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''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. 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 to Albany 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''.〔("Formation of the Day Line - 1860s" ), Hudson River Maritime Museum website.〕〔Morrison, pp. 130-132.〕 Accordingly, a steamboat "with the same general arrangements and appearance" as ''Daniel Drew''〔("Hudson River Day Line 1860 to 1880" ), Hudson River Maritime Museum website.〕 was ordered from the Williamsburg, New York shipyard of Lawrence & Foulks.〔〔〔Heyl, Vol. 3, pp. 65-67.〕 Completed in early 1864, the new steamer was named ''Chauncey Vibbard'' after the prominent railroad executive, who at the time was one of Van Santvoord's partners.〔〔 When completed, ''Chauncey Vibbard'' had a length of 265 feet, a beam of 35 feet, a hold depth of 9 feet 6 inches, and a tonnage of 794 tons. She was powered by a single cylinder vertical beam steam engine with 55-inch bore and 12-foot stroke. Steam was supplied at a relatively high pressure of about 55 psi by two boilers, one on each guard, just aft of the 30-foot diameter paddlewheels.〔〔〔Ryder, F. Van Loon: ("Chauncey Vibbard: 1860–1900" ), ''Greene County News'', 1965-02-11, as reproduced at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com.〕 Both engine and boilers were supplied by Fletcher, Harrison & Co. of New Jersey.〔〔("A Model Steamboat" ), ''Scientific American'', New Series, Vol. 11, Issue 22, p. 339, 1864-11-26.〕 With concave lines forward and convex aft, and an unusually narrow beam for her length, ''Chauncey Vibbard''s 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 Vibbard''s 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 Vibbard''s passengers were sightseers rather than travellers. To cater for this clientele, ''Chauncey Vibbard''s 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 Vibbard''s captain was Dave Hitchcock,〔Allison, p. 242.〕 a partner of Van Santvoord. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「PS Chauncey Vibbard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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