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Bill Sohne
··Bill @ ΩFHello Everyone .....
When I first saw this clock up for auction... It just " had the look" .. It was an early (1902 ) 8 1/2 Commander with an aged appropriate painted dial. Then reading the auction description
"Dial marked Black, Starr & Frost New York, Ship’s Bell. Engraved plaque reads: Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, First Prize won by Yankee, Sept. 12, 1902. Serial number 6324 on back of mechanism and the back of the case." Plus it came from the collection of a founder of the NAWCC was a bonus....
So for all the above reasons, my collector brain said " yes" get that clock .... and as usual my wife said no..... But that is another story...
So I got the clock and that was the start of going down a rabbit hole !
Let's get started .. The clock was an award from the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club.. from Sept 12, 1902 ... The clock was retailed by Black, Starr & Frost NY and was bought from Chelsea Clock Co. in July of 1902.. Numbers matching, original surface, a clock that stands tall. On its own it would be a centerpiece for anyone's collection... But that is just the starting point.
The Yankee was one of 4 NY70 class yachts.
from classicsailboats.org
"Four 70-footers were built respectively for August Belmont, Cornelius Vanderbilt, W.K. Vanderbilt, Jr., and Harry Payne Whitney. To this date, the most expensive one-design class ever conceived for some of the most influential owners of this day. Superiority will only be achieved by each owner's ability to excel by one's skill in sail handling and tuning by a crew of 15 professionals."
The NY70 class was designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff and built by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Bristol RI.
The Yankee was the 4 and last NY70 with hull number 534 , you see it in the main drawing by boiler plate of the Mineola which was used for all 4 boats... The first yacht was the Mineola owned by August Belmont and sail number H5, hull 529 , the Rainbow owner , Cornelius Vanderbilt and sail number H 6 , hull 532, The Virginia owner W.K. Vanderbilt sail H7 , hull 533 ....
New York 70 “Yankee” Specifications:
LOA: 106′ 0″
LWL: 70′ 0″
Beam 19′ 4″
Draft 14′ 0″
Original Rig: Cutter Hull Number: 534
Designer: N.G. Herreshoff
Original Owner: Duryea / Whitney
Built: 1899 Original Price: $32,594
Status: Destroyed 1916
Sail : H11
The NY70 in the 1900 Rudder article attached many people called the NY70 s yachts " little Columbias " after the America's Cup defender Columbia .
It is amazing the amount of info I have come across on this class of boat ... Their is an extensive collection of documents from the archive...
https://herreshoff.info/Menu/index.htm?/Docs/S00534_Yankee.htm
I found a few errors like the Hull numbers , I am using the ones that are written in pencil on the ship drawing... see attached detail...
The sail numbers I was able to confirm from looking at photos from the Library of Congress..
I won't go into detail on the construction the 1900 Rudder article attached goes into detail... But its is wooded planked on a metal frame. From other sources that I have read , they were " leaky" but fast !
As you look at the photos of the Yankee it's a beauty ... and there was even an article in the New York Times Sept 6 1913 about a new defender that was going to be built that was very much along the lines of the Yankee ! See attached..
This clock can stand on its own as a 1902 8 ½ Commander with the original surface dial. On top of that, it was an Award Clock that was won by “Yankee “, an NY70 ( 1 of 4 made in 1900, for members of the New York Yacht Club. ) designed by N. G. Herreshoff ( American Cup fame ) and manufactured by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in Bristol, RI. 100 plus years later the only thing we have to remember about these classic yachts are maybe a photo, a bell or if we are lucky a clock… In this case, it is a Chelsea 8 ½ inch Ship’s Bell Commander!
Good Hunting
Bill
When I first saw this clock up for auction... It just " had the look" .. It was an early (1902 ) 8 1/2 Commander with an aged appropriate painted dial. Then reading the auction description
"Dial marked Black, Starr & Frost New York, Ship’s Bell. Engraved plaque reads: Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, First Prize won by Yankee, Sept. 12, 1902. Serial number 6324 on back of mechanism and the back of the case." Plus it came from the collection of a founder of the NAWCC was a bonus....
So for all the above reasons, my collector brain said " yes" get that clock .... and as usual my wife said no..... But that is another story...
So I got the clock and that was the start of going down a rabbit hole !
Let's get started .. The clock was an award from the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club.. from Sept 12, 1902 ... The clock was retailed by Black, Starr & Frost NY and was bought from Chelsea Clock Co. in July of 1902.. Numbers matching, original surface, a clock that stands tall. On its own it would be a centerpiece for anyone's collection... But that is just the starting point.
The Yankee was one of 4 NY70 class yachts.
from classicsailboats.org
"Four 70-footers were built respectively for August Belmont, Cornelius Vanderbilt, W.K. Vanderbilt, Jr., and Harry Payne Whitney. To this date, the most expensive one-design class ever conceived for some of the most influential owners of this day. Superiority will only be achieved by each owner's ability to excel by one's skill in sail handling and tuning by a crew of 15 professionals."
The NY70 class was designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff and built by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Bristol RI.
The Yankee was the 4 and last NY70 with hull number 534 , you see it in the main drawing by boiler plate of the Mineola which was used for all 4 boats... The first yacht was the Mineola owned by August Belmont and sail number H5, hull 529 , the Rainbow owner , Cornelius Vanderbilt and sail number H 6 , hull 532, The Virginia owner W.K. Vanderbilt sail H7 , hull 533 ....
New York 70 “Yankee” Specifications:
LOA: 106′ 0″
LWL: 70′ 0″
Beam 19′ 4″
Draft 14′ 0″
Original Rig: Cutter Hull Number: 534
Designer: N.G. Herreshoff
Original Owner: Duryea / Whitney
Built: 1899 Original Price: $32,594
Status: Destroyed 1916
Sail : H11
The NY70 in the 1900 Rudder article attached many people called the NY70 s yachts " little Columbias " after the America's Cup defender Columbia .
It is amazing the amount of info I have come across on this class of boat ... Their is an extensive collection of documents from the archive...
https://herreshoff.info/Menu/index.htm?/Docs/S00534_Yankee.htm
I found a few errors like the Hull numbers , I am using the ones that are written in pencil on the ship drawing... see attached detail...
The sail numbers I was able to confirm from looking at photos from the Library of Congress..
I won't go into detail on the construction the 1900 Rudder article attached goes into detail... But its is wooded planked on a metal frame. From other sources that I have read , they were " leaky" but fast !
As you look at the photos of the Yankee it's a beauty ... and there was even an article in the New York Times Sept 6 1913 about a new defender that was going to be built that was very much along the lines of the Yankee ! See attached..
This clock can stand on its own as a 1902 8 ½ Commander with the original surface dial. On top of that, it was an Award Clock that was won by “Yankee “, an NY70 ( 1 of 4 made in 1900, for members of the New York Yacht Club. ) designed by N. G. Herreshoff ( American Cup fame ) and manufactured by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in Bristol, RI. 100 plus years later the only thing we have to remember about these classic yachts are maybe a photo, a bell or if we are lucky a clock… In this case, it is a Chelsea 8 ½ inch Ship’s Bell Commander!
Good Hunting
Bill
