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Chasing the DRAGON
Re-creating a Herreshoff steam launch
I
t is a windless, overcast Massachusetts afternoon in
mid-July, 2017, and a small party has gathered at a
harbor-side house on Marblehead Neck for the
christening of a most unusual boat. Singly and in pairs,
folks wander down the gangway to the fl oat, where the
focal point of the day’s activities is tied up, cushioned
by several big fenders. It’s been a great many years now
since a steam launch and a catboat provided transportation
from “the Neck” across the harbor to the town
itself. Yet on this afternoon the steam launch DRAGON
rocks gently alongside, not too far, in fact, from where
the steam ferry of yesteryear used to dock.
Now, an occasional wreath of gray, sweet-smelling
smoke puffs up from the shiny stack. Slowly but steadily,
the needle of the big pressure gauge on the boiler
climbs, passing 30 lbs and inching its way upward.
STAN GRAYSON
by Stan Grayson
Going for a ride in this steam launch is not a matter of
instant gratifi cation. It is a process.
Occupants of passing boats stare with a mixture of
disbelief and delight. When they realize they are seeing
an actual, for-real steam engine, it doesn’t take long for
the inevitable question: “Ahoy there, can we hear the
whistle?” As the steam pressure rises, Doug Park, the
launch’s 34-year-old builder, obliges. A pleasant “toot”
emerges with a wisp of steam. Then Park opens the fi rebox
door and adds another foot-long chunk of wood.
When the pressure reaches 80 lbs or so, and a christening
dollop of Norwegian aquavit has been poured over
the bow, it will be time to take people for rides.
“Well,” says Ulf Heide, the prime mover behind the
project that resulted in the boat, “is this a screwball
idea or what!”
Above—DRAGON, seen here passing below Marblehead’s Fort Sewall, is a scaled-down version of an 1882 steam launch
designed by N.G. Herreshoff as one of several small craft carried by a U.S. Fish Commission research vessel.
22 • WoodenBoat 261
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