“Duchess“ - 1930 Elco Flat Top
100 Years Of History Exemplifies Grace And Style
What do John Jacob Astor, Grand Duke Alexander of Russia, Admiral George Dewey, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild and Ed Wynn all have in common? They all owned Elco yachts. This immaculate 1930 Elco Flat Top Motoryacht is a piece of nautical history. Her recent complete restoration has launched “Duchess” firmly into the 21st Century, retaining all her elegance in combination with a new hull and modern components to make her a seaworthy power cruiser.
Elco Yachts is derived from the company’s original construction of electrically powered launches used at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. Fifty-five of them, each 36 feet long, carried more than a million passengers on the waterways of the Exposition the entire year of the show. This exposure provided the foundation for the company’s success in the production of more than 6,000 pleasure boats and 1,500 military vessels during the next 50 years.
