USS Calabash

Last updated

Motorboat Calabash (1912).jpg
Calabash in a Florida harbor as a civilian motorboat sometime between 1912 and 1917.
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Calabash
NamesakePrevious name retained
OwnerWilliam John Matheson
Yard number24
Completed1912
Acquired25 July 1917
Commissioned25 July 1917
DecommissionedAugust 1917
FateReturned to owner August 1917
NotesOperated as private motorboat Calabash 1912-1917 and from 1917
General characteristics
Type Section patrol vessel
Tonnage64  GRT
Length66 ft (20 m)
Beam66.7 ft (20.3 m)
Depth8.1 ft (2.5 m)

USS Calabash (SP-108) was a civilian motor yacht that served in the 7th Naval District as an armed patrol boat in the United States Navy during July and August 1917. [1] [2] Apparently found unsuitable for naval service, Calabash served for less than a month before being decommissioned and returned to her owner in August 1917. [1]

Contents

Calabash was built in 1912 by Mathis Shipbuilding Company at Camden, New Jersey for William John Matheson of New York and Coconut Grove, Florida. [3] The vessel was of a type described as "houseboat" built by Mathis and others and was Mathis hull number 24, assigned official number 210659 and signal letters LCQG on registration. [3] [4] [5] The vessel's registration shows 64  GRT, length 66 ft (20 m), breadth 66.7 ft (20.3 m), depth 8.1 ft (2.5 m) [note 1] and home port of Miami. [5]

Calabash was based at the Matheson estate where he experimented with planting, particularly coconuts, and built "Mashta House" where Matheson, as Commodore of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club frequently entertained guests gathering by boat. [6] [7] The original house is now gone, but the harbor that was home port for Calabash and temporary port for other Matheson vessels when in Florida remains. [8] [9] The Chowder Party was an annual event hosted by Matheson that attracted a fleet of visiting boats. [10]

The U.S. Navy acquired Calabash on 25 July 1917 for use as a section patrol vessel during World War I. She was commissioned the same day as USS Calabash (SP-108). [11] By August 1917 three of Matheson's yachts were in government service: Marpessa, Calabash, and Coco. [12]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Depth" is not "draft" but a different measure. This type of "cruiser houseboat" was designed with fairly shallow draft.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Zumbrota</i> Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Zumbrota (SP-93/YP-93) was a motor boat in the United States Navy.

USS <i>Akbar</i> Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Akbar (SP-599) was first owned by George W. Childs Drexel of Philadelphia, a member of the city's Corinthian Yacht Club. The original name Akbar, apparently named for Mogul emperor Jalul-ud-Din Muhammed, known as "Akbar", was retained upon entry into naval service.

USS <i>Zigzag</i> (SP-106) Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Zigzag (SP-106) was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.

USS <i>Zenith</i> (SP-61) Armed motorboat in the United States Navy

USS Zenith (SP-61) was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a Section patrol vessel from 1917 to 1918.

USS <i>Tacony</i> (SP-5) Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

The second USS Tacony (SP-5) was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy as a Section patrol vessel from 24 May 1917 to 29 November 1918. The yacht had been built in 1911 by the Mathis Yacht Building Company at Camden, New Jersey for John Fred Betz, III, of Essington, Pennsylvania and member of the Philadelphia Yacht Club as Sybilla II. The vessel was Mathis yard number seven with 208469 the official number issued.

USS Helena I (SP-24) was an armed yacht that served the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.

USS Little Aie (SP-60) was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.

USS <i>Shadow III</i> (SP-102) Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Shadow III (SP-102) was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.

USS Raven III (SP-103), later USS SP-103, was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.

USS <i>Coco</i> Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Coco (SP-110) was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a Section patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.

USS Nepenthe (SP-112) was a luxury yacht belonging to James Deering and used at his estate, Vizcaya in Miami, Florida. The yacht was completed December 1916 and delivered to Deering who immediately took the yacht to Florida. Nepenthe was acquired by the United States Navy, designated a house boat though given the S.P. indicator of a section patrol vessel, and used briefly from 7 June to 5 October 1917. The yacht resumed its place at the estate until it sank in 1926 during a major hurricane one year after Deering's death. After salvage the yacht was sold.

USS <i>Tanguingui</i> (SP-126) Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Tanguingui (SP-126) was an armed motor yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.

USS <i>Caliph</i> Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Caliph (SP-272) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission in 1917 and again in 1918. Caliph is derived from the word al-khalifah, Arabic word for the leader.

USS <i>Ameera</i> Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Ameera (SP-453) was a United States Navy Section patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.

USS <i>St. Sebastian</i> (SP-470) Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS St. Sebastian (SP-470) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.

USS <i>Sylvia</i> (SP-471) Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

The second USS Sylvia (SP-471), later USS SP-471, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.

USS <i>Vision</i> (SP-744) Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

The first USS Vision (SP-744), later USS SP-744, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.

USS Marpessa (SP-787) was a 50 foot "express yacht" that became a United States Navy section patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919 retaining the civilian name.

USS <i>Margo</i> Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Margo (SP-870) was a raised deck cruiser built for private use taken into the United States Navy as a Section patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918 and returned to the owner after the war.

USS <i>Velocipede</i> (SP-1258) Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Velocipede (SP-1258) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.

References

  1. 1 2 Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images (no longer exists at NHHC) (19 November 2004). "Calabash (American Motor Boat, 1912). Briefly served as USS Calabash (SP-108) in 1917". Naval History And Heritage Command (copy preserved ibiblio.org). Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  2. ↑ Naval History And Heritage Command. "Calabash". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  3. 1 2 Colton, Tim (6 June 2018). "Mathis Yacht Building, Camden and Gloucester City NJ". ShipbuildingHistory. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  4. ↑ Mathis Yacht Building Company (25 March 1922). "At Home Everywhere – In Florida – on the Lakes – along the New England Coast – Mathis Built Houseboats". Motor Boat. Vol. 9, no. 6. p. 77.
  5. 1 2 Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation (1920). Forty Second Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States; Part VI. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 104. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  6. ↑ Wilkinson, Jerry. "Life and Times of William John Matheson" . Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Bristol, Bob. "History of the Island of Key Biscayne". Village of Key Biscayne. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  8. ↑ "$60 Million Key Biscayne Home Has Private Harbor, Could Break Record (comparison photos)". The Next Miami. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  9. ↑ Taylor, Candice (2014). "A Florida Home on Private Peninsula Will List for $60 Million". The Wall Street Journal (5 Sept. 2014). Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  10. ↑ "The Annual Chowder Party at Miami". Motor Boat. Vol. 14, no. 6. 25 March 1917. p. 13. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: Calabash (SP 108)". NavSource. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  12. ↑ "Yachts in Government Service". The Rudder. Vol. 33, no. 8. August 1917. p. 558. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.