Florence (pilot boat)

Short description: Boston Pilot boat

Boston Pilot Boat Florence No. 6, c. 1867.

History
File:US flag 37 stars.svgUnited States
Name| Florence
Owner| E. Bruce, William C. Fowler
Operator| James H. Reid, James Llewellyn Smith
Builder| Dennison J. Lawlor
Launched| 1867
Out of service| June 1897
Fate| Sold
General characteristics
Class and type:|  schooner
Tonnage:|  50-tons TM[1]
Length:|  66 ft 5 in (20.24 m)
Beam:|  7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Draft:|  20 ft 0 in (6.10 m)
Depth:|  7 ft 7 in (2.31 m)
Propulsion:|  Sail
Notes:|  Her cabin had ground glass in the doors bearing the name, Florence.[2]

Florence was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat built in 1867 from a model by Dennison J. Lawlor for William C. Fowler. The vessel had a reputation for being fast under sail. She had a long career in the Boston service, skippered by many famous pilots. She was the oldest pilot-boat in the service.[3] In 1897, she was sold to a Portland, Maine group for fishing and yachting excursions. The pilot boat America, No. 1, was launched on April 19, 1897, to replace the Florence.

## Contents

* 1 Construction and service
* 1.1 Florence No. 6
* 1.2 Florence, No. 1
* 2 End of service
* 3 See also
* 4 References

## Construction and service

Captain William C. Fowler, a Boston pilot of the pilot-boat Florence.

Florence was built in Boston, Massachusetts in 1867 for William C. Fowler, who supervised her construction.[4] She was built from a model by the noted Boston builder and designer, Dennison J. Lawlor, at the Lawlor shipyard of East Boston. She had a shallow-draft, whose keel is not far below the waterline. The sister pilot boats, Pet and Phantom, were built on this model by Dennison J. Lawlor, in 1868-1869 for the New York pilots.[5]

Florence was registered with the Record of American and Foreign Shipping, from 1881-1898, to William C. Fowler as the Captain and E. Bruce as the owner. Her hailing port was Boston. Records indicate that she was 68.6 feet long and weighed 50-tons.[1]

### Florence No. 6

From 1879 to 1889, the Boston pilot-boat Florence, had the number 6 painted on her mainsail. On May 2, 1879, a Boston pilot on board the Florence, No. 6 went to court against the steamship USS Asa H Joolun, vs. Alfrea A. Nickerson. The master on the steamship refused to accept his services.[6]

On August 4, 1882, the pilot-boat Florence, No. 6, was on a cruise with Captain Fowler and several other pilots. They left Lewis Wharf, with a view of the Boston harbor. Her cabin had ground glass in the doors bearing the name, Florence.[2]

The pilot-boat Florence, No. 6 was taken out of commission for the winter, on December 21, 1889, and was berthed at Cape Ann northeastern Massachusetts.[7]

### Florence, No. 1

Pilot Boat Florence No 1, c. 1895.

By 1893, the number on her mainsail change to No. 1. On 1893, Captain James H. Reid, on the Piot-boat Florence No. 1, picked up wreckage from a vessel named Plymouth, off Highland Light on the Cape Cod National Seashore in North Truro, Massachusetts. The debris included a trunk containing a vest, other apparel, and cabin fittings.[8]

On April 5, 1896, during a storm, the uninsured pilot-boat Florence No. 1, was driven ashore on the Sandy Cove beach, at Little Brewster Island in the [Boston Harbor Islands. Pilot James Reid, Jr., son of Captain James H. Reid, the commander and owner of the Florence, was the only pilot aboard. The rest of the crew were safe and returned to the boat to save her.[3]

## End of service

In June 1897, Captain James H. Reid's pilot-boat Florence, No. 1 was at the National dock in East Boston when it was sold to Portland, Maine parties, who used her on fishing and yachting excursions. Reid launched the new America, No. 1, on April 19, 1897, from the John Bishop shipyard.[9]

## See also

* List of Northeastern U. S. Pilot Boats

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Record of American and Foreign Shipping 1881". Mystic Seaport Museum. https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l0179721881/438/.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Cruising In A Pilot Boat.". Boston Post (Boston, Massachusetts). 4 Aug 1882. https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-post-aug-04-1882-p-1/.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Florence Ashore. Pilot Boat No. 1 Driven on Sandy Cove Beach.". Boston Post (Boston, Massachusetts): p. 7. 5 Apr 1896. https://www.newspapers.com/image/72133393/?terms="Pilot Boat Florence" Reid&match=1.
4. ↑ "On The Hesper. Cruise of a Prim Pilot Boat.". The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts): p. 17. 30 Jun 1889. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76797670/florence/.
5. ↑ Chapelle, Howard I. (1960). "The National Watercraft Collection". United States National Museum, Bulletin 219. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. p. 90. https://books.google.com/books?id=WrcmAQAAIAAJ&q=half+model+of+Florence.
6. ↑ "Boston Post Court Record.". Boston Post (Boston, Massachusetts). 26 Jan 1880. https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-post-jan-26-1880-p-4/.
7. ↑ "Marine Notes.". The Boston Daily Globe (Boston, Massachusetts): p. 5. 21 Dec 1889. https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-dec-21-1889-p-5.
8. ↑ "Along The Water Front.". Boston Post (Boston, Massachusetts): p. 2. 29 Aug 1893. https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-post-aug-29-1893-p-2/.
9. ↑ "Along The Water Front.". Boston Sunday Post (Boston, Massachusetts): p. 7. 13 Jun 1897. https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-sunday-post-jun-13-1897-p-6/.

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