoff, was launched this week from the south shop of the Herreshoff works. She was christened by Mrs. John B. Herreshoff. The yacht is about 90 feet on the water line and trifle more than 100 feet over all. She is not yet equipped with boilers and engines and there is much work to be done on her. She was hauled out at Walker's Cove where she will remain until spring, when she will be finished. She was launched at this time to make room for building two more of the 65 footers of the special class [New York 70s]. In order to get more needed floor room the space between the north and south shops at the west end will be covered and made a part of the shops, the same as at the easterly end." (Source: Anon. "Mr. Herreshoff's New Yacht." Bristol Phoenix, December 1, 1899, p. 2.)

""Eugenia, steam yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, RI, by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.
43.48 gross tons, 34.67 net tons; 84 ft. x 13.7 ft. x 8.2 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
One deck, two masts, overhanging head, overhanging stern.
Surveyed and measured, June 16, 1900." (Source: U.S. Customs Department, Bristol, R.I. Custom House Record Book, 1870s to 1904 (Collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum), s.v. Eugenia.)

"[Abstract of register or enrollment. Pos. 298:]
Eugenia, steam screw yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, 1900.
50.98 gross tons, 34.67 net tons; 84 ft. x 13.7 ft. x 8.2 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
One deck, two masts, overhanging head [bow].
Enr[olled] and Lic[ensed] ([as] yacht) Aug. 1, 1900. Owner: John B. Herreshoff of Bristol. Master: John B. Herreshoff.
Surrendered [license] July 18, 1902 at New London. ([Record at:] N[ational] A[rchives, Washington])." (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. Eugenia.)

J. B. Herreshoff and wife arrived home Monday afternoon in their steam yacht Eugenia from a pleasure cruise. From a Hartford, Conn., paper of September 28, we take the following clipping: 'John B. Herreshoff of Bristol, R. I., the noted yacht designer [sic], arrived here this afternoon on his steam yacht Eugenia. He left Saybrook at 7.45 this morning. Mrs Herreshoff accompanied the designer. J. B. Spurling is sailing master and William Walter engineer. The vessel has four men in the crew, and there are also a steward and a waiter.
The yacht is flying the flag of the Rhode Island Yacht Club. As the visiting yacht came to anchor she fired a shot, and the gun from this Hartford Yacht Clubhouse responded. Mr. Maslen of this city, a friend of the designer, put out in a small boat and was met by Mr. Herreshoff. The Eugenia is to remain until Sunday afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Herreshoff called upon Ex-Commander W. E. Watrous of the yacht club this afternoon.' " (Source: Anon. "Returned From Short Cruise." Hartford Daily Courant, September 28, 1900. Reprinted in: Bristol Phoenix, October 5, 1900, p. 2.)

"John B. Herreshoff with a party left Bristol on his steam yacht Eugenia [#205p] Saturday, to join the New York yacht Club squadron at Glen Cove, for the run east. Dr. H. M. Howe will join the squadron with his steam yacht Polyanthus [#182p ex-Eugenia II] tomorrow at New London." (Source: Anon. "News and Notes of Local Interest." Bristol Phoenix, July 23, 1901, p. 2.)

"... BRISTOL, R.I., July 20 [1902] --- ... John B. Herreshoff has sold his private steam yacht Eugenia to Mr. Plant of the South, who gave the fast but small steam yacht Katrina [#163p?] in exchange in the deal. ..." (Source: Anon. "British Yachting News." New York Times, July 21, 1902, p. 8.)

"M. T. Plant of Florida, who recently purchased the Eugenia, is having a new steam yacht [#222p Parthenia] built at Herreshoffs'." (Source: Anon. "Bristol and Vicinity." Bristol Phoenix, August 5, 1902, p. 2.)

"In accordance with authority of the Commissioner of Navigation, approved by the Acting Secretary of the Treasury, under date of November 21, 1902, the name of steam yacht 'EUGENIA,' offcial no. 136806, owned by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. of Bristol, R. I., is ordered changed to 'EMPRESS,' by which name said yacht is now known." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. "Notice" Bristol Phoenix, December 2, 1902, p. 2.)

"Empress (formerly Eugenia)
The Empress was one of those beautiful Steam Yachts with clipper bow and long fantail stern which lent so much enchantment to the Thousand Islands at the turn of the Century and during more than 20 years thereafter.
While on the St. Lawrence, she was owned by Mr. Thomas H. Wheeler of 26 Broadway, New York City. His Summer residence was on Wah-Win-Et Island, about one mile upstream from Alexandria Bay, New York. Her Home Port and Port of Registry were New York City. Her Registration Number was 136806.
The Empress was designed by Mr. Nathaniel G. Herreshoff and built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company at Bristol, Rhode Island in 1900. Construction was of wood. Her specifications were as follow: Net Tons, 34; Gross Tons, 50; Overall Length, 96'; Waterline Length, 82'; Beam, 14'; Depth, 8' 3"; Draft, 5' 6". Her powerplant was a 3-Cylinder Triple Expansion Steam Engine, 5 5/8 ", 8", and 12 1/4" of bore and 7" of stroke. This and her Water Tube Boiler were constructed at the Herreshoff plant.
The Empress left the River in 1930, having been purchased from Mr. Wheeler (or his estate) by a man of Erie, Pennsylvania. A number of years afterward, Captain Harry C. Marshall of Clayton, New York, one of the crew of a Sail Yacht which stopped at Erie, looked over the Empress there. He observed that she had been equipped with some type of sailing rig. Since, we have received no information relative to her.
Reference: Lloyd's Register of American Yachts, 1907 and 1913." (Source: Mercier, Gilbart B. Pleasure Yachts of the Thousand Islands. Clayton, New York, 1981, s.v. "Empress".)

"Registry and Rig Information
Vessel Name: EUGENIA
Nationality: U.S.
Official Number: 136806
Rig: Steam Yacht
Dimensions and Tonnage
Length: 84.00
Width: 13.58
Depth: 8.16
Masts: 0
Gross Tonnage: 50.00
Net Tonnage: 34.00
Hull Material: Wood
Vessel History
Rebuilds: Converted to gas yacht, 1934.
Disposition: Abandoned in 1948.
Build Information
Builder: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.
Place Built: Bristol, RI
Year Built: 1900
Name Changes
Name; Date; Registry; Official Number
EMPRESS; 1903 - 1931; U.S.; 136806
PRINCESS; 1931 - 1948; U.S.; 136806." (Source: Bowling Green State University (publisher). Great Lakes Vessels Online Index, s.v. "Eugenia." http://greatlakes.bgsu.edu/vessel/view/001887, retrieved June 2, 2015.)

"N/A"

"[Item Transcription:] Typewritten (carbon copy) table with penciled additions listing boats built 1899/1900 with columns labeled 'Design [in pencil]', 'Shop. No.', 'Length', 'Planking', 'Delivery', 'Owner' followed by penciled data for Boat Name and Actual Delivery Date. Relevant contents:
#205p EUGENIA III [blank]." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.. (creator) and Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDW02_01290. Folder [no #]. No date (1900-02).)
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"[Item Transcription:] Order book with carbon copy duplicates of instructions given by NGH. Relevant contents:
§14: Work Order '[For] Yachts building. Chain Cables. [When wanted] # 529 - 532 - 533 - 534 [#529s, #532s, #533s, #534s] - #204 [#204p] - 205 [#205p] Ap[ril] 1 [1900]. #531 - 207 [#207p] Ap[ril] 20 [1900]. #204 [#204p] - 205 [#205p] May 1st [1900]. 533 [#533s] - 534 [#534s] May 26 or earlier. All cables of BBB galvanized ...' (1899-12-04)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Order Book. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE07_01320. Folder [no #]. 1897-01 to 1905.)
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

"[Item Description:] Penciled table with steam engine data ('Boiler [pressure], 'SS', '1st Int', '2 Int', 'Vac[uum]', 'R[evolutions]') for FLORENCE [#208p], EUGENIA [#205p] (in 1902 and 1904), ROAMER [#215p] (in 1902, 1904 and 1905), SUNBEAM [#229p], MIST [#235p], and PARTHENIA [#222p]." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Penciled Table. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE03_01400. Folder [no #]. No date (1905 or later).)
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"[Item Description:] Four handwritten (in ink) pages with tabulated data listing 'Shop No', 'Name', '[Tons] Gross' and '[Tons] Net' for a total of 100 HMCo-built boats and classes. Tonnage data is usually precise to two digits behind the decimal. Random comparisons suggest source of tonnage data to be official Custom House data. Boats mentioned are: #664s, #663s, #625s, #665s, #634s, #658s, #657s, #646s, #641s, #617s, #626s Class, #624s, #621s, #616s, #619s, #590s, #591s, #586s, #592 Class, #618s, #605s, #578s, #560s Class, #580s, #553s, #551s, #552s, #546s, #541s, #545s, #538s, #534s, #533s, #532s, #529s, #534s, #530s, #531s, #435s, #437s, #452s, #499s, #429s, #426s, #424s, #481s, #422s, #417s, #414s, #451s, #215p, #213p, #222p, #235p, #230p, #229p, #236p, #224p, #244p, #247p, #249p, #231p, #232p, #228p, #252p, #250p, #251p, #248p, #168p, #164p, #118p, #142p, #174p, #173p, #194p, #189p, #193p, #183p, #178p, #179p, #181p, #182p, #175p, #163p, #148p, #149p, #172p, #155p, #170p, #186p, #188p, #206p, #207p, #205p, #208p, #209p, #210p, #211p, #212p, #216p. Undated (the latest boat listed, WINSOME, was launched in 1907)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (?) (creator). Handwritten List. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE06_00220. Folder [no #]. No date (1907 or later).)
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"[Item Transcription:] Handwritten (mostly in pencil but also in ink) trials booklet titled '1898 - 1909'. Relevant contents:
§20: #205p EUGENIA III Trial Run Data best mean speed 11.44mph [= 9.94kn] (1902-05-31 & 1902-06-04)." (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

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #205p Eugenia III even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Eugenia III (HMCo-made index card)
• Empress ex-Eugenia III (HMCo-made index card)
• Empress ex-Eugenia III (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: Empress
Type: Steam
Length: 95'
Owner: Herreshoff, J. B.

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

• Eugenia III
• Empress ex-Eugenia III
• 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.

Year: 1899
E/P/S: P
No.: 205
Name: Empress
OA: 95'

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.

"Steam engine rating 140hp 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. 5 5/8 & 8 & 12 1/2 x 7, 615[rpm], 140[hp]. [Note:] 142 [hp in pencil]." (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.)

"In the absence of better available data displacement was estimated by using the figure for Gross Register Tons (50.98) from the 1902 Manning's American Yacht List (Net Register Tons were reported as 34.67) 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.