The generally quiet character of the water available for yachting, and the prevailing pleasant weather with moderate winds, combined to influence the form and rig of boats and yachts in use for the first half of this century, and if one carefully examines the situation, it will be found that the style of pleasure craft chiefly in vogue was well adapted to the requirements of the then yachtsman; but as years passed, new influences were at work and new requirements sought for, so that to-day the build and rig of boats and yachts used by our ancestry seem likely to disappear, save perhaps in certain localities where the shoal draught must be considered, as along the south shore of Long Island, the coast of New Jersey, and in much of the waters of the Southern States.
In illustration of the effect that winds and waters have on the form and rig of yachts, one need only compare the yachts in England with those in America. The conditions of weather and sea are as different in the two countries as are their vessels; but it must also be admitted that the rules of time allowance arranged to equalise yachts of different size in racing has also had large influence in separating so widely the form of yachts in the two countries, a difference which, under the newest order of rules and intercourse, is rapidly disappearing.
The history of yachting in America begins with the brilliant career of the Stevens brothers, notably the elder of the three, John C., whose life and labour seem to have been devoted to the development of the best type of vessel for pleasure. He may justly be called the father of yachting. The Stevenses lived in Hoboken, and in the early years of this century to cross the Hudson to New York by the established ferry boat was slow and uncertain, so naturally the Stevens brothers had each his own boat, and crossed the river by his own skill, either by sail or oar. Through ferrying themselves over the river, they became very skilful in the management of boats, and the love and talent thus awakened were held by them all their lives.
The first craft of any importance owned by John C. Stevens was 'Diver,' built in 1809, but of her there exists no record, save the fact of her being 20 ft. long. He built 'Trouble,' in 1816; she was a pirogue, a style of vessel much in vogue in those days, 56 ft. long, two masts, one in the extreme bow, the other a little aft of amidships, with no bowsprit or jib. Her mid-section is here shown; she was wide and flat, with a round, full bow, and was said to be very fast for that class of craft; she has the honour of being the first yacht in America, and without doubt was a comfortable seaworthy vessel, but was soon put aside by her progressive master, who in the following fifteen years built and owned several craft of various sizes and rig.
'Trouble,' midship section.
It seems to have been a passion of Mr. Stevens to experiment. Indeed, this striving for something better was the key-note of his life, and a boon to yachting, since the science of naval architecture made very rapid progress during his career; for he died having carried the form of vessels from their rude model in early times to the vastly improved 'Maria,' which famous yacht stands as a monument to his skill and determination to improve.
One of the fancies of Mr. Stevens was a catamaran, or a boat with two hulls. She was built in 1820 and named 'Double Trouble.' The sides of the hulls toward the centre were parallel. But the old 'Trouble' beat her easily, and she was laid aside to make room for something new and better. In 1832 Mr. Stevens built the schooner 'Wave'; she was 65 ft. water-line and proved to be fast. She visited Boston in 1835 and 1836, and beat all yachts she found there.