HMCo #262p [Launch for St. Y. Iolanda]

"March 19, 1908
28ft Launch #262
Built [for] Morton F. Plant for s[team] y[acht] [blank (Iolanda)
In early p.m. made 6 runs on 1 mile course in Harbor. 3 on board, mod[erate] NW [wind]. Bituminous coual, some trouble from fuel pump, and poor firing. Throttle probably partly closed, 1st run.
[Followed by tabulated trial run data with best mean speed being 14.07mph (= 12.24kn). Mean of 4 best runs 13.98 mph 9= 12.15kn)]
Contract speed 14.00, but accepted by Capt. Barr." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. Handwritten note in Trials Booklet '1898 - 1909' under date of March 19, 1908. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum.)

"Yesterday Capt. Charlie Barr, the noted skipper of racing yachts, was on board the new 28 foot mahogany steam launch built at Herreshoffs when she had her trial trip in the harbor. The launch was built for Morton T. Plant and is to be a tender for his large new steam yacht [Iolanda] which is now being built in Europe." (Source: Anon. "Bristol and Vicinity" Bristol Phoenix, March 20, 1908, p. 2.)

"(Special Dispatch to the Sunday Herald.) BRISTOL. R. I., March 28 --- A shipment was made this week from the Herreshoff shops of a motor boat [#262p Launch for St. Y. Iolanda], as a tender to the new steam yacht recently built in Scotland for Morton F. Plant, and also a new racing sloop 20 feet in length [#677s Dad]. The motor craft is elaborately finished in mahogany, and her trial in Bristol harbor demonstrated a speed of 15 miles an hour. The racing sloop was also tried in the harbor and proved very-speedy and quick in stays. Capt. Charles Barr, the well-known racing skipper, was present at the tests, representing Mr. Plant, and arranged for the sending across the Atlantic of both craft. Both the motor boat and the sloop will swing upon davits on board Mr. Plant's new palatial steam yacht. ..." (Source: Anon. "Two Boats Sent Abroad for Plant. Motor Craft and Racing Sloop Intended for Use on His Palatial Yacht." Boston Herald, March 29, 1908, p. 13.)

"... There were recently launched from the shops three swift power boats, one for Morton G. Plant [#262p], which has been sent abroad; one for Paul J. Rainey [#263p Cassandra Jr.], and a 50-foot cruising launch [#264p Sarah Webb] for Col. George H. Webb of Providence." (Source: Anon. "Little Business At Boat Yards. Herreshoff's Yard Very Dull For This Times Of The Year." New London, April 21, 1908, p. 8.)

"[Item Transcription:] Handwritten (mostly in pencil but also in ink) trials booklet titled '1898 - 1909'. Relevant contents:
§49: #262p [LAUNCH FOR ST. Y. IOLANDA] Trial Run best mean speed 13.98 mph [= 12.15kn] (1908-03-19)." (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 #262p [Launch for St. Y. Iolanda] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Launch for M F Plant (HMCo-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.

Year: 1907
E/P/S: P
No.: 262
OA: 28' 0"
LW: 27' 9"

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.

"Morton Plant ordered this launch for use on the 318ft LOA steam yacht Iolanda, built in 1908 by Ramage & Ferguson. Plant owned Iolanda until 1911. Prior to Iolanda, Plant had been the owner of the steam yacht Venetia. Mystic Seaport Museum holds a period model of Iolanda (ID # 89.115) which clearly shows both #677s Dad and #262p Launch hanging from the davits on Iolanda's starboard side." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. June 6, 2017.)

"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.)

"Built in 180 days (contract to trial)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

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