Nation United States Skippers Hank Haff Launched 1887 Yacht club New York Yacht Club Designer Edward Burgess | Fate Broken up in 1910 Displacement 130 tons Length 33 m Sail area 8,981 sq ft (834.4 m2) | |
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Builder Pusey & Jones Shipbuilding Company Owner(s) General Charles J. Paine Place built Wilmington, Massachusetts, United States Notable victories 1887 defender trials; 1887 America's Cup | ||
Volunteer was an American racing yacht built in 1887 for the America's Cup races. It was the victorious American defender of the seventh America's Cup match that same year against Scottish challenger Thistle.
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Design
Volunteer, a centerboard compromise sloop, was designed by Edward Burgess and built by Pusey & Jones Shipbuilding Company at Wilmington, Delaware in 1887 for owner General Charles J. Paine of the New York Yacht Club.
Volunteer was the first America's Cup yacht with an all steel frame and hull. Her deck was made of white pine.
Career
Volunteer easily beat the 1886 America's Cup defender Mayflower during the defender trials for the 1887 America's Cup and won both Cup races on September 27 and 30, 1887, against Thistle. Volunteer was skippered by Captain Hank Haff with the assistance of Captains Terry, Berry and L. Jeffreys.
Soon after the Cup races, Volunteer was bought by John Malcolm Forbes (who also owned Puritan) and was altered as a schooner in 1891. It was broken up at a New York junkyard in 1910.