Kestrel

Kestrel is a 62 ft. long, steam-powered yacht, constructed entirely of mahogany. She was designed by D. Crawford and built by George Lawley at his South Boston shipyard in 1892 for an owner that is presently unknown. The first available written records indicate that she was sold on June 14, 1899 to Samuel Keyser of Baltimore, Maryland who owned a vacation property just north of the village of Essex, New York. From the 1890’s through the 1930’s Kestrel was operated on Lake Champlain, and for most of that time she was kept at Rosslyn’s boathouse. It is said that her elegant lines became as iconic in Essex as the Merchant Row boathouse where she was berthed. Today Kestrel is on exhibition at Boldt Castle in the Thousand Islands.