CATALOGUE OF THE WATERCRAFT COLLECTION, 17 



and materials of construction, the consequence of which is a fre- 

 quently marked advance of much importance, perhaps, to maritime 

 countries. Inasmuch as this applies to steam vessels (though per- 

 haps in a less degree), as well as to those propelled by sail alone, 

 the researches made cover all fields of naval architecture, and, to 

 that extent, are correspondingly important. 



Yachting in the United States is a sport of comparatively recent 

 date, but its popularity is emphasized by the large aggregation of 

 various types of craft devoted to it — from a small catboat, tiny 

 canoe, or diminutive " single-hander " to the stately steamship, 

 built regardless of expense, which looks imposing enough to be a 

 war vessel. It is true that vessels were built in the United States 

 for purposes of pleasure at the very beginning of the nineteenth 

 century. For instance, the Jefferson of 22 tons was launched at 

 Salem, Mass., in 1801. She was a privateer in 1812 and in 1815 was 

 sold to Gloucester for a fishing vessel. The Diver was built in 1802 

 by John C. Stevens, who later produced the Trouble^ Wave, and 

 Onhahie, the latter being "his first attempt at a sharp bow and 

 clean run." 



One of the most noted pleasure vessels of early days was a top- 

 sail .schooner built at Salem in 1816. She was first named Car of 

 Concordia^ but this was not painted on her stern, the name being 

 changed to Cleo'patra's Barge before she was ready for service. 

 " She was 83 feet long on the water line, 22 feet W\ inches wide, 

 and 11 feet 5| inches in depth * * * She tonned 191|-|-." 



Cleopatra's Barge was painted in different patterns on her two 

 sides, one side being in horizontal stripes of many colors and the 

 other side with a herringbone pattern.^ 



But while vessels had been built in the United States for pleasure 

 at an earlier date, yachting in this country really had its birth with 

 the organization of the New York Yacht Club on July 30, 1844. 

 This was the only yacht club in the United States for five years, but, 

 according to a well-loiown authority, " it was not until the Brooklyn 

 Yacht Club was organized in 1857 that there was anything like a 

 yacht club, in the present significance of the term, in all the United 

 States." "^ There has been a constantly accelerating development, as 

 already indicated, and the fleet of pleasure vessels has grown from a 

 few small schooners of the pilot-boat type in the forties until its 

 white sails are seen along both coasts and in the lake region, while 

 the sharp bows of its steamers cleave the waters that wash the shores 

 of both Europe and America. 



The increase in the number of steam yachts in recent years has 

 been phenomenal in the United States. While the majority of these 



* The Yachts and Yachtsmen of America, edited by Henry A. Mott, jr., pp. 47-48. 

 7 The History of American Yachting, by Capt. R. F. Coffin. 



