Puritan was the 1885 America's Cup

America's Cup

The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...

 defender.

Design

She was built at the George Lawley & Son

George Lawley & Son

George Lawley & Son was a shipbuilding firm operating in Massachusetts from 1866 to 1945. It began in Scituate, then moved to Boston. After founder George Lawley retired in 1890, his son, grandson and great-grandson upheld the business, which continued until 1945...

 yard in Boston, Massachusetts and launched May 26, 1885.

Puritan was an early combination of American and English designs with some of the depth of an cutter but beam and power of a sloop

Sloop

A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....

. It was built and skippered by John Malcom Forbes.

Career

She defeated the New York club's Priscilla then went on to defend the cup against Genesta

Genesta (yacht)

Genesta was the unsuccessful English challenger in the fifth America's Cup in 1885 against the American defender Puritan.-Design:The cutter Genesta was designed by John Beavor-Webb and built by the D&W Henderson shipyard on the River Clyde in 1884, for owner Sir Richard Sutton of the Royal Yacht...

, a traditional cutter. Immediately following the contest, they began work on an improved version which would be called the Mayflower

Mayflower (yacht)

Mayflower was the victorious U.S. defender of the sixth America's Cup in 1886 against English challenger Galatea.-Design:The sloop Mayflower was the second America's Cup defender designed by Edward "Ned " Burgess, built by George Lawley & Son and launched in 1886 for owner General Charles J. Paine...

.

Specifications

• Overall length: 94 ft (28.7 m)
• Length at water line: 81 ft 1¹/₂ in
• 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...
  
   (width): 22 in 7 in (6.88 m)
• Draft
  Draft (hull)
  The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
  
  : 8 in 8 in (2.64 m)
• Displacement
  Displacement (fluid)
  In fluid mechanics, displacement occurs when an object is immersed in a fluid, pushing it out of the way and taking its place. The volume of the fluid displaced can then be measured, as in the illustration, and from this the volume of the immersed object can be deduced .An object that sinks...
  
  : 105 tons
• Sail area: 7982 sq ft (741.6 m²)

External links

• America's Cup Official Website for the 32nd America's Cup in Valencia
• 1890s Yacht Photography of J.S. Johnston