The New Clipper Ship Westward Ho! of Boston.

This magnificently beautiful ship will register about 1600 tons, but she has not yet been measured by the Custom House officials. Her length on the keel is 194 feet, on deck, between perpendiculars, 210, and over all, from the knight-heads to the taffrail, 229 feet; her extreme breadth of beam is 40½ feet, depth of hold 23½, including 7 feet 8 inches height of between decks; dead rise at half floor 20 inches, swell 6, and sheer 2 feet 20 inches. Her ends are long and very sharp, with slightly concave lines. Some idea of her sharpness may be formed from the fact, that, at 20 feet from the inside of the apron, on the line of the between decks, she is only 12 feet wide, and at the same distance from the inner part of the sternpost she is 18 feet wide, thus showing that she is 6 feet fuller aft than forward. Her greatest breadth of beam is about 12 feet forward of midships. Her bow, about half way up the wales, gradually varies from the concave to the convex, and on the line of the planksheer is decidedly convex, and swells in a regular curve to correspond with her outline on the rail. There is not a straight place in her model. She is planked smoothly, without a projecting line, up to the covering board, and has neither head not trail boards. The full figure of an Indian warrior, represented as advancing rapidly in the chase, placed on a pedestal of ornamental flowering, with her name on each curve of the bow, are her principal ornaments forward.

Her stern in outline is semi-elliptical, formed from the line of the planksheer, is both light and beautiful, and is tastefully ornamented with gilded carved work. Viewed either end or broadside on, it seems to us almost impossible to conceive of a more perfectly beautiful model. She is sheathed with yellow metal up to 20 feet, and is painted black above it. Inside she is buff color relieved with white, and the waterways are blue. The whole height of her bulwarks from the deck, including the monkey rail, is 5½. She has a topgallant forecastle, and abaft the foremast a house 25 feet long, 16 wide and 6½ high, which contains the galley, quarters for the crew, and other apartments. She has a trunk cabin 52 feet long, 16 wide, and 7½ feet high, built into a half poop deck, with 5 feet gangways on each side, and a large space aft, where she is steered. The poop is protected by a substantial rail, supported on turned stanchions, and the top of the trunk forms an excellent promenade deck, commanding a complete view of the ship fore and aft, and from the deck to the trucks. It is also protected by railings.

Her after cabin is finished in the best style of art, with rose, mahogany, and other fancy woods, relieved with beautiful carving, and flowered and lined with gold. It contains a spacious recess on each side, fitted with lounges, and ornamented with panelled mirrors. Before and abaft the recess the cabin is winged with beautiful state-rooms, and is furnished in superior style. The forward cabin, though not so gorgeously finished as the after one, is nevertheless a beautiful apartment, and its state-rooms and other divisions are excellent. There is a passage to the poop aft, and six state-rooms in the after cabin, and five state-rooms and the pantry in the forward cabin; but two of these rooms are for the officers, and are entered from the quarter deck, one on each side. The cabin itself is also entered from the quarter deck amidships, and its doors are protected by a projection front, supported on ornamental knees. The windows in front of the cabins are of stained glass, sheltered with Venetian blinds. Every state-room has its deck and side lights, and both cabins have skylights over them.

Her materials, and the style of her construction are worthy of notice. Her frame throughout is of seasoned white oak; her deck frames, ceiling, and planking are of hard pine, and she is strongly copper fastened. Her keel is in two depths, which combined, is moulded 30 inches, and sided 15. Its scarphs are 12 feet long, bolted with copper, and the parts themselves are also bolted together with copper. The floor timbers are sided from 14 to 12 inches, and moulded 18, and she has three depths of midship keelsons, each tier 15 inches square. These are bolted, so that two copper bolts are through every floor timber and the keel, and riveted; and the navel timbers are also bolted through with refined iron, driven within two inches of the base of the keel. Her sister keelsons are 12 by 14 inches, bolted diagonally and horizontally. The depth of her back bone, including the moulding of the floor timbers, is 7 feet 9 inches, and its spread inside, upon the timbers, is 3 feet 3 inches.

All her frames are chocked at every joint, and bolted together fore and aft, so that either hogging or sagging from weight of cargo is impossible. The ceiling on the floor is 4 inches thick, square fastened, and over the first futtocks there are three strakes of 12 by 14 inches, and all the other ceiling up to the deck is 3 inches in thickness, and all of it, as well the thick work, is scarphed, square bolted, caulked and payed. A lap strake or stringer of 6 inches thickness is bolted over the ceiling, and upon it the lower ends of the hanging knees rest.

The between decks waterways are 16 inches square, with a strake of 10 by 14 over them, and another of 10 by 12 inside of them, morticed over the beams, and bolted vertically and horizontally. Through the waterways and the beams and timbers there are no less than 1325 bolts of inch and inch and a quarter in size, and in a section of 7½ by 10 feet in the between decks there are 165 bolts. The ceiling above the waterways increases from 5 to 7 inches in thickness, and is square fastened. The upper deck waterways are 12 inches square, with two thick strakes inside of them, let into the beams, and bolted both ways.

The garboards are 7 inches thick, let into the keel, and are bolted through it, and alternately through each other, and upwards through the timbers. On the flat of the bottom the planking is 4½ inches thick, and the wales are 5 inches square. These are all square fastened with treenails, and she is strongly butt and bilge bolted. The covering board, or planksheer, is 6 inches thick, and the main rail is the same in substance, strengthened by a clamp between it and the rack rail, to which it is bolted. Her bulwark stanchions are of oak, 10 by 7 inches, and are only 20 inches apart, and the bulwarks are of 2½ inch, neatly tongued and grooved.

Her stem is of one piece, and together with the cutwater and apron, is well strengthened, both inside and out, and bolted with copper up to 21 feet. The knightheads are of selected white oak, and extend far down upon the body of the stem, and are bolted with refined iron. The stern post is a natural knee at the bottom, and beside this, it is supported with another knee, which is worked in with the dead wood. The stern itself is timbered round, and is as strong as the bow.

All her hooks and pointers are of oak, and also all the knees in the hold; the knees in the between decks are of hacmatack. She has 8 hooks forward and 5 aft. Those in the hold are filled into pointers, and the pointers are fully 12 inches square, and vary from 35 to 30 feet in length. Opposite the foremast there is a long diagonal on each side, extending from the floor heads nearly to the deck, designed to brace the frames against the pressure of the mast. These pointers and diagonals are bolted through all. The after hooks and pointers, like those forward, take in the whole curve of the end, are equally stout, and secured in the same style.

The lower deck beams are 16 inches square, and those under the upper deck are 8 by 15. The hanging knees in the hold are mostly sided 12 inches, and moulded 22 in the angles, and have 20 bolts and 4 spikes in each. Those under the upper deck beams are about the same, in size and fastening. Her lodging knees, in both decks, are scarphed together in every berth. The hold stanchions are kneed in the wake of the hatchways, and clasped with iron, above and below, elsewhere. The between decks stanchions are of oak, turned, secured with bolts and screws, in the usual style.

The breast-hook in the between decks, is 50 feet long, and all the thick work is carried round the curve of the stern, binding the whole to the sides. The planking of the lower deck is of hard pine, 3½ inches thick, and the upper deck is of white pine, of the same substance.

She has massive paull and windlass bitts, and heavy bitts before the foremast, to which her chains may be brought to support the windlass, when riding in a heavy set. Her topsail sheet bitts, forward and aft, are also very stout, and all her mast partners, and the comings of her hatchways, are well kneed and bolted.

She is seasoned with salt, has brass ventilators along her planksheer and in the bitts, and Emerson's patent ventilators, which communicate with the hold. Nothing which skill and money could command to render her strong and durable, has been withheld.

She has a powerful windlass, two of Perley's patent capstans, Reed's patent steering apparatus, Litchfield's patent pumps, 4 bolts, and ground tackle, which, in weight and length of chains, exceeds the requirements of Lloyd's. Her chains lockers are in the hold, near the foremast; and abaft the mainmast she has an iron tank, her whole depth, capable of holding 6000 gallons of water. She has also "Phillis' Fire Annihilators," and a force pump, with hose to reach fore and aft, which can be used for washing decks, wetting sails, or putting out fire, should a calamity befal her.

She is a full rigged ship. Her fore and main masts are made, the pieces dowalled together and bolted, and are hooped over all, from the heads to the steps; the mizzenmast is a single spar. The following are the dimensions of her masts and yards:

The bowsprit is 36 inches in diameter, and 18 feet outboard; jibboom and flying jibboom in one spar, divided at 18, and 13 feet, with 5 feet end; spanker boom 58 feet long, gaff 40, main spencer gaff 24 feet, and the other spars in proportion, Her masts rake 6-8ths, 7/8ths, and 1 1/8th inch to the foot, are finely proportioned, and are crowned with gilded balls, and painted white. The yards are black, and the booms bright. Her standing rigging is of Russia hemp, most of her running rigging of Manila hemp, and she has the usual square rig, with all the iron work and chain, both aloft and about her bowsprit, now in general use. Her fore and main rigging and topmast backstays are of 10½ inch, and the other rigging in proportions. She has double topsail ties and halyards, with iron gins at the mast-heads, instead of sheave-holes, and an iron gin on each yard. her rigging is served over the ends, and served, and covered with canvas over the eyes, and fitted in excellent style. It seems hardly possible that even a hurricane could dismast her, for masts and yards are so strong, and so admirably secured, that every stitch of canvas would fly without causing them to yield. Altog[e]ther aloft, she looks magnificently. Her spars were draughted and designed by her builder, Mr. McKay, and were rigged by Messrs. Lowe & Sons.

She was designed and built at East Boston by Mr. Donald McKay, and is the sixth large clipper which he has built since the opening of the California trade, and in strength and beauty, is second to no ship of her size, that we have seen. Out old friend, Capt. Gifford, superintended her construction and equipment, and has performed his part, as he always does, better than well.

She is owned by Messrs. Sampson & Tappan, and is commanded by Capt. Nickels, formerly of the Flying Fish, in which he has just arrived from Manila, and who is justly esteemed as one of the best sailors afloat.

Messrs. Glidden & Williams are now loading her for San Francisco in their line of clipper packets, and as she is considered the crack ship now up for that port, shippers are hurrying their goods on board of her. She lies at the south side of Lewis wharf, and is daily visited by thousands. A more beautiful or better built ship of her size, every one says, need not be desired. Success to her.

Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius.

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