DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

   In 1901, Manhattan businessman John Rogers Maxwell Sr. commissioned the construction of a luxury steam yacht. Laid down in November of that year at the Pusey & Jones Company shipyard in Wilmington, Delaware, Yard No. 306 was constructed with a steel hull, twin masts, and single funnel. She measured 186 feet (56.7 m) in overall length, with a beam of 24 feet (7.3 m), a depth of 12.5 feet (3.8 m), and a height of 25 feet (7.6 m) from the keel to top of the deckhouse.

 

   The yacht was originally equipped with a four-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engine, supplied by two Almy water-tube coal-fired boilers. These boilers were installed along the outer hull of the engine room, one on each side of the vessel, and delivered steam directly to the engine. This machinery produced a total of 1,200 shaft horsepower, allowing the vessel to maintain a cruising speed of 15 knots. A total of 42 tons of coal could be accommodated in two dedicated bunkers located on the lower deck.

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Construction progressed quickly, and within five months the vessel was complete. On April 12, 1902, Yard No. 306 was launched and christened as the SS Celt.

Service History
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