George Steers
Encyclopedia
George Steers was a designer of yachts best known for the famous racing yacht America
America (yacht)
The America was a 19th century racing yacht that was the first to win the eponymous international sailing trophy now known as the America's Cup; in 1851 the trophy was known as the Royal Yacht Squadron's "One Hundred Guinea Cup", but was later renamed after the original winning yacht...

. He founded a shipyard with his brother, George Steers and Co
George Steers and Co
-James and George Steers shipyard:In 1850, James Rich Steers and George Steers started the George Steers & Co. inheriting from a naval architecture tradition. The father Henry Steers was already a naval architect in England.. The company was located in Greenpoint, Long Island, New York.They...

, and died in an accident just as he was landing a major contract to build boats for the Russian Czar.

Early life

George Steers was born in Washington D.C., USA, in 1815. His father, Henry Steers
Henry Steers
Henry Steers was connected the Construction Department of the Royal Naval Dockyards at Plymouth till 1815. He got two sons James and George, well known for building many ships in Greenpoint, Long Island, New York.-Isle of Guernsey:...

, was engaged as Naval Constructor for the U.S. Government.When his father moved to New York in 1817, George was 2 years old.

George never learned the trade of ship carpenter, but rather built vessels based on the design concepts he worked out for himself in his youth, growing up as a shipbuilder's son. He became a journeyman for William H. Brown, in whose service he assisted in building the Arctic and another of the Collins steamers.

Designer of famous racing yacht America

Between 1841 and 1850, Steers built many yachts which were well known in their day. In 1850 he formed the firm George & James R. Steers
George Steers and Co
-James and George Steers shipyard:In 1850, James Rich Steers and George Steers started the George Steers & Co. inheriting from a naval architecture tradition. The father Henry Steers was already a naval architect in England.. The company was located in Greenpoint, Long Island, New York.They...

  with his brother.

George Steers is perhaps best known as the designer of the most famous racing yacht of all time, the schooner yacht America
America (yacht)
The America was a 19th century racing yacht that was the first to win the eponymous international sailing trophy now known as the America's Cup; in 1851 the trophy was known as the Royal Yacht Squadron's "One Hundred Guinea Cup", but was later renamed after the original winning yacht...

, for which the 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...

 is named. No doubt influenced by the ship designs of fellow New Yorker John W Griffiths
John W. Griffiths
John Willis Griffiths was an American naval architect who designed the first true clipper ship.His first ship, the Rainbow, was viewed with shock as a difference in design, until she made the round trip from New York to Canton in 180 days instead of the normal year.-Books and...

, the aptly named America established the superiority of American naval architecture
Naval architecture
Naval architecture is an engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction, maintenance and operation of marine vessels and structures. Naval architecture involves basic and applied research, design, development, design evaluation and calculations during all stages of the life of a...

 of the day.

He also built one full-sized ship, the clipper ship
Clipper
A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...

 Sunny South
Sunny South (clipper)
Sunny South, an extreme clipper, was the only full-sized sailing ship built by George Steers, and resembled his famous sailing yacht America, with long sharp entrance lines and a slightly concave bow. Initially, she sailed in the California and Brazil trades...

, which was sold to foreign owners after a voyage around Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...

 to San Francisco, and captured in the Mozambique Channel
Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel is a portion of the Indian Ocean located between the island nation of Madagascar and southeast Africa, primarily the country of Mozambique. It was a World War II clashpoint during the Battle of Madagascar...

 in 1860 with a cargo of over 800 slaves.

Landed a large contract, but died young

On the 25th of September, 1856, George Steers, while driving a pair of horses to Glen Cove, Long Island, in order to bring home (91 Cannon St.) his wife, who had been visiting, was thrown from his wagon and mortally wounded. He was only 37 years old. He had just negotiated for $1,000,000 worth of boats for the Czar of Russia. He left a son behind him.

His last ship was the .

A procession of 800 citizens was followed by lodges of the Masonic Order, including the Mariner's Lodge (400 men), and 70 carriages of friends and relatives.

Further reading

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