The golden century : classic motor yachts, 1830-1930 / Ross MacTaggart.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

MacTaggart, Ross.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Yachts--History.

Yachts.

History.

Physical Description:

296 pages : illustrations ; 29 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : W.W. Norton, 2000.

Summary:

For a brief moment in history, the world witnessed an outpouring of extraordinary creations: grand motor yachts rivaling (and often surpassing) great mansions in both the luxury and the quality of their workmanship. They were graced with unimaginably lavish interiors, and required fortunes to build and maintain. Often with dramatic clipper bows, sweeping counter sterns, raked masts, and imposing stacks, they were radically different from their modern counterparts.

Motor yachts were commissioned for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, they were playthings of the very rich, millionaires who competed with one another to have the fastest, longest, and most up-to-date vessel. Other millionaires used their yachts to explore a world much more mysterious and unknown than is imaginable today. And some motor yachts were used as private commuters -- the Lear jets of their day -- while smaller vessels were owned by people of "moderate" means, although these yachts were still quite luxurious.

The history of sailing yachts has been recounted often, but motor yachts, although far more popular in their day, have been largely neglected. This book is a loving look at these creations, beginning in 1830, when the first private motor yacht was commissioned. This historic occasion marked the first time that a person, not the wind, controlled a water-borne schedule. Motor yachts gained enormous popularity beginning in the 1880s, an era that witnessed financier Jay Gould's dashing Atalanta, Sir Thomas Lipton's famed Erin, and the remarkable Lysistrata, owned by the notorious James Gordon Bennett and liberally decorated with -- of all things -- owls. Close to 260 stunning black-and-white images, most never previously published, reveal these yachts in all their palatial splendor. Here Ross MacTaggart recreates this remarkable era, the men and women who commissioned these grand vessels, and the designers and builders who created them.

Contents:

The Design of Motor Yachts, 1830-1930

Outboard Profiles 20

Sterns 90

Bows 102

Sheer Lines 124

Canvas 136

A Question of Color 140

Masts 156

Hardware 160

Comfort 166

A Personal Odyssey

An Early Influence 172

The Hunt Begins 174

The Hunt Continues 192

A Sleeping Beauty 204

Commuters 212

Woodlove 230

A Rotting Menagerie 240

A Yacht's Life 258

Hatching a Plan 270

Can These Yachts Be Saved? 276.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0393049493

OCLC:

44420583