Vaud J.

Vaud J.

(MB: t. 63 (gross); 1. 101'0"; b. 19'8"; dr. 4'6" (mean); s. 8.6 k.; cpl. 8; a. none)

Prior to World War I, Vaud J.—a wooden-hulled cabin motor launch built in 1907 at Wildwood, N.J., by Thomas Johnson-was owned by A. L. Dunn, of Govans, Md. The Navy inspected the motor boat on 8 April 1917 and deemed her "not suitable for either Army or Navy use." Apparently, the Navy later revised its appraisal since it again inspected the craft on 23 September 1918 at Bear Creek, near Baltimore, Md.

Acquired by the Navy soon thereafter, Vaud J. was taken Over by the Navy on 27 September but not commissioned. Designated SP-3361, Vaud J. was assigned to the Bureau of Ordnance and towed to the Naval Proving Ground at Indian Bead, Md., by the tug Tioga and operated there in connection with range construction work into the spring of 1919.

Sold on 30 June 1919 and simultaneously struck from the Navy list, Vaud J. became the property of the Chesapeake Water Supply Co. She was carried on lists of American merchant vessels into the early 1920's, but her owner was not listed. From 1924 to 1929, the craft was owned by Hurley Booye of Cape May, N.J., until either late 1929 or early 1930 when she was purchased by Harry Mogok of Cape May. Vaud J. operated until 1932, when her name disappears from the mercantile listings.