strangely modern; showing, too, that though yachts have changed, human nature has remained pretty much as it was. And while we sympathize with Christopher Pett in his annoyance and delay in obtaining what he required from the Commissioners, it was still fortunate; otherwise, these interesting details would, like so many others, be lost in oblivion.
One of the new yachts was the Catherine, built for King Charles by Commissioner Peter Pett at Deptford, and named for the Queen. Length of keel, 49 feet; breadth, 19 feet; depth, 7 feet; draught, 7 feet; 94 tons burden. The other yacht was the Anne, built by Christopher Pett at Woolwich, for the King's brother William, Duke of York, and named for the Duchess of York. Length of keel, 52 feet; breadth, 19 feet; depth, 7 feet; draught, 7 feet; 100 tons burden. Each of these yachts carried 8 guns and a crew of 30 men.
By comparing the dimensions, it will be seen that the new yachts were close copies of the Mary. The Catherine was three feet shorter on the keel, but may have been the same length on the waterline, as her beam was the same, with 7 inches less depth of hold; while the Anne was the same length on the keel, and the same beam, with 7 inches less depth of hold. Both latter yachts, however, drew 3 feet less water, which is difficult to explain. The Mary was certainly fitted with lee-boards, and if the draught of these yachts were reversed, we might suppose that the Petts had abandoned the lee-boards in favor of a deeper hull, but the Mary
