SPRITELY RETURN

The decade after the American market crash of 1929 was undoubtedly tough on the yachting industry. Even the venerable Herreshoff Manufacturing Company (HMCo) in Bristol, Rhode Island, saw a sharp decline in new orders. With a few notable exceptions, the construction of new sailboats continued sluggishly, the majority of contracts being 12½s, S-Boats, and smaller racing dinghies. In comparison, the building of new power yachts ceased almost completely, with less than two dozen built throughout the 1930s; many of those smaller launches.

One of the few motor yachts built during this period was , a 46ft (14m) power cruiser style yacht for William E Woodard of New York in 1931. Woodard (1873-1942) was an accomplished mechanical engineer who specialised in steam engine technology. Throughout his career, Woodard established more than 90 patents in North America and Europe while he was employed by some of the larger locomotive companies of the time. His final position was with Lima Locomotive Works, where he developed the A-1 – later known as the Berkshire – locomotive. This new steam engine proved to be a great advance in steam