HMCo #211p Tramp [Tender for #520s Athene]

"[1901-07-08] Mon 8: Fine [with] light N & SW [wind]. ... Launched Tramp #210 [sic, i.e. #211p] and have order for sister steamer (#212) [Dawn].
[1901-07-09] Tue 9: Light NE [&] overcast. Tried Tramp [#211p]." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1901. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"July 11, 1901
Tramp #211 Contract [Trial].
>On 3 knot course. Vessel in good trim, completely furnished. 6 on board. Cross Creek Lehigh [coal]. Tide 1/2 flood. Wind SSW, 10 miles. Blower used.
[Followed by tabulated trial run data with mean speed being 17.52kn = 20.21mph]
Everything working very well, except thrust bearing running warm. Vessel very free from vibrations and very little noise. Boiler pressure about 240[lbs] as with safety valve blowing at 247[lbs]." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. Handwritten note in Trials Booklet '1898 - 1909' under date of July 11, 1901. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum.)

"This same year Captain Nat designed a quite remarkable small steam yacht for August Belmont to act as a tender to the 'Mineola.' She was named 'Scout,' and eventually the Herreshoff Company built seven [sic, i.e. 9] of these fast steamers which were generally referred to as the Scout Class. They were all built on the same molds and had the same power plants but varied in length some fourteen feet, and, as I recall it, varied in speed from about twenty to twenty-one and a half miles per hour.
These were extremely smooth running yachts that were fine sea boats and economical in fuel consumption. Some of them lasted quite a long time and they were the forerunners in construction and general arrangement of many gasoline launches built by several builders." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. The Wizard of Bristol. The Life and Achievements of Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, together with An Account of Some of the Yachts he Designed. New York, 1953, p. 218, 220.)

"W. O. Gay of Boston, owner of the 70-footer Athene [#520s], visited Bristol Saturday and made the final arrangements for the building at Herreshoffs' of a new 80 foot steamer as a tender for the Athene." (Source: Anon. "News and Notes of Local Interest." Bristol Phoenix, April 30, 1901, p. 2.)

"At Bristol the Herreshoffs are building two 80-foot launches, which will have a speed of over twenty knots an hour, one [#211p Tramp] for W. O. Gay, of Boston, the owner of the Herreshoff 70-footer Athene [#520s], and the other [#210p Niagara III] for Howard Gould, owner of the Niagara. A third of the same class, called the Stroller [#209p], has been built for a Detroit yachtsman, and has been forwarded to its anchorages on the lakes via the Erie Canal." (Source: Anon. "Craft And Those Who Sail Them." New York Tribune, May 26, 1901, p. 9.)

"Tramp, steamer (no. 211), of [blank].
Built at [blank] [sic, i.e. Bristol at HMCo].
18.75 tons; 75.7 ft. x 10.7 ft. x 5.3 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
One deck, no mast, plain head, overhanging stern.
Surveyed and measured, June 21, 1901." (Source: U.S. Customs Department, Bristol, R.I. Custom House Record Book, 1870s to 1904 (Collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum), s.v. Tramp.)

"[License issued to vessel under 20 tons. Pos. 265:]
Tramp, steam yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, 1901.
18.75 tons; 75.7 ft. x 10.7 ft. x 5.3 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
No specifications shown.
Lic[ensed] ([as] yacht) June 28, 1901. Owner: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol. Master: N. C Herreshoff.
Surrendered [license] June 23, 1902 at Boston. ([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. Tramp.)

"An 80-foot steam yacht named the Tramp was launched from the Herreshoff shops yesterday. The boat is owned by W. O. Gay of Boston, who is here today on his sloop yacht Athene [#520s]." (Source: Anon. "News and Notes of Local Interest." Bristol Phoenix, July 9, 1901, p. 2.)

"A large number of boats have been overhauled at Herreshoff marine yards, Walker's Cove, and Malcolm McNaught's boat yards, preparatory to being put in commission for the summer season.
Among the boats overhauled are the Steam Yacht Florence [#208p], owned by A. W. Aiken [sic, i.e. A. H. Alker] of New York; Steam Yacht Tramp [#211p], owned bv William O. Gay of Boston; Steam Yacht Augusta [#146p], owned by J. B. Herreshoff; the 30-footer Alera [#626s], owned by A. W. Aiken; the 40-footer Cock Robin [#617s], owned by Mr. Eaton of Long Island; ..." (Source: Anon. "Boats Overhauled for the Season." Bristol Phoenix, April 13, 1906, p. 1.)

"FOR SALE --- Crack Herreshoff sloop [#520s Athene]. 102 ft 6 in. over all, 70 ft. waterline, 10 ft. beam, 11ft, draft. Combination keel and center board. Four state rooms including one large double room. Composite construction. Splendid cruiser and fast. All modern conveniences and steam heat.
A fast Herreshoff steam launch [#211p Tramp] can also be purchased with her if desired, to be used as her tender. This launch is 82 ft. over all, 72 ft. water line, 10 ft. 9 in. beam and 2 ft. 7 in. draft. Has triple expansion engines. Speed 20 miles an hour. Galley, dining room and pantry forward.
Both these boats can be bought together or seperately at low prices, and no yachtsman desiring to purchase boats of this description should neglect this opportunity. Hollis Burgess Yacht Agency, 15 Exchange St.. Boston. Mass. [Though not explicitly identified, the dimensions, accompanying photo of Athene, and the fact that sloop and tender were advertised together clearly identify the two yachts as #520s Athene and #211p Tramp.]" (Source: Anon. "For Sale." Yachting, December 1908, p. 290.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., May 27 [1911] --- ... The steam yacht Tramp, owned by W. O. Gay of Boston, arrived here the first of the week [May 22, 1911] for a fitting out and repairs at the Herreshoff shops. ..." (Source: Anon. "Bristol Notes." Boston Globe, May 28, 1911, p. 62.)

"... The 72-foot waterline steam launch Tramp, built for William O. Gay of Boston as a tender to his 70-footer Athene by Herreshoff in 1901, now owned by Raymond B. Price of New York, arrived at Herreshoff's Monday from New-York for overhauling. ..." (Source: Anon. "Notes from the Week's Log." Boston Globe, June 11, 1916, p. 65.)

"Herreshoff had made such a reputation with the 46-footers Gloriana and Wasp, and with fin keels, that he was receiving more and more of the orders for racing boats. He not only designed his boats but built them at his yard in Bristol, and he was an outstanding engineer and designer. In preparing a design, Herreshoff always worked first from a model, which he made with his own hands, as he was a beautiful woodworker. Of course, the calculation of displacement and measurements had to be carefully gone over afterward, but his first step in a new design was to make a wooden model. He did not, in my opinion, have as good an eye for form as either Fife or Gardner.
Herreshoff was not apparently much interested in what his boats looked like above the water. Although he designed and built some lovely, well-proportioned launches, like the Scamp [sic, i. e. Tramp] for Billy Gay, most of his steam yachts were extremely homely; but they were economical to run because they were light and easily propelled." (Source: Crane, Clinton. Clinton Crane's Yachting Memories, New York, 1952, p. 101-102.)

"Tramp
SP-646: 1. 82'; b. 10'6"; dr. 2'8" (mean); s. 20 k.; cpl. 10; a. none)
Tramp—a wooden-hulled steam yacht built in 1901 at Bristol, R.I., by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. —was acquired by the Navy on 13 July 1917 from Raymond B. Price of New York City. Designated SP-646, Tramp was assigned to the 2d Naval District and served on section patrol through the end of World War I. On 28 March 1919, Tramp was sold to Thomas Butler and Company, Boston, Mass." (Source: http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/t7/tramp.htm, retrieved March 23, 2007.)

"[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:
§12: #211p TRAMP [TENDER FOR #520s ATHENE] Contract Trial Run best mean speed 17.52kn = 20.21mph (1901-07-11)." (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.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #211p Tramp [Tender for #520s Athene] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Tramp (HMCo-made index card)
• Tramp (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: Tramp
Type: Steam
Length: 81'
Owner: Gay, Wm. O.

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

• Tramp
• 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: Tramp
Type: 82' steamer tender for "Athene"
Owner: William O. Gay
Year: 1901
Row No.: 689

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: 1901
E/P/S: P
No.: 211
Name: Tramp
OA: 81"
LW: 72"

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 285hp 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 Open Type. 6 1/4 & 10 & 16 x 9, 610[rpm], 285[hp]. [Note:] 2100lbs [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 (27) from the 1902 Manning's American Yacht List (Net Register Tons were reported as 18) 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.