 Ward was known for travelling the coastal United States in his luxury motor boat, the "Ethel M. Ward", built in 1910 at Port Clinton, Ohio .From 1917 to 1919 the boat, temporarily renamed the "USS Rickwood" (SP-597), served the U.S. Navy as a patrol, ferry, towing and rescue boat at the Naval Air Station at Pensacola, Florida.In 1919 the Navy returned the boat to its owner.