This fine vessel will register about 1300 tons. She is 195 feet long on the keel, 200 feet between perpendiculars on deck, and 210 over all; has 40 feet extreme breadth of beam, 24 feet 4 inches depth of hold, including 7 feet 8 inches height between decks. Her ends are finely formed, and she has an easy and gradual sheer of 2½ feet, which rises forward and imparts an air of lightness to the bow. The mouldings of her main rail and planksheer are continued to the head and form the outlines of her head boards. She has a carved and gilded billet head, and gilded ornaments on the ends of her cat heads. Her stern in outline, is square, but curves outwards in the centre and is ornamented with an arch of gilded carved work, on a black ground. Her run is easy and clean, and is carried up to the counter with great skill, and makes an excellent base for the stern. She is flush to the planksheer, sheathed with yellow metal and painted black outside; inside she is buff color relieved with white, and the waterways are blue. Like the general run of clippers, she has a topgallant forecastle, with wing closets, a large house abaft the forecastle for the crew, galley, storerooms, &c., and trunk cabins into a half poop deck. The after cabin contains 8 spacious state-rooms, has an entrance amidships which loads to the poop, is finished in the highest style of cabinet work, with mahogany, rose, satin and other valuable woods, relieved with gilding and papier maché cornices. The forward cabin contains 4 state-rooms and the pantry, but the mate's room opens on the quarter deck, clear of the cabin. All her cabin arrangements are admirably designed for the accommodation of passengers.
Her frame is of white oak, and her scantling of yellow pine, and no vessel of her size is more thoroughly built. Her keel is moulded 3 feet and sided 15 inches; the floor timbers on the keel are sided 12 inches, and moulded 17 inches, and she has three depths of keelsons, each depth 16 inches square, bolted most thoroughly with 1¼ copper driven through and rivetted, and iron of the same size through the navel timbers into the keel. Her floor ceiling is 4½ inches thick, and her bilge keelsons are 15 by 16 inches, and above them there are 8 stakes of 10 by 14 inches, then 3 of 9 by 14, and then 6 clamps of 6 inches thickness. These are all square fastened, and extend the same in substance fore and aft. The between decks waterways are 16 inches square, with 2 strakes of 10 by 14 over them, and 1 of the same size inside of them. The ceiling above is 6 inches thick, and the upper deck waterways are 10 by 12 inches. Her garboards are 7inches thick, with two thick strakes outside of them, flushed to 4½ inches thickness, the substance of the planking on the bottom. Her wales are 5½ by 7 inches, the covering board and main rail are each 6 inches thick, and she is square fastened outside as well as inside, and butt and bilge bolted with copper.
Her lower deck beams are 16 inches square, and those under the upper deck are 10 by 16, and the planking of both decks is 3½ inches thick. The knees and stanchions in the hold are of oak, and are very stout. The hanging knees are sided from 10 to 12 inches, and have1 bolts in each, and the hooks forward and aft cross all the cants diagonally, and fay to the knees under the beams. Her stanchions are kneed in the wake of the hatchways, and clasped with iron elsewhere. She has 8 hooks forward and 5 aft. The knees and hooks in the between decks are also very stout, and remarkably well fitted and finished. In materials and workmanship she is one of the best ships ever built.
She has Emerson's patent ventilators, and all the other means of ventilators now in general use. Below she has an iron water tank, of 5000 gallons capacity. She also has Perley's patent capstans, the best now in use, Litchfield's patent pumps, Crane's self-acting chain stoppers, and all the other improvements of the day.
She has a noble set of spars. The lower masts, commencing with the fore, are 32, 86 and 76 feet long; the topmasts 46, 48 and 39 feet; the top-gallant masts 25, 26 and 21 feet; the royal masts 16, 17 and 13 feet, with poles of 11, 12 and 10 feet long, crowned with gilded balls. The bowsprit is 28 feet outboard, the jibboom 22 feet, and the flying jibboom 12, with 5 feet end. The yards upon the foremast are 72, 54, 41 and 32 feet square; those on the mainmast 78, 62, 47 and 36 feet, and those on the mizzenmast 58, 46, 34 and 26 feet, and the other spars in proportion. She has the best Russia hemp rigging, and was rigged by the best riggers, Francis Low & Co. No men in their line, either for despatch or thoroughness of workmanship, can go ahead of them. This, however, is well known to our shipowners, who always keep them actively employed.
The Radiant was built at East Boston, by Mr. Paul Curtis, and is unquestionably one of the best ships he ever built; and what is more, will no doubt prove an excellent sailer; for she has good ends, a long and buoyant floor, and is fitted aloft in the most substantial style. She is owned by Messrs. Baker & Merrill, and is now loading with despatch in Winsor's line of San Francisco clippers. She lies at the end of Commercial wharf. Call and see her.
Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius.
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Copyright © 1996 Lars Bruzelius.