Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 123 (top).
Navette was a pretty amazing boat. Both of her original triple expansion steam engines have survived, one at Mystic Seaport, the other at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. The had been bought in 1938 by Paul Hammond and donated to the Webb Institute.
Name: Navette
Type: Steam commuter
Designed by: NGH
Contract: 1916-9-2
Launch: 1917-3-24
LOA: 114' 2" (34.80m)
LWL: 106' 6" (32.46m)
Beam: 14' 3.25" (4.35m)
Draft: 3' 6.5" (1.08m)
Propulsion: Steam, Herreshoff, 2 engines, 9" Stroke, Triple exp., 3 cyl. (6 1/4" & 10" & 16" diam.); 2 [engines]
Boiler: [Plan]43-72
Propeller: Diameter 36", Pitch 54", 3 bl. R.H. #10979 L.H.#10971 [2 propellers]
Built for: Morgan, J. Pierpont
Note(s) in HMCo Construction Record: Mr. J. P. Morgan.
Last year in existence: 2000s
Final disposition: Under water in Caloosahatchee River in La Belle, Florida
"... 1917 when Captain Nat designed the last of his high-speed steam yachts, although as a matter of fact she was not particularly high speed. This was 'Navette,' length, one hundred and fourteen feet, beam, fourteen feet three inches, built for J. P. Morgan, the son of the J. P. who had owned 'Columbia.' 'Navette' was twin screw and had rather a flat, wide stern; her construction plan is shown in Figure 44. Mr. Morgan used her in commuting between Long Island and New York City up until about 1931, and I think she was the last of the steam commuters. She was not designed as much for speed as some of Captain Nat's previous steamers, but she did have good accommodations for her crew. She had a large, roomy after cockpit and, of course, was a safe, reliable and quiet craft. As Mr. Morgan had used the Her-reshoff-built steamer 'Mermaid' for this purpose before, I think I am right in saying he commuted between his home on Long Island and New York City during the summer months for some twenty-five years in these two Herreshoff yachts." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. The Wizard of Bristol. The Life and Achievements of Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, together with An Account of Some of the Yachts he Designed. New York, 1953, p. 246.)
"NAVETTE
by Rebecca C. Herreshoff
Yachts built at the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company have sailed to the far corners of the oceans; even today many are seen in quite unexpected environs. Never, however, have I been more surprised than upon viewing the 114 foot Herreshoff steam commuter NAVETTE tucked away in a remote canal of inland Florida. The years have taken their toll, but NAVETTE is still a magnificent reminder of earlier affluent times. We made a most interesting December visit aboard NAVETTE as guests of the Warren family in LaBelle, Florida.
NAVETTE (French for 'shuttle') was built at the shop in 1917 for Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. She is an elegant, lean craft built for speed. Her original power plant was a specially built pair of triple expansion steam engines using steam from a high capacity coal fired boiler. Mr. Morgan commuted daily from his Centre Island estate, through Long Island Sound and the East River to Wall Street.
With her high speed, easy motion, sumptuous dining salon, and aft elliptical cockpit, NAVETTE had to be the world's best way to commute to work. J. P. Morgan was proud of his yacht; the Warrens related a story concerning the fact that only once did another craft power pass the NAVETTE. Mr. Morgan was aghast and ordered his engineer to pile on all steam --- NAVETTE accelerated and very soon swept past the offending yacht --- in so doing NAVETTE's stern wave climbed aboard the other boat drenching her owner in the stern sheets.
Following her distinguished early career, NAVETTE was stored for a number of years at the Fife Shipyard in Hempstead, New York. In 1938, Paul Hammond, a good friend of the Herreshoffs, bought NAVETTE's steam engines with the idea of using them in a new boat. At the same time the yacht including the boiler was purchased by Edward Christopher Warren, inventor of the Warren Steam Engine. Mr. Warren, himself a distinguished marine engineer, used NAVETTE as a test vehicle for his own engines.
He and certain of his ten children lived aboard. Marjorie Warren, one of the sister's presently residing on the NAVETTE, recalls how during World War II they found themselves without a licensed engineer. At the urging of the steam inspectors who had witnessed her proficiency with engines, Marjorie Warren passed all the required exams to become the first female licensed chief steam engineer in the United States. Sister Dorothy, who also lives aboard now, became master of the NAVETTE.
While Marjorie and her brother George, (who presently lives by the NAVETTE) worked in an engineering firm, the NAVETTE lay at the World's Fair Marina in New York. Later, the Warrens and their yacht gradually moved south, spending time at St. Simon's Island and other places along the way. It seems that George and his sisters have been afloat most of their lives aboard various large Warren Yachts everywhere from British Columbia to Florida. Consequently, it did not seem to them at all strange to take their large impressive Herreshoff 'launch' to the remote reaches of Lake Okeechobee --- to LaBelle where they have enjoyed NAVETTE for the last 25 years.
NAVETTE's principal dimensions are: LOA 114' 2", LWL 106' 6", Beam 14' 3 1/4", and Draft 3' 6 1/2". Being thus long and lean, she is able to be easily driven to high speed. Her light, but strong, Herreshoff construction was, of course, important to the performance of NAVETTE as was the refined design of her steam machinery.
With originally the crew quarters forward and a raised steering station amidships, much of the mid-length of NAVETTE was taken up by machinery spaces. The galley and dining salon were next aft and form part of the space in which the Warren sisters live today. Their sitting room and bedroom are under a shelter added over Mr. Morgan's large aft cockpit. Here the Warrens enjoy 'all the comforts of home'. A stove and cooking utensils, a writing desk, easy chairs, television and comfortable berths are located port and stbd. aft. It was very pleasant to observe the great pleasure that the Warrens derive from their prized old Herreshoff yacht, NAVETTE." (Source: Herreshoff Marine Museum Chronicle, Spring 1982, p. 1.)
