Moses H. Grinnell (pilot boat)

The Moses H. Grinnell was a 19th-century pilot boat built in 1850 for the New York maritime pilots. She was designed by the yacht designer George Steers. The Grinnell was the first pilot boat to feature a fully developed concave clipper-bow, which was to become the New York schooner-rigged pilot boat's trade mark.[1] This new design was the basis for the celebrated yacht America.

Schooner Moses H. Grinnell in Stowing Sails off Fairhaven by William Bradford, 1858.
History
United States
NameMoses H. Grinnell
NamesakeMoses H. Grinnell
OwnerN. Y. Pilots, J. B. Lockman (1876-1879, H. L. Gurney (1881-1882), William Bazzell (1883-1900)
BuilderGrinnell, Minturn & Co
Cost$8,000
Launched1850
Out of serviceAugust 15, 1914
FateSold
General characteristics
Class and typeschooner
Tonnage88 TM
Length73 ft 6 in (22.40 m)
Beam18 ft 9 in (5.72 m)
Draft9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
Depth7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
PropulsionSail
NotesUsed log rails instead of bulwarks

Construction and service
Moses H. Grinnell Half Model made by George Steers.

Moses H. Grinnell, a native of New Bedford, Massachusetts, commissioned George Steers to design a vessel for use as a pilot-boat and as a yacht for pleasure trips. Grinnell was a partner with his brother, Joseph Grinnell, in the shipping firm Grinnell, Minturn & Co. The Grinnell was built in 1850 for the New York pilots and owned by George W. Blunt of New York.[2][3][1]

There is a Steers' half-model of the Grinnell is in the Mariners' Museum and Park at Newport News, Virginia, and the boat's profile in John Willis Griffiths Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Shipbuilding.[4][2]

The Grinnell was the first sailing vessel to have the very long, sharp, and concave clipper-bow that became the prototype for the famous racing yacht, America.[1][2]

On May 2, 1851, the Grinnell, was in a race with the yacht Cornelia for a purse of $1,000. They started at Stapleton Dock, Staten Island, passed the Sandy Hook point, around the Sandy Hook lightship and back to Stapleton Dock. The Grinnell was the winner.[5][6]

In August 1852, William Smith and Isaac Gaynor of the pilot boat Moses H. Grinnell were picked up by the schooner Fremont, after being lost in a fog, when putting a pilot on board the ship George Canning.[7]

In 1860, the Moses H. Grinnell was one of the twenty-one New York pilot boats. The boat number "1" was painted as a large number on her mainsail, that identified the boat as belonging to the Sandy Hook Pilots.[8] On October 10, 1860, New York Sandy Hook Pilot Thomas Morley, of the pilot boat Moses H. Grinnell, No. 1, signed a statement along with other pilots, that he was satisfied with the representation he had received from the New York Board of Commissioners of Pilots.[9]

American civil war

In late October, 1863, during the American Civil War, the seven year old Grinnell, No. 1, was run down in the dark by the United States supply steamer Union on the Outer Middle Ground in Long Island Sound. The Grinnell carried no boat light when struck by the Union. No one was injured in the incident.[10][11][8]: pp115, 159–160 

On August 11, 1864, the Grinnell reported that they saw a vessel burning off Montauk, New York. The pilots believed that the CSS Tallahassee was working her way toward Nantucket Shoals.[12]

In 1871, the Grinnell collided with two barques near The Battery and was damaged, ran ashore and filled with water.[13]

The Record of American and Foreign Shipping from 1876 to 1879, lists the Grinnell as still being owned by the New York pilots. Captain J. B. Lockman was the master.[14]

Boston pilots

The Record of American and Foreign Shipping from 1881 to 1882, lists the Grinnell as being owned by the Boston pilots with Captain H. L. Gurney as the master.[15]

Pensacola, Florida

On October 24, 1882, the Grinnell, was sold to the Pensacola, Florida pilots for $4,500. This was the third pilot-boat that was purchased from the Boston pilots. She was listed as No. 9, of the Boston fleet.[16]

The Record of American and Foreign Shipping from 1883 to 1900, lists the Grinnell registered with Captain William Bazzell and her owner was Charles McKenzie Oerting & Co. Her home port was Pensacola, Florida.[17]

The Pensacola News, reported that on May 16, 1896, the pilot boat Moses H. Grinnell, was for sale at a sacrifice by the Pensacola Pilot’s Association. The reason for sale was that the association had a steam pilot boat.[18]

End of service

The Bar Pilot’s Association sold the Moses H. Grinnell on August 15, 1914 to British subjects from Montego Bay, Jamaica. The sale was confirmed in a letter from the US Vice-consul at Kingston, Jamaica, on October 21, 1914.[19]

See also

References
  1. Cunliffe, Tom (2001). Pilots, The World Of Pilotage Under Sail and Oar. Brooklin, Maine: WoodenBoat. p. 73. ISBN 9780937822692.
  2. Chapelle, Howard Irving (1967). The search for speed under sail, 1700-1855. New York, Bonanza Books. OCLC 63842747.
  3. Della Monica, Lauren P.; Hyland, Janice (2009). Flying the Colors: The Unseen Treasures of Nineteenth-Century American Marine Art (PDF). p. 14.
  4. Treatise on marine and naval architecture or, Theory and practice blended in ship building. Illustrated with more than fifty engravings. New York. 1850. OCLC 4790797.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. "Aquatic Races". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. 1851-05-05. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  6. "Marine Affairs". New York Daily Herald. New York, New York. 1851-05-03. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  7. "Missing Pilots Safe". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. 1852-08-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  8. Russell, Charles Edward (1929). From Sandy Hook to 62°. New York: Century Co. OCLC 3804485.
  9. "The New York Pilots. To The Editor Of The Herald". New York Daily Herald. New York, New York. 10 Oct 1860. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  10. Allen, Edward L. (1922). Pilot Lore From sail to Steam. New York: The United New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Benevolent Associations. p. 20.
  11. "Sinking of One Pilot Boat and Serious Damage to Another". The Times-Democrat. New Orleans, Louisiana. 1863-10-27. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  12. "The Achievements Of The Confederate Cruiser, Tallahassee". The Standard. London, Greater London, England. 31 Aug 1864. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  13. "Latest News In Brief". TBangor Daily Whig and Courier. Bangor, Maine. 1871-10-06. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  14. "Index to Ship Registers, 1876". Mystic Seaport Museum. New York. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  15. "Index to Ship Registers, 1881". Mystic Seaport Museum. New York. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  16. "Marine Notes". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 24 Oct 1882. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  17. "Index to Ship Registers, 1894". Mystic Seaport Museum. New York. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  18. "Pilot Boats For Sale". The Pensacola News. Pensacola, Florida. 16 May 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  19. "MOSES H. GRINNELL (PILOT BOAT: 1850-1924)". The Mariners' Museum and Park. Pensacola, Florida. 15 Aug 1914. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
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