USS Calabash (SP-108)

USS Calabash (SP-108) was a civilian motor yacht that served in the 7th Naval District as an armed patrol boat in the United States Navy during July and August 1917.[1][2] Apparently found unsuitable for naval service, Calabash served for less than a month before being decommissioned and returned to her owner in August 1917.[1]

Calabash in a Florida harbor as a civilian motorboat sometime between 1912 and 1917.
History
United States
Name: USS Calabash
Namesake: Previous name retained
Owner: William John Matheson
Yard number: 24
Completed: 1912
Acquired: 25 July 1917
Commissioned: 25 July 1917
Decommissioned: August 1917
Fate: Returned to owner August 1917
Notes: Operated as private motorboat Calabash 1912-1917 and from 1917
General characteristics
Type: Section patrol vessel
Tonnage: 64 GRT
Length: 66 ft (20 m)
Beam: 66.7 ft (20.3 m)
Depth: 8.1 ft (2.5 m)

Calabash was built in 1912 by Mathis Shipbuilding Company at Camden, New Jersey for William John Matheson of New York and Coconut Grove, Florida.[3] The vessel was of a type described as "houseboat" built by Mathis and others and was Mathis hull number 24, assigned official number 210659 and signal letters LCQG on registration.[3][4][5] The vessel's registration shows 64 GRT, length 66 ft (20 m), breadth 66.7 ft (20.3 m), depth 8.1 ft (2.5 m)[note 1] and home port of Miami.[5]

Calabash was based at the Matheson estate where he experimented with planting, particularly coconuts, and built "Mashta House" where Matheson, as Commodore of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club frequently entertained guests gathering by boat.[6][7] The original house is now gone, but the harbor that was home port for Calabash and temporary port for other Matheson vessels when in Florida remains.[8][9] The Chowder Party was an annual event hosted by Matheson that attracted a fleet of visiting boats.[10]

The U.S. Navy acquired 'Calabash on 25 July 1917 for use as a section patrol vessel during World War I. She was commissioned the same day as USS Calabash (SP-108).[11] By August 1917 three of Matheson's yachts were in government service: Marpessa, Calabash, and Coco.[12]

Footnotes
  1. "Depth" is not "draft" but a different measure. This type of "cruiser houseboat" was designed with fairly shallow draft.

References
  1. Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images (no longer exists at NHHC) (19 November 2004). "Calabash (American Motor Boat, 1912). Briefly served as USS Calabash (SP-108) in 1917". Naval History And Heritage Command (copy preserved ibiblio.org). Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  2. Naval History And Heritage Command. "Calabash". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  3. Colton, Tim (6 June 2018). "Mathis Yacht Building, Camden and Gloucester City NJ". ShipbuildingHistory. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  4. Mathis Yacht Building Company (25 March 1922). "At Home Everywhere — In Florida — on the Lakes — along the New England Coast — Mathis Built Houseboats". Motor Boat. Vol. 9 no. 6. p. 77.
  5. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation (1920). Forty Second Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States; Part VI. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 104. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  6. Wilkinson, Jerry. "Life and Times of William John Matheson". Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  7. Bristol, Bob. "History of the Island of Key Biscayne". Village of Key Biscayne. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  8. "$60 Million Key Biscayne Home Has Private Harbor, Could Break Record (comparison photos)". The Next Miami. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  9. Taylor, Candice (2014). "A Florida Home on Private Peninsula Will List for $60 Million". The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 5, 2014). Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  10. "The Annual Chowder Party at Miami". Motor Boat. Vol. 14 no. 6. 25 March 1917. p. 13. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  11. "NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: Calabash (SP 108)". NavSource. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  12. "Yachts in Government Service". The Rudder. Vol. 33 no. 8. August 1917. p. 558. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
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