Halliburton sailed to Hong Kong in September 1938 aboard the SS President Coolidge, en route to his final voyage, to sail a Chinese junk across the Pacific Ocean from Hong Kong to San Francisco.
The junk, named the Sea Dragon (Chinese: 海龍; pinyin: Hǎi Lóng), was an essentially Wenchow-style junk, 75 feet in length, modified to Halliburton's specifications and built in the shipyards of Kowloon by cartwright Fat Kau.
 Its stern emblazoned with a colorful dragon and interior hull equipped with a diesel engine, the Sea Dragon, a dramatic symbol of East meeting West, was to be an attraction at the Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) in San Francisco (at Treasure Island); there, after its three-month voyage across the Pacific, it would dock and, for a price, take fair-goers on excursions around San Francisco Bay.

According to Halliburton's first cousin, whom he visited in 1938, the trip was meant, in part, to renew interest in Halliburton whose fame at the time was in decline.
Biographers credit the idea for the voyage to Walter Gaines Swanson, the public relations manager for GGIE, who shared the Exposition's goal of celebrating both the Oakland and Golden Gate bridges as well as the cultures of the Pacific rim.
Despite an interest in sailing craft since childhood, Halliburton himself had little practical navigation experience, so he hired Captain John Wenlock Welch as skipper and Henry Von Fehren as engineer.
 Besides Halliburton secretary Paul Mooney, a last-minute recruit, the crew included George Barstow III, a 21-year-old student at Juilliard, globetrotter Velman Fitch of Minnesota, who hitched a ride aboard the Sea Dragon, and Dartmouth College senior Robert Chase.

After inspecting a number of junks along the China coast, finding most either too expensive or wholly unseaworthy, Halliburton decided upon having a junk built.
Construction of the junk was marked by cost overruns, delays, and engineering errors, prompting Halliburton to write, "If any one of my readers wishes to be driven rapidly and violently insane, and doesn't know how to go about it, let me make a suggestion: Try building a Chinese junk in a Chinese shipyard during a war with Japan."

Funding of the project was a persistent problem.
Corporate sponsors pulled out even as the ship came together; merchants in Chinatown thought it too dangerous in a wore-torn China and Buick refused to be associated with something called a "junk".
The ship's construction was partially crowdfunded; the first 2,000 people to pay $1 would be granted admittance to a planned reception for Halliburton at Sacramento in March 1939.
In the end, much of the financing for the trip came from Halliburton's wealthy relatives, including the wife of his cousin Erle Halliburton; $14,000 of the $26,500 raised came from the three crew members from Dartmouth: Chase, John "Brue" Potter, and Gordon Torrey, all with extensive amateur sailing experience.

A trial run in January 1939 revealed its flaws; the completed Sea Dragon proved to be top heavy yet low-riding and developed alarming rolls in moderate seas.
According to Halliburton's subscriber correspondence dated January 27, however, the dry decks proved the ship's sea-worthiness.
10 short tons (9.1 t) of concrete ballast were added to improve stability after the shakedown cruise.
Bill Alexander pointed out the heavy diesel engine was out of place in the sailing ship.
Chief Collins of the SS President Coolidge noted the masts and sails appeared overly heavy, and the poop deck was approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) higher than a typical junk of its size to accommodate a radio cabin and galley.
The first attempted voyage in February was forced to turn back on February 14 after a week at sea, due to an illness among the crew.
Potter and Torrey both left the ship after the junk's unsuccessful first voyage and later offered accounts of their experience.
The aborted February attempt was caused by an injury to Potter, which he sustained when he was struck by the mainsail boom while handling the 18-foot (5.5 m)-long tiller.
Sea Dragon Expedition re
Halliburton sailed to Hong Kong in September 1938 aboard the SS President Coolidge, en route to his final voyage, to sail a Chinese junk across the Pacific Ocean from Hong Kong to San Francisco. The junk, named the Sea Dragon (Chinese: 海龍; pinyin: Hǎi Lóng), was an essentially Wenchow-style junk, 75 feet in length, modified to Halliburton's specifications and built in the shipyards of Kowloon by cartwright Fat Kau.  Its stern emblazoned with a colorful dragon and interior hull equipped with a diesel engine, the Sea Dragon, a dramatic symbol of East meeting West, was to be an attraction at the Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) in San Francisco (at Treasure Island); there, after its three-month voyage across the Pacific, it would dock and, for a price, take fair-goers on excursions around San Francisco Bay.
According to Halliburton's first cousin, whom he visited in 1938, the trip was meant, in part, to renew interest in Halliburton whose fame at the time was in decline. Biographers credit the idea for the voyage to Walter Gaines Swanson, the public relations manager for GGIE, who shared the Exposition's goal of celebrating both the Oakland and Golden Gate bridges as well as the cultures of the Pacific rim. Despite an interest in sailing craft since childhood, Halliburton himself had little practical navigation experience, so he hired Captain John Wenlock Welch as skipper and Henry Von Fehren as engineer.  Besides Halliburton secretary Paul Mooney, a last-minute recruit, the crew included George Barstow III, a 21-year-old student at Juilliard, globetrotter Velman Fitch of Minnesota, who hitched a ride aboard the Sea Dragon, and Dartmouth College senior Robert Chase. 
After inspecting a number of junks along the China coast, finding most either too expensive or wholly unseaworthy, Halliburton decided upon having a junk built. Construction of the junk was marked by cost overruns, delays, and engineering errors, prompting Halliburton to write, "If any one of my readers wishes to be driven rapidly and violently insane, and doesn't know how to go about it, let me make a suggestion: Try building a Chinese junk in a Chinese shipyard during a war with Japan." 
Funding of the project was a persistent problem. Corporate sponsors pulled out even as the ship came together; merchants in Chinatown thought it too dangerous in a wore-torn China and Buick refused to be associated with something called a "junk". The ship's construction was partially crowdfunded; the first 2,000 people to pay $1 would be granted admittance to a planned reception for Halliburton at Sacramento in March 1939. In the end, much of the financing for the trip came from Halliburton's wealthy relatives, including the wife of his cousin Erle Halliburton; $14,000 of the $26,500 raised came from the three crew members from Dartmouth: Chase, John "Brue" Potter, and Gordon Torrey, all with extensive amateur sailing experience.
A trial run in January 1939 revealed its flaws; the completed Sea Dragon proved to be top heavy yet low-riding and developed alarming rolls in moderate seas. According to Halliburton's subscriber correspondence dated January 27, however, the dry decks proved the ship's sea-worthiness. 10 short tons (9.1 t) of concrete ballast were added to improve stability after the shakedown cruise. Bill Alexander pointed out the heavy diesel engine was out of place in the sailing ship. Chief Collins of the SS President Coolidge noted the masts and sails appeared overly heavy, and the poop deck was approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) higher than a typical junk of its size to accommodate a radio cabin and galley. The first attempted voyage in February was forced to turn back on February 14 after a week at sea, due to an illness among the crew. Potter and Torrey both left the ship after the junk's unsuccessful first voyage and later offered accounts of their experience. The aborted February attempt was caused by an injury to Potter, which he sustained when he was struck by the mainsail boom while handling the 18-foot (5.5 m)-long tiller. Sea Dragon Expedition re
Richard Halliburton