The New Packet Ship Orient, of New York.

There is a massive boldness in the outline of this splendid ship, which impresses the eye favorably at first sight, and this impression becomes confirmed when she is inspected with the closest scrutiny. Built of oak, in the most substantial style, strongly fastened with copper, iron and treenails, and finished in the first style of workmanship, she is at once an object of wonder and admiration.

She is 1560 tons register, and has the stowage capacity of full 5800 bales of New Orleans cotton; yet her ends are easy, which, taken in connection with her great length and buoyancy of floor, give promise of almost clipper speed. On the keel she is 191 feet 3 inches long; on the upper deck (for she has 3 decks,) from the fore part of them stem to the after part of the sternpost, she is 201 feet 1 inch long; and over all, from the knightheads to the taffrail, about 215 feet; her extreme breadth, which is at the height of 13 feet from the top of the keel, is 41 feet 8 inches; her width at the planksheer is 38 feet 3½ inches; and her whole depth, from the ceiling on the floor to the top of the upper deck, is 29 feet 6 inches. Her dead rise at half floor is 11 inches, and sheer 3½ feet. She is planked up flush to the planksheer, has rounded or convex lines, and a carved and gilded billet head, with ornamental carving upon the trail boards and navel hoods. The moulding of the planksheer is carried forward to the billet, and forms the lower outline of her head boards. Her stern is light and well proportioned; swells gently outwards between the quarter timbers, and between the arch-board and the rail. Instead of windows, it has circular plate glass ports, is spanned by an arch of gilded carved work, in the apex of which is a small female bust, and below which are branches of ornamental gilt-work, tastefully arranged. Her name and port of hail are painted white upon the arch-board. Her bottom is green, for she is not yet coppered; along the waist she has a tier of painted ports in a white streak, and the rest of her hull outside is painted black; inside she is painted buff color relieved with white.

Her bulwarks are 5 feet high, surmounted by a monkey rail of 16 inches, and the spaces between the main and rack rails are clamped inside and out, and these clamps are bolted vertically and horizontally.

She has a topgallant forecastle 40 feet long, with two of Perley's patent capstans on it, and below this deck there are spacious accommodations for the crew, and in the after wings of it, are several necessary apartments. Her windlass is very stout and strongly secured, and she will have Crane's self-acting chain stoppers.

Abaft the foremast amidships is a house 45 feet long by 16 wide and 7 high, which contains a sick-bay, two galleys, 4 state-rooms, passages to the main deck, and a trunk ventilator, which communicates with the deck below. Of these ventilators she has several fore and aft, which also answer the purposes of skylights, for they are covered with glass, and have upper sections which are always open. Beside these, she has our friend Emerson's patent ventilators forward and aft, and brass ventilators along the line of her plansheer and in her bitts.

Abaft the mainmast is a square house, which protects the entrance to the deck below, and has also a skylight ventilator in it.

She has a half poop deck, with a trunk built into it, and a sheel-house on its after part, with a passage way between it and the trunk. The after cabin contains 3 state-rooms, &c, and a staircase leading aft to the wheel-house. It is wainscotted with mahogany, set off into Gothic-arched panels, relieved with enamelled white pilasters, richly fringed with flowered gilding. The forward cabin contains three state romms and the pantry, and is tastefully grained, and has a small anteroom which communicates with the quarter deck; and the windows are all of stained glass.

Her deck room is spacious and well arranged for working ship. On the quarter deck she has a patent capstan, and two winches on each side, one forward, the other aft.

Her second cabin is on the main deck aft, and containes 22 large staterooms, with four berths in each. These romms are all put up with screws, so that when the spacious is required for the stowage of cargo they can be taken down with ease. This cabin is well lighted and ventilated, and contains all the apartments and conveniences peculiar to packet ships.

The main deck contains her chain locker forward, has three large cargo ports in each side, and is painted white. The lower deck has a ballast port on each side, and the height of each deck is between 7 and 8 feet, and both are admirably designed for the accommodation of passengers. Every entrance to the deck below from the upper deck, is protected from rain and sea.

The above will convet some idea of her general outline. We will now give a few details of her materials, and the style of her construction.

Her keel is of rock maple, sided 16 inches, and is moulded 2 feet forward and 20 inches aft, with 3 inches depth of shoe. The stem is of white oak, 16 inches at the bottom, including the gripe left on, 2 feet 6 inches, and at the top 15 inches, and is sided the same as the keel. The sternpost is also oak, from 22½ inches to 16; and the stern is framed out solid, with cant timbers, without transoms, the whole bolted together in the most substantial style. Her frame is entirely of New Hampshire white oak. The floor timbers on the keel are moulded 17 inches, and sided about 13½, and the ends of the navel timbers, where they butt on the keel, were each bolted into it, before the keelson was laid.

The lower main keelson is of oak, 16 inches square, and every floor timber is bolted through it and the keel was 1¼ inch copper. The second and third keelsons are each 16 by 14 inches, of hard pine, with a rider of 16 by 4 inches, of white oak, all closely bolted. Her depth of back bone is 7½ feet. She has two tiers of sister keelsons, the first 16 inches square, and the second 12 by 13, bolted vertically and horizontally, and in the wake of the main hatchway and opposite the mainmats, there are abuttors or backers of the same dimensions as the sister keelsons, to which they are bolted, and through every timber, with 1¼ inch fastening. The ceiling on the floor is of white oak, 4 inches thick, square fastened with spikes. From 6 feet outside of the sister keelsons over the whole turn of the bilge, the ceiling is 12 inches thick, and none of the ceiling in the hold is less than 7 inches thickness, and all the heavy work is scarphed upon the flat, the clamps upon the edges, and all are square bolted; in a word, she is square bolted throughout; and, in addition, every plank was bolted edgeways at every 5 feet, as the work was put together. The lower ends of the hanging knees in the hold rest upon a stringer of 12 by 14 inches, which is 4 feet 10 inches below the deck, and connects with the hooks forward and aft. There are 4 hooks and pointers in each end, 3 of which fay to the knees under the beams. Her ends are almost filled with massive oakwork.

The lower deck beams are 19½ by 15½ amidships, those under the main deck 17½ by 14½, and those under the upper deck 14 by 8, all, of course, tapered at the ends, and all of hard pine. The knees and stanchions in the hold are all of oak; the hanging knees are 44 in number, mostly moulded 22 inches in the angles, and sided 12 inches, with 18 bolts and 4 spikes in each. The lodging knees are sided 9 inches, and are scarphed together in every berth. The stanchions are kneed in the wake of the hatchways, and are also clasped with iron.

Her lower deck waterways are of hard pine, 17 inches square, with thick work inside and over them, and the ceiling above is 6 inches thick. The main deck hanging knees are 54 in number, and are of hacmatack, but the lodging knees are of oak. Her main deck waterways are 16 inches square, also supported and strengthened by thick work over and inside of them, and the ceiling above is 6 inches thick. Except in the thick work, the bolt heads are plugged over, presenting a smooth surface. The knees in this deck are all of hacmatack, and the stanchions between both decks are truned and secured with iron rods through their centres. Between each of the decks, too, there are massive hooks, which completely span the angles of the ends, and there are also hooks below and above the bowsprit.

The upper deck waterways are of white pine, 11½ inches deep by 11½ wide, with thick strakes inside of them. Her lower deck is of hard pine, 3 inches thick, and the two others are of white [sic], ½ inch thicker.

All her outside planking (except 6 feet 8 inches of topsides, which are of hard pine,) is of selected white oak. The garboards are 7 inches thick, the second strake 6, and the third 5, graduated to 4 without projection, and the wales are 5½ inches thick, and she is butt and bilge bolted with copper, and square fastened with locust treenails. Her planksheer and main rail are each 6½ inches thick.

She is a full-rigged ship, and has made fore and main masts; the mizzen mast is of a single spar. The following are the dimensions of her masts and yards:

The bowsprit is 36 inches in diameter and 30 feet outboard; jibboom 18 inches in diameter, and divided at 16½ and 15½ feet for the two jibs, with 5 feet end, and is 18 feet inboard; spanker boom 50 feet long, gaff 36 feet, main spencer gaff 20 feet, and the other spars in proportion. her fore stays set up to the knight heads, the main and maintopmast stays to the bitts before the foremast; and all her standing rigging is of four stranded patent rope, wormed, and fitted in excellent style. Her masts are white, the yards black and booms bright. She has the chain and iron work about the bowsprit and aloft, now in general use, such as bobstays, bowsprit shrouds, patent trusses, futtock rigging, chain topsail ties and sheets, &c.

She is seasoned with salt, and, as already stated, is well ventilated. These details will convey but a very imperfect idea of her strength; she must be seen to be properly appreciated. All who have inspected her say that she is the most thorough built merchant ship which has ever been produced in New Hampshire -- and this is saying much, when we call to mind that New Hampshire built vessels rank among the first of all American vessels at Lloyd's.

She has very heavy ground tackle, six boats, four pumps, and in every other detail is most amply equipped. Mr. George Raynes, well known as the builder of the splendid packet ship Constantine, the clippers Witch of the Wave, Sea Serpent, and Wild Pigeon, built her, and owns a part of her, and she is designed for Messrs. Spofford, Tileston & Co's line of New York and Liverpool packets, and these gentlemen are her principal owners. Messrs. T.B. Maxwell and Jeremiah Wintringham, her commander, Capt. Fancis M. French, a veteran in the packet service, also are interested in her. We advise the New York mechanics to inspect her; they will find her every inch, a far superior vessel to the imperfect sketch we have given of her. Bear in mind that she was built by the day, in contradiction to contract jobs, and that no expense was spared to make her a perfect ship.

Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius.

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Copyright © 1997 Lars Bruzelius.