Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Congaree (IX-84)' - transcription mirror (hazegray.org DANFS Online, transcribed from US Naval Historical Center DANFS, 1959-1991) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text, complete; live NHHC URLs (history.navy.mil/.../danfs/c/congaree.html, both URL formats) returned 404 this session and no Wayback capture exists - transcription mirror cited per project convention for NHHC link rot
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS Congaree (IX-84) entry (full text, verbatim): 'Congaree (IX-84), formerly Wakiva, was an auxiliary yawl acquired by the Navy and placed in service at Port Everglades Section Base on 17 October 1942 for inshore patrol duty in the 7th Naval District. She performed in this capacity until placed out of service on 15 March 1943. In May 1946 she was transferred to Annapolis for duty at the Naval Academy. Congaree was turned over to the Maritime Commission in April 1947 and stricken from the Navy Register on 10 June.' The name derives from the Congaree River in South Carolina; IX-84 is the only U.S. Navy vessel DANFS records under it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-10-17 to 1947-06-10
- Population
- Navy personnel aboard IX-84 (Port Everglades Section Base inshore patrol, 1942-10 to 1943-03); Naval Academy custody personnel (1946)
- Limitations
- Primary Navy historical record; establishes identity, in-service and out-of-service dates, duty station, and custody transfers. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or material-composition information; supports no asbestos claim. Gives no dimensions, complement, builder, or armament figures for this vessel; silent on her status between March 1943 and May 1946.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-congaree-ix84-01
-
[2]Shipscribe.com, 'USS Small IX: Auxiliary Schooners etc. (4)' - IX-82 through IX-90 class notes, construction/disposition tables, and IX-84 ship-notes row (Stephen S. Roberts compilation of Navy register and BuShips correspondence data) [other_primary]
- Locator
- IX082.html construction and disposition tables, IX 82-90 class note, IX-88 class note (group operational context), and IX-84 ship-notes row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe 'Small IX: Auxiliary Schooners etc. (4)' compilation (Stephen S. Roberts, compiled 2010-12-21): on 21 Jul 42 CNO asked WSA and BuShips to requisition-purchase nine yachts for the Navy with delivery to Com-7 (KO-ASA, WINSLOW, WAKIVA, MAYHAP, MARPATCHA, ODYSSEY, CONDOR, MEREDA, MORNING STAR - designated IX-82 through IX-90 respectively); in September 1942 most (IX-83..89) were renamed after rivers, Indian tribes, and a cape in South Carolina. The group was maintained under FY 1942 BuShips Maintenance funds. Register table for IX-84 CONGAREE: acquired 11 Aug 42; builder Jakobson & Petersen; launched 9 Jun 38; in service 17 Oct 42; out of service 15 Mar 43; struck 10 Jun 47; disposed (Maritime Commission sale) 15 Apr 47. Ship note for IX-84: 'Ex yacht WAKIVA (renamed 4 Sep 42). Auxiliary yawl. 33 tons light, 35 tons gross. 70.25' oa, 49.5' wl x 15.2' x 9.0'. Buda diesel, 50 HP, 7.5 kts. Wood hull. 1 Buda diesel, 50 HP. Crew 11 (1944). Designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built at Brooklyn for Harkness Edwards of Pittsburgh and Miami, from whom she was acquired. Converted by Warrier (?) & DesRoches, Inc. between 24 Aug 42 and 14 Sep 42. On 1 May 46 CNO ordered her to Annapolis for duty at the Naval Academy but she was declared surplus at Annapolis on 22 Oct 46. Sold in April 1947 to J. Owen Reynolds of Lexington, Ky., she became the yacht KITTYHAWK and was taken out of documentation in 1955.' Group operational context (from the IX-88 class note): the sailing craft of the IX 82-90 group operated out of Port Everglades alongside two coastal and two yard minesweepers, ten YP patrol craft, one miscellaneous auxiliary (YAG-16), and five other small craft; active patrols by the sailing vessels ended 13 Mar 43 and they were placed out of service days later as part of a Navy-wide effort to free manpower for new-construction patrol craft and destroyer escorts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1938; 1942-07 to 1947-06
- Population
- Navy personnel aboard IX-84 (1942-1943); conversion-yard workers at the uncertain 'Warrier (?) & DesRoches, Inc.' (1942-08 to 1942-09)
- Limitations
- A researcher compilation reproducing official register and BuShips correspondence data, not itself a government publication - treated as near-primary because its dates match DANFS on overlapping facts and its CNO/WSA acquisition-correspondence and per-hull detail is not otherwise published. Compiler himself flags the conversion-firm name with '(?)' - 'Warrier & DesRoches' is uncertain. 'Crew 11 (1944)' is a register figure post-dating the March 1943 layup, not a wartime patrol complement. The 15 Apr 47 disposal date vs DANFS 'April 1947' is consistent. Contains no asbestos or insulation information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-congaree-ix84-02
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, 'Congaree (IX-84)' page (last updated 2024-01-12) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource IX-84 archive page, specifications/chronology block, officer-in-charge table, post-Navy registry notes, photo 094608401
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive page for Congaree (IX-84): repeats the DANFS chronology and adds: international radio call sign NZCU; award entitlement (American Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal); 'Placed in service, 10 October 1942, LCDR. Arnold W. Chapin, USNR, officer in charge'; officer-in-charge table 'LCDR. Chapin, Arnold William, USNR - 10 October 1942 - 15 March 1943'; assignment 'to the 7th Naval District Local Defense Force, Port Everglades Section Base, Gulf Sea Frontier Force, for inshore patrol'; 'Turned over to the Maritime Administration in April 1947.' Post-Navy registry trail: registered in 1947 by William Robert Timkin, Canton, OH, as yacht Kittyhawk, homeport Cleveland, OH; 'Donated 1 June to U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT, renamed Petrel' (no year given); registered in 1966 by Hans Van Nes, New York, 'as yacht Kittyhawk, name changed to Petrel'; registered in 1980 by Nicholas Vincent Van Nes as yacht Petrel; registered in 1999 by Sail Away New York, West Tisbury, MA, as passenger vessel Petrel; out of documentation in 2009; 'Final Disposition, fate unknown.' A photo (094608401) shows yacht Petrel underway in New York harbor.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1943; 1947-2009
- Population
- Registry-tracked postwar owners/operators and USCG Academy sailing personnel (1947-2009)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled naval archive, not a government publication - carried as an archival lead; the DANFS-derived portions are independently verified at ev-01/ev-02, but the 10-Oct in-service date (vs DANFS 17 Oct), the Timkin-1947 registration (vs Shipscribe's Reynolds buyer), the yearless '1 June' USCGA donation, and the registry trail rest on NavSource alone. 'Final disposition: fate unknown' is stale - the hull's October 2011 demolition is press-documented (ev-05). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-congaree-ix84-03
-
[4]New York Times, 'Edwards's Yacht First at Nassau; Wakiva Leader in 184-Mile Contest,' 1939-02-16, p. sports; Mystic Seaport Museum, Rosenfeld Collection object record 1984.187.90663F [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NYT TimesMachine archive abstract (lede paragraph visible); Mystic Seaport object page mobius.mysticseaport.org/detail.php?kv=289957
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The New York Times archive documents the yacht's pre-Navy identity and racing record: 'EDWARDS'S YACHT FIRST AT NASSAU; Wakiva Leader in 184-Mile Contest - Johnson's Yawl Stormy Weather Next' (16 Feb 1939, dateline Nassau 15 Feb): 'The 69-foot jib-headed yawl Wakiva, owned by Harkness Edwards of New York, was the first craft across the finish line today in the annual 184-mile race from Miami. Wakiva was timed at 5:00.13.' A Mystic Seaport Rosenfeld Collection nitrate negative (acc. 1984.187.90663F) images Stormy Weather, Blitzen, and Wakiva at that same Miami-Nassau start, corroborating the vessel's documented East Coast ocean-racing circuit.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1939
- Population
- Yacht racing crews (1939 Miami-Nassau race)
- Limitations
- Contemporary press record corroborating the pre-Navy yacht identity, owner, and rig ('jib-headed' = Marconi-rigged yawl). NYT '69-foot' vs register '70.25 ft oa' is a routine press rounding; NYT 'Edwards of New York' vs Shipscribe 'of Pittsburgh and Miami' reflects residence framing - both carried, not an error. Full NYT article is paywalled past the lede; photograph record verifies participation only. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-congaree-ix84-04
-
[5]Martha's Vineyard Times, 'A sad ending for a glorious yacht' (Steve Myrick), 2011-10-19 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Full article text incl. demolition account, Van Nes/Kunkut quotes, and the quoted Dec 1966 wire-service rescue report; corroborating sail-world.com syndication 'Vale to Petrel, 70ft 1938 wooden yawl' (2011-10)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Martha's Vineyard Times documents the hull's final disposition and corroborates the post-war chain: 'A sad ending for a glorious yacht' (19 Oct 2011) reports that Petrel 'was ripped apart with heavy equipment and hauled away in dumpster loads' that week at the R.M. Packer Company railway, Vineyard Haven, MA, after sitting on the waterfront there for three years; the lead keel and a few brass parts were salvaged for a new vessel to be built from the original plans at Port Townsend, WA, for owner Olaf Kunkut of Germany (project manager Tom George). Nick Van Nes of West Tisbury had sold the boat to Kunkut after repairing large sections but being unable to sustain the maintenance. The article confirms 'launched in 1938 from the Jakobson & Peterson boatyard in Brooklyn, New York... an innovative design from the drawing boards of Sparkman & Stephens. Then named Wakiva,' and quotes a December 1966 wire-service report of Petrel dismasted and shipping water 360 miles southeast of New York with ten persons aboard (a cruise led by Gordon Van Nes), towed to port with all hands safe.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1938; 1966; 2008-2011
- Population
- Van Nes family crews and charter passengers (1966-2009); demolition crew, R.M. Packer Co. railway (2011-10)
- Limitations
- Local-community newspaper reporting contemporaneous demolition with named participants - reliable for final disposition. The 1966 rescue is quoted from an unnamed wire service. The 'JFK at the helm' Newport-Bermuda anecdote is framed by the paper itself as legend ('legend has it') and is excluded from this record's facts. No asbestos or hazmat content - a wood-hull demolition is described without any environmental-materials mention.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-congaree-ix84-05
-
[6]NavSource IX-84 registry notes vs Shipscribe IX-84 ship note vs DANFS chronology - conflicts identified by direct comparison [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource chronology/registry block vs Shipscribe IX082.html ship-notes row; DANFS entry text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Correction of conflicting registry/disposal claims across sources: (a) In-service date - DANFS and the Shipscribe register table give 17 Oct 1942; NavSource gives 10 Oct 1942 (both the chronology line and LCDR Chapin's tenure start). The official-register-derived 17 Oct is adopted; the 10 Oct figure is unresolved. (b) 1947 buyer - Shipscribe's ship note records sale in April 1947 to J. Owen Reynolds of Lexington, KY; NavSource's registry trail records registration in 1947 by William Robert Timkin of Canton, OH (homeport Cleveland). Both postdate the 15 Apr 47 Maritime Commission disposal; whether Reynolds and Timkin are sequential owners or one entry is erroneous is unresolved. (c) Documentation continuity - Shipscribe says the yacht was 'taken out of documentation in 1955,' while NavSource shows a continuous registry trail through 2009; a documentation lapse (e.g., during government custody at the Coast Guard Academy) could reconcile them but is unverified. (d) NavSource's USCGA donation reads 'Donated 1 June to U.S. Coast Guard Academy' with no year; the event sits between the 1947 registration and the 1966 Van Nes registration. (e) NavSource's 1966 entry 'as yacht Kittyhawk, name changed to Petrel' is internally odd (the Petrel rename is tied to the earlier USCGA donation) - the Petrel name is in any case confirmed in use by December 1966 (ev-05 wire report).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-10; 1947; 1955; 1966
- Limitations
- Conflict inventory only - no post-Navy item is resolved beyond source comparison. The Reynolds-vs-Timkin and 1955-out-of-documentation questions would yield to USCG vessel-documentation abstracts and MVUS volumes, which are archival leads (ev-09). None of the conflicts touches the asbestos question. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-congaree-ix84-06
-
[7]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373; propulsion and hull particulars from Shipscribe IX-84 ship note ('Wood hull. 1 Buda diesel, 50 HP') and DANFS ('auxiliary yawl')
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during World War II, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard hulls of all types - the era and program under which this 1938 yacht was acquired and minimally converted for naval patrol. For this hull specifically: wood hull, sail propulsion with a single 50-HP Buda diesel auxiliary, no boilers, no steam lines, no turbine plant; the dominant asbestos vectors of the era (boiler and steam-system insulation) are absent by design. Any plausible asbestos-relevant items - engine exhaust lagging, gaskets, packing, wiring insulation, galley-range insulation - are undocumented for this vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level documentation of WWII shipyard asbestos use generally; does not name this vessel, her conversion yard, or her builder and establishes nothing aboard this hull. The machinery-footprint reasoning bounds plausible applications but is not evidence of presence. Does not establish quantity, location, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-congaree-ix84-07
-
[8]Batch-4878 search ledger (this record): DANFS via hazegray transcription mirror (live NHHC URLs 404); Shipscribe; NavSource; HyperWar IX table; NYT TimesMachine; MV Times; sail-world.com; NVR; NARA catalog front-end; CourtListener opinion searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-congaree-ix84-01 through sl-uss-congaree-ix84-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum documentation, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched - DANFS, the Shipscribe register compilation, NavSource, contemporary and local press (NYT 1939; MV Times 2011), and the litigation sweep contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement for this vessel (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-typical diesel exhaust lagging, gaskets, and wiring insulation were plausible aboard any 1942-acquired vessel, and the undocumented scope of the 1942 conversion is an open variable. The hull no longer exists (demolished 2011), so no retrospective survey is possible; the demolition coverage describes a wood-hull breakup with no hazmat mention. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-congaree-ix84-08
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 search: q="USS Congaree" type=o (0 results); q="IX-84" type=o (48 results, 20 reviewed, all Title-IX/84-Stat. citation collisions); q="Congaree" asbestos type=o (1 result, non-vessel collision); q="Wakiva" type=o (1 result, different-vessel name collision); q="USS Congaree" type=r (0 results); q="Wakiva" type=r (2 results, place-name collisions); q="Congaree" type=r (252 dockets, 20 reviewed, all SC-entity collisions) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion and RECAP docket search result sets, 2026-09-29; fleet-wide pacing stand-downs between queries spaced the requests across the session
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener authenticated API v4 searches returned no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull: (a) opinion query '"USS Congaree"' returned 0 results; (b) opinion query '"IX-84"' returned 48 results - first page of 20 reviewed, all 'Title IX, 84 Stat. 941' (RICO/OCCA) citation collisions and statute-number matches with zero vessel references; (c) opinion query '"Congaree" asbestos' returned 1 result - Coffey v. Braddy, 372 F. Supp. 116 (M.D. Fla. 1971), a Jacksonville fire-department hiring-discrimination class action in which neither 'Congaree' nor 'asbestos' bears on any vessel (incidental term collisions, not an asbestos case); (d) opinion query '"Wakiva"' returned 1 result - Ryan v. New England Dredge & Dock Co., 149 F. Supp. 222 (D. Mass. 1957), a Hurricane-Carol loss-of-boat suit over the 'gas screw motor boat WAKIVA 4N-861' moored at Lynn Yacht Club - a different vessel sharing the yacht name (name collision, non-asbestos); (e) docket query '"USS Congaree"' returned 0 results; (f) docket query '"Wakiva"' returned 2 Florida civil dockets (a civil-rights case and a debt-collection case) - place-name collisions; (g) docket query '"Congaree"' returned 252 dockets - first page of 20 reviewed, all South Carolina entity collisions (Congaree State Bank, Congaree Cargo/Group/Food Stores/Broadcasters/Triton, Town of South Congaree, Congaree Riverkeeper Clean-Water suits, Friends of Congaree Swamp highway suits) with zero asbestos and zero vessel cases. No asbestos case names this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- CourtListener indexes published opinions and RECAP dockets; unreported settlements, state trial filings, and non-digitized pleadings are outside its coverage. The bare name 'Congaree' is a high-collision South Carolina entity term (bank, riverkeeper, broadcasters, town); the hull number 'IX-84' collides with the RICO 'Title IX, 84 Stat. 941' citation; even the unusual yacht name 'Wakiva' collides (a 1950s Lynn Harbor motor boat of the same name litigated in D. Mass.). Any future 'Congaree'/'Wakiva' hit requires hull-level attribution before it is a finding. Later pages of the two multi-page result sets (28 unreviewed 'IX-84' opinions; 232 unreviewed 'Congaree' dockets) were not individually inspected - the first-page samples were uniformly non-vessel collisions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-congaree-ix84-09
-
[10]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships); USCG National Vessel Documentation Center records; Merchant Vessels of the United States annual volumes [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 24 guide; catalog.archives.gov front-end unreachable to automated query this session
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction access; no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 24 Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations - deck logs for IX-84 covering October 1942 through March 1943, if extant (WWII deck logs are digitized unevenly; the NARA catalog front-end did not return machine-readable results to automated query this session); (b) Bureau of Ships correspondence underlying the FY1942 maintenance-fund acquisition of the IX 82-90 yacht group (the Shipscribe class notes derive from this correspondence; RG 19 General Correspondence at NARA), including the CNO request of 21 Jul 1942 and any conversion orders to 'Warrier (?) & DesRoches, Inc.'; (c) U.S. Coast Guard vessel-documentation abstracts for Wakiva/Kittyhawk/Petrel - would resolve the Reynolds-vs-Timkin 1947 buyer conflict, the yearless '1 June' USCGA donation, and the 1955 out-of-documentation entry; (d) Merchant Vessels of the United States registry volumes for the yacht Wakiva's official number and signal letters; (e) NHHC photographic/archives holdings for IX-84 - none surfaced in web search this session (NavSource carries one post-Navy photo only).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1938-1947 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-congaree-ix84-10