CURATOR NOTES: Puritan was the victorious defender of the fifth America's Cup in 1885 against British challenger Genesta. According to Americascup.com, Puritan was designed by Edward 'Ned' Burgess and built in 1885 by George Lawley & Son of Boston. According to this website:

"Puritan was easily leading in the American defender selection trials against Priscilla, Cary Smith's traditional sloop, drawn in 1885 at the request of the NYYC, Bedouin, an "American" cutter ordered in 1882 and Gracie, the old sloop modeled in 1868 by Abraham A. Schank. ...

"[In] 1886 Puritan was auctioned to settle the accounts of the Boston syndicate. J. Malcolm Forbes, one of the syndicate members, acquired it. He kept on Aubrey Crocker as skipper of the sloop. Still an excellent defense candidate, Puritan was difficult to beat, but eventually Mayflower the Burgess design, skippered by Martin V.B. Stone, was able to win the trials! [In] 1888 Puritan was converted to a schooner. A broker who removed its lead keel bought it. ... Puritan was sailing in Europe at the beginning of the century. It was converted and sailed as a working boat, for freight and passengers, between Portugal and the Azores and sometimes all the way to New Bedford, New England. Puritan was too small and not very profitable in spite of its speed potential. It was dismantled and scrapped on the East coast, in 1925. From Puritan, only the wheel remains, hanging as decoration over the counter of a pub in Marblehead, Massachusetts."

"Owner: Syndicate headed by General Charles J. Paine with J. Malcolm Forbes, William Gray, Jr., Henry Hovey, William F. Weld, Augustus Hemenway, W.H. Forbes, John L. Gardner, J. Montgomery Sears and F.L. Higginson.

"Sailmaker: J.H. McManus & Son of East Boston. Mast builder: H. Pigeon & Son. Rigger: Charles Billman & Son.
Skipper: Aubrey J. Crocker. Afterguard: General Charles J. Paine, Dr. John Bryant, Henry S. Hovey, George H. Richards, Edward Burgess, Captain Joseph Ellsworth, C.A. Welsh and J.R. Busk."

Design
She was built at the George Lawley & Son yard in Boston, Massachusetts and launched May 26, 1885.

Puritan was an early combination of American and English designs with some of the depth of an cutter but beam and power of a sloop. It was built and skippered by John Malcom Forbes.

She defeated the New York club's Priscilla then went on to defend the cup against Genesta, a traditional cutter. Immediately following the contest, they began work on an improved version which would be called the Mayflower.

Overall length: 94 ft (29 m)
Length at water line: 81 ft 11/2 in
Beam (width): 22 ft 7 in (6.88 m)
Draft: 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m)
Displacement: 105 tons
Sail area: 7,982 sq ft (741.6 m2)