![]() The yacht Puritan, photographed by John S. Johnston.  | |
| Yacht club | |
|---|---|
| Nation | |
| Builder | George Lawley & Son | 
| Launched | May 26, 1885 | 
| Owner(s) | John Malcolm Forbes | 
| Racing career | |
| Skippers | John Malcolm Forbes | 
| Notable victories | 1885 America's Cup | 
| America's Cup | 1885 | 
| Specifications | |
| Displacement | 105-tons Thames Measurement | 
| Length | 94 ft 0 in (28.65 m) (LOA) 81 ft 1.5 in (24.727 m) (LWL)  | 
| Beam | 22 ft 7 in (6.88 m) | 
| Draft | 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) | 
| Sail area | 7,982 sq ft (741.6 m2) | 
The Puritan was a 19th-century racing yacht and the 1885 America's Cup defender of the international sailing trophy.
Construction and service
Designed by Edward Burgess, she was built at the George Lawley & Son yard in South Boston, Massachusetts and launched May 26, 1885. For sails, Burgess chose the Irish-born sailmaker John H. McManus of McManus & Son, of Boston. The sails were of Plymouth duck.[1]: p121 [2]

The Puritan was an early combination of American and English designs with some of the depth of a cutter but beam and power of a sloop. It was built and skippered by John Malcolm Forbes.[1]
She defeated the New York Yacht Club's Priscilla then went on to defend the America's Cup against the British yacht Genesta, a traditional cutter. Immediately following the contest, they began work on an improved version which would be called the Mayflower.[2]
References
- 1 2 Dunne, W. M. P.; Patrick, William Matthew (1934). Thomas F. McManus and the American fishing schooners: an Irish-American success story. Mystic, Conn., Mystic Seaport Museum.
 - 1 2 Lawson, Thomas W. (1902). "Chapter VII". The Lawson History of the America's Cup. Winfield M. Thompson Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-907069-40-9.
 
External links
- America's Cup Official Website for the 32nd America's Cup in Valencia
 - 1890s Yacht Photography of J.S. Johnston
 
