The first vessel of which we have record was the "Virginia," built at the mouth of the Kennebec River in 1608, to carry home a discontented English colony at Stage Island.

She was a two-master of 30 tons burden.

The next American vessel recorded was the Dutch "yacht" "Onrest," built at New York in 1615.

Nowadays sailors define a yacht as a vessel that carries no cargo but food and champagne, but the "Onrest" was not a yacht of this type.

She was of 16 tons burden, and this small size explains her description.
The first ship built for commercial purposes in New England was "The Blessing of the Bay," a sturdy little sloop of 60 tons.