USC&GS Matchless
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| USC&GS Matchless USC&GS Matchless. This is the only known photograph of a U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey sailing vessel under sail. | |
| Career (United States) | 100x35px  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Matchless |
| Completed: | 1859; rebuilt 1895 |
| Commissioned: | 1885 |
| Decommissioned: | 1919[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Survey ship |
| Length: | 99.6 ft (30.4 m) |
| Beam: | 24.9 ft (7.6 m) |
| Draft: | 7.6 ft (2.3 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Schooner-rigged |
USC&GS Matchless was a schooner that served as a survey ship in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1885 to 1919. She was the only Coast and Geodetic Survey ship to bear the name and the last sailing vessel owned and operated by the Survey.
Matchless was built at Key West, Florida, in 1859. The Coast and Geodetic Survey acquired her in 1885 and placed her in service that year. She was rebuilt at a cost of $50,000 (USD) in 1895.
On February 28, 1915, officers and crew of Matchless helped put out a fire on Main Street in Edenton, North Carolina. On September 16, 1917, she helped the steamer White Wings off a shoal.
Matchless was retired from Coast and Geodetic Survey service in 1919.[2]
Notes
- ↑ The NOAA History Web site (at http://www.history.noaa.gov/ships/matchless.html) provides both 1915 and 1919 as her retirement date without explanation, although her 1917 activities demonstrate that the 1915 date is erroneous.
- ↑ The NOAA History Web site (at http://www.history.noaa.gov/ships/matchless.html) provides both 1915 and 1919 as her returement date without explanation, although her 1917 activities demonstrate that the 1915 date is erroneous.
