John McKeon

Type

Schooner

Period

19th Century

Nation

United States

Overview: The John McKeon was a two-masted pilot schooner built in 1838 by the Webb & Allen shipyard of New York (headed by noted builder Isaac Webb) for the New Jersey Pilots Association. She was designed on Baltimore clipper lines, prized for the speed and weatherliness that pilot boats needed to reach incoming ships first. Specifications: The schooner measured 78 feet in length, 21 feet in beam, and 7 feet depth of hold, for a burden of about 104 tons. She was schooner-rigged with sails as her sole means of propulsion and cost roughly $9,000 to build, but was carried without insurance. Service History: Launched on November 24, 1838, the John McKeon spent less than a year ferrying maritime pilots out to inbound and outbound ships in New York Harbor. Her career ended abruptly on August 28, 1839, when she was wrecked with the loss of four crewmen in a hurricane that swept the New York coast; the pilot boat Gratitude was lost in the same storm. Notable Facts: Contemporary ship-plan collections, including William H. Webb's compiled volume of vessels built at his New York yard, preserve sheer, body, and half-breadth plans of the John McKeon, describing her as an excellent sea-boat and a fast, handsome sailer — valuable references for modelers seeking accurate lines. Her short, storm-ended career is typical of the hazardous duty faced by 19th-century harbor pilot schooners.