Chauncey Vibbard, often abbreviated as C. Vibbard or just Vibbard, was a steamboat built in New York in 1864 for passenger service on the Hudson River

Hudson River

The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

. The first steamboat built specifically for what later became the Hudson River Day Line, Chauncey Vibbard quickly established herself as the fastest steamboat on the river, if not the world, with a record run from New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 to Albany

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

 in 1864. Her popularity was such that after only two years of service she was lengthened to accommodate more passengers.

Chauncey Vibbard was lengthened again in 1872, but in spite of these alterations, continued to set a variety of new speed records on the Hudson until at least 1876. In 1880, she was given another major rebuild. In 1890, after 26 years' service on the Hudson, Chauncey Vibbard was sold to the Lincoln Steamboat Company, which ran her as an excursion steamer between Philadelphia and Lincoln Park. Laid up in 1900, she was broken up in 1902, having accumulated some 36 years of service.

Construction and design

After purchasing the steamboats Armenia and Daniel Drew in 1863 and running them on the Hudson for a number of months, Alfred Van Santvoord decided to build a new steamboat to operate in conjunction with Daniel Drew. Accordingly, a steamboat "with the same general arrangements and appearance" as Daniel Drew was ordered from the Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 shipyard of Lawrence & Foulks

Lawrence & Foulks

Lawrence & Foulks was a 19th-century American shipbuilding company based in New York. Established in the early 1850s, the company built 144 vessels of all types over the course of some fifty years, but is best known for its production of high-speed wooden-hulled steamboats and steamships...

. Completed in early 1864, the new steamer was named Chauncey Vibbard after the prominent railroad executive

Chauncey Vibbard

Chauncey Vibbard was a U.S. Representative from New York during the American Civil War.-Biography:Born in Galway, New York, Vibbard attended the common schools and was graduated from Mott's Academy for Boys, Albany, New York.He served as clerk in a wholesale grocery store in Albany, New York.He...

, who at the time was one of Van Santvoord's partners.

When completed, Chauncey Vibbard had a length of 265 feet, a beam

Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...

 of 35 feet, a hold depth of 9 feet 6 inches, and a tonnage of 794 tons. She was powered by a single cylinder

Cylinder (engine)

A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...

 vertical beam steam engine

Steam engine

A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...

 with 55-inch bore and 12-foot stroke. Steam was supplied at a relatively high pressure of about 55 psi

Pounds per square inch

The pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units...

 by two boilers, one on each guard, just aft of the 30-foot diameter paddlewheels. Both engine and boilers were supplied by Fletcher, Harrison & Co. of New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

.

With concave lines forward and convex aft, and an unusually narrow beam for her length, Chauncey Vibbards hull was said "to cut the water as a knife blade, the water only breaking when it hit the paddles." To enhance the smoothness of operation, hull and boilers were carefully balanced to eliminate vibration. With such fine "racer" lines and attention to detail, Chauncey Vibbard would prove capable of a cruising speed of 23 to 25 mph and a top speed of almost 30 mph—sufficient to challenge the fastest steamboats on the Hudson.

According to some sources, Chauncey Vibbards hull was strengthened with high hog frames, typical hull strengthening components of their day. However, Stanton's illustration shows only king posts and iron tie-rods, suggesting that the hog frames were added at a later date, perhaps when the vessel was lengthened. In spite of her speed, Chauncey Vibbard is said to have been one of the most difficult boats to drive into a headwind.

As a day boat, a substantial proportion of Chauncey Vibbards passengers were sightseers rather than travellers. To cater for this clientele, Chauncey Vibbards main saloon was located forward, offering the best possible views of the picturesque scenery of the Hudson. A promenade deck was also installed. Considered of no less importance, perhaps, was the boat's extensive larder—from which it is said almost anything could be ordered. Chauncey Vibbards captain was Dave Hitchcock, a partner of Van Santvoord.

Schedules

After completion, Chauncey Vibbard was placed on the New York to Albany route, working in tandem with the Daniel Drew, while Daniel Drews former partnering vessel, Armenia, was placed in reserve. Chauncey Vibbard was scheduled to leave New York for Albany on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, while her stablemate departed the same port on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The boats departed Debrosses Street, New York on their respective days at 7:00 am, touching at 30th Street, New York, then continuing on to West Point, Newburgh

Newburgh

-Places:Scotland*Newburgh, Fife, a former royal burgh*Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, a village*Newburgh, Borders, a village*Newburgh, Moray, a village*Newburgh, Orkney, a villageEngland*Newburgh, Lancashire, a village*Newburgh, North Yorkshire, a village...

, Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck

Rhinebeck (town), New York

Rhinebeck is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 7,548 at the 2010 census.The Town of Rhinebeck in the northwest part of Dutchess County in the Hudson Valley. Rhinebeck is also the name of a village in the town. US Route 9 passes through the town...

, Catskill

Catskill (town), New York

Catskill is a town in the southeast part of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,775 at the 2010 census. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park....

, Hudson

Hudson, New York

Hudson is a city located along the west border of Columbia County, New York, United States. The city is named after the adjacent Hudson River and ultimately after the explorer Henry Hudson.Hudson is the county seat of Columbia County...

 and Albany. The return journey for each boat was made the following day, departing Hamilton Street, Albany at 9:00 am and arriving at New York about 6:00 pm.

The schedule was arranged in such a way that when one boat was travelling downstream from Albany, the other was travelling upstream from New York. By this means, day travellers could alight at Poughkeepsie, the halfway point, and then return home the same day on the boat travelling in the opposite direction. This was known as the "nine-hour system" as each boat was scheduled to complete the trip between New York and Albany within nine hours. The service was only available from about May to October each year, with the boats being laid up for renovation during the winter months.

Early service and new record, 1864–65

Chauncey Vibbard made her maiden voyage, from New York to Albany, on June 20, 1864. The same year, the vessel made the passage from New York to Albany in 6 hours 42 minutes, shaving eight minutes off the previous best time, set by her stablemate Daniel Drew in 1862. With a top speed of almost 30 mph in favorable conditions, Chauncey Vibbard was soon being spoken of as not just the fastest steamer on the Hudson, but as probably the fastest in the world.

In September 1865, Chauncey Vibbard made headlines over an incident that occurred on a passage from Albany. Two Kentuckians, who had "not rid themselves of secessionist

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 sentiment", offended other passengers by drunkenly avowing themselves rebels, singing Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 songs and cheering for General Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....

. The incident culminated in one of the two stabbing the chief colored waiter in the chest with a sword cane. Both offenders were jailed for "drunkenness and disorderly conduct" over the incident, and one charged with assault.

Reconstructions, 1865–66, 1871–72

During the winter of 1865–66, Chauncey Vibbard underwent a major rebuild. The hull was cut in half just aft of the paddlewheels in order to lengthen the vessel by 16 feet to 281 feet. A larger engine, a single-cylinder vertical beam with 62-inch bore and 12-foot stroke, designed to operate at a lower boiler pressure of 30 psi, was also installed. These changes, which increased the vessel's tonnage from 794 to 1,181 tons, were designed primarily to increase passenger capacity, but it was hoped that the new engine would allow Chauncey Vibbard to maintain if not improve her speed. Though some experts predicted that the rebuild would adversely affect her performance, Chauncey Vibbard quickly demonstrated otherwise when on June 4, 1866 she made a fast eight way-landing passage from New York to Albany of 7 hours 35 minutes.

In the winter of 1871–72, Chauncey Vibbard was reconstructed a second time. The vessel was lengthened again, this time by about 20 feet, to 300 feet. New boilers, at a cost of $35,000, were also installed, and the interior, including the saloons, staterooms, dining room and ladies' boudoir were remodelled and fitted with new furniture. Total cost of the improvements was $75,000, lifting the vessel's total cost to $275,000. By this time, Vibbards New York departure point had moved to Vestry Street, the departure time being 8:30 am.

Presidential trip and more records, 1870s

A highlight of Chauncey Vibbards career occurred in the 1873 season when President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

 took passage on the vessel from New York to Rhinebeck. Apparently hoping to travel incognito, Grant boarded the steamer with only two companions, General Orville E. Babcock

Orville E. Babcock

Orville Elias Babcock was an American Civil War General in the Union Army. Immediately upon graduating third in his class as United States Military Academy in 1861, Babcock would go onto serve efficiently in the Corps of Engineers throughout the Civil War and was promoted to Brevet Brigadier...

 and an attaché to General George H. Sharpe

George H. Sharpe

George Henry Sharpe was an American lawyer, soldier, secret service officer, diplomat and politician.-Early life:...

, to whose residence the three were travelling before setting out on a sightseeing visit to Overlook Mountain. News of Grant's presence on the steamer quickly spread, however, and Grant soon found himself the subject of "a somewhat inconvenient scrutiny". Arriving at Rhinebeck, a large crowd gathered as Grant waited for the ferry Sandy, pressing forward to shake his hand. The rest of the President's journey was accompanied by cheering crowds, gun salutes, a marching band, the unfurling of flags and banners, and showers of flowers strewn along the route.

In 1875, Chauncey Vibbard broke the nine-landing speed record between New York and Albany by ten minutes, a record set 40 years earlier by the steamer South America.

Chauncey Vibbards captain, Dave Hitchcock, still hoped for an opportunity to establish a new outright record. It came in early 1876, when Chauncey Vibbard was scheduled to be sent to Albany for repainting prior to the opening of the regular season, allowing for a direct passage from New York uninterrupted by way-landings. Chauncey Vibbard accordingly departed New York at 5:20 am on April 18, bearing a party of excursionists who had been promised the fastest steamboat ride they had ever experienced. They were not to be disappointed; in spite of less than ideal conditions, Chauncey Vibbard arrived at her Albany pier at 11:40 am, setting a new record time of 6 hours 20 minutes, eclipsing her own previous record of 6 hours 42 minutes, set a dozen years earlier, by no less than 22 minutes.

Accidents

Chauncey Vibbards 26-year career on the Hudson was to remain remarkably free of accidents. The steamer was involved in a tragedy in 1876 however, when on August 30, while entering the slip at the foot of 24th Street, North River, about 6 pm, she collided with a small boat which crossed her bows. The two young men in the boat were thrown into the water, and one of them, an 18-year-old named William Koster, went missing and was presumed drowned.

Chauncey Vibbard suffered a rare mechanical breakdown on Monday, August 5, 1878, on a trip from Albany. Approaching the Poughkeepsie landing, her starboard paddleshaft broke. Her 400 passengers and their baggage were disembarked at Poughkeepsie, and a special train commissioned to enable them to complete their journey. Temporary repairs were meanwhile made to Chauncey Vibbard, allowing her to complete the passage to New York at a slow speed, where she arrived about 10 pm. Damage was estimated at between $2,000 and $2,500, and Chauncey Vibbard was laid up at the foot of 22nd Street New York for the installation of a new shaft, which was expected to take no more than a few days. To replace her during the repairs, the reserve steamer Armenia was quickly readied for service, a task which included the transfer of Chauncey Vibbards bar fixtures and furniture. This breakdown was the first time in 13 years of service that Chauncey Vibbard had missed a scheduled trip.

Rebuild, reserve status and sale, 1880–1890

In the late 1870s, the Hudson River Day Line decided to replace the ageing Daniel Drew with a new steamboat. The new vessel, named Albany, debuted in 1880. Prior to the opening of the 1880 season, the company also decided to give Chauncey Vibbard another rebuild. The steamer's hog frames were removed, along with the boilers on the guards, which were replaced with three boilers in the hull, their three smokestacks running in a line athwartships in the same configuration as that of Albany. These changes not only radically altered Chauncey Vibbards appearance, they also lost the fine balance between hull and boilers achieved by the original designers. However, they had the advantage of allowing the builders to "almost double" her passenger accommodations.

As late as 1881, Chauncey Vibbard was still being touted by the U.S. press as one of the three fastest boats on the Hudson, and as one of the four fastest in the world (the others named as the Hudson River steamers Albany, Mary Powell and Daniel Drew).

In late 1886, the Day Line's spare boat, Daniel Drew, was destroyed in a dockyard fire, prompting the company to order a new steamer. The new vessel, named New York, entered service in 1887, at which time Chauncey Vibbard became the Line's reserve boat. On July 30, 1890, after 26 years on the Hudson, Chauncey Vibbard was sold to Alfred B. Stoney of Keyport, New Jersey, for operation on the Delaware River

Delaware River

The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...

.

Later career, 1890–1902

On August 5, 1890, Chauncey Vibbards new owner, Alfred B. Stoney, transferred ownership of the vessel to his Lincoln Steamboat Company. For the next ten years, the vessel operated as an excursion steamer, running from Philadelphia to Lincoln Park, an amusement resort on the Delaware located between Philadelphia and Chester

Chester, Pennsylvania

Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...

. Toward the end of this period, in the service of the Everard Steamboat Company, apparently a reorganization of the previous company, she was also used for frequent excursions to Cape May

Cape May

Cape May is a peninsula and island ; the southern tip of the island is the southernmost point of the state of New Jersey, United States. It runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean...

, and occasionally to the fishing grounds outside the Capes.

In 1899, a "Peace Jubilee" celebrating the end of the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

took place, which included a naval parade on the Hudson, with Chauncey Vibbard as one of the participants. On the day of the parade, crowded with celebrity passengers, Chauncey Vibbard began leaking badly and was hastily beached on a sandbar. Not long thereafter, in 1900, Chauncey Vibbard was laid up by her proprietors. She was broken up at Cramer's Hill in 1902.