In 1870 he owned Moonbeam, an 18-ton cutter, which he used for racing and cruising purposes.
He then purchased the schooner yacht Kala Fish, deÂsigned by Dr. Collis Brown, with a ram bow and shallow draft, and this her owner chiefly used for exploration and visits to the dead cities of the Zuyder Zee and the shallow harbours of the Dutch and Scandinavian coasts.
In 1877 he built his first steam yacht Isa, and it was in this yacht that the first set of triple expansion engines was installed. They were built by Douglas and Grant of Kirkcaldy upon suggestions made by Mr. Andrews and his conÂsulting engineer, Mr. A. Taylor. The boiler pressure was 120 pounds, and the Isa proved herself eminently successful from the engine point of view.
She was afterwards sold to Mr. Chadwick Healy, and then to the Earl of Cork.