USS Sylph (PY-5)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Sylph.
USS Sylph (front center) at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, c. late 1905
History
United States
NameSylph
NamesakeSylph
BuilderJohn Roach & Company, Chester, Pennsylvania
Yard number295[1]
Completed1898
AcquiredJune 1898
Commissioned18 Aug 1898
Decommissioned27 Apr 1929
IdentificationU.S. Official Number: 229468[1]
FateSold 1929, party fishing boat, 1939 ferry. Abandoned Sea Gate, Brooklyn.
General characteristics [2][3]
TypeSteam yacht
Tonnage149 GRT, 101 NRT (1931)[4]
Displacement152 tons
Length
  • 152 ft (46.3 m) (extreme)
  • 123 ft 8 in (37.7 m) (waterline)
  • 136 ft (41.5 m) (registry)[4]
Beam20 ft (6.1 m)
Draft
  • 7 ft 6 in (2.3 m) (Navy)
  • 8 ft 9 in (2.7 m) (builder's)
Depth10 ft 6 in (3.2 m)
Installed power2 Almay boilers. 600 i.h.p.
PropulsionVertical triple expansion steam engine, single screw, at unknown date replaced by diesel
Speed15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Complement3 officers, 32 men
Crew7 (1931 passenger service)
NotesThe steam engine was replaced by a 400hp Worthington diesel engine at a so far undetermined date, though possibly 1935 while in operation as a party fishing boat.[note 1]

USS Sylph (PY-5) was a steel hulled steam yacht that served as a presidential yacht operating from the Washington Navy Yard from the late 19th century through the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. Afterwards the yacht was used by the Secretary of the Navy and Assistant Secretary of the Navy. After decommissioning and sale in 1929 the yacht was used as a party fishing boat in New York and later a ferry. Sometime around 1950 the line went out of business and the vessel was abandoned at a pier at West 37th Street, Sea Gate, Brooklyn (40°34′20.1″N 74°0′08.5″W / 40.572250°N 74.002361°W / 40.572250; -74.002361). The pier and abandoned vessel were reduced by fire and storms to the waterline and wreckage in the sands which still may be exposed by storms.

  1. ^ a b Colton, Tim (October 21, 2013). "Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding & Engine Works". ShipbuildingHistory. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference DANFS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference SDUSN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Merchant Vessels of the United States, Year ended June 30, 1931. Washington, D.C.: Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation. 1931. pp. 174–175. hdl:2027/osu.32435066706813. Retrieved 22 October 2021.


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