HMCo #263p Cassandra Jr. [Launch for St. Y. Cassandra]

"March 31, 1908
34ft x 6ft 6in launch #263 built for Mr. Rainey's st[eam] y[acht] Cassandra.
Is on same moulds as preceding [#262p Launch for Iolanda] and also #199 &c, but with increased frame spaces, sheer raised 3in and side flared out all around, increasing beam about 6in.
Power same as usual.
Trial made on harbor cruise. Wind S, 18[mph], choppy sea. L[igh]t rain, about 1/4 bunker of coal and part of equipment. 2 on board.
[Followed by tabulated trial run data with best mean speed being 16.52mph (= 14.36kn)]
Vacuum 23 1/2 to 24 1/2[in]. Machinery working well, and steaming easily with soft coal after changing jet from 5 3/32 holes to 5 3/4 holes." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. Handwritten note in Trials Booklet '1898 - 1909' under date of March 31, 1908. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum.)

"Bristol, R. I., Nov. 23. --- ... The Herreshoffs are building another naphtha launch, for Roy A. Rainey, which is in a good measure like the Plant craft. This boat is to be used as a tender to Mr. Rainey's new steam yacht which, is now being built at Greenock, Scot. Albert S. Chesebrough, who is the designer of the new Rainey steam yacht, spent a few days here recently with his family, and has gone to Greenock again to remain to see the yacht finished and launched before returning, which will be next May. ..." (Source: Anon. "Little Activity At Herreshoff's." Boston Herald, November 24, 1907, p. 6.)

"... 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.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., Aug. 24 [1908]. --- Roy A. Rainey's new steam yacht, Cassandra, arrived here to-day from Greenock, Scotland. She is one of the largest steam yachts afloat and her interior appointments rival in convenience and luxury those of any of the finest private yachts. Roy Rainey's new boat is enrolled in the New York Yacht Club fleet, and he is also Commodore of the Indian Harbor Yacht Club, at Greenwich, Conn., and she will probably be used as the flagship of that club for the balance of the season. Cassandra was designed by A. S. Chesebrough of Boston. The new boat was built at Scott's ship yards, Greenock, Scotland, and recently had her preliminary trials. She is 284 feet over all, 239 feet on the water line, 83 feet beam, 18 feet 6 inches deep, with a draught of 14 feet 6 inches. She is equipped with two triple-expansion engines. ... Cassandra is one of the dozen largest steam yachts ever built. Among the few larger ones in America are A. J. Drexel's Margarita, which is 323 feet over all; George Gould's Atalanta, 300 feet, and J. Pierpont Morgan's Corsair, 304 feet." [Note: Cassandra apparently came to Bristol to take delivery of her new Herreshoff steam launch Cassandra Jr. #263p.] (Source: Anon. "Yacht Cassandra Here. Roy Rainey's Craft one of the Largest Steam Yachts Afloat." New York Times, August 25, 1908, p. 7.)

"BRISTOL, R. I., August 29 [1908] --- ... The event of the week was the arrival of the steel steam yacht Cassandra from Greenock, Scot. The boat, which is 284 feet in length, anchored off Herreshoff's for the formalities of the U. S. customs. ... [Note: Cassandra apparently came to Bristol to take delivery of her new Herreshoff steam launch Cassandra Jr. #263p.]" (Source: Anon. "Bristol Notes." Boston Globe, August 30, 1908, p. 39.)

"The steam yacht Cassandria [sic, i.e. Cassandra], owned by Paul J. Rainey and designed by Albert S. Chesebrough of this town, and which was built in Scotland last winter, arrived in Bristol harbor Sunday [October 25, 1908] afternoon and anchored off the Herreshoff boat shops. The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company has recently built a small launch for Mr. Rainey. She cleared yesterday for Marseilles, France, Capt. Sanborn." (Source: Anon. "Bristol and Vicinity." Bristol Phoenix, October 27, 1908, p. 2.)

"[Item Description:] Handwritten notebook. This booklet had two lives: In 1907-1908, 1908-1909 and 1909-1910 it was used for winter storage records, listing name of boat, owner, storage location, billed amount, and dates of storage. Listed were for the winter of 1907/1908: #235p MIST, ORIANA, #571s LARIKIN, EAGLET, #453s VAQUERO II, #580s TRIVIA, #663s ISTALENA, COSSACK, #666s AVENGER, #220p ATALA (for sale), #207p MIRAGE, #224p EUGENIA, #146p AUGUSTA, #247p SEA URCHIN, #105p COSETTE, ARLINE, #213p FLORENCE, #208p FLORETTE, #249p SISILINA, #591s IROLITA, #481s SPALPEEN, DUCHESS, #669s ELEANOR, #460s KILDEE, #647s CAPRICE, #408s PELICAN, #243p SWIFTSURE, #617s COCK ROBIN, #177p VANISH, #446s ALERION, and #591s IROLITA I, for the winter of 1908/1909: #666s AVENGER, #663s ISTALENA, #481s SPALPEEN, #580s TRIVIA, #617s COCK ROBIN, COSSACK, #177p VANISH, #242p #242, #243p SWIFTSURE, SKIP, #446s ALERION, CHEWINK II, DUCHESS, #571s LARIKIN, #460s KILDEE, #679s PEPITA, EAGLET, #408s PELICAN, #453s VAQUERO, #146p AUGUSTA, #224p EUGENIA, COYOTE, #264p SARAH WEBB, #207p MIRAGE, ARLINE, #213p FLORENCE, #208p FLORETTE, #249p SISILINA, #591s IROLITA I, CASSANDRA 27ft Launch, and #263p CASSANDRA 34ft Launch, and for the winter of 1909/1910: #252p WANECHE (no further boats were listed). At some later time, the same book was turned upside down and inscribed with a new title in ink '200Ft Submarine Destroyer [#191802ep Unbuilt 200ft Submarine Chaser]. Data + Calculation Book. Herreshoff Mfg Co.' on its now-new front cover (formerly its back cover), followed by weight data estimates and calculations for this submarine destroyer." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (creator). Notebook. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.087. Box HAFH.6.2B, Folder Submarine Destroyer 200-Footer. 1907-1908, 1908-1909, 1909-1910, 1918-06.)
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"[Item Transcription:] Handwritten (mostly in pencil but also in ink) trials booklet titled '1898 - 1909'. Relevant contents:
§49: #263p CASSANDRA JR. [LAUNCH FOR ST. Y. CASSANDRA] Trial Run mean speed 16.52mph [= 14.36kn] (1908-03-31)." (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
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #263p Cassandra Jr. [Launch for St. Y. Cassandra] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Cassandra Jr (HMCo-made index card)
• Cassandra Jr (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.

Type: Steam
Length: 34'
Owner: Rainey, Roy A.

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

• Cassandra Jr
• 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: Cassandra
Type: 34' steam tender for steam yacht "Cassandra"
Owner: Roy A. Rainey
Row No.: 107

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: 1907
E/P/S: P
No.: 263
Name: Cassandra Jr.
OA: 34' 0"

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.

"Cassandra was a 287ft LOA steam yacht, designed by A. S. Chesborough and built in 1908 by Scott SB & Eng. in England for Roy Rainey who owned her until 1912." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. [Cassandra information from Hofman, Erik. The Steam Yachts. Lymington, 1970, p. 178-179.] June 2, 2009.)

"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 165 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.