This magnificent vessel was built at East Boston by Mr. Samuel Hall, and like all his other clippers, is remarkable for beauty of model, strength of construction, and excellence of finish. Her frame is of seasoned white oak, her scantling of hard pine; she is square fastened throughout, and every through bolt below her load displacement line is of copper. She is 221 feet long between perpendiculars on deck, has 41 feet extreme breadth of beam, 26 feet 3 inches depth of hold, with three sets of beams and two decks, and registers 1675 tons. The height of her between decks is 7 feet 3 inches, and the lower deck beams are decked from aft to the mizzenmast, and from forward to the fore hatchway. She has sharp ends and slightly hollow water lines, but is rounded above to conform with her outline on the rail. Her stem rakes boldly, and the bow is at once clean and clipperly, and rises with an easy and graceful sheer, having just sufficient flare to carry the anchors clear, when cockbilled. For a head she has a full female figure, rather fashionable decked, intended to represent the Rib of Neptune, trident and all.
The ship's stern is nearly, semi-circular in outline, and is ornamented with gilded carved work, in the centre of which is a neat female bust. The run is long and clean, and harmonizes beautifully with her general outline. She is flush to the planksheer moulding, has finely rounded sides, and looks the clipper to a charm, viewed either end or broadside on. She is painted black outside and buff color inside, relieved with white, and has mahogany monkey rail stanchions and gangway boards. The whole height of her bulwarks is about 5 feet 4 inches, and they are beaded, grooved and tongued, in the usual style.
She has two beautiful cabins, built into a half-poop deck, and they are wainscotted, painted zinc white, and edged with gilding, and have spacious staterooms on each side, and other useful apartments. Her pantry and the officers' stateroom are in front, and form the sides of the ante-room, which leads to the main dabin [sic]. The after cabin has a door amidships, which leads to the poop deck, where she is steered. The top of the cabin is surrounded by a rail, supported on turned mahogany stanchions, and forms a fine promenade deck.
She has a topgallant forecastle, the height of the main rail, and abaft the foremast a large house which, contains the galley, quarters for the crew, and several other apartments. Her decks are well arranged for working ship, and notwithstanding the space occupied by houses, and very roomy.
We have already stated that she is built of oak; all her hooks and nearly all her knees are of the same material, except the knees connected with the upper deck, which are of hacmatack. Her keel is of rock maple in two depths, sided 15 inches and moulded 30; the floor timbers in the throats are sided 12 and moulded 18 inches, and she has three depths of midship keelsons, each 16 inches square, and heavy sister keelsons, all bolted with 1¼ fastening, the copper driven through every floor timber and the keel, and riveted. Her floor ceiling is 4½ inches thick, and on the bilge she has massive work 12 inches thick, which extends her whole length, and is square bolted. None of the ceiling in her hold is less than eight inches in thickness; and she has 15 inches square waterways to both decks, and 12 by 14 to be upper deck, with thick work inside and over those below, and ceiling not less than 5 inches thick, all square bolted. Her ends are well secured with hooks and pointers, and the stanchions are very stout and strongly bound to the beams. Her between decks are spacious, remarkably well ventilated and lighted, and admirably adapted for the accommodation of passengers.
Her garboards are 8 by 14 inches, the bottom planking 5 inches thick, and the wales 6 by 7 inches, square fastened with locust treenails, and butt and bilge bolted with copper. Her main rail and planksheer are each 6 inches thick, and all her bulwarks stanchions are of oak, finely finished. She is seasoned with salt, has brass ventilators in her bitts and along her planksheer, and Emerson's ventilators for the between decks and the hold. She has an iron water tank of 6000 gallons capacity; and her hold pumps, instead of being near the mainmast, are just before the after hatchway, and are so arranged that a man can descend into the pump-well when required. Her windlass, capstans, ground tackle and steering apparatus are all of the first quality, and correspond well with her general outfits.
She has Forbes's rig, with the topmasts fidded before the heads of the lower masts, and has tremendously heavy yards upon the mainmast. Her fore and mainmasts are built and hooped over, and her topmasts and jibbooms are of hard pine. Her lower masts, commencing with the fore, are 94, 100 and 97 feet long, including 24, 26 and 22 feet heads; topmasts 55½, 59 and 47 feet, and the other masts in proportion; the yards upon the mainmast are 92, 81¼, 69, 54½, 43 and 32 feet square; the fore yard and those above, are nearly the same as those on the mainmast, commencing at the lower topsail yard, and the same is true of the mizzen mast, commencing a yard higher up; thus, excepting the main yard, she has duplicate yards on the other masts. Her spars were draughted by Capt. Forbes himself, and she was rigged agreeably to his designs. Francis Low & Co. rigged her in their usual superior style. She has a noble set of spars, and the very best of rigging. Her sails are of cotton duck, and were made by Messrs. E.F. Porter & Co., of East Boston, and will, no doubt, like all their work, give good satisfaction. Of the ship's rig, our nautical readers already know we highly approve. We consider it the best square rig now in use, especially for large vessels, and have no doubt that, in the course of ten or twelve years, it will be generally adopted.
Capt. Oliver Eldridge commands her. He was long and favorably known as the commander of the clipper barque Coquette, of this port, for many years the swiftest clipper in the Indian Ocean, and since then he has distinguished himself as one of the most successful packet captains out of New York. He is widely esteemed as a thorough sailor and accomplished gentleman.
She was built and is owned by Mr. Samuel Hall, and was designed for the California business, but freights being rather dull at present, she will proceed to St. John, N.B., and there load for London. We understand that Mr. Hall will proceed to London in her. Mr. Hall has a high reputation for the excellence of his ships. Years before the Californian trade called large clippers into existence, he built the swiftest pilot boats in our waters, and the China clippers which he built for Capt. Forbes, were matchless for their speed. His first large clipper, the Surprise, on her passage to San Francisco, led the fleet, and several of his other clipper, though not remarkable for sharpness, have ranked the foremost of their class. No builder can boast of having obtained a higher rate of speed than Mr. Hall, from the same cubic capacity of ship. Aside from his profession, he is highly esteemed as a public spirited gentleman, who has more than once been elected to represent his fellow citizens in the Legislature and city government. Those who know him best respect him most; and in common with his numerous friends, we wish him a pleasant voyage in his beautiful ship.
Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius.
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