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 Volunteer turningSandy Hook Lightship during the America's Cup race on September 27, 1887 | |
| Yacht club |  New York Yacht Club |
|---|---|
| Nation |  United States |
| Designer(s) | Edward Burgess |
| Builder | Pusey & Jones Shipbuilding Company |
| Launched | June 30, 1887 |
| Owner(s) | GeneralCharles J. Paine |
| Fate | Broken up in 1910 |
| Racing career | |
| Skippers | Hank Haff |
| Notable victories |
|
| America's Cup | 1887 |
| Specifications | |
| Displacement | 130 tons |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 23 ft 2 in (7.06 m) |
| Draft | 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) |
| Sail area | 8,981 sq ft (834.4 m2) |
Volunteer was an American racing yacht built in 1887 for theAmerica's Cup races. She was the victorious American defender of the seventh America's Cup match that same year against Scottish challengerThistle.
Volunteer, acenterboard compromisesloop, was designed byEdward Burgess, built byPusey & Jones Shipbuilding Company atWilmington, Delaware and launched after 66 days under construction on June 30, 1887, for owner GeneralCharles J. Paine of theNew York Yacht Club.[1][2][3]
Volunteer was the first America's Cup yacht with an all steel frame and hull. Her deck was made of white pine.
After the racesVolunteer was modified to serve as a cruising schooner. In 1890 a major modification by George Lawley & Sons lengthened the hull by 5 ft (1.5 m), improvements made and changed to a sloop rig. The yacht then had a large cabin and seven staterooms with three toilets. The crew was composed of four officers and eight men.[4] The registry information for 1901—1902 shows 105.25 GRT, 99.88 Net tons, 115 ft (35.1 m) length overall, 90 ft (27.4 m) waterline length, 23 ft 2 in (7.1 m) beam with owner being J. Malcolm Forbes with home port of Boston.[5]
Volunteer easily beat the 1886 America's Cup defenderMayflower during the defender trials for the 1887 America's Cup and won both Cup races on September 27 and 30, 1887, againstThistle.Volunteer was skippered by Captain Hank Haff with the assistance of Captains Terry, Berry and L. Jeffreys.
Soon after the Cup races,Volunteer was bought byJohn Malcolm Forbes (who also ownedPuritan) and was Re-rigged as aschooner in 1891. On August 21, 1893, she went onto the rocks at Hadley's Harbor, Naushon Island, off the coast of Massachusetts.[6] Damage was extensive, as shown in the picture below. In 1894, in anticipation of racing with the British Valkyrie, she was returned to her original sloop rig.[7] She was broken up at a New York junkyard in 1910.
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