HMCo #315p Ellen

"[1917-03-20] Tue 20: Have order for 6 62' patrol boats for Boston men [#314p Inca, #315p Ellen, #316p Kangaroo, #317p Daiquiri, #318p Commodore, #319p Sea Hawk]." (Source: Herreshoff, Nathanael G. Diary, 1917. Manuscript (excerpts). Diary access courtesy of Halsey C. Herreshoff.)

"Orders have been received by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company for six speedy gasoline launches [#317p Daiquiri, #316p Kangaroo, #315p Ellen, #314p Inca, #318p Commodore and #319p Sea Hawk] to be built for as many different members of the Eastern Yacht Club. The boats are to be about 70 feet in length, and their owners expect to turn them over to the government for use in the coast patrol service. Each boat will have one gun on the forward deck The work is being rushed.
The company has also entered bids with the government for several large and fast gasoline launches, but orders have not yet been received for their building." (Source: Anon. "Much Work At Herreshoffs.
Yachtmen Order Six Fast Boats For Coast Patrol Service." Bristol Phoenix, March 23, 1917, p. 3.)

"Members of the Eastern Y. C. some time ago placed orders with the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company for eight 62-footers [#310p, #311p, #314p - #319p] for use as submarine chasers. The designs of these boats were approved by the Navy Department and four have been delivered and are on patrol duty. The commander of this unit is Richard S. Russell and his flagship will be an 80-footer [#312p Stinger] which is now nearing completion.
The first of the 62-footers is named Apache and is commanded by Robert F. Herrick, the Harvard rowing coach. All of these boats are named and hold their names until they have satisfied the Government inspectors that they are able to do the work to which they are assigned, and then the names give way to numbers with the letters S. P. --- scout patrol --- in front of the numerals.
The power of these boats consists of Model F, eight-cylinder Sterling engines of 200 h.p. The contract speed was 24 1/2 miles per hour, and the actual speed over a measured mile course was in excess of 25 miles. This is the sustained speed and it will probably be somewhat increased as the engines see more service, making more of a success of the type than was expected even by the most optimistic.
With the exception of a small rear cockpit, the entire boat is cabined. The forward deck is high and but slightly crowned. It is accessible both from the conning tower and from the runways on each side of the main cabin. A novel departure is the entrance to the engine room and forward quarters through the stack, while the design of the tower is both original and quite militaire. Boats of this design are apparently setting the style in submarine chasers and their increasing sturdiness of build is becoming more noticeable as they demonstrate their usefulness. These boats will meet incoming steamers, examine their papers, search if necessary, do patrol duty, tend nets, act as messengers, and perform the various services, necessary in war time, the omission of which might allow incendiary damage to harbors and cargo steamers." (Source: Anon. "Eastern Y. C. Patrol Boats." Rudder, September 1917, p. 594.)

"Daiquiri [#317p], Ellen [#315p], Apacha [sic, i.e. Apache #311p], Inca [#314p], Kangaroo [#316p], Commodore [#318p], Snark [#310p] and Sea Hawk [#319p] are the names of the eight patrol boats built by Herreshoff for members of the Eastern Yacht Club which have been turned over to the Navy Department. These 62-foot boats are equipped with two Sterling eight-cylinder 400-horsepower engines and are capable of 27 miles an hour." (Source: Anon. "Notes From the Week's Log." Boston Globe, December 23, 1917, p. 25.)

"IN the lists printed on pages 36, 38, and 40, will be found a complete record of all motor boats and motor yachts which went into the service of our Navy Department during the war period. This is the first time that such a list has been published and is given to Motor Boating at the special request of the Hon. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Navy. ...
The lists include boats propelled by internal combustion motors only—they do not include steam yachts or steamers of any description. ...
Motor Boats Loaned to the Navy Department for the War. A List of the Boats and Owners --- The S. P. Numbers and the Length of the Boats Taken Over. ...
Ellen [Name of Boat]; 1209 [S.P. No.]; 50 [Length]; Chas. P. Curtiss, Boston, Mass. [Former Owner]. ..." (Source: Anon. "Privately Owned Motor Boats Purchased by the Government. First List to Be Published Containing Names of Motor Boats Taken Into the Navy." Motor Boating, February 1919, p. 36-40.)

"No. 2500 --- For Sale --- Twin screw cruiser, patrol type, 62.4 x 11.3 x 3.6 ft, built by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in 1917. Two eight-cylinder Sterling motors, 5 1/2 x 6 3/4, abou 200 h.p. each; speed 22-25 miles. Two cabins, toilet, galley, engine room and crew quarters. For further particulars apply William Gardner & Co., 1 Broadway, New York. [Note: Though not identified by name, the accompanying photo is identical with one of Ellen in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum.]" (Source: Anon. "For Sale." Rudder, March 1920, p. 63.)

"The 60-ft. power yacht 'Harpoon,' owned by Paul C. Nicholson was damaged to the extent of several thousand dollars when fire broke out in the engine room, Thursday [August 25, 1921] morning while the yacht was of Poppasquash point. The 'Harpoon' was built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company some years ago and has been owned by Mr. Nicholson for some time. She was proceeding to East Greenwich for a supply of gasoline, when the fire started from some unknown cause. The engineer was badly burned, and other members of the crew suffered several injuries in their efforts to extinguish the flames, which were finally subdued by the use of the fire hose and extinguishers. The yacht was towed to East Greenwich for repairs by the Government boat 'Mistletoe,' which came to her assistance." (Source: Anon. "Yacht Damaged By Fire." Bristol Phoenix, August 30, 1921, p. 3.)

"An engine room fire on the Harpoon [ex Ellen #315p], Paul C. Nicholson's 60-foot cruiser, Aug. 26, while the boat was running across the bay from Bristol to East Greenwich, put the boat out of commission for the rest of the season, and but for the help of the lighthouse tender Mistletoe, would have burned to the water's edge. The crew had been forced to abandon ship when the Mistletoe ran up alongside and ran a line of fire hose aboard, and drowned the blaze out. Harpoon was running to East Greenwich to fill her tanks with gasoline. When off Poppasquash Point, just out of Bristol Harbor, there was a sudden flash in her engine room, followed by a brisk blaze. The engineer tackled it with a fire extinguisher, but was blown bodily through the hatch to the deck when the compression tank exploded. He was bruised, but neither burned nor badly hurt. Both he and the captain fought the fire from the deck, but were forced to take to the tender when their extinguishers were played out. Then the Mistletoe came up, and saved her. She was completely gutted from the forward end of the engine room to a little aft of amidships, and the engines reduced to junk. Her bridge deck, and the forward end of the cabin trunk were completely burned away, also the forward end of her awning, and the house top on the starboard side scorched to within about six feet of the after end. She was later towed to Nock's at East Greenwich, and hauled out. She was built by Herreshoff in 1916 for Boston parties, and bought by Mr. Nicholson late in 1920. Extensive alterations were made upon her last winter. She was a twin screw boat, with a pair of 200-h.p. Sterling engines." (Source: Davis, Jeff. "Narragansett Bay Yachtsmen Planning for Next Season." October 1921, p. 43-44.)

"FOR SALE --- Twin screw bridge deck cruiser. Built by Herreshoff. 62 ft. 4 in. by 51 ft. 4 in. by 11 ft. 3 in. by 3 ft. Sterling motors. Enclosed bridge. Practically a new boat. Overhauled and refurnished in 1922, regardless of expense. Double stateroom. G. W. Ford Yacht Agency, 41 East 42d St., New York City. [Note: Harpoon, probably. The accompanying photo bears a strong resemblance to the photo of Harpoon, ex Ellen #315p in Mercier, Gilbart B. Pleasure Yachts of the Thousand Islands. Clayton, New York, 1981, s.v. "Harpoon".]" (Source: Anon. "For Sale." Rudder, November 1922, p. 61.)

"Harpoon
(formerly Ellen)
In 1920, this beautiful Gasoline Yacht was listed as the Ellen. Her owner, probably the original, was Mr. Charles P. Curtis of Boston, Massachusetts. Her Home Port and Port of Registry were that city. By 1923, the boat's name had been changed to Harpoon, and she was owned by Mr. Wilbur C. Walker of Hartford, Connecticut. The Home Port and Port of Registry were, correspondingly, Hartford. Mr. Byron B. Taggart of Watertown, New York purchased the yacht in the Spring of 1927. Subsequent to his bringing her to Clayton, New York from the New York City area, she became a noteworthy addition to the group of pleasure craft at the Thousand Islands. Her Home Port and Port of Registry were then Rochester, New York.
Mr. Taggart operated the Harpoon from her berth at Clayton every Summer until 1938. She seldom made an extended cruise, but was often used for day trips to the foot of Lake Ontario and through the Islands. The crew consisted of a Captain, an Engineer and a deckhand. These three kept the boat in a superb state of maintenance.
In the Spring of 1938, Mr. Taggart traded the yacht to Hutchinson's Boat Works, Inc. of Alexandria Bay, New York for a Sedan Utility constructed by that firm.
The Harpoon (as the Ellen) was designed and built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company at Bristol, Rhode Island in 1917. Construction was of wood. Her specifications were as follow: Net Tons, 23; Gross Tons, 28; Overall Length, 62' 4"; Waterline Length, 61' 4"; Beam, 11' 3"; Depth, 5' 10"; Draft, 3'. The original powerplant was two Sterling Gasoline Engines, 4-stroke, 8-cylinder --- 5 1/2" of bore and 6 3/4" of stroke. These were replaced in 1920 with two Model GR Sterlings, 4-stroke, 6-cylinder --- 5 3/4" of bore and 6 3/4" of stroke. The latter were replaced in 1938 with two Chrysler Gasoline Engines, 4-stroke, 6-cylinder --- 3 3/8" of bore and 4 1/2" of stroke, equipped with reduction gears. The Chryslers were installed at Hutchinson's Boat Works, Alexandria Bay.
The construction and appointments of the Harpoon were in keeping with the high standards of the Herreshoff company. She was graceful in appearance, as the picture indicates. Her speed with the 1920 Sterling Engines was about 18 M.P.H., and she moved easily underway. We understand that satisfactory performance was attained with the Chrysler Engines. However, they could not have been expected to develop as much power as the Sterlings.
The Hutchinson firm sold the yacht to Mr. Rudolph B. Watson, Jr. of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, a young man who had spent a number of Summers in the vicinity of Clayton and had owned smaller craft of various types. However, he soon returned the Harpoon to the New York City area. Eventually, at his command, she cruised to Florida.
In 1951, Mr. Watson was still listed as the owner of the yacht. Her Home Port was Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and her Port of Registry, Tampa, Florida. In 1953 and 1954, she was owned by Mr. William S. Gillespie of Ft. Lauderdale. The Home Port was as yet Ft. Lauderdale, but the Port of Registry had been changed to Miami, Florida. The owner, in 1957, was Mr. A.S. Tatum of Daytona Beach, Florida. Her Home Port was still Ft. Lauderdale, but the Port of Registry had become St. Augustine, Florida. In 1960, under the ownership of Mr. W. R. Wright of Daytona Beach, her Home Port and Port of Registry remained the same as when she was owned by Mr. Tatum. The powerplant was still those two Chrysler Engines which had been installed in 1938. Her Registration Number was always 220427. References:
Lloyd's Register of American Yachts, 1920, 1923, 1929, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1957 and 1960." (Source: Mercier, Gilbart B. Pleasure Yachts of the Thousand Islands. Clayton, New York, 1981, s.v. "Harpoon".)

"The picture of La Dauviersiere, the new cruiser en route to Montreal for use at the Expo-67 for purposes of hospitality, inspires the memory. Whoever heard of a world fair without a yacht big enough to entertain the fair commissioners? This particular vessel is 41 feel long and supposedly is worth $100,000. This is in contrast with the official yacht for the 1939 World's Fair in New York. Who remembers the Harpoon which after 20 years on the St. Lawrence went to Flushing basin in late 1938 so that the late Grover Whalen would be adequately outfitted for his naval duties as fair commissioner?
If the Expo's cruiser has a career like the Harpoon, its days and years will he exciting. The last time the Harpoon put on a St. Lawrence river performance was in 1937 as the escort vessel in a parade of yachts honoring President Franklin D. Roosevelt, when he cut the ribbon with Prime Minister Mackenzie King at the Thousand Islands bridge. The Harpoon was no youngster then, having been launched in 1921 after its keel had been laid down in 1917. The war interrupted the building. Sixty-two feet long, the Harpoon could travel at about ten miles an hour. It was built by the Herreshoff company of Bristol, Rhode Island. The late Byron B. Taggart owned it for a number of years. Subsequently it came, under the ownership of Robert O. Cox and Skip Watson who conceived the idea, that after a refurbishing job, the Harpoon would be appropriate for the World's Fair. If it had a berth of distinction at the fair's basin, it would be just right for two young men to live on, out of the high rent district of New York city.
The boat parade at the time of the bridge ceremonies was slow, even for 1937, because the engines of the flag-bedecked Harpoon were brand new, and there was worry lest they blow up if the pace were too fast.
En route to the World's Fair in 1938, the boat got in a hurricane at Brewerton. The locks had been damaged in the canal, so the only way the travelers could make progress was to follow the official canal inspection boat and enter the locks with the inspector. The Harpoon was not particularly busy at Flushing, although it created enough stir so that the owners were able to get jobs at the fair.
World War II came and went. The Harpoon seemed to disappear, until September of 1958 when it turned up on the southeast coast of Florida late one night and was halted by the border patrol. Thirty-one Cuban revolutionaries were aboard; $30,000 worth of mortars, anti-tank guns, rifles and medical supplies were en route to Fidel Castro. It had been engaged in a number of arms running trips to Cuba and at last was captured.
The final word on the Harpoon was that after months of being tied up at a Florida yacht basin with a U.S. marshal's plaster on it, once again new owners arrived who paid $1,200 for the 40-year-old Harpoon. The purchaser took off with his wife and children for Puerto Rico, The engines of 1938 were still running, but there was dry rot in the hull. The winds came up and overpowered the Harpoon, her seams opened, and she sank.
The travelers were rescued.
What will Expo's yacht 40 years from now be doing?" (Source: Anon. "The Expo's New Cruiser." Watertown Daily Times, May 2, 1967, p. 4.)

"... The Harpoon ... was the lead privately owned boat in an international yacht parade that commemorated the dedication of the Thousand Islands Bridge in 1938. The ceremony was attended by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister MacKenzie King.
The Harpoon led the parade of yachts downriver, although, since the boat had just been outfitted with new engines, its owners did not want to drive too fast 'and we held almost everything up,' according to Robert O. Cox, a summer resident of Grindstone Island, who at the time owned the boat, together with Rudolph B. (Skip) Watson, also of Grindstone Island.
During the celebratory flotilla the boat was bedecked with flags and banners advertising the upcoming World's Fair, held in New York City in 1939. Mr. Cox's mother was on the 1939 World's Fair Committee and had arranged the plug.
On its way to New York for the fair in September 1938 the Harpoon was caught in a hurricane, but eventually made the trip safely. The 62-foot Harpoon was built in 1917 by Herreshoff in Bristol, R.I. It was owned for about 10-years by Byron B. Taggart of Watertown, who then sold it to Hutchinson Boat Works. In 1938 it was sold to Mr. Watson, who changed the boat's engine to a Chrysler. Mr. Watson took the Harpoon to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in 1951 and sold it to Helen Herman of that city in 1955. What, exactly, the boat was doing all that time is unknown, but Times files indicate it may have been gunrunning, as it was seized by the Border Patrol in 1958. The boat turned up on the southeast coast of Florida one night, loaded with 31 Cuban revolutionaries and $30,000 worth of mortars, anti-tank guns, rifles and medical supplies en route to Fidel Castro.
The boat was sold after its seizure for $1,200 and the purchasers took off for Puerto Rico. Dry rot in the boat's hull, however, made it susceptible to the wind and waves; the boat's seams opened and it sank. ...' (Source: Marr, Laurie. "Old Boats Afloat in Museum Files. Harpoon, Monatoana Among Craft Being Immortalized in Clayton." Watertown Daily Times, March 24, 1998.)

"If details are few on the role of the [Eastern Yacht] clubhouse as a naval training station, they are no more than clues that a part may have been played by some members at sea --- as tossed out by John Parkinson in his History of the New York Yacht Club: 'A group of Boston yachtsmen, which included some NYYC members, built a one-design division of fast patrol boats at their own expense before their country entered the war. They were about 50 feet long and proved useful.'
The 1917 EYC Yearbook lists eight powerboats, all 62 feet overall, 61 feet waterline, and 11 feet beam, except one 58 feet overall, 57 feet waterline and 11 feet beam. All were under construction for single and multiple owners, including Maximilian Agassiz, John S. Lawrence, Herbert M. Sears, Oliver Ames, Charles F. Ayer, Francis S. Eaton, Charles P. Curtis, and Charles A. and Henry A. Morss. Nathaniel F. Ayer was building the 58-footer. There is no further reference to them. Philip Bolger heard that Ralph Winslow claimed to have designed them while working as Loring Swazey's draftsman. On the other hand, one wonders whether these or the fast patrol boats mentioned by Parkinson --- considerably elongated --- are the same as those alluded to by Devereux Barker in The Eastern Yacht Club Story many years later:
'Shortly after the Declaration of War, the Government asked yachtsmen to subscribe for power boats to be used for submarine patrol. They were to be built by Herreshoff, be about 40 feet long, and cost $ 18,000. The added inducement was that the owner would be commissioned as an ensign and command his own vessel. This inducement was shortly annulled, but in any event, the delays in the yard were so great that few, if any, of the craft were delivered in time to be of any use.' " (Source: Garland, Joseph. The Eastern Yacht Club: A History from 1870-1985. Camden, Maine, 1989, p. 143.)

"Ellen (SP 1209)
Ellen, a 23-ton motor boat, was built in 1917 by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Bristol, Rhode Island, in anticipation that her owner would make her available for naval service. The Navy acquired the craft in July 1917 and placed her in service early in August as USS Ellen (SP 1209). In 1918 the Navy eliminated her name, and for the remainder of her Navy career she was known as SP-1209. In April 1919, following the end of the First World War, she was returned to her owner. Fate unknown.
Specifications: Displacement, unknown; Length, 62' 4"; Draft, unknown; Speed, unknown; Armament, unknown; Complement, unknown; Propulsion, unknown." (Source: http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/171209.htm.htm, retrieved March 17, 2007.)

"Name: USS Ellen (1917-1918)
USS SP-1209 (1918-1919)
Namesake: Ellen was her previous name retained; SP-1209 was her section patrol number
Builder: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Bristol, Rhode Island
Completed: 1917
Acquired: 21 July 1917
Commissioned: 2 August 1917
Renamed: USS SP-1209 in 1918
Fate: Returned to owner April 1919
Notes: Operated as civilian motorboat Ellen 1917 and from 1919
General characteristics
Type: Patrol vessel
Tonnage: 23 tons
Length: 62 ft 4 in (19.00 m)
The third USS Ellen (SP-1209) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
Ellen was built as a civilian motorboat of the same name in 1917 by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company at Bristol, Rhode Island, one of nine motorboats built to a common design for private owners in anticipation that their owners would make them available for naval service. The U.S. Navy acquired Ellen from her owner on 21 July 1917 for World War I service as a patrol vessel. She was commissioned on 2 August 1917 as USS Ellen (SP-1209).
Ellen operated on section patrol duty for the rest of World War I. She was returned to her owner in April 1919.
Ellen should not be confused with USS Ellen (SP-284), another patrol vessel in commission at the same time." (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Ellen_(SP-1209), retrieved December 21, 2011.)

"Nine of these 62-foot patrol boats were built by the Herreshoff Mfg. Co. for the training of World War I Naval Reserve volunteers, having been ordered and paid for as a patriotic gesture by members of the Eastern Yacht Club of Marblehead, Massachusetts. (The EYC clubhouse, having been converted early in the war as a barracks, served as an operational base for these patrol boats.) Their cost was $19,000 each. They were twin-screw vessels, powered by two eight-cylinder Sterling engines. These craft ... each carried a standard, Herreshoff-built Columbia-model tender --- a somewhat delicate lifeboat for wartime use." (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 152.)

"[Item Description:] Enclosing a revised purchase and sale agreement, 'what I want is to ensure your and Sidney's services', Swasey has signed similar agreement, Eastern YC member navy boats [#310p, #311p, #314p, #315p, #316p, #317p, #318p, #319p]." (Source: Emmons, Robert W. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_59180. Unidentif. / Non-Cataloged, Folder [no #], formerly 253?. 1917-02-09.)
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"[Item Description:] Lease of storage property, please work out plans for new shop construction, Eastern YC member are negotiating with William Swan about navy boats [#310p, #311p, #314p, #315p, #316p, #317p, #318p, #319p]." (Source: Emmons, Robert W. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_59170. Unidentif. / Non-Cataloged, Folder [no #], formerly 253?. 1917-03-16.)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #315p Ellen even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Anon. "Eastern Y.C. Patrol Fleet." Rudder Magazine, January 1918, p. 7-8. (1,607 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: No. Class history. Vessel description. Owner names. Photos. (#320p War Bug, though part of this class, is not mentioned in the article, because she was independently contracted for by a non-Eastern Y. C. yachtsman.)

• Ellen (HMCo-made index card)
• Ellen (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: Ellen
Type: Gasoline
Length: 62'4"
Owner: Curtis, Charles P.

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

• Ellen
• Harpoon ex-Ellen
• 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: Ellen
Type: 62' 4" power U.S. Navy Scout Patrol boat
Owner: Charles P. Curtis
Year: 1917
Row No.: 198

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: 1917
E/P/S: P
No.: 315
Name: Ellen
OA: 62' 4"
LW: 61' 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.

"One of a group of eight identical vessels built for members of the Eastern Yacht Club for use by the U.S. Navy. A ninth vessel, War Bug, was independently sponsored by Max Warburg of New York." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 9, 2009.)

"Built in 123 days (contract to delivered; equivalent to $154/day, 455 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"In the absence of better available data displacement was estimated by using the figure for Gross Register Tons (28) from the 1920 Lloyd's Register of American Yachts (Net Register Tons were reported as 23) 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.