The Golden Age of Yachting

"One of the things I remember about the large steam yachts was their characteristic and delightful odor. If you passed under the stern or close to leeward of one of them you smelled the combined odor of the new varnish, linseed oil, brass polish, Havana cigars and champagne, all mingled with engine room smells and the slight odor of teak and other exotic woods, to say nothing of the burned gasses of the naphtha launches. To a sailor this combination was delightful." - L. Francis Herreshoff

Electra of 1884 was 174 ft and weighed 316 tons. She was the flagship of the New York Yacht Club from 1886 to 1892. Electra came out at the beginning of the electric era and she was completely illuminated with incandescent lights.

- Lloyd Cooper