Lloyd’s Register Yachts Register

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has been recording information on, and surveying, Yachts since the mid 19th century. Earliest records relating to Yacht specific activity date from the 1878 with the establishment of the Yacht Registration Society and continue until to the computerisation of surveying records in the 1960s/70s onwards.

Yachts can briefly be defined as vessels intended for pleasure sailing, cruising or racing, they tend to be smaller in size to there counterparts. Many were, and are, fitted with engines and not all were destined for pleasure sailing. 

Prior to 1878 records of yachts, where they have survived, can be found within the Ship Plan and Survey Report Collection (LR/5/3), which is digitised and catalogued on our website. The international increase in the popularity of yachting in the 1860s-1870s and the relatively low number of surveys prompted concerns for the safety of newly constructed and existing vessels in service. In 1877, Lloyd’s Register formed the Yacht Registration Society, with the formation of a separate annually published Register of Yachts and the Rules for the Classification of Yachts a year later. Over time these rules and regulations were revised and amended to cover the construction of wood, composite, iron and steel yachts. A separate register for American built Yachts was also produced from 1904-1979. The Register of Yachts also includes a full list of owners and flags. 

The yacht archives (LR/5/4/1) comprises 182 boxes of surviving documents consisting of survey reports, plans/technical drawings, forms, correspondence, certificates, and photographs for over 4000 yachts. Records for a Yacht were historically kept together and they can be searched by using the last known name, the Register of Yachts would record previous names of a vessel and it is worth checking all known names of a Yacht. They contain information on the ship builders, owners, particulars of the ship (dimensions, rigging, anchors, engines etc) and related correspondence can give further contextual information. 

Some notable yachts are the Shamrock IV built 1934, Scotia built 1876, Liberty built 1908. Some of the yachts were used for scientific research voyages (such as the Scotia LR 5/4/1/1/1915),some were owned and sailed by wealthy businessmen and women and others were operated by various Church Missionary Society’s. Some of the records within this series will be the only surviving material for these yachts, records from the ship builders and owners have often been lost through the years. There is a sizeable amount of records relating to yachts built by famous designers and builders such as G L Watson & Co, Wiiliam Fife and etc. 

• Yachts
• Yacht building
• Marine engineering

• Yacht Register
• Register of American Yachts
• Rules and Regulations for Yachts