HMCo #392p [Launch for Aloha II]

"... Captain Bezanson is a real genius. This word genius is often misapplied but not in this instance. The ability which his plans, which are pieces of mechanical drawing of which any naval draughtsman might be proud, and his wonderful work in building the model itself are evidences of talent found in but one man in thousands.
Before going on the water Captain Bezanson was a boat builder in Nova Scotia. His ability in this line was well illustrated by an incident of a few years ago. A launch was to be built for the Aloha. Captain Bezanson decided to do it himself and so in the spare hours he built this launch in the winter on the deck of the Aloha In winter quarters in Shaw cove here. In the spring the launch was finished and it was one of the finest small boats that, ever floated. [Captain P. Bezanson was the designer of #392p Launch for S. Y. Aloha which was built by HMCo in 1930.]" (Source: Anon. "Miniature Yacht Wonderfully Fine. Captain Bezanson's Model Represents Years of Careful Planning." New London Day, January 7, 1909, p. 23.)

"If you were anywhere near the waterfront Sunday and wondered what that white streak in the harbor was caused by, it was 'Honest Jay' St. Angelo tuning up his 32-foot Hornet. Jay says she has been over for a month and has all the 'bugs' out of her now. The Hornet has an interesting background. She was built by Herreshoff in 1931 as the starboard launch for Curtis James' auxiliary bark 'Aloha'. Angelo asserts that she is as good now as the day she was built. Some day we'll touch more on the subject of the 'Aloha' because she was quite a vessel. ..." (Source: Gifford, Hal. "Waterfront Review" Bristol Phoenix, May 10, 1955, p. 7.)

"Captain Peleoman Bezanson [the designer of #392p Lauch for S. Y. Aloha] was born on 19 November 1867 at Falmouth, Nova Scotia. He was a mariner. He received a gold medal from the president of the United States for 'heroic services in helping save the crew of the sinking schooner J. B. Jones off Cape Cod in March last' on 4 February 1896. He married Janet Maud O'Brien on 11 March 1896. He was 28. Captain Peleoman Bezanson became a naturalized U.S. citizen on 8 June 1900 at U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He moved to Newport, Rhode Island, circa 1920, made his home there for the rest of his life, and was considered a prominent citizen of the city. Captain Peleoman Bezanson applied for a U.S. passport on 8 August 1921 and it was issued on 19 August 1921. He died on 23 January 1945 at Newport, Rhode Island, at age 77. His obituary appeared in The Newport Mercury and Weekly News (Newport, Rhode Island) on 26 January 1945.
Captain Peleoman Bezanson was the master of the Aloha and Aloha II, large yachts owned by Arthur Curtiss James (1867–1941), an industrialist, railroad magnate, and yachtsman. Bezanson designed the Aloha II for James, and she was built at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1910. She was a 'barque rigged 218 foot, 659 ton, sail and steam yacht'. The U.S. Navy acquired Aloha II under a free lease for use as a patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Aloha (SP-317) on 22 April 1917 and decommissioned 29 January 1919 to resume her role as the private yacht of James. Captain Peleoman Bezanson was first mate --- and evidently, the true captain --- of Aloha II and he was aboard for trips to England, Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Panama, Egypt, the Mediterranean, and other ports. According to Wikipedia, she was 'Famous in her time and the only bark-rigged yacht of her size afloat.' Aloha was scrapped in 1938." (Source: Cardinal, John. "Captain Peleoman Bezanson." In: http://bezansons.com/g0/p8.htm#i143, retrieved November 26, 2014.)

"[Item Description:] Spreadsheet listing original contracts (from 1923 to 1940) by HMCo in the collection of HMM (apparently from the gift of Everett Pearson). Listed boats are: #380p, #381p, #388p, #389p, #391p, #392p, #393p, #395p, #886s, #933s, #934s, #954s, #955s, #962s, #983s, #999s, #1002s, #1017s, #1054s, #1055s, #1057s, #1074s, #1078s, #1122s, #1125s, #1130s, #1131s, #1147s, #1152s, #1153s, #1154s, #1156s, #1157s, #1164s, #1170s, #1173s, #1174s, #1175s, #1175s, #1176s, #1177s, #1179s, #1180s, #1191s, #1192s, #1193s, #1195s, #1196s, #1198s, #1199s, #1200s, #1201s, #1202s, #1203s, #1206s, #1207s, #1208s, #1209s, #1210s, #1211s, #1212s, #1213s, #1214s, #1215s, #1216s, #1217s, #1218s, #1219s, #1220s, #1222s, #1224s, #1236s, #1226s, #1227s, #1228s, #1230s, #1232s, #1234s, #1237s, #1238s, #1240s, #1241s, #1243s, #1244s, #1245s, #1246s, #1247s, #1248s, #1249s, #1250s, #1251s, #1252s, #1253s, #1254s, #1255s, #1256s, #1257s, #1258s, #1259s, #1260s, #1261s, #1262s, #1263s, #1264s, #1265s, #1274s, #1275s, #1277s, #1279s, #1280s, #1281s, #1282s, #1283s, #1284s, #1285s, #1286s, #1287s, #1302s, #1303s, #1315s, #1508s." (Source: Rickson, Norene (creator). Table. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_4220. HMM Library Rare Books Room (HMCo Contracts), Folder [no #]. No date (2010s ?).)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #392p [Launch for Aloha II] even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Aloha (MIT Museum-made index card)
• Aloha (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.

• Launch for Aloha
• 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: Aloha
Type: 32' gasoline tender for steamer "Aloha"
Owner: Arthur Curtiss James
Row No.: 23

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.

"#392. Owners Launch for Yacht 'Aloha'. Model made by Capt. Bezanson, Aug, 1930. Scale 3/4in = 1ft.
Sheer heights are to top of deck, frame spaces 10in, planking & deck 5/8in." (Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [Notes in Offset Booklet HH.4.62 held in Hart Nautical Collections at M.I.T.] Bristol, RI, August 1930.)

"For the 202ft LOA three-masted bark Aloha II, built in 1910 by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company for Commodore Arthur Curtiss James of the New York Yacht Club." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. September 8, 2010.)

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