When International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) Founder Elizabeth Meyer and IYRS Trustee John Mecray learned of Coronet's existence, they quickly understood this yacht's great value to American history. "[Coronet] has a wonderful history," said Mecray, to viewers of The History Channel. "And to let this boat go would be like saying, 'Let's take the U.S.S. Constitution out and sink her.' This boat must be saved." But the prospect of restoring Coronet soon burgeoned into much more than an ambitious effort to salvage a rare survivor of a vanished era: this project became the spark that lead Meyer and Mecray to envision a unique school that would teach the art and science of restoring classic yachts.

Now situated in the heart of Newport, Rhode Island, on a 2.5-acre waterfront campus, their vision has come to fruition. Today, IYRS draws students from throughout the globe. They study for two years and return home with an education that cannot be matched by any one institution. IYRS and its student body have already restored a diverse fleet of classic boats: Coronet will endure as the flagship of this school.

The restoration work on the 133' Coronet will be done by master shipwrights and advanced IYRS students, working in public view on the IYRS campus on Thames Street. Below are more details on the process of bringing Coronet back to the days of her prime.

An exhaustive search was conducted to collect the historical records and photographs needed to document Coronet's history and best determine what state the boat was in at the time of her launching in 1885. With the help of IYRS graduates, newspaper archives, maritime libraries, and personal diaries and letters were combed for background.

Pinpointing information about some specific details required the skills of a detective willing to hunt for century-old information from many sources. Coronet's offshore cruises and history fortunately figure into several published books, two of which were published as early as 1899.

The photographs that have now been collected will also be key references in recreating many of the boat's original details that had vanished since her launching. There are many photos of the boat sailing, but few of the interior. The best-known photo of Coronet's interior was taken of the main saloon in the late 19th century; the picture reveals details such as a marble-treaded staircase that were missing by the time the vessel joined the school's fleet. IYRS has now amassed a thorough archive on the vessel, which will be continually consulted throughout the restoration.

Restoring a classic yacht is much like an archaeological excavation. To excavate a site, and to restore a vessel, the original must be systematically dismantled and then reconstructed. Meticulous records are made before the work begins and kept as the work progresses. Richard K. Anderson, Jr. of Cultural Resource Documentation Services (South Carolina) has documented every part of Coronet's structure, particularly her elaborate woodwork and joinery below-decks.

A total of some 2,000 joinery pieces were identified in these drawings with a number, and that number was then used to label and catalogue each piece as it was removed. The painstaking process of dismantling, documenting, and then archiving the interior began in the fall of 2001. The engines (1946), fuel tank, furnace, and a piano were also removed.

After the process of historical research and the dismantling and archiving of her interior, Coronet needed to be hauled from the water and placed onto the IYRS quay to begin Phase II: the hull and deck restoration. The hauling took place in April 2004, and the process was a complex undertaking that took weeks of planning and coordination. The vessel was hauled by Seatow to the American Shipyard (Newport). Her cradle, comprised of some 50 tons of steel, was submerged and then used to raise the hull. She was later placed on a barge and towed by tug back to IYRS. SENESCO (Quonset Point, R.I.) utilized pumps to balance and lower the barge so the boat could then be winched off the barge. The winching process alone took five hours.

The restoration of Coronet's hull and deck is slated to take three years, and the project will be done in public view on the IYRS campus. Coronet sits right outside IYRS's Restoration Hall—a 1905 electric generating plant that now houses the school's workshops, drafting room, library, and exhibition space. Her dismantled interior is housed on the campus in an 1831 building that once housed a textile mill (this building is also slated for restoration, to allow for the school's expansion).

After the completion of the hull and deck restoration, the third and final phase of the project will focus on restoring Coronet's interior and rigging. When Coronet was launched in August of 1885, she was a magnificent example of American engineering and craftsmanship. To restore many of her interior details—including her stained glass, carved mahogany, a cloisonné chandelier, and other luxe features—will again require the skills of many fine artisans. Depending on funding, this phase of the project is expected to take two years.

Many of Coronet's contemporaries have since vanished. They were sunk, grounded, or simply ruined by the ravages of time. Remnants, models, and photographs of these vessels may still exist, yet Coronet has miraculously stayed afloat. She exists today as a symbol of a gilded age, an exuberant time in American history when a grand yacht was a symbol of great fortune and success that joined its owner's coterie of elegant domains: the townhouse on Fifth Avenue, the summer cottage in Newport. Built in 1885 for American industrialist Rufus T. Bush, Coronet had the luxe of a fine home—but one that was meant to travel to faraway shores.

During her first five years, Coronet earned fame as a trans-Atlantic race winner and circumnavigated the globe as the first U.S.-registered yacht to round Cape Horn. A series of owners have used Coronet for different ends: for pleasure cruising, racing, scientific exploration, and even as a global voyager for a missionary cause. Coronet joined the fleet of the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) in 1995. The restoration skills and technology developed at this school will bring Coronet back to the days of her prime, to preserve this rare survivor of a distant past.

Coronet Joins "Save America's Treasures" and National Register: In October 2002 Coronet gained national recognition as the recipient of a $350,000 grant from the Save America’s Treasures program, which is administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Said Meyer: "Coronet is the oldest and most original grand yacht in the world. . .

She is a priceless historical artifact and a magnificent example of American design and engineering. Her state of preservation is extraordinary and her hull and interior are substantially original. This is why Coronet has been recognized by our government as one of America’s historical treasures." In summer 2004, Coronet became the first vessel in Rhode Island named to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Coronet was built by C & R Poillon, in Brooklyn, New York and was launched August 1885. It is 133 feet long, but when fully rigged, it is 192 feet long. It's 27 feet wide, draws 12 feet of draft, and carries 8300 square feet of sail. You can visit her website at www.yachtcoronet.org For more information about the International Yacht Restoration School, read our RIRoads article about the IYRSor visit their website at www.iyrs.org

Photos of Coronet on land and stained glass detail by John Mecray. Antique photo courtesy of IYRS.

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