Mayflower was the victorious U.S. defender of the sixth 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...

 in 1886 against English challenger Galatea

Galatea (yacht)

"Galatea" was the unsuccessful British challenger of the sixth America's Cup race in 1886 against American defender "Mayflower".-Design:Galatea, a keel cutter, was designed by John Beavor-Webb and built in 1885 for owner Lieutenant William Henn, R.N...

.

Design

The sloop Mayflower was the second 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 designed by Edward "Ned " Burgess, built by 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...

 and launched in 1886 for owner General Charles J. Paine

Charles Jackson Paine

Charles Jackson Paine was an American railroad executive, soldier, and yachtsman who was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...

 of Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

. It was built entirely of wood: oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

 and hard pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

.
It was skippered by Martin V.B. Stone.

Career

In the trials, Mayflower defeated the yachts Puritan

Puritan (yacht)

Puritan was the 1885 America's Cup defender.-Design:She was built at the George Lawley & Son yard in Boston, Massachusetts and launched May 26, 1885....

(Edward Burgess

Edward Burgess

Edward Burgess was an American yacht designer, born June 30, 1848 in West Sandwich, Massachusetts.Edward is fifth son of Benjamin Franklin Burgess and Cordelia Williams Ellis. The Burgess family were merchants who made their money in the West Indies trade and lost it in 1879...

' first victorious Cup defender), Priscilla, and Atlantic, and was subsequently selected to defend the 1886 Cup.

By 1889 the 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....

 had been purchased by F. Townsend Underhill, who had it altered to become a schooner. In 1905 Lady Eva Barker bought the vessel and outfitted it with an engine. She chartered it to adventurer Guy Hamilton Scull in 1908 on an expedition seeking the treasure of a sunk Spanish galleon off Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

. Mayflower was sunk itself off Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 in a hurricane during this expedition, and the crew rescued by passing steamers.

Specifications

• Overall length: 30.55 m
• Length at water line: 26.06 m
• 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): 7.19 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...
  
  : 3.00 m (centerboard up); 6.10 m (centerboard down)
• 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...
  
  : 110 tons
• Sail area: 774 m²