"cuba" was a relatively small ship of 3,580 tons displacement at draft, length overall and was not intended by the owners, miami steamship company, to carry any cargo other than automobiles on deck, express freight and some refrigerated fruit with emphasis put of passenger accommodations and spaces—so that "cuba" could "well be called a luxurious yacht rather than a passenger steamship". the rebuilding into "cuba" was sponsored by charles l. dimon, grandson of john dimon, partner in the firm smith & dimon that had designed and built 1845 clipper "rainbow" and the 1846 clipper "sea witch", backed by the general electric company which dimon had selected to furnish electrical equipment including the main propulsion. initial references are for first class only service between to florida ports and havana, cuba but later advertisements are for "new york direct to miami" service leaving new york every saturday.