The Idler was a 19th-century American schooner-yacht built in 1864. Designed by naval architect Samuel Hartt Pook and constructed in Fairhaven, Connecticut, she became one of the fastest yachts in the New York yachting fleet of her era and competed in the 1870 America's Cup.
Construction
The Idler was designed by Samuel Hartt Pook and built in the summer of 1864, either by F. Colgate or Joshua Brown in Fairhaven, Connecticut. According to the Record of American and Foreign Shipping, her original dimensions were approximately 95.7 feet (29.2 m) in length, 22.6 feet (6.9 m) in breadth of beam, 11 feet (3.4 m) in depth of hold, and 85 gross tons (Thames Measurement). She was a centreboard, schooner-rigged yacht.
Her accommodations included a large lounge, four private staterooms, several storerooms and closets, and a galley, pantry, and large icebox forward of the lounge. The Idler had a flush deck, was painted black, and was noted for her sleek lines. She required a crew of eight and was designed to handle heavy weather.
Racing career
The Idler was first owned by railroad magnate Thomas C. Durant. She raced in numerous New York Yacht Club (NYYC) regattas in the late 1860s and early 1870s, winning the annual June NYYC regatta in 1869 and again in 1870.
1870 America's Cup
On August 8, 1870, the Idler competed in the America's Cup race (also called the Queen's Cup) held at New York Harbor — the first America's Cup hosted in the United States. The race was won by Franklin Osgood's Magic, with the Idler finishing in second place among 17 competitors, which included the English challenger Cambria and the American yachts Dauntless, Fleetwing, Phantom, and America.
In June 1871, the Idler won the Cape May Challenge Cup sponsored by New York Herald publisher James Gordon Bennett Jr.
Later ownership and modifications
In December 1872, Durant sold the Idler to Samuel J. Colgate, a soap and toothpaste manufacturer. Colgate had the yacht rebuilt in March 1873 at the Henry Steers shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, lengthening her by approximately 8 feet (2.4 m) and heightening her topmasts to carry more sail. Under Colgate's ownership, the Idler achieved numerous victories, including the Brenton's Reef Challenge Cup in 1876 and repeated wins of the Cape May Challenge Cup. Her centreboard was removed in early 1877.
In April 1879, the Idler was purchased by Archibald J. Fisher, a grain merchant of Illinois, for $24,000. With no other first-class schooner in Chicago at the time, she won the Chicago Yacht Club Cup in 1882 and 1883.
In September 1889, Fisher sold the yacht to John Cudahy, owner of the Cudahy Packing Company, for $10,000. Cudahy had the vessel completely rebuilt, with her cabin refinished in satinwood and rosewood. Under Cudahy, the Idler was used primarily as a pleasure yacht based at Mackinac Island in Lake Huron.
By the late 1890s, the vessel had deteriorated considerably, suffering from dry rot and disrepair, and was used as a club ship and leased to the Illinois Militia as a training vessel.
The Idler disaster
On October 5, 1899, James Corrigan purchased the Idler for about $12,000 and had her refurbished at Fairport Harbor, Ohio, at a cost of approximately $8,000. On July 7, 1900, the yacht capsized in a squall on Lake Erie off Cleveland, killing six members of the family of the co-owners John A. and James C. Corrigan. The only survivors were Captain Charles Joseph Holmes, Mrs. John Corrigan, and six crewmen. The event came to be known as the "Idler disaster."
The vessel was partially raised and towed to Cleveland, then later moved to Fairport. An initial plan to rebuild her as a steam-powered vessel was abandoned in 1901. In March 1904, an ice jam on the Grand River broke the Idler free and took her out onto Lake Erie, where lake ice pierced the hull and she sank. The wreck was later dismantled and removed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Legacy
The Idler remains notable as one of the fastest American racing yachts of the post-Civil War period and for her participation in the 1870 America's Cup. Her tragic sinking in 1900 is recorded as one of the more notable yachting disasters in Great Lakes maritime history.
