Chapter VI · YACHTING IN AMERICA By Lewis Herreshoff (continued 2)

In about the year 1884 a club was formed for steam-yacht owners only, called the American Yacht Club, and for several years it offered prizes to be run for in Long Island Sound; but steam-yacht racing did not become popular, principally because of the danger of forcing machinery to its utmost limit of safety, and also the difficulty of classifying yachts of different size and power of engine. For the most part the devotees of steam yachting are drawn from the general public without special regard of the situation of their home, as a yacht can be kept on the seaboard or on the lakes, whilst the owner may live far from the sight and sound of the sea; the restless spirit of our countrymen prompts them to embark into every scheme of pleasure-making, as well as business enterprise.

Naturally, however, by far the greater number of steam-yacht owners have their homes on or very near some navigable water, upon which they pursue their favourite sport as a pastime only, or in connection with the daily engagements of business life.

Many men of large means and wide business interests who may be seen daily on Wall Street or in other centres of trade in New York have homes on the head waters of Long Island Sound, or on the lower stretches of the Hudson, whence they daily run to the city of New York in a steam yacht, which, after landing its luxurious owner, waits until his day is done in the city, and bears him again to a home of comfort and quiet retreat.

Yachts used chiefly for such purposes are always fast; when the speed falls below 20 miles an hour, their owners fret and fume, and wonder why she is not doing as well as she might.

Steam yachts having abnormally high speed are occasionally seen in a large yachting fleet. There are always a few men, who, from a love of seeing their names in print and their movements and those of their yacht recorded in the newspapers of the day, find that by tearing up the waters of our bays and harbours with yachts which show a speed of 25 miles an hour, their fondest hope is realised; for every eye follows them, and every reporter wastes his pencil in recording the performances of the speedy craft. It is their delight on regatta days to dart about amongst the fleet of yachts and craft of the lookers-on, and astonish everybody by some new flight of speed or some skilful evolution. I am happy to record, however, that the number of these flyers is small, and becoming less: such speeds are attained only by great danger to life and limb of those in charge of the machine, and an entire loss of comfort from the violent vibration of the vessel; for she must be built as light and carry as powerful machinery as possible, to give the results desired by these morbid lovers of notoriety, who are no more yachtsmen than is the man who takes a balloon trip so as to be seen by the crowd.

It must be admitted that comfort and pleasure can be, and doubtless are, found on many steam yachts; for instance, a yacht of 125 ft. water-line, by 19 ft. beam, with a well-kept flush-deck, a comfortable deck-house forward, a large awning spread over all, the deck set out with Persian rugs, tables, and comfortable rattan chairs, and a number of congenial friends present, who are not tired of life and each other—I think no one will deny that pleasure in the highest degree could be realised with such surroundings.

Our prevailing pleasant weather during the yachting season, and the uniformly sheltered character of our waters, have had their effect on the form and construction of steam yachts as well as those by sail. Nearly 95 per cent. of all steam yachts in America are built expressly for bay, harbour, and river work, and when it is necessary to make any extended trip, as for instance to the coast of Maine, they usually creep close along shore, moving cautiously from port to port.

We can, however, boast of a few deep-sea craft, as fine and seaworthy as any pleasure vessels in the world, such as those owned by the late Jay Gould, Mr. W. W. Astor, the Vanderbilts, and few others. The general dimensions of many steam yachts are ruled by the probability of their taking the passage through the Erie Canal, the locks of which are 100 ft. long and 17 ft. wide, and admit a vessel drawing 6 ft. of water.

There is a marked advantage in taking the Erie Canal to reach the great lakes; with a vessel of proper size the passage of the canal is safe and easy, whilst the trip around by the Gulf and River of St. Lawrence is very long and surrounded by difficulties, although the voyage will richly repay one for taking it, as it affords greater variety in sea and landscape than any other possible in America. Steam yachting on the great lakes is also increasing rapidly, and in the harbours of the large cities, as Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Chicago, many steam pleasure craft may be seen, usually of a length of 100 ft. or less, so as to make their way to the salt water by the canal.

As in the case of sailing yachts, 95 per cent. of steam craft are to be found north of the capes of the Delaware, but their numbers are increasing south of that point more rapidly than their sailing sisters. The Gulf and tributary waters as yet show very few pleasure craft of either sort, and the Pacific coast, on account of the high cost of fuel, is not the scene of steam yachting to any considerable extent.

In the Bay of San Francisco, however, are a large number of naphtha launches that find very favourable water in that shallow sea. There is far less variety of form and rig among steam yachts than in any other pleasure craft. The accepted form at present is a flush-deck vessel with pole masts, triple-expansion engine, and some modification of the old Belville boiler, a form that has many varieties, none of which are satisfactory in more than a few points. They are generally safe from explosion, but very short-lived, and difficult to manage.

The compound engine was introduced into yachting craft about the year 1875, and its success was as marked as in all other branches of marine construction.

The triple-expansion engine was first used in 1884 with increased success over its ancestor, the compound, and in 1888 the quadruple engine was put into a few yachts; but it may be questioned if it possesses any advantages over the triple for the general uses of yachting.

The use of high-expansion engines not only results in a marked economy of fuel, but, through a wide distribution of power and strain, far greater durability is attained, as well as greater freedom from vibration, which often imparts discomfort to the passengers, and injury to the hull of the yacht.

With regard to the designing and construction of steam yachts, it seems to be the aim of every designer and builder to try his hand at this branch of naval architecture, and, as might naturally be expected, the resultant vessel is too often an example of semi-successful work of the novice, clumsy in form, construction, and machinery, rude in design and ill fitted to its duty. Nearly all the deep-sea pleasure craft are built on the Delaware, and as a rule are staunch, seaworthy vessels with good speed, and generally satisfactory performance in all situations. The Herreshoff Co., of Rhode Island, have passed No. 180 in steam vessels, the larger number of which are small launches, a good proportion small cabin yachts, and the rest of the every-day class of along-shore craft which satisfy the desires of nearly all who find pleasure on our coast in steam yachts. The Herreshoff Co. turns out the fastest vessels of their class, and for general qualities are the best examples of careful designing and construction as applied to both hull and machinery. They have the advantage of building every member of a yacht, hull, engines, and boiler, so the result is more harmonious, and in the main is more conducive to speed and that condition, called 'well balanced,' which is so desirable in all steam vessels.

During the last five years naphtha engines, as applied to launches, have been greatly improved, so that their use has become immensely popular. They vary in size from 20 to 45 ft. in length, with speed from 6 to 10 miles an hour; in a measure they have displaced small steam launches as tenders for yachts, and in many places where no great degree of skill is required to run them; in fact, the ease of running and little time required to start a launch are the chief reasons of their popularity, in spite of the fact that they are noisy and malodorous.

The use of the steam yacht will, without doubt, continue to increase more rapidly than the sailing craft, but there is not the least probability that the latter will be superseded. In so large a community of sea-loving people there will always be a few whose good taste and love of true sport will guide them toward the sail as a means of motion, and the forces of nature as motive power; but happy is he on whom fortune smiles to the extent of enabling him to keep both a steam and sailing yacht, for times do come when to reach an objective point is highly desirable, and at other times nothing can give so much pleasure as the quiet and peaceful sensation that is found only in a sailing craft. There is room then for every yacht, both steam and sail; each contributes to the pleasure of its owner, and each deserves our best efforts to develop and make perfect that which contributes so largely to our resources of enjoyment and healthful pastime.