This is another of that beautiful class of vessels known as the medium between the extreme sharp and the packet model, and is as fine a combination of speed with good stowage capacity as we have inspected. She is 170 feet long on the keel, 6 feet longer between perpendiculars on deck, and 183 feet from the knight-heads to the taffrail. Her extreme breadth of beam is 36 feet, depth 22 feet, including 8 feet height of between-decks, and she will register about 1050 tons. Her dead rise at half-floor is 20 inches, rounding of sides 6, and sheer 2 feet 2 inches.
Her lines are rounded, and, as may be seen by her fore rake, her stem is nearly upright; but her sheer is carried boldly forward, which, combined with as easy and graceful flare, given her a beautiful bow. A large gilded flying dragon displays his length along the trailboards, and grins, with outspread wings, a flying arrow issuing from his mouth, and forms the termination of the head. The moulding of the planksheer forms the lower outline of the head boards, and makes a neat finish in the rear of the head.
She has a narrow waist of three strakes, defined between the mouldings of the upper of the wale and the planksheer. Her stern swells boldly from the quarter timbers across, and from the arch bard to the rail, and is ornamented with gilded carved work, emblemeatical of her name. Instead of stern windwos, she has patent circular air ports, with plate-glass lights. She is sheathed with yellow metal up to 17 feet forward, and a foot higher aft, and is painted black above. Inside she is painted buff color, releived with white; has mahogany gangway board, and mahogany monkey rail stanchions, bright and varnished.
Her deck-room is spacious, and well designed for working ship. The whole height of the bulwarks, including the monkey rail, is 5 feet, and she has a large house amidships, fitted for the crew, the galley, &c. She has also moveable houses over the hatchways, and a temporary house on the quarter deck, for a store-room and sail-room.
Her cabin is under a half poop deck, with a house in front. This house contains two state-rooms for the officers, and also forms an ante-room to the cabin below.
The cabin conatins seven spacious state-rooms, and is wainscotted with plain branch mahogany, set off with pilasters, cornices, gilded mouldings, &c., and is furnished and fitted up with taste and skill. The tables, sofas, settees, &c., are all that could be desired, for neatness or comfort.
The means of light and ventilation are of the best kind, in every state-room and the cabin. While speaking of ventilation, we may state that she has air ports below, ventilators along her covering board and in her bitts, and "Emerson's correponding patent ventilators" fore and aft, communicating with the between decks and the hold.
She is well built of good materials. Her frane is of white oak, and her frames, ceiling, &c., of hard pine. Her keel is 16 by 30 inches, floor timbers in the throats, 16 by 12, and she has three depths of keelsons, the lower two 16 inches square, and the upper one only two inches less, the whole bolted with 1¼ copper and iron, the copper driven through, every floor timber and the keel, and rivetted. Her floor ceiling is 4 inches thick, and over the floor heads the work is 10 inches thick, graduated to 7 inches within 5 feet of the deck, where there is a massive stringer of 10 by 14 inches, upon which the lower ends of the hanging knees rest. The clamps are 7 inches thick, and all her thick work is scarphed and square fastened, and extends the whole length of the vessel.
The between decks waterways are 15 by 16 inches, with two strakes of 8 by 13 inches over them, and one of 8 by 12 inside of them, let into the beams, bolted through them and horizontally through all. The thick work above is square fastened and bolted vertically into the waterways. The ceiling above varies from 5 to 6 inches.
The upper deck waterways are 10 by 12, and the main rail and planksheer are each 6 inches, with stout oak stanchions, bolted in the usual style. The decks are 3½ inches thick.
All the knees, hooks, pointers and stanchions in the hold are of oak, and she has 8 hooks forward and 5 aft.
The lower deck beams are 16 inches square, and those under the upper deck are 15 by 10, and the hold stanchions are 11 inches square, kneed in the wake of the hacthways, and clasped with iron elsewhere. The between decks stamchions are turned and secured with iron rods in the usual style. The lower deck hanging knees are of oak, with 15 bolts and 4 spikes in each, have 3 feet 3 inches arms, 5 feet 2 inches bodies, are sided from 9 to 12 inches, and are moulded 22 inches in the throats. The between decks knees are of nearly the same dimensions, but have two or three more bolts through them. The lodging knees meet and scarph in every berth.
She has 5 transoms, the main one of which is 18 inches sqaure, with stout transom knees. Her cutwater stem, apron, stern and rudder post are all very stout, and are bolted with copper up to the load displacement line, and above there with iron.
Her garboards are seven inches thick, the bottom planking four, and her wales five by seven, square fastened with threenails, and butt and bilge-bolted with copper. She is seasoned with salt, and, as already stated, is most thoroughly ventilated.
She is a full rigged ship, has made fore and mainmasts, yellow pine topmasts and jibbooms, and pole topgallant and royal masts, also sports a main skysail yard, rigged aloft. Her lower masts are white, her bowsprit and yards black, and her booms bright. She has all the iron work now in general use, about her masts, yards, bowsprit, and jibboom. Her mast heads are crowned with gilded balls, and altogether aloft she appears majestically beautiful.
Her lower masts, commensing with the fore, are 74, 80, and 70 feet long; topmasts 42, 44, and 32; bowsprit outboard 26 feet; jibboom 18 feet; lower yards 66, 73 and 53; topsail yards 53, 59, and 42 feet, and the other spars in proportion.
In her outfits, such as ground tackle, windlass, capstans, boats, steering apparatus, &c, she is most substantially found.
She was built at South Boston by Messrs. E. & H.O. Briggs, well known as the builders of the Southern Cross, and other fine ships, and she is not only well built, but beautifully finished. Mr. J.W. Mason ornamented her, Blanchard & Caldwell made her spars, and Capt. Brewster rigged her. Messrs. Baker & Morill own her, and she is now loading in Messrs. Glidden & Williams's line of San Francisco packets, and will sail of the 5th of August. A better or more beautiful vessel of her class has not yet been produced in this vicinity.
Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius.
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Copyright © 1997 Lars Bruzelius.